CZ-21 coil upgrade?

[bigscoop]

Thinking of putting a larger after market coil on a CZ-21, something in the 15" range. Anyone know of a compatible coil that they've had good success with?

 

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[gleaner1]

Since the coils for the 20 and 21 are hard-wired, there are no after-market coils for them. There are no really big coils offered for the other cz units, 10.5" concentric is the largest I can find, offered for the 3D, 5, 7A. Assuming you would want to try it with the 10.5 coil, you would have to cut off the plug, disassemble the unit, unsolder the old coil, resolder the new (4 wires), reassemble the unit, and hope the 2 circuit boards are "aligned" (electrically balanced) well enough to work with the new coil. Very iffy.

 

[GibH]

The Sun Ray FZ-12 is probably the largest coil you will find that would work.

 

[gleaner1]

The Sun Ray FZ-12 is probably the largest coil you will find that would work.

'scoop, GibH found the big coil, now the fun part. It's not too bad of a job to tear down and solder, you can do it in about an hour or two. If you do, make sure you plant a test bed for before/after comparisons. Plant silver and or copper coins at 6, 8, 10 and 12" or more, test with both coils. I have been thinking about splicing a waterproof male/female connector into my '20 for many years, I just can't get the fur to cut thru the wires on a machine that cost 1200 plus to replace. Maybe that's the way to go for your machine, try to put in a quick connector to swap out coils. I will look for some....

 

[bigscoop]

I'm confident that I can splice in a new coil with a good connection and seal, been there before, it's just finding the right coil that will work with the CZ?

 

[GibH]

They don't seem to be very easy to find. Most online retailers have them on lists, but when you click the link they aren't listed with the other coils. I did find one here: http://www.bigvalleymetaldetectors.com/coiltek-sunray.htm but I'd call first to make sure.
The other option would be contacting Sun Ray directly and ask them if they even still manufacture it.

 

[gleaner1]

The cz20/21 has two large complex circuit boards with a bunch of trim pots to get everything tuned correctly. The factory "aligns" the two boards, and tweaks about five or six pots to accomplish this. Oscilloscopes are used. Years ago, I called the factory to see if I could have the 10" coil installed on my 8, and they said yes, but the price quoted included re-aligning the boards. This is why I have been scared to take action on trying different coils. Having said all that, I think adding a different coil should work okay. Every machine has interchangeable coils, so why not the waterproof cz20/21. Just confirm with some sort of test garden. I am very interested in your results. I am still searching for the right connectors, looking for a quality, solder type, waterproof quick disconnect set.

 

[bigscoop]

The cz20/21 has two large complex circuit boards with a bunch of trim pots to get everything tuned correctly. The factory "aligns" the two boards, and tweaks about five or six pots to accomplish this. Oscilloscopes are used. Years ago, I called the factory to see if I could have the 10" coil installed on my 8, and they said yes, but the price quoted included re-aligning the boards. This is why I have been scared to take action on trying different coils. Having said all that, I think adding a different coil should work okay. Every machine has interchangeable coils, so why not the waterproof cz20/21. Just confirm with some sort of test garden. I am very interested in your results. I am still searching for the right connectors, looking for a quality, solder type, waterproof quick disconnect set.

Sounds like I should probably call Fisher first, make sure I can even put a 15" or larger coil on a CZ-21? They might even be able to bettrer direct me in my search for a larger coil. Maybe give them a call next week and see what they say.

 

[bigscoop]

The cz20/21 has two large complex circuit boards with a bunch of trim pots to get everything tuned correctly. The factory "aligns" the two boards, and tweaks about five or six pots to accomplish this. Oscilloscopes are used. Years ago, I called the factory to see if I could have the 10" coil installed on my 8, and they said yes, but the price quoted included re-aligning the boards. This is why I have been scared to take action on trying different coils. Having said all that, I think adding a different coil should work okay. Every machine has interchangeable coils, so why not the waterproof cz20/21. Just confirm with some sort of test garden. I am very interested in your results. I am still searching for the right connectors, looking for a quality, solder type, waterproof quick disconnect set.

I just got off the phone with an engineer at Fisher Research Labs and he told me "we could" install a larger coil on our CZ machines but that we would need to use the right coil.........one that is compatible with our machines. However, he didn't know right off hand who was making compatible after market coils for the various CZ machines? I think the best bet at this point is to contact the companies who are making after market coils and inquire through them which coil to use. Then perhaps, once you find the coil maybe call Fisher back and double check just to be sure it will workout ok.

 

[gleaner1]

The cz20/21 has two large complex circuit boards with a bunch of trim pots to get everything tuned correctly. The factory "aligns" the two boards, and tweaks about five or six pots to accomplish this. Oscilloscopes are used. Years ago, I called the factory to see if I could have the 10" coil installed on my 8, and they said yes, but the price quoted included re-aligning the boards. This is why I have been scared to take action on trying different coils. Having said all that, I think adding a different coil should work okay. Every machine has interchangeable coils, so why not the waterproof cz20/21. Just confirm with some sort of test garden. I am very interested in your results. I am still searching for the right connectors, looking for a quality, solder type, waterproof quick disconnect set.

I just got off the phone with an engineer at Fisher Research Labs and he told me "we could" install a larger coil on our CZ machines but that we would need to use the right coil.........one that is compatible with our machines. However, he didn't know right off hand who was making compatible after market coils for the various CZ machines? I think the best bet at this point is to contact the companies who are making after market coils and inquire through them which coil to use. Then perhaps, once you find the coil maybe call Fisher back and double check just to be sure it will workout ok.

The way I look at it is, a cz20 is a waterproof cz5, so any coil built for a cz5 will work. The sunray coil says not compatible with cz20, but they mean physically not compatible (hard wired).