Minelab Excalibur & Sovereign Forum

Perfect question for this sticky as it always seems to pop up, so I'm glad you asked it here. All Sovereign/Excal coils will work with all models of them, but how to figure out if a coil is even meant for these machines? Well, don't plug it in to see! There is a potential to ruin your machine. This is what to do...

The thread link below is a thread where we just had the same conversation about how to identify what detector a coil is made for. If you have any more remarks concerning this topic please ask them in the thread link below, as that will keep us from mucking up the stickys with posts anymore than I already have. I'm trying to limit my posting in them now, and any future stuff I feel is imporant enough and a common enough question that always pops up to post in a sticky I'm for now on just going to try to limit as much as possible to posting a simple link to a thread about. That way the stickys stay pretty streamlined as just a quick reference list of various common questions/topics, then people can just add remarks or ask questions in the thread that it's linked to.

I wish I would have kept that in mind more with some of the stuff I added, as there's a fine line between quick reference and mucking up a sticky too much that I think I crossed several times. Remember you guys, these stickys are for everybody to post good stuff in that you feel is a common question or topic, so don't be afraid to contribute stuff you think would be good for a sticky. Ron is the moderator so he's the judge to what stuff we post stays or goes. Here's that thread about identifying what machine a coil is for...

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1751788

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2012 08:54AM by Critterhunter.

OK, here's a couple pic's of a Detech 5" Excelerator "S" coil I got with my used Sovereign Elite. I've only used the 5inch coil one time for a couple hours. It's great for getting in around and under the beach chairs but it seems to lack depth. I was getting at best around 5 or 6 inches on quarters and about 4 inches on dimes. It wasn't a very precise or extensive test and I will do a better test later. I am not sure that the Disc/All Metal switch is actually doing anything on this Sovereign when I switch it so I may start a thread for answers on that topic in a bit.

One thing I can say for the 5 inch coil is that it was used over the same sand that I hit the night before with my 10 inch Tornado and I got another $1.38 in change that the 10 inch couldn't find, I guess due to the proximity of the chairs and the metal in them.

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Banned for making bad comments about Finds on other forums

Had this asked a few times lately so figured the answer should be in the coil sticky. Far as I know the only the Sun Ray is a true 8" (?) and the only 8" coil on the market right now. The Minelab 8" Tornado is also being sold right now but that coil is actually 7 & 1/4" in diameter, just like the old heavy version called the BBS coil. Many people like the 7 & 14" coil for excellent separation while still getting outstanding depth. I've read of people digging coins around a foot deep with this coil as well as the 8" Coinsearch coil, which is also a true 8" coil that Minelab made years ago and many still love it's performance to this day.

So if you are looking to buy a new true 8" coil then your only option is the Sun Ray S-8, or to put up a Want To Buy ad in the detector accessories forum for the Coinsearch 8" coil. Consider the Minelab 8" Tornado though, because it still gets killer depth and is very good at pulling coins out of trash due to it's 7 & 1/4" size from what others have to say about it.

Kellyco currently sells a Detech 8" coil for the Sovereign but it's a concentric. The only concentric I'm aware of for the Sovereign, and I'm not sure if it's a true 8" coil in size. There's also an old Hot Head Ferret 8" coil posted pictures of early in this sticky that might be a concentric. Can't remember what I dug up on it and posted about it so look for yourself.

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OldBeachnut video about hard wiring a coil to the Excal





Pictures and thread on wiring an Excal waterproof coil plug for the WOT using Bulgin Buccaneer 400 micro connectors

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?22,1494317,1500232#msg-1500232

Pictures and instructions on taking apart an Excal pod to wire a coil directly to the circuit board instead of splicing two cables together hard wired that way, and I think S-12 specific info too.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?22,1105001,page=1

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2012 10:01PM by Critterhunter.

This thread link below has some of my initial impressions of this coil, and in the future I'll be be posting a few field reports on it in there too...

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1761707,1761707#msg-1761707

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2012 03:45PM by Critterhunter.

Sorry, ran out of time to fix to blaring mistakes in the coil weight chart. I said 8 ounces of bed liner on the Tornado when I meant 8 coats, which only added up to about point 2 ounces. I also screwed up the order from light to heaviest coals, so I fixed all that...

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This is my final compilation opinion having used the 15x12 and 12x10 extensively in comparison to the 10" Tornado, and also how much drag these coils have in relation to each other in the water. Some thoughts on S-12 and 13" Ultimate possible (?) drag in water too, being that they are round and not squarish like the SEF coils. The S-12 seems very popular among water hunters so that should tell you something...

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1759188

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Ran across this picture looking for something else doing a search. I *think* this is the only time I've ever seen the 16.5" Excelerator mounted on a Sovereign so you can judge the size better. I've seen I think only the 12.5" or the 14" or maybe both in pictures before mounted on the Sovereign. If anybody has any pictures of those on a Sovereign to judge size please post them.

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Appearantly this coil is not filled with epoxy, as somebody using it on an Excalibur got water inside his the first time he used it in the water. This thread has some good pictures of him taking the coil apart and some related info on how to fix a coil that got wet inside, along with taking a coil apart and doing coil repair in some cases for certain problems, that I guess you can find on Youtube.

Notice in his pics you can see the pre-amp circuit in the coil. This is unique to the Sovereign and Excalibur coils. Most machines don't feature something like this. Only ones that have this pre-amp boost in the coil that I'm aware of are the Xterra line. Of course there might be another model or two that uses one too, but far as I know most detectors do not use one. It's boosting the RX signal right the source (the receive coil) so as to amplify it before it has a chance to pick up any EMI, so that it will be more robust traveling up the coil cable, where your sensitivity control then further amplifies the signal. That's why sensitivity often has to be lowered in high EMI areas, because it distorts and contaminates the signal. I feel the pre-amp on these BBS machines is one of their secret weapons as to their extreme depth and stability.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?22,1502697

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Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/2012 12:45AM by Critterhunter.

Maybe Kellyco will special order the only two coils (4.5x7 and 10x14) they don't carry for people if they asked? Since Kellyco is the authorized US dealer for Detech.

Of particular note is that they still make Sovereign versions of the elusive 4.5x7 trash coil and 10x14 that I think both only came out about 3 years ago (?) and appear to have never been carried here in the US by Kellyco. Well, the 10x14 for various machines is carried by Kellyco but not the Sovereign version, but I don

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Edited 10 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2012 12:10PM by Critterhunter.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1775173

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