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Converted Sovereign meter

M

Minelab50

New member
I have a digital meter with Sovereign printed above the display. The four screws are visible so I'm guessing it has
been converted from a 550 to either a 170 or 180 meter. When I calibrate the meter it doesn't set exactly on
170 or 180 but somewhere in between. So what should I set the number to? Can anyone explain why this is happening?

good diggin randy
 
What is the highest reading you can get on that quarter in disc? If it is less than 180 then the coarse calibration inside may not have been adjusted before it was put back together. This reading will be the highest reading you can possibly get by sweeping back and forth over just the quarter trying to get the numbers as high as possible. Also do the calibration in auto or low sensitivity so the number will be more stable and easier to calibrate.
 
Question is it a 550 or 180 meter?Take a US Quarter or Dime and try to calibrate the numbers to match either number most of the time it will be 550.If it calibrates to 180 you are good and don't fix what's not broken.When you have a 550 meter the R1 and R2 resistors must be changed including the tuning pot original 10k to a 1k.Once these ML meters are apart adjust the internal pot calibration if needed.Temp changes,ground conditions,and different coils will effect range calibration,so some room is needed for these factors.Once the meter has the resistors and pot changed make sure the meter is working before assembling.With a US Quarter adjust the main pot to the max and min you get 159-185 which is too low. 159+21=180 or 185-5=180,better adjustment max set to 194 for a US Quarter more in the middle now a min of 164-194 164-180-194 which 164+16=180+14=194.I sent Jim back his converted meter without enough room which would read 186 with the external pot maxed with a US Quarter using a Tornado 800 coil and made no adjustments on the internal pot.Bottom line the ML meter would not calibrate to 180 for the S-12 coil.he used.The internal pot should have been adjusted higher. HH Ron
 
What i have always did after i was done and the meter still apart is connected it back up to the Sovereign and set the calibration control on the back of the meter to the half way point of travel. Now turn on the Sovereign while in disc I will wave the quarter by the coil and adjust the main (coarse) calibration control inside the meter to 180 or within a number or 2. Now you will have plenty of adjustment for temp change or changing coils.
I got this info off a Sovereign mod forums years ago and it seems to work great.
 
Thanks for all the input guys I'll try out what you're talking about and get back to you on this.

Again thanks, I'm new to digital meters and having started relic hunting with my Sovereign GT need the edge with the meter combo.

good diggin randy
 
Thanks Synthnut, Ron & Rick. I adjusted the range pot from 175 thru185 with 180 being the pot center. It locks dead on at 180 when
a quarter, dime and penny are passed under the coil. I calibrated in Disc mode with the auto setting and then very low sensitivity about 10%.
It work's great.

You guys are the best!

good diggin randy
 
Rick,
I have a few coils here to test out ......As Ron said , I did my best to get my meter to adjust to 180 waving a quarter running the Surnay S-12 coil to no avail .. ........I centered the external pot on the back of the unit to the center position and then opened the meter up and adjusted my meter trim pot on the INSIDE of the meter all the way to one side, and also had to adjust my EXTERNAL pot almost all the way to one side to get the Sunray S-12 coil to read 180 on a quarter .......NOW all my other coils are way off in the reading and I can't any of them to read 180 on a quarter unless I reverse all my adjustments made for the S-12 coil .....The other coils are all in the same range however ......Just to double check , I have not only one , but 2 Sunray S-12 coils .....I have the older version and the newer version .......They both read the same which means they read differently than ANY other coils that I have that are all in the same reading ball park ...... This leads me to believe that the S-12 is just an oddball coil , and stands alone when it comes to calibrating it for the Sovereign 180 meter ......Jim

BTW ... I wonder if they make a resistor that can be used that would have a wider number range ? ........Jim
 
Jim,

What I understand is the meter will not calibrate to 180 with the external calibration control at half way and the inside one at max with the S12. Will it work with the smaller coil with the external one half way and using the one inside set it for 180?? If it does we know the meter is working like it should, but for a bigger coil it is not. It is made to be adjusted to any coil you use and if i remember right the S-12 would read like 175 or so and I would have to set the calibration a little higher, when putting my 8 inch coil on I had to lower it a bit as it would read high.
You should have a range of number with the calibration control to cover any coil you use, if you don't this meter is not working correctly and it can be a faulty component, bad solder connection or even a bad wire someplace. Maybe someone else other then Ron tried to do a mod and used the wrong parts before.
I don't have a meter right now and maybe someone else can post what the max and min numbers will be on a 180 meter when the calibration control is maxed out and set as low as it will go and see if you are getting the same spread of numbers.

Rick
 
Rick,
I can do a perfect adjustment with the external pot in the center, and have room to move one way or the other on any other coil I have except the 2- Sunray S-12's .........I thought perhap's it was just the one S-12 that I have , but I also have an older S-12, and it reads the same way as the newer one .....The meter reads fine on all the other coils .....I have tried a 8 inch Coinsearch , a 10 inch 1000 series, a 10 inch Tornado , and a Sunray S-5........They can ALL be set by the external ajdustment with plenty of travel on either side of the center mark ..... The S-12's are the culprits .....I will hook up the coils to my Sovereign XS and see how they read on that machine ....If the meter was the culprit , I would think that I would NOT be able to get good readings on all the other coils....The fact that I am getting right around the same reading on BOTH S-12's tells me that there is something different about them ....Jim
 
I was curious after reading about the s-12s and tested my new 12 x 15 SEF coil with the meter attached. The meter locked on at 180
with a slight adjustment using the external pot.

randy
 
Randy,
I used a 10 x 12 SEF on my earlier Sov GT , and it adjusted to the meter just like all the other coils ......This is my first year with the SunRay S-12's and they BOTH ( early model, and newer model ) do NOT read like any of the other coils that all read within a number or two of each other .....Jim
 
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