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Explorer SE...First Impressions

M

Mike (Virginia Beach)

New member
And so fresh, I haven't even HUNTED with it yet. But I had it sent to my work (Thanks JW and KellyCo!) so I wouldn't have to chase it down at UPS tonight. And so far I've assembled it and played with it a little...on my BREAK, of course! :lol:

So here's what I like so far.

1) The Darth Vader look...VERY cool! I can see picking up a lot of chicks with this thing, for sure! :super:

2) The new song...EXCELLENT! I was getting a little tired of the old one. I'm hoping I can download some MP3's and some new wallpaper for it later tonight! :)

3) The new slimline coil...this is great...reminds me of the 10" Tornado on my old Sovereign Elite...one of my favorite coils ever. :thumbup:

4) The pinpointing...now THAT'S COOL! I really like the new VCO pinpointing...BIG improvement, in my opinion.

5) The speed of everything...boot up, screen refreshes, menu changes...you can tell it has a faster processor and improved LCD.

Now here's what I HATE:

My new baby and I are both at work and it's a beautiful day out. And my lunch is over. :cry:

But I think it's safe to say that I am going to love this machine as much as I did my Explorer II and probably a bit more. Hopefully I will have a "First Hunt" post soon.
 
Knowing Mike and his excellent detecting abilities his followup posts ought to be dandies...and can't wait.....
 
First off, I mean no disrespect to you or any Minelab products. I believe you're premature in your analysis of the SE, like my son was until I educated him. My son and I were standing atop of a little knoll over looking a large field known to hold many old silver coins. My son, with his new Explorer SE in hand says to me, "Dad, let's run down there and find a silver coin real fast"! With my age, experience and wisdom, I said to my son, "NO, let's walk down there with the Explorer II and find them all"! ;)
 
Well, I've heard the non-metal detecting version of that joke before and it's cute.

But I disagree that there is anything premature in my analysis. Because my analysis of the Explorer SE was simply of the features and how it differs from the Explorer II, which I've been hunting successfully with for the last year. There are IMPROVEMENTS in the SE that make it even more versatile than the II. Another I like is the different tone dynamics available, like the "Long", "Smooth", and "Hold" features. I think I like the "Smooth" over the "Normal" but will have to make a judgment on that with use. I know I like the way it pinpoints better. As for it's depth capabilities, I'm not looking for a great deal more depth, IF ANY. That WOULD be nice. But it's pretty hard to improve on something that's already near perfection. I look on the SE as "evolutionary", not "revolutionary". But I also certainly don't expect it to be any LESS capable than the II.

Tomorrow I'm going to hit my 6 year old test range in my backyard. I have targets marked on my fence that are buried from 5 to 10+ inches in some hard, rough ground. Targets are a musket ball, several silver coins, a couple of nickels, and a zinc penny. I've tested my CZ-70, the Quattro, and the Explorer II out there and there are several targets that are VERY tough to get. There are a couple my CZ wouldn't hit that the Explorer II and the Quattro can BARELY hit. But both Minelabs did hit them all, though they took some coaxing. Once I run over those with the SE I'll be able to say with more certainty whether you are like the wise old bull or full of same. (And I mean no disrespect whatsoever by THAT either) ;)
 
:) And I will follow with my 6 year old XS and find the rest. Sorry, I will probably get an SE, maybe in a year, but the original XS from 2000 is still tickin and takin a lickin and since I am not in a hurry to hunt any spot out, (benefit of being retired) the ole original XS is still just as good in finding those targets as the Explorer 2 and the SE. Experience with the machine and knowing your hunting conditions is still paramount over any small subtle changes ML might have made........................

HH all :)

Don in SJ
 
I believe he said how he liked his SE SO FAR. Not how much deeper and better it finds coins. Don't try to drag a brotha down because he has a new detector.

I have both the EX II and the SE and the EX will find everything the SE will. The new pinpointing feature and the faster processor are really nice. Worth the upgrade??? Prolly not, but it sure is nice to have.

HH, Stoops
 
I can't wait to hear from Mike. His opinion on things is always spot on. I have a couple of question for Mike I would like to ask. 1 what type of coins did you bury next to the fence? 2 What time do you leave for work? LOL. Mike Let me know how you like it. I was more concerned what the difference is on the deep targets, like weather or not the round sounds can still be heard with the fluty noise I'm accustomed to? Those are the sounds I like to dig here in Michigan. I also would like to know about the co located targets. Thanks for everything Mike. It's because of your advise last year that I found this coin, A 1909 S VDB. If your new to the Explorer, listen to this guy, he's the real deal.

Tom in Michigan
 
Tom, I sure thank you for your comments. There are certainly many here more knowledgeable and experienced with the Explorer than I. But I did learn it quickly and have always done well with it and don't view the SE as functionally different enough to even be a speedbump in my detecting, though I am looking forward to hunting with the "new" machine, even if the improvements are slight. And if I helped you with advice in the past, I'm glad it did. That's a hell of a find there with that VDB!

I would say that I am more of an expert with the Excalibur than the Explorer because compared to some, I use a lot less of the advanced features of the Explorer. I mostly hunt in Iron Mask (-16 on the Explorer, probably 29 now on the SE) and listen to it all (and that's where I'm keen, on the tones and the digital numbers)...not a REAL big Smart Screen guy, though I frequently switch over just for the knowledge. And then I dig what I thinks sounds good or has the right numbers.

As for the coins by my fence, as I said, they are all deep. And they have definitely sunk some since I planted them. I have a musketball, a '30's quarter, a '40's Merc, a clad quarter, a clad dime, a regular nickel, a zinc penny, and a wheatie. I'm with you on the high pitch of a silver coin in the 00-29 range. The first thing I did on the SE was to run the Variability up to max, as I like the sound silver coins make there. And of course I turned on "Deep" and keep "Fast" off. I did find that with both my Explorer II and the Quattro, if I got "greedy" and ran my sensitivity too high (I'm talking IN MY YARD here) that the performance was FAR less than if I ran it at 18. I posted about that here too. I found that on some of the deepest and toughest targets, if I had it on 24 I got NOTHING but at 18 I could get a good signal. So it depends on the ground in question and other factors as to how high you can go and at what point you hurt yourself with too much. Of course out in the field I run more, but I have also found that running it as high as you can and have a stable machine and threshold does not always mean you are getting the best depth. Sometimes you need to run it down a little even if it seems to be happy. So when I have a deep target that sounds really good I will frequently experiment a little before I dig, playing with the sensitivity and seeing how it affects the signal. I try to make every hunt a learning experience.

I will post my test results in seeing if the SE hits my deep test targets well and if I think it's better, worse, or about the same in comparison to the Explorer II and the Quattro.

HH!
 
MIke
I to like smooth. I don't like the blanking.
 
Well said Don...I think from what I've read from posts here on the different models of explorers is that their ability to find deep targets is pretty much the same...Probably more the ability of the individual user & his or her experience useing it than anything else....Mike seems to be posting his honest opinion of the new SE & I value that input...I am still looking to come across an explorer that I can afford....XS, ll, SE...YES I WOULD PREFER to have the newest model available but that probably won't happen as my ambition exceeds my income...I posted earlier on why I like this forum so much...It's because there is not a lot of mine is bigger than yours crap going on...Don't believe me??? Check out the Fisher forum.... But that aside, I for one am interested in the new features of the SE & how actual USERS find that they like them...VCO pinpointing for example....Is it worth it??? Or would an EXP. ll user rather shell out another $200 for an X-1...I DON'T KNOW & it's here that I'll find out...MIKE...YOU KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT POSTS...MOST here value your sincere input....Thanks....Tom
 
Even though I'm just a wannabe Exp. user...I'm expecting the results are gonna be similar...I mean...Hasn't minelab TOLD everybody what changes have been made??? Am I missing something here...Faster Recovery??? Pitch Hold??? VCO Pinpointing??? Y'all chill out..let Mike do his thing & post HIS OPINION.....
 
The way I see it, it's just as you said...Minelab HAS told everybody what changes were made. And the changes are good. But I also haven't heard any grandiose claims made either. I don't think anybody expects the SE to be a quantum leap in detecting technology...more like a new revision Explorer with some meaningful improvements. Could you do JUST as well with the II or the XS? Quite probably. The Explorer II has made me happy enough that my previously beloved CZ-70 has been out of a job and sitting in the closet ever since I got my hands on it. And the CZ is a hell of a machine. I will never get rid of it because when all else fails, that dog can hunt. But the improvements on the SE make it even less likely that the CZ will see the light of day any time soon. :shrug:
 
Why thankyou, yes, I would love a new Explorer right now, even a new XS if one was available, but I have a similar situation, being on retirement income does limit ones ability to buy a one grand or so detector everytime a new version comes out. Now that my original is 6 years old, I am trying to stretch it lasting another year and if the SE is the latest and greatest Explorer at that time, then that will be my replacement.
My original XS is still performing electronically as good as the day I got it, I have no need to spend money that I do not have at the moment for another model, unless this one breaks, and I am a rough woods, brush beating hunter and the XS is still going strong. It has some tape, a clamp holding the upper shaft, since the camlocks are weak in design, I even have not had the original arm cuff, since I went thru 3 of them in the first two years, I made my own out of PVC and never a problem again. I love my XS, and will continue to do so till the day that the electronics either go haywire or it breaks in half, and then I would probably splint and tape back together again and continue using it. :)

My finds since December 2000 with the Explorer have exceeded anything I thought possible. Having such a great detector inspired me to try harder to get the older stuff and it all came together for doing just that.

HH

Don
 
my ExplorerII, for me the II just sounds more solid and more of a round sound on coins then the SE. I am trying hard to make myself like the SE more because of the new pinpoint and this weekend I will have to make my cut, anybody looking for a discounted SE?
 
Run up the sen some wherever you are at. The tones will clean up better then running gain at 8 or 8+. You can get a better ID on the targets also. Soon as I dropped the gain down some on my SE everything got better not to mention better more accurate ID and more depth. The pinpoint ID is really something. I think it will ID better on really deeper targets when you pinpoint then regular dis. and I have never ran anything even on my Exp ll other then iron mask 16 and now 32 or AM on the SE. Maybe one day I will run something other then AM but I just hate the damn nulling. I wished my Excal would run AM with the tones like the Exp. will do. The pinpoint in AM is dead on in ID and you don't lose the target in the damn hole like you do on the deep targets with the Exp ll. You don't need a damn probe either the pinpoint is that good. My Vibra-probe has not been used since I got the SE. Also the depth will up date on the depth meter so you can tell if you got two targets close together in Pinpoint mode The audio will change on the two targets if they are at different depths. Not to mention you can now ID both of the targets in the hole just buy moving around some in Pinpoint and re pinpointing. I have run my exp ll about 2.5 years now and I think the SE is a better machine. I think the tones are clearer, cleaner, and the targets ID better then my old Exp ll. I just finished hunting a beach over in Jacksonville Fl. with my SE that my CZ 70 would not even G/B on. There was so much black sand there it was unbelievable. I was able to run the SE at Sen.25, Gain 6, ferrous,Iron mask at 32 or AM. This beach is hard to hunt due to the black sand and everything is down 10, 12"s. The SE did better then my Excal on depth. This is a really bad black sand beach and the only thing that will hunt there is Fishers multifreq's and Mine labs and that is it. I hunted 20 days straight 4 and 5 hours at a time. SE is better balanced then the Exp ll. As far as being a sensitive machine I dug 2 baby rings one 10 kt one 14kt both weighed in at a big .3grams, one 14 kt white gold 2006 First Coast class ring that was 35 grams and was returned to a single mother for her son Matt Jones. She was just about to spend another $450 on a replacement High School ring for him. It was really fun to return that one, to someone who really needed it back. Man, my class ring cost $25. Of coarse I am 62 and that was a while ago. Dug one 925 22 inch boom chuck-ah-lucka 33 grams (thats what I call them) chain link neck less. Some junk earing's toe rings and more coins then I wanted to bother to count. I never dig coins when I am at the beach because I never have that much time but now I am retired and beside there was not that many pull tabs on this beach for some reason. Maybe because it is hunted a lot. The target response is quicker on the SE and you really notice it in the trash and in the iron. I think you need to play around with the SE a little more. I have over 200 hours on mine now and I am telling you right now I would NEVER go back to the Exp ll even as good as the Exp ll is. The up dates for me was really worth it and I would not hesitate to do it all over again. I hated to have to use the probe in the hole because the target had disappeared. I am getting to old for all that getting up and down crap and taking all that time to find a lost target in a hole. Now with the SE if it rolls up on it's side you use the pinpoint to find out it is still in the hole or out of the hole without using the probe. I still carry my vi bra probe but it sure don't get used anymore. I know I don't post much, as I hunt a lot. Maybe I am just tired of reading the crap the naysayers keep putting out about the SE. I have not seen one person say the SE gets more depth then the Exp ll. However it is all the other updates that is so impressive to me. Everything they say that was a improvement to the Exp ll is just that and was worth me selling my old Expll and getting the SE. Oh one last thing. If you don't have a 4.5 X 7" accelerator coil you sure don't know what you are missing. That is the best damn coil for the Explorer I have ever used. It will out preform the M/L 7.5, and Joey coil hands down. You can run it wide open at a sen of 32 and dig stuff at 10". It separates better in the iron and trash better then any coil I have ever used on my Explorers and Id is dead on. I just thought I would throw that in for you guys. I know this is a long one but what the hell I am retired and I can sleep in tomorrow or any day for that matter. Besides I very seldom ever say anything on these forums anyway. Well back to lurking and everyone get out and go hunting tomorrow I know I will be. :D: :D: :thumbup: Later Jerry aka Tinfoil.
 
Wow, Jerry...whoever pulled your string, I'm glad they did. :lol: As you say, you DON'T write much around here and please know that you didn't waste your time as I read every word of it and appreciate that you took the time to write it.

You brought up some things that I didn't realize yet as I have only been casually reading the book so far. I'm more of a "get out there and stumble though it until I figure it out" knid of guy and was thinking I know how to hunt with the Explorer II, so what's to know? The info on the Gain is good to know. And the fact that your Vibraprobe is out of a job...that's impressive. Also, I have the 4 x7 on order (back order) so will be running that one as well in short time. I'll be doing some testing and hopefully some hunting today. HH!
 
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