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Sovereign Coil choices for Excalibur...

C

cabochris

New member
Hi all, I'm looking to try some aftermarket Sovereign coils on my Excaliburs. I have a blue 1000 with 10" Tornado (put on by ML) and an 800 II. Since I mainly hunt in the water, I will use waterproof connectors and am very interested in the SEF 12X10. Based on all the good reviews, seems like it could be a winner on Excalibur and provide an edge over 10" Tornado. For me a WOT is simply too big to swing for hours underwater. But I have always wondered about the Platypus coil on an Excalibur? Most seem to like that coil too.

But I'm also interested in trying either the Sun Ray or EXcelerator 5 inch coil on my Excalibur too. For real trashy beaches I hunt. I was all set to go with the SunRay until I discovered that the EXcelerator 5" was made by the same company that makes the SEF coils? That is if I'm not mistaken about that? So which do you Sovereign guys like better, the SR of EX 5"?

Finally, I like both my Excaliburs and both have been modified to Goldmaster Headphones for superior audio. I believe the Excal II 800 goes deeper than my blue 1000 in the salt. Perhaps that is because of the new shielding? I ask because I wonder which machine might perform better with aftermarket coil swaps? The idea behind both the SEF and 5" coils is that both should allow for higher sensitivity settings. The 5 inch because it is smaller and the SEF by new design. Perhaps those coils might perform better on the Excal II? I would rather experiment on my older blue tube, but not if Excalibur II is the better transplant choice? With the price of gold, I'll take any advantage I can get! All thoughts and help appreciated. CC.
 
I found the 15x12 to give me too much drag in the water. The 10" Tornado is great and plan to try my 12x10 in the water this summer. Many use the S-12, but remember it's been out longer than the 12x10. My 12x10 is more stable than my 10" Tornado in iron or high minerals, so I would suspect it would also be more stable in salt. Both are excellent coils, though, but on a fresh water beach on the great lakes hunting the dry sand the 12x10 was deeper than the 10" coil and more stable. This was mineralized sand with a lot of microscopic iron as well. My 15x12 was very deep in dry sand. Not sure yet if the 12x10 is as deep as it in the sand, but on land in my soil the 12x10 is deeper than both the 15x12 and my 10" coil...Or so it looks like it so far. I have the S-5 and it gets outstanding depth. Like 7 or 8" even in Auto, which is deeper than many other machines on the market in my soil even if they were using a 9 or 10" coil. But I'd really have to have a TON of iron on the beach to want to use the S-5 there. It's meant for super trashy parks.
 
All i can say is I hit a quarter on the beach Xmas eve that was a measured 16" deep on the edge of a ripple trough. I was astonished. That was on my Elite with sens at 12 o clock with the 10x12 SEF... Very soft clean tone... I love the SEF.
 
I use the 12x15 on the beach at a nice slow pace but its way to much drag in the water.
 
Great info! Sounds like the SEF is a go then. Several say the SEF is more stable, is sensitive and seems to lock onto targets. The 12X10 SEF is about as big a coil I would want to swing for hours on an Excalibur in the sea. I would prefer even a smaller SEF coil, but I guess they do not make one for the Sovereign?

Regarding a 5 inch DD coil- There is one particular beach in the Caribbean that has 18 K gold. But it also has some black sand, aluminum junk, trash and old junk coins made with iron. A nightmare even for an Excalibur! With the 800 and serious concentration one can weed out some gold. But one is listening for just blips of tones! There's simply not enough time on vacation to dig every target. Besides the ground is a tough mud-like clay! But lots of gold has be recovered here in the past and I feel there is an untouched layer to be had because of the junk. The 800 coil is pretty small and I have no idea if a 5" DD would perform better there or not? I think it would and just a few extra pieces of gold found would make trying one worth the effort. It seems like both the SR and EX 5" coils are liked.
 
The WOT is a great coil. I had one that was hardwired to an Excalibur. I was amazed at the small targets it would hit. But after 7 hours in the sea my arm was about to fall off! The next day I adjusted to "Walk-in the Dog"... where I simply did not swing the coil, but walked a straight line underwater with the WOT held beside me. There was no problem with pinpointing. Seemed to work OK, but since I did not clean house with the WOT, I went back to my 10 and 8 inch machines. It is interesting that for general hunting in the Caribbean shallow water sands, my group finds more using the 8 inch coils over the 10s. I'm not sure why this is, but have to wonder if the 800 is more sensitive to gold in the salt despite the smaller footprint? If I had to pick one machine for my style of Caribbean detecting, it would be an 800. But now with the price of gold, I'm looking for any advantage. Coils that will help me to find more gold in the least time while on treasure hunting vacations. Over the years I have found most detector modifications really do not improve my finds rate. But every now and then a few mods really do make a difference. And the only way to find out is to try them! Perhaps I should have worked more with the WOT/Excal transplant? But for underwater I lean towards smaller coils. I'm hoping the 12X10 SEF will turn out to be an improvement over the 10" Tornado. If not, then there is the 10X8 Platypus to try. If neither gives a clear advantage, then I'll give up on the 1000 and switch to 2 800s. But something tells me the SEF will be a plesant surprise!
 
cabochris said:
The WOT is a great coil. I had one that was hardwired to an Excalibur. I was amazed at the small targets it would hit. But after 7 hours in the sea my arm was about to fall off! The next day I adjusted to "Walk-in the Dog"... where I simply did not swing the coil, but walked a straight line underwater with the WOT held beside me. There was no problem with pinpointing. Seemed to work OK, but since I did not clean house with the WOT, I went back to my 10 and 8 inch machines. It is interesting that for general hunting in the Caribbean shallow water sands, my group finds more using the 8 inch coils over the 10s. I'm not sure why this is, but have to wonder if the 800 is more sensitive to gold in the salt despite the smaller footprint? If I had to pick one machine for my style of Caribbean detecting, it would be an 800. But now with the price of gold, I'm looking for any advantage. Coils that will help me to find more gold in the least time while on treasure hunting vacations. Over the years I have found most detector modifications really do not improve my finds rate. But every now and then a few mods really do make a difference. And the only way to find out is to try them! Perhaps I should have worked more with the WOT/Excal transplant? But for underwater I lean towards smaller coils. I'm hoping the 12X10 SEF will turn out to be an improvement over the 10" Tornado. If not, then there is the 10X8 Platypus to try. If neither gives a clear advantage, then I'll give up on the 1000 and switch to 2 800s. But something tells me the SEF will be a plesant surprise!
Click to expand...

One thing you have to consider and that is LUCK plays a big part of what you will find no matter what coil U use. I just like the WOT in the salt and it has done a good job for me so far. For SCUBA I would go with the 8
 
Very true! There is plain pure luck- like winning the lotto. But you still have to get a ticket. To improve my luck I like to balance the right mix of knowledge, research, insight, state of mind, equipment and location choice/time. In doing so, perhaps I can become lucky because everything comes together for that opportunity? But still one has to put the coil over the target, then be able to hear and recover it! You are right, luck plays a big role. Have you or anyone else tried the Coiltek 8X10 DD Platypus? Is that a GREAT coil for beach/shallow water work?
 
cabochris said:
Very true! There is plain pure luck- like winning the lotto. But you still have to get a ticket. To improve my luck I like to balance the right mix of knowledge, research, insight, state of mind, equipment and location choice/time. In doing so, perhaps I can become lucky because everything comes together for that opportunity? But still one has to put the coil over the target, then be able to hear and recover it! You are right, luck plays a big role. Have you or anyone else tried the Coiltek 8X10 DD Platypus? Is that a GREAT coil for beach/shallow water work?
Click to expand...
I have not. I am from the school of BIG & DEEP=WOT (except for SCUBA)
 
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