Sovereign for beach.

[artman60]

Hi, I have an Excalibur II which I use at/in salt water beaches. Probably 80% of the time it's in the wet sand, but I do go in the water occasionally. Was talking with a Sovereign user at one of the beaches, and I did like the idea of using/swapping different coils. My understanding is that the electronics of the two are basically the same. The thought I'm having is that I'd rather get a sovereign for the days when I'm not entering the water, rather than trying to set up the Excal for the ability to swap coils. I believe the waterproofness of the Excal is strongest if I don't alter it, and buying a Sovereign for the ability to swap coils gives me a second/back up detector. When I'm on the wet sand I do like the thought of covering more ground by getting one of the large coils. So now to my real question, what am I looking for in a Sovereign? Models? Coils? Accesories? I appreciate all the help/opinions/info anyone can send me. Thank you, Artie

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Hey artie, i have a sov gt and excal 1000... the sov gt works great on the beach you certainly have more options for influencing the set up just because there are more controls, coils ect... if your just hunting dry sand or ankle deep water then you should be ok... cant risk getting it wet or you lose alot of money real quick also the salt mist could have a negative effect on the exposed metal hardware and possibly internal electronics... prior to getting an excal i used the gt at the beach alot but anymore not so much..just dont really think its worth it in the long as i always seem to end up it the water... i used the 14 in. Wot coil quite a bit on the gt at the beach , how deep do wish to dig for beer cans and matchbox cars lol.. if you can keep the gt clean and dry it's fine but if not it aint worth the risk.. just my 2 cents worth...

 

[artman60]

I'm just thinking that I can cover a whole lot more beach (wet Sand) with a larger coil. I don't really want to cut my factory coil wires and splice to add a larger coil to the Excal. Also pretty sure I can't work a larger coil in the surf. Being used to he Excal, gotta think the Sovereign would be pretty easy to adjust to, also wouldn't mind having a good salt water beach back up detector. Thank you for the reply. Artie

 

[GeorgeinSC]

I concur with bootyhound. The Gt is an Excellent Beach machine BUT. It is susceptible to corrosion from the salt in the air. Also if you get it wet you may very well ruin it.

 

[goodmore]

Any model Sovereign will work. I have used them all. I have never seen a difference in depth to be honest. My favorite model is the XS-2A. No particular reason. I just love the model. If you purchase an older model make sure the battery components are all there. The little board that the AA battery holders plud into is missing in many of the older models, and their rechargeable batteries are sure to be at the end of their life. The 12 x 10 SEF coil gets good press in all the forums when combined with the Sovereign. The Makro Racer 2 is another option. For a single frquency machine the Racer 2 is very very good. It rmains quiet and stable in the surf and give you a target ID in the dry sand where the trash is a pain.

 

[Cameraniac]

Chest-mount the control box, using a hip-mount bag. Before putting the control box in to the hip-mount bag, put it in a gallon sized zip-loc bag. Make a hole in the zip-loc for the coil cable, and then just close the bag up to the headphone cord. Works well for keeping the salt spray off of the control box. I also put lo-tack tape over the speaker hole.

 

[dewcon4414]

U can use a quart zip lock over the box to protect it some what and just snap it back on the shaft. Since the use the same coils as the xcal if yours goes at least u have a coil. Larger coils cover a lot more sand and is mucher deeper in the dry. But....u may have to turn down the sensitivity. ..... then the standard coil can be its equal near the surf. U can swap phones as well. The Sov seems to id good targets next to junk better.

 

[Cameraniac]

U can use a quart zip lock over the box to protect it some what and just snap it back on the shaft. Since the use the same coils as the xcal if yours goes at least u have a coil. Larger coils cover a lot more sand and is mucher deeper in the dry. But....u may have to turn down the sensitivity. ..... then the standard coil can be its equal near the surf. U can swap phones as well. The Sov seems to id good targets next to junk better.

It may have been a quart sized bag that i used to use. Hey, it's been awhile. I like to use the bag with the slider on it.

 

[sonnar28]

I use the exact setup that you suggest - Excal with stock coil for the water, and Sovereign GT for the wet sand. The Sovereign GT model is still supported by Minelab, meaning there are machines still under warranty. Parts are available for the Elite, but are very hard to find for earlier models.

I bag the Sovereign in a plastic produce bag from the grocery store, poking a hole to run the headphone cord (I use black widows for the GT), and wrap the bag closed with electrical tape around the cord to the coil. I almost always hip mount.

The Ultimate 13 coil and the NEL Attack (15 inch) coil are killer wet sand/all metal coils, the Ultimate 13 is significantly lighter to my arm. The WOT coil also gives excellent depth, but it is more temperamental to use, and is not light.

You mentioned wanting large coil options, but the Coiltek 5 x 10 coil is excellent for stud earrings or chains at the high tide line/towel line, you would be surprised what the stock 10 inch coil can miss.

Get the Sovereign GT, you will not regret it.

Happy Hunting!

Charles

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The Sovereign would be a lot lighter and much easier to change coils.Another plus the Sovereign is easy to install a remote pinpoint switch and you have an option of a ID meter.The down side the Sovereign control box life is going to be short lived in a beach environment if not weather proofed better.