Sovereign the main detector or backup detector??

[Rick(ND)]

Of all those that have a Sovereign how many use it for the main detector or a backup detector to one of the others out there and which would be your main detector?

Myself I love my Sovereign, but have tried others trying to learn others, but will always have a Sovereign. The reason is I have a Sun Ray meter and a S-1 probe on mine and find I can tell the trash from good target better then any other detector I have used. So if I had one day to detect a old yard that has a well groomed lawn and wanted to get the most good targets without digging extra plugs for trash the Sovereign is the detector i would use. Now others detectors will do a good job too, but for me I don't get as many good target to the number of hole I did.
Now with my health I don't get out too much like I used to, so my Sovereign has been sitting on the wall for the last 2 years and haven't even tried the 10X12 SEF coil I bought and put on it, but just got to soon.
I been using a CTX 3030 trying to learn it and when I go out and I do dig much more trash that i ever did, but that is normal until I get used to it like my Sovereign.
At this point if i could only have one detector for all around detecting for me the Sovereign GT I have would be the one, but being I can have 2 or more the GT and the CTX are the 2 I will keep.
Just wondering what others feel about this and if a person knows there Sovereign well how many will always keep a Sovereign around.

Rick

 

[Neil]

Count me in about the same Rick. Ive got one Elite rigged to hunt and get out about once a month with it at most. Its got the 10X12 SEF on it, no meter or probe, just what I need for beach hunting.
I have put away a few Elite control boxes for the future should the one I have rigged ever fail and also some other coils as well.
As good as my Etrac is(I think its the best performing detector Ive ever owned) its been collecting dust. I hunt more now with an AT Gold with the 8" coil, mainly because its light, easy to operate and actually does a great job. It doesn't go as deep as the Etrac or Sov, but its a more enjoyable detector to use.
I always plan on having a Sov and still get amazed by it from time to time on how deep it will find the gold.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Rick,I have a Explorer SE and a Sovereign Elite.The Sovereign is my main unit especially for a serious park or yard searches.The Sovereign is deep and I don't have to ruin the landscape digging targets.If I want to do extra work and dig more targets the Sovereign has always come through finding nice gold.Nothing like a good Sovereign with a S-1 probe and a 180 meter.No, I haven't used all the newer detectors,if it came down to just one detector my pick would be a Sovereign. Ron

 

[tomtomnc]

Hi Rick , I run my Gt 80% of the time and my Troy Shadow x2 15% along with other detectors. I
I would never want to sale my GT because it performs so well. I once pulled up a broken gold wedding band at 11'' in a open field in a old park. Both half was sitting at the bottom of the hole.The signal was soft but it was hitting144 on my 180 digi meter. I had a friend that was hunting with me that day and he was amazed at the find. I also run a Elite with a SEF 10x12 rigged for water and beach hunting. Hard set up to beat on the beach. In my mind the Sovereign is first and everything else comes in second. I know there are stronger and better detectors out there but I have a great time running the Gt as my primary detector. HH

 

[goodmore]

I have owned about 8 different Sovereigns the last few years. Some I sold to finance other detector purchases. Some I sold to finance other hobby or personal purchases. After each sale I always have a feeling that the detector arsenal is missing something important. I have the CTX and it truely is a wonderful detector. But when it comes to wet sand hunting at the beach the Sovereign just flat out performs. And the most fun I have in this hobby is hunting a sandy slope with a chest mounted Sovereign. It is hard to explain, but that is what it boils down to. I just have fun beach detecting with a Sovereign, and I don't want to use any other detector. It is simple. It works very well. And it is fun.

 

[Rick(ND)]

I was hoping others feel as I do about the Sovereign and see I am correct and bet there is many more too that haven't responded.
The Sovereign is a great detector and wish Minelab would have kept it in its lineup of detectors and maybe made it lighter and come with a built in meter. I also found out the Sovereigns are built tough too as out of all the new ones I had sold only 1 had a problem with the sensitivity control, several used ones I had bought off the auction site did have some problem with as some opened them up and tried to do some mods without knowing what they were doing and had problems with tones as they all seem to sound alike.
I also feel for gold rings and such the Sovereign is great once you know it a bit as gold seems to give a smoother tones and like one of my better gold rings sounded like a nickle, but the meter reading was showing a beaver tail, but it sounded too smooth and had to dig it to see it was a old gold signet rings a good 11 inches deep in a Field of pull tabs (was under where a old bleacher were in a ball Field). The Sovereign is a nickle killer and can easily tell the difference in the pull tabs and nickles even if it is a war nickle which will read higher numbers and match many pull tabs as it is much smoother sounding, only detector I see that can do this.

Thanks again for everyone feedback and hope this will give a little confidence to those trying to learn the Sovereign yet as my response is don't give up and you will be impressed when you do understand it.

Rick

 

[OldBeechnut]

I use my Sovereign as a test machine for audio now, and plug types...it found a few golds then I parked her because Did not want to lose her to the saltwater mist. So she is still serving me well.

 

[Maxwedge]

Hi Rick,

I guess I'll always have the Gt with the S-1 probe and the 180 meter setup on it. Once you are pretty good with it, I believe it will dig less trash than most other detectors. Mine will always be my baby. It's paid for itself many times, and I had some great teachers, all on this forum. The people that made the decision to quit making the sovereign lineup obviously don't use detectors. It's sad-no knowledge, but power. Maybe Minelab will come back with a lightweight version of the sovereign that is waterproof somedayl.
HH-RICK AND EVERYBODY-MARK

 

[Rick(ND)]

Hi Mark,

You are still using my GT set up yet I take it, it was a great detector and know it did great for me when I had it. When I sold it to you I had another one on order and was able to find another Sun Ray 180 which is my all time favorite meter. Those that spend the time to learn them I think will always keep one around as you do dig less trash and more keepers. We do like to try new detectors too as I have a CTX 3030 trying to learn, so my GT has been sitting for a while and can see this on my finds too as I don't seem to find as many keepers, but my trash bag is always full when I can get out.

Good Luck to you Mark
Rick

 

[Fletch88]

I feel the same way about the Sovereign line! If ML took the internals of a GT and designed them into a housing that was 1/2 as durable/ water resistant as the Sand Shark, it would be the ultimate beach machine, not that it's not already, I just don't like having to bag it up all the time to keep salt spray out of it.

 

[Maxwedge]

HI RICK. IT'S THE SAME ONE I GOT FROM YOU AND IT'S HEALTH IS BETTER THAN MINE, LOL. IT'S A GREAT SETUP.. GOOD LUCK,ALL-MARK

 

[GeorgeinSC]

My front line machine for dirt fishing is the Sovereign GT. I have had it less than two years and it has paid for itself and more. I am primarily a coin hunter and the GT does an amazing job for me.

When I go to the beach I take the Excalibur II as I would hate to get the GT wet while wading in the surf. A few more good finds and the Excal will have repaid me for its cost.