Sovereign XS-2a Pro MODS ??

[Cal_Cobra]

I'm considering picking up a Sovereign XS-2a Pro from a guy that said he paid $100 to have it modified some time back for better audio tones and better depth which he swears by.

Anyone ever heard of such a mod ?

Also he said it didn't have a Minelab LCD meter, but had a Sun Ray LCD meter. I though all of the Sovereign "Pro" models came standard with the LCD meter ? Apparently the Sun Ray has an issue, so if Sun Ray can't/won't repair it, it may be a throw away.

TIA,
Brian

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Didi some google'n and found an interesting Sovereign mod page with a bunch of DIY mods. I see what they did for the tones, but don't really see any mods for increased depth (aside from the iron mask switch, which I doubt is what he had done). I like seeing there's so many Sovereign tweakers

 

[Tinfoil]

n/t

 

[Cal_Cobra]

But for the price of the GT, I might as well buy the Explorer

When you say you couldn't get any depth out of the XS-2a vs the GT, what do you mean?

Like the GT will pick up a US silver quarter at 12" and the XS-2a will only pick it up at 10" ? Give me some data please.

Andy Sabisch indicates in his Lost Treasure field test he was picking up wheat cents between 9 and 10 inches deep with the 8" 800 coil, and targets 18 inches deep (granted he doesn't say what he picked up at 18 inches, so for all I know it was a hubcap )

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I have owned every Sovereign in the lineup except the XS2-A Pro.I have been using a XS with great success with a Straight Rod asm,Sunray Probe and a Night Hawk Meter( very similar to the Sunray) with the 10 inch Tornado Coil I have found dimes at a foot.My last fall hunts in one park I was finding silver dimes deep ( 8-9 inches) on almost every hunt.I bought a used GT and was going to switch the probe and meter to the newer rod asm.Comparing the GT against the XS in a air test and my coin garden I didn't see any difference.I didn't like the balance of the GTs stock rod asm.I'm not saying the GT won't outperform the XS in the field.but the information I had and used it didn't.I resold the GT and made a couple of hundred of dollars.I also have a XS2 box I purchased as a backup.All the Sovereigns I have used worked great and will find deep coins and gold for me better than any unit I have used.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Hey Ron,

That's a good looking setup you have there. With that joystick style handle, it would sure be tempting to mount a remote pinpointer switch on the end of it. I like the meter too, as it seems to have a handy TID chart. Is the Night Hawk Meter a 180 meter ?

It's sounding like the Sovereigns are all good units, except the XS-2a may not detect as deep as the other Sovs, which is a bit of a bummer as there's a XS-2a out here for sale at a good price with a bunch of extras.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Which leads to one of my golden rules I have hanging on my office wall."Don't fix it if it's not broken"

 

[Ron from Michigan]

So if you purchase the GT the add ons will bring the price up.

 

[Art (NWOH)]

Don't worry about the 2a. I like mine better than my GT.
You could get one that's hotter or colder than the next by luck of the draw depending on how the coil and the box are.

HH

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Thanks for all your help.

I ended up getting a sweet deal on a Sovereign XS-2a Pro with the stock 10" Tornado coil, 12" Sun Ray Intruder coil, 15" Coiltek coil, Sun Ray meter, hip mount bag, Sun Ray Pro Gold headphones (new in the package) and a bunch of extras. Can't wait to test it out.

Brian

 

[Jeff (IL)]

Cal_Cobra,

Sounds like a nice package deal! I'm with Art, the XS2-A's are great machines, you won't be disappointed. I take it that it has the Minelab 550 meter on it?

Jeff (IL)

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Hi Jeff,

It has the Sunray DTI meter. I'm hoping it's the backlit one (the detector is on it's way, so not sure which one it is until I receive it).

Brian

 

[Jeff (IL)]

I believe the DTI III is the one with the backlight. Not sure what your hunting plans are with the machine, but if you plan to do alot of inland hunting at some trashy area's, an 8 inch or 5 inch coil might be a good idea. Best of luck!

 

[Cal_Cobra]

I want to do wet salt beach hunting and deep silver park hunting (gold would be OK too ) I also live near an alkali desert area that has some good older spots to hunt that I wasn't able to do well with my other machines, but I believe the Sov will excel here.

The next coil I want to pick up is the original Coinsearch coil, or the Sunray 5", but I saw an article on using the WOT coil for deep park hunting, even in trashy areas, which I thought was amazing, definitely something I want to try.