sov GT vs Etrac

[Moe (fl)]

I have been told that the Sov gt is a great detector and works nicely on the beach. Is the new eTrac worth the extra cost? I do 80% of my detecting on the beach. I am looking for depth, reliability, and service.

Thanks.

 

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[Willy]

Well, with the Sov. you can chestmount it. Just turn it on and forget about it. The Etrac? Well, there's a lot of meter reading and button pushin' and worrying about rain and (possibly) saltwater spray eating away at your detector's guts. With the Sov. you can change control rods and where it's mounted on said rods. With the Etrac you can.. yeh. Not saying the high dollar Etrac is a bad machine, just that the Sov. is easier to setup/use and a more (IMO) robust unit. ..Willy.

 

[Keppy]

The Sovereign is the one i like also you can keep your E-trac............Willy makes my point he said it all..

 

[Moe (fl)]

Thanks.

Will the Sov Gt go deeper on beach than the Etrac?

Is the technology (electronics) in Sov Gt outdated especially compared with new Etrac?

I personally like the idea of a simple to use machine without too many bells and whistles that distract me from hunting. I am also worried that the salt spray (mist) from the beach will over time damage the electronics of a non-beach machine like the Etrac. I have seen sand get in the most unusual places especially when the wind is blowing!

I have never owned minelab so i don't know how long it will take me to learn the Etrac or Sov Gt. From responses I gather that the Sov Gt is easier to use. Do you have to ground balance the Sov Gt?

What is the downside of the Sov GT?

HH.

 

[seger98]

I have only used the Sov, GT & the X-terra 70 so I can't give you an opinion on the two, only the GT & I find it works great on the beach. The depth is pretty good on it as well, I've found small pieces of prop material down on the gulf like 18 inches down!

 

[Keppy]

Thanks.

Will the Sov Gt go deeper on beach than the Etrac?

Is the technology (electronics) in Sov Gt outdated especially compared with new Etrac?

I personally like the idea of a simple to use machine without too many bells and whistles that distract me from hunting. I am also worried that the salt spray (mist) from the beach will over time damage the electronics of a non-beach machine like the Etrac. I have seen sand get in the most unusual places especially when the wind is blowing!

I have never owned minelab so i don't know how long it will take me to learn the Etrac or Sov Gt. From responses I gather that the Sov Gt is easier to use. Do you have to ground balance the Sov Gt?

What is the downside of the Sov GT?

HH.

No downside that i know of and it is far from outdated.I have been useing the Sovereign's for 16 years .........The Sovereign has been a great detector from the first one they made in 1991 right up to the GT . I had 2 GT's sold one and kept one the one i got from... Nick pappagiorgio.. here on Tnet was like new i kept that one and my grandson uses it the other one i got from Tnet i sold and i got my self a Sovereign XS i use it no ground balance on the Sovereign almost turn on and go....

 

[Moe (fl)]

Thanks Jim_K.

Do you use your GT on the beach? It costs a lot less than the eTrac!

what is the difference between the XS and GT?

I would use mine mostly on the beach.

HH!

 

[Willy]

The GT has ground tracking in all-metal mode. The disc. mode is strange insofar as it doesn't have cround tracking per se, Minelab claims that they analyze the ground using 3 frequencies, if I remember correctly, and that is used to determine what is ground and what is not. Strange thing about the disc. mode is that it seems to be more sensitive than the all-metal mode (!!!) and doesn't exhibit a loss in sensitivity when using extremely large coils. This goes counter to the general wisdom re. metal detectors and seems to be more in line with what you find with PI detectors.. though it's not PI. I have the honkin' huge 16.5" Excellerator Pro EQ2 coil and it has no problem picking up my 5 grain test nugget. In fact, it does so better than the 10" Tornado or Sunray S8 coils. One down side of the Sov. is that, at lowest sensitivity, it will knock out a lot of iron. This means that lower denomination Canadian coins (1, 5, 10, 25 cents) that have been minted within the last few years aren't picked up. From what I can gather, the Sov. is worlds easier to learn than the Etrac. ..Willy.

 

[Keppy]

Thanks Jim_K.

Do you use your GT on the beach? It costs a lot less than the eTrac!

what is the difference between the XS and GT?

I would use mine mostly on the beach.

HH!

The XS is a old model they don't make it any more. And the GT is the latest model but all the sovereigns are about the same.The Sovereign with a 15 inch WOT coil is the best VLF detector for the beach . The only thing that will go real deep on the beach is a PI detector but you dig everything with them little or no discrimination..................To me to pay $1500.00 for a detector that a $800.00 or less detector that will go just as deep don't make sense remember they are all just VLF detectors with the sovereign you do not get all the bells and whistle's but you get a real work horse go just as deep as the Explorer or E-Trac .

 

[Detector Wars]

Why not get the Safari, it's meant to have the same technology as the E-trac without the bells and whistles (which you won't need at the beach) and it's cheeper.

 

[Sandman]

The Sov GT with the WOT coil gets my vote for the best detector for the beach. Because I like to get in the water and for the tuff envirenment I use the Excal 1000 instead of the Sov. They work about the same except the Sov has more features and you can also use better headphones which help with the tiny sounds.

 

[Moe (fl)]

Will the new Safari be a better deal for the beach than the Sov GT?

It comes with newer electronics!

 

[Keppy]

Will the new Safari be a better deal for the beach than the Sov GT?

It comes with newer electronics!

I don't think so.......................................

 

[Moe (fl)]

Personally, I like the Sov GT. I think that it is a great detector but is overlooked by the hype created around the newer minelab machines (SE, etrac, safari, etc).

All the bells and whistles of the new machines distract from the basics of treasure hunting. I started with the detectors with displays and VDI indicators and then moved to just going by sound and little discrimination. At the beach I like to dig almost everything.

My only concern getting a Sov GT is not its performance but that I am spending $600-700 for old technology. Is this a valid concern?

 

[Sandman]

My only concern getting a Sov GT is not its performance but that I am spending $600-700 for old technology. Is this a valid concern?

Old technology, you must be kidding..... The newer produced detector may have a different way of displaying the target and have new paint/decals or be able to hook up to your computer, but it is what goes into the ground that determines if you will hear the target. All those settings won't help you one bit if it still can't tell the difference between a washer and a dime. The new ones still won't find thin gold chains either. How do you determine quality?

Land detectors will fail in a beach environment sooner or later.

 

[Moe (fl)]

Sandman, I agree with you. So a lot of newer detectors are using the same old technology! Just repackaged to look newer and appeal to detectorists...

Land detectors will fail in a beach environment sooner or later.

Do you include the Sov GT and Etrac in this group?

 

[Sandman]

They are land detectors and are subject to the same harsh blowing sand and salt spray. Treasure_Hunter has a waterproofed Sov that is a killer at the beach and in the water. If your detector isn't waterproofed, sand and salt spray can get at the detector. I use a Excal at the beaches as there is no chance it will be harmed. Putting a plastic baggie over the controls helps some, but don't let condensation build up inside the baggie either as the operation will be affected.

 

[Moe (fl)]

Sandman, that was my fear too because I have seen first hand how sand gets everywhere when wind is blowing.

A few guys over here use Explorers SE with large WOT coils on the beach and seem to be okay as far as the sand. They don't even cover their electronics and always find the best items (old coins and artifacts). Although they hunt away from the surfline.

 

[Moe (fl)]

How is the new BHID300 against the Sov GT for depth on the beach? The BHID300 is waterproof so that is a plus.

 

[Sandman]

The BHID 300 is a deep detector there is no doubt about it. However it has one dissavantage from the Sov GT and that is it can still not report on a coin or gold ring very near or under a piece of iron unlike the Sov that will report on the good target. There is always a trade off. But you have to ask yourself how many times will a good target be very near Iron. At least the BHID will be protected from the sand and water so it could be a good choice.

As for depth, I still think the Sov has the edge even with the BHID 300 having a larger coil.