Sovereign Elite difference from Excal?

[Irishgoldhound]

Looking at purchasing a used Sovereign Elite. I've heard the only difference between the two is the water proof of the Excal. Both have the same guts I hear. Is this true? Does the Elite have the multiple tones like the excal? Really had the intentions of getting an excal this summer but if the sovereign proves to be the same as an excal then I may just get a new PI detector and a used sovereign. Just found out about the sovereign's being an Excal, only non water proof.

 

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[Sandman]

Well I have never used the Elite but have the Excal and Sovereign GT which is an advanced Elite. The Elite is almost like a Excal and has more features. But if you are buying used, try to get the GT as it blows the Elite away I heard. Here is a link to a field test on the Elite. Minelab Electronics Sovereign Elite | Lost Treasure Online - Official Website of Lost Treasure Magazine Maybe someone that has an Elite will provide you with more information. The Sovereign's have more features than an Excal and are considered by many to be the King of the beaches, fresh and salt water. You can call Bart of Big Boys Hobbies a call for more info on the Minelabs. http://www.bigboyshobbies.net/

Here's the GT.

 

[Fletch88]

Good to see you back Sandman! Irishgoldhound I too have only had the GT and I believe the differences are Iron Mask and an Ground Tracking. The audio is great with a good set of headphones and the same as far as I know. And as Sandman said they are the king of wet/ dry sand and a pleasure to use. I'm not sure about availability of electronic parts of the Elite series, so you may want to investigate that. Good luck and HH! Walt

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Thanks guys! And thanks for the link for the field test. The elite doesn't have fix and track toggle. Not sure what that switch means..track and fix

 

[Fletch88]

Thanks guys! And thanks for the link for the field test. The elite doesn't have fix and track toggle. Not sure what that switch means..track and fix

You use track to ground balance then select fix to hunt. Also used to hunt in highly mineralized soil that changes often, you can hunt in track and the machine adjusts to ground matrix while hunting for max depth. http://www.minelab.com/__files/f/75105/Tips%20and%20Tricks%20-%20Sovereign%20GT.pdf

 

[dirtynails]

I have an elite that I got used. I love it.
I just put a SEF 12x15 coil on it. It goes as deep as I would ever want to dig. Seriously much deeper than the stock 10" coil.
I also waterproofed it. It was easy and about $40. Look at my posts I believe I put pics up as to how I did it.
I also got a Ron's 180 meter for dirt digging.
I hunt the beaches of NC that have black sand and it works flawlessly. I have a hunting buddy that has an Excalibur 2. My set up with the SEF coil runs circles around the Excalibur. He has never heard a target that I couldn't but I have found targets that he couldn't hear. Even tried lowering disc and sensitivity but still couldn't pick it up.
As far as the audio it's great. You will be able to tell what targets are before digging most of the time. Bottle caps grunt and growl. Gold is a nice low tone but so are nickels and pull tabs. Foil is a real low tone. Coins sing.
I highly recommend an elite. Never used a GT I'm sure that are nice but it would take a lot for me to give up my elite. Get one.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

I checked out your water proof Elite. Man that's pretty awesome. No worries of waves accidentally frying it. Nice job and thanks for the reply. I may be sold on a Elite after reading your experience.

 

[Fletch88]

I checked out your water proof Elite. Man that's pretty awesome. No worries of waves accidentally frying it. Nice job and thanks for the reply. I may be sold on a Elite after reading your experience.

Watch EBay and other forums and you will see Sovoy's pop up pretty often. FYI I'm not sure how for back in the Sovereign line minelab has replacement parts, so just be aware of this when shopping around. I've been told they do not support the XS-2 Pro any longer, so I'm assuming anything pre-dating that model is unsupported. HH! Walt

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Ok thanks Fletch!

 

[dirtynails]

I checked out your water proof Elite. Man that's pretty awesome. No worries of waves accidentally frying it. Nice job and thanks for the reply. I may be sold on a Elite after reading your experience.

No. The box is waterproof. I submerged it completely under water in a pool and checked for water leaks. There are none. The part where the cables goes through is a water tight fitting used for thru hull boating needs. Its call a cable clam I think. You'll need the biggest diameter one they sell in order to get the end of the coil through the fitting. It's water tight as is I just added more silicone as a security measure.
I hunt where the waves are big so I don't go too deep unless it's calm but I'm confident that the machine will stay dry even if I get knocked over.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

That is very inventive man. Where can you buy water proof boxes like that?

 

[dirtynails]

I cant take credit for the idea. Others have done it. Search YouTube for waterproof sovereign. There is a good video there. It works real well though. The box is a Plano guide series. Mine is blue and it's big. Plenty of room for the unit and the coil cable isn't crammed or smashed in there. Also room for keys and cell phone. Others use a yellow box that is smaller. It's a much tighter fit for the unit and I think it stressed the coil connection area too much.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Yeah I've seen many water proof set ups. So where can one purchase a Plano box?

 

[OBN]

Early Excalibur processor

 

[dirtynails]

Amazon

 

[NeilinFR]

My favorite Sov is the Elite and yes minelab still works on them and will as long as they work on the GTs. Minelab added an extra all metal tracking mode on the GT but the allmetal mode on the Elite (same as the pinpoint mode on the GT) is better I think. Also on the GT you can disable iron mask, something I found no use for.
The Elite is the same in performance as the GT, so you get an Elite and your getting one of the best sovs made.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Now to find an Elite for sale. Anyone have one for around 400$ ?

 

[NeilinFR]

I just picked another one up off ebay for $450 shipped to me and its mint. Keep an eye on the forums and also on ebay. Ive got a few of the but not selling any of them. You will find one. Keep an eye out for one thing in particular, corrosion on the toggle switches. Means its been used near salty environment without being covered, and you don't want that at all.
They pop up often and also you can post up that your looking for one, Ive gotten one of mine that way also.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Great thanks for the advice. I've been checking ebay often and not finding many that ship to Canada.