My Final Day with the BEAST

Michigan Badger

Gold Member
Oct 12, 2005
6,797
149
Northern, Michigan
Detector(s) used
willow stick
Primary Interest:
Other
I spent most of last night getting help from experienced Explorer users and reading the manual. I tested all the possible settings including the advanced settings.

Today I took it out again to a site that has produced many old coins. I didn't find anything but I did learn more about the machine.

1. With help from users who have mastered this machine it's not too difficult to learn the basics. Even without human help it's not all that tuff.

2. I don't really care for the flute-like signals. I can use them and most targets are dead center the hole but I miss a more distinct solid signal like that of the Tejon, GT, others. Yep, I did turn up the GAIN.

3. This machine absolutely requires headphones. One must hear every little flute note change to fully take advantage of this detector's abilities.

4. Depth is a matter of really learning this machine and that sure doesn't happen in 2 days. Beginners aren't digging coins at 14 inches! Try maybe 4-6 inches to start with. This is not a Tesoro where you can take it out of the box and dig coins at 8 inches deep.

With only 2 days of use this is all I can write other than to say that already I can see it's not for me. I'm going back to the Sovereign GT. I figured I would but I still wanted to try the Beast.

This Beast is a good machine and will make someone very happy. Just in case you think this a sales pitch, the Beast is already on it's way to a dealer. My new GT should be here soon.

Thanks for readin all this.

Badger
 

detectoraddict

Full Member
Aug 3, 2004
174
2
Detector(s) used
E-Trac, DFX, F-75
You gave up way too soon. The Ex2 is the best silver slayer on the market. Its not a machine you learn in a week. The GT is also a great machine but the Ex will outperform it in heavy trash and has better depth. After you become familiar in quick start you should of switched to iron mask -15 and ferrous tones. You would see what this machine can really do after a while of learning what it was saying.
 

DaChief

Bronze Member
Sep 16, 2007
1,035
36
Middle Tennessee
Detector(s) used
-------(Water)------- Garrett Infinium (Relic and Coin) Minelab Sov. Elite
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
O.K. Badger. Either you have more money than you know what to do with or you have very little patience.

I have tried both machines also, my Sovereign is the Elite and I agree that the better machine is the Sovereign but 2 days!!!!

The Explorer is clearly a dream to a person who likes to make extreme adjusments and watch a nice display of what is going on under the coil but it really takes a little more than 2 days to get the good out of it. I had about 10 years of experience under my belt when I bought mine and it took a good month before I was comfortable working with it. I got away from it also because I didn't really like all those bells and whistles as much as I thought I would.

You are right in my opinion to go back to the Sovereign.

P.S. When you have some spare change that you don't need, could you send some down south to me?

Take Care,

Jim
 

OP
OP
Michigan Badger

Michigan Badger

Gold Member
Oct 12, 2005
6,797
149
Northern, Michigan
Detector(s) used
willow stick
Primary Interest:
Other
It doesn't take me long to determine something isn't my thing. It only took me 1 hour to know the GT was my thing.

There's a lot more I could have written but decided to make it much shorter.

I didn't mention that I did follow the advice of advanced users and programmed it for depth. I took it to my coin garden and it didn't perform as well as my GT did (the one I sold). But, it is deep and a good machine. I'm sure with practice it could go even deeper than the GT. But to start with it's not even close.

As for better at silver, all my buddies told me the same thing and I believe them. The problem is, up here near the bridge silver is very hard to find. Those with SE and DFX's are doing well to find 3 silver coins all season (up here). If I lived down south I'd give the ExII a far more serious testing.

One of the major things for me was the balance. I like the feel of the GT much better.

Thanks for the comments.

Badger
 

hollowpointred

Gold Member
Mar 12, 2005
6,871
56
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer SE/Garrett GTI 2500/ Ace 250
damn badge! that didnt take long! haha! i know what you are saying about knowing if something is for you or not right away. the explorer is not for everyone. i still think you would grow to like it if you stuck with it a little while. ;) it is a different animal than most other machines though......hey, if you really love the GT that much by all means thats the one you should have. i might just check one out myself one of these days!
 

OP
OP
Michigan Badger

Michigan Badger

Gold Member
Oct 12, 2005
6,797
149
Northern, Michigan
Detector(s) used
willow stick
Primary Interest:
Other
hollowpointred said:
damn badge! that didnt take long! haha! i know what you are saying about knowing if something is for you or not right away. the explorer is not for everyone. i still think you would grow to like it if you stuck with it a little while. ;) it is a different animal than most other machines though......hey, if you really love the GT that much by all means thats the one you should have. i might just check one out myself one of these days!

Yes, you should give the GT a try (at least 2 days). ;D

Since you've pretty much mastered the Explorer SE you'll probably still prefer it over the GT but it's one heck of a smart little beeper. The tones are a lot more distinct and easier to understand. The GT is also a much faster machine than the ExII.

And it does okay on depth too. It will detect long time buried indian cents at 10 inches without much trouble. Up here 98% of our old coins are less than 6 inches deep anyway.

Badger
 

Keppy

Gold Member
Nov 19, 2006
8,318
2,870
N.E. Ohio on lake Erie
Detector(s) used
** WHAT ONE I FEEL LIKE ON HUNTING DAY *****
Primary Interest:
Other
Like i always said you can't beat a ...Sovereign... best detector ever made....==Jim==
 

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