Any user opinions on the Minelab Sovereign GT ?????

[Treasure_Hunter]

I would appreciate any user opinions on the Minelab Sovereign GT.

Thanks

 

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[TwT]

I love mine, this is my first detector and for a rookie it has a learning curve from hell, it is a very strong detector, I dont like digging cans at 2 1/2 feet deep but when it tells me something is there I dig anyway and have found a quarter at 16 inches in wet sand.. sorry I cant give a more professional recommendation about it but I am glad I choose it over all the rest I was looking at......

 

[TonyinCT]

I don't know about quaters at 16" but the GT is a good detector all around. Since I see you use a Excal then going with the GT would be a smooth transition for you. It has been updated over your excal circuitry and can do everything you ask of it except go under water.

 

[TheSleeper]

Treasure_hunter, i agree with what Tony said. I had both a sovi and excal used them both depending on where i was hunting, water excal, dry sovi, both machines work very similar so the learning curve for one will complament the other.

It is a very nice deep hitting machine. If u are good with your excal u shouldn`t have alot of problems with a sovi.

 

[Sandman]

The Sov. is a lot like the Excal, but with extra features. You can change coils, it has Iron Mask on or OFF switch. Change search frequencies with Noise Cancel. Notch Control if you just want to notch out dimes, for example. NIMH battery pack standard. Hip or neck mountable.

You'll love it. Add the 15 in. WOT coiltek coil and get extremely deep and still have discrimination. Max is a Pro with his.

Sandman

 

[W6PEA]

I would appreciate any user opinions on the Minelab Sovereign GT.

Thanks

I was looking at getting a Garrett GTI2500. I talked to a man here in San Diego for more than an Hour tonight. He is member of a club here in the county. He said that he would recommend the Minelab Sovereign GT over the Minelab Explorer SE and or the Garrett GTI2500. Okay convince me that he's right. This man has no reason to try to sell me on the Mine lab I was just getting his opinion from his experiences. He also has Garret machines but seems to prefer the Minelab. I also talked to a dealer here in the county and he also recommended the Mine Lab over the Garrett's.


I want to do coin, relic, some gold, but I also want to be able to use the detector on the beach and sometimes in the wet sand. And I am being told by more people that the Garrett's do not work well in wet sand or salt water is this true.

 

[TonyinCT]

It is somewhat true that the Sov GT will work better in some salt conditions over the 2500. The Excalibur is made from an earlier version of the Soveriegn. To say that the Soveriegn GT is better than an Explorer SE would not be accurate. Once you know the SE better it willoutperfrom the SovGT. It's the getting to understand it part that many have problems with and then say that some other detector is better. Well better could mean easier.

 

[W6PEA]

Now I know I need more coffee. and more research.

 

[W6PEA]

Well
While I was researching and drinking my coffee and Old Bushmills "She who must be Obeyed" got me a Sovereign Gt.

I will let you all know how well we do with it.

 

[W6PEA]

Went out today

We went to a city park and searched around an arena, found lot's of old pull tabs, bottle caps etc. etc. but the best part was a ear ring with what appears to be a diamond in it.
Probably a simulated diamond thought.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I'm looking to add a second detector, currently using a Musky. The Sovereign GT seems a logical step up. The notch selection has me a bit baffled. I see from downloading the manual how to use it, but I don't see it explained as to how it discriminates with higher settings - lets see if I can 'splain my question.

Lets say with the discrimination up 30% of the dial and the notch at 60% it looks like this:

<DISCRIMINATION>______________<___NOTCH___>______

Does turning the notch down a quarter turn result in "A" or "B"?

A.
<DISCRIMINATION>__________<___NOTCH___>__________


B.
<DISCRIMINATION>______________<_NOTCH_>__________

That is, narrow the notch or slide the same size notch further down in conductivity?

And/or, does sensitivity effect the width of the notched portion?

Also, does the accessory digital meter only display a numeric read-out? What range does it display (i.e., -25 to +40 or -95 to +95). How many increments are presented?

 

[Shortround]

I played a little with the notch setting on mine, but I do not feel comfortable with it as yet. Maybe with some more field testing I can give you an answer, but my gut tells me if I notch out lets say pull tabs, I will miss nickles. I am still learning so I am sure there are other more experienced GT users that can help.

As for the meter, all the ones I have seen give a numerical reference. The factory one is 1-150 I believe, but there are custom models I have seen available. I am still trying to justify my need for the meter. Right now I am digging everything and learning items by the tones. After I get the hang of it, I may go ahead and get the meter just to narrow down the target ID quickly.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Thanks. On my Musky I keep a buffalo nickel in a coin flip in my finds pouch and set the discrimination up to so that gives a good tone when I lay it on the ground I'll be searching. I guess with the Sovereign it would be possible to do that and then also crank the notch up and adjust it down so the "nickel window" is open. Or just leave it off in relatively tabless sites where rings might lurk.

From what I've seen the new meter reads up to 180, but ferrous targets are negative. Here's a scale I "lifted" a few years back and don't recall where.

No idea (yet) if it will register in these ranges with the 180 meter (the older ones went to 550 and tended to hop around a lot - from what I have read in various sites and old posts).

I figure if I can wash out foil and modern pull tabs I'll do well at parks. My Musky LOVES foil and tabs if I set the discrimination low enough to pull nickels. The meter and multi-tone of the Sovereign will help here, I sure hope. For the older sites it seems the Sovereign has a splendid iron mask and works around that trash. I'm up to 95% convinced the Soverign will be my choice. I plan on making some phone calls and talking to a few dealers before I make my final decision. Gives me time to gather the acorns needed, too.

I get a kick out of the DXT owners who tweek one or two of the 45 adjustments (I counted) and never touch the set-up again. What have they gained in that $1,100 unit? The Musky taught me that even trash signals can be surprising, so I an leery of discriminating or notching out too much.

Now here's an observation. There is a school of "treasure hunting" that loves technology, displays with object icons and depth readouts, and solid state precision. There is another school that recognizes that detecting involves your eyes, ears, brain, gut and smell as well as the unit in your hand. Something about the analog dials and "vagueness" of the Sovereign appeals to me, and I fall in the latter. Zen detecting. I did a paper once that researched the "gut feeling" and I found some behaviorologists believe the body "thinks" with all nerve cells and not just those more specialized in the brain. That's the "hunch" factor.