Beach & Surf Detecting - E-Trac -vs- Excalibur

Barnlight · Apr 11, 2012

New to metal detecting, but I have been doing allot of investigation into my first purchase. I am debating between a Minelab E-TRAC Metal Detector and a Minelab Excalibur II Metal Detector. I have an ocean condo on Florida's east coast and will be detecting mainly in the sand and shallow surf. I also intend to use the detector for general detecting in fields, etc.

Also considering the Minelab Sovereign GT

What Minelab would you recommend?

Thanks

U.K. Brian · Apr 12, 2012

If your going in the water you need a waterproof detector. If your never going in then its better to get a detector that you can change the coils on and has more adjustments to deal with the varying conditions.

I think many would rightly suggest that the GT will save you money and perform as well as anything non P.I. on the dry. You can also use better headphones that suit your hearing (underwater types are compromised). Repairs are far cheaper. Money saved can be used for other coils.

Instead of wading you could just wait for the tide to go out further which will make searching and recovery much easier. I would enquire if there's a particular advantage in the fields with the E-Trac though before parting with any money.

Treasure_Hunter · Apr 12, 2012

It only takes one slip or one rouge wave or you not paying attention for one second for the water to ruin the E-Trac..... Need to remember also, even if you dont go in the water, there is salt spray in the air if there is any breeze at all and there almost always is that salt will get inside the e-trac, if you use it at a beach you need to cover it up..

If you dont plan on going in the water you will be hard pressed to find any beach detector that is better than a Sovereign when it comes to hunting salt water beaches.... I own several beach detectors, 2 excals and a sov gt, if I am not going in the water due to rough surf, I use the sov gt when i hunt the beach....

bigscoop · Apr 12, 2012

There just isn't a "perfect do-it-all" machine. Excal is a great water & beach machine but it certainly wouldn't be my first choice for relic hunting in fields. The SovGT is a fantastic machine but you're risking a lot when you step into the surf with it, not to mention what THunter said about the constant exposure to salt air. The closest thing I've ever used to a do-it-all machine was/is the Fisher CZ-20/21 and if I had to commit to using only one machine the CZ would be my choice. But if you're stuck on a Minelab......I'd go with the Excal because the more beach and water you hunt the deeper you're going to eventually want to go. i.e., "nobody is hunting out there where all the swimmers are, wish I could get out there". Also, you can change coils on the Excal....just takes a couple of sealed after-market connectors. I have them on mine and I have never had a problem with them....."yet"....but expect I eventually will at some point?

Oh, and one other consideration....."threshold noise"....after a long day of hunting it can start to drive you a little batty and I often wonder what damage it can be doing to my hearing over the long haul?

Treasure_Hunter · Apr 12, 2012

One of the beat features of the sov gt is the silent search feature..

OBN · Apr 12, 2012

Bigscoop
Oh, and one other consideration....."threshold noise"....after a long day of hunting it can start to drive you a little batty and I often wonder what damage it can be doing to my hearing over the long haul?

Something all should think about :icon_thumright:

Go with the excal, hunt the beach for one season, take the gold you find and buy a etrac.........if you did it the other way around, etrac first, it may take you years to do the same..............Good Luck

Tony in FL · Apr 12, 2012

Start out with the Excal as it can be used anywhere (basically it is a waterproof Sovereign albeit heavier and without easily changeable coil or headphones). If you find yourself doing a lot of hunting on land perhaps consider eventually getting a dedicated land machine such as a Sovereign or E-trac. But to start out with if you plan on hunting in the surf I would recommend the Excal as it is fully waterproof.

U.K. Brian · Apr 13, 2012

Threshold should never damage your hearing as it should be just audible. Don't use it and you lose so much information with most detectors and there's always going to be that whisper signal you won't hear because it hasn't the power to lift the audio to a point where you can just hear it.

Treasure_Hunter · Apr 13, 2012

U.K. Brian said:
Threshold should never damage your hearing as it should be just audible. Don't use it and you lose so much information with most detectors and there's always going to be that whisper signal you won't hear because it hasn't the power to lift the audio to a point where you can just hear it.

I set my threshold on my excals so it sounds like a small annoying misquito in my ear.... Not loud, just there.....

On my Sov GT many times I use the silent search, you set the threshold like you like it, then hit the silent search switch... There is no threshold, but anything that breaks the threshold set is heard when coil passses over it....I have tested it many, many times over the years and never seen it fail once..

stasys · Apr 13, 2012

U.K. Brian said:
Threshold should never damage your hearing as it should be just audible. Don't use it and you lose so much information with most detectors and there's always going to be that whisper signal you won't hear because it hasn't the power to lift the audio to a point where you can just hear it.

Interesting what is this- you lose so much information?... detecting without threshold :dontknow:

Maybe I am bit naive, but after using explorers and etracs found apposite, first less fatigue-longer detecting hours, second- ears drums will say me- thank you Stasys, after 20 years.

Barnlight · Apr 22, 2012

Thank you for all the replies! Well since most of my detecting will be on the beach and surf I believe the E-Trac is out for now, but will consider one possibly later down the road. So now my choice is between the Excalibur and the Sovereign GT.

Such a hard choice! I like the fact that you can change head phones on the Sovereign, but I worry about the salt spray over a period of time. I really don't think I will be out in waist deep water, but more like ankle deep and shoreline.

I am weighing more towards the Sovereign, but a little voice keeps telling me if I drop it in the water, I should have purchased the Excalibur. Choices, Choices?

Bryan

Bart@Big Boys Hobbies · Apr 24, 2012

The Minelab Sovereign GT Metal Detector | Big Boys Hobbies is hard to beat for sure!

Sir Gala Clad · May 18, 2013

How do you know when you will not be going into the water?

Sir Gala Clad · May 18, 2013

Get the Excallibur ll Bryan as the Sovereign GT is out of production.

If starting out, I would get the Excalibur ll 800 as the small field (7 1/2 in coil) is more sensitive to small gold jewlery and is easier to pin point with.

If you find out you do not like the smaller coil, let me know and I will swap my near new Excalibur ll 1000 for it and absorb shipping cost(s) and adjust for difference in warranty as I would rather have the smaller coil for where I hunt.

Treasure_Hunter · May 18, 2013

If you can find a good used Sov GT pick it up, you will not find a better detector for dry and wet sand, although the coil is water proof the controls are not so be carful if you go in the water, dont recommend going deeper than knee deep with it and watch the waves and holes....

On a salt water beach out of the water the Sov GT is the king...While true the Sov GT is out of production, Minelab is required to honor the warranty for the 3 years after it was pulled from production and will still do repairs beyond that.....Warranty period for Sov GT sold ithe last month of production means they honor it till December 2015 and Minelab will repair it for years after that......

If you can find a good used Sov for $500-$800 I recommend you pick it up, I have one and I have no plans on selling it just because they are out of production.... My Sov has already paid for itself in gold... :icon_thumright:

Twisted Bones · May 24, 2013

On a side note. Be careful where you go in the water on the east coast. Most of it is leased for treasure recovery and patrolled very closely. That includes the water washing up over your feet. Hate to see you end up with no detector and a huge fine let alone possible jail time. If you want to water hunt your best bet is the gulf coast until you are familiar with the laws on the east coast. You might already know all this but never hurts to make sure.

Good luck detecting!!!

Matt

Sir Gala Clad · Jun 2, 2014

How do you, or do you protect the Sovereign GT from the salt mist?

Treasure_Hunter said:
If you can find a good used Sov GT pick it up, you will not find a better detector for dry and wet sand, although the coil is water proof the controls are not so be carful if you go in the water, dont recommend going deeper than knee deep with it and watch the waves and holes....

On a salt water beach out of the water the Sov GT is the king...While true the Sov GT is out of production, Minelab is required to honor the warranty for the 3 years after it was pulled from production and will still do repairs beyond that.....Warranty period for Sov GT sold ithe last month of production means they honor it till December 2015 and Minelab will repair it for years after that......

If you can find a good used Sov for $500-$800 I recommend you pick it up, I have one and I have no plans on selling it just because they are out of production.... My Sov has already paid for itself in gold...

Treasure_Hunter · Jun 2, 2014

I keep mine in the supplied carry bag, I do not mount it on the shaft...

American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

Sandman · Jun 2, 2014

As for protecting the Sov, I too carried it around my neck in a two part bag. One for the GT and the smaller part for the S-1 inline probe. Love that probe as it is like a one inch coil and a lot more useful than these cheap pinpointers.

NeilinFR · Jun 5, 2014

YOu can get 1 gallon size plastic bags in walmart or any shopping market and you slide that over the GTs control box, then mount it to the shaft, open end down and tied fastly around the cable. punch a hole in the top for the headphones and make sure and leave enough slack in the bag to make control adjustments. Ive done this for years, works great.
Same bags work great on my Etrac.
On the threshold: the threshold when it blanks alerts you to any metal you have discriminated out so it gives you the opportunity to slow down and investigate around nulls/blanking. You loose that in silent search and some say you can swing faster but you really cant effectively. The Sov in disc mode is a slow resetting machine. The only way to speed that reset up is to go to all metal pinpoint and then you loose your tones.
If you get tired of the threshold, just turn it down till you cant hear it, not to far, just so you cant hear it and you wont loose any depth and its easy to turn the knob back to check targets if you like.
Sovs are very durable if you don't bang em around. The problem going forward is not gonna just be parts for them, its the coils, no one is really making them anymore so whats out there is whats out there. I read NEL is supplying some but that's about it. I think Sunray even stopped awhile back. The coils are what people should be stocking up on, the boxes outlast the coils. Also the battery pods.
Ive got a few Sov Elites which is my favorite sov. I can live with a painted control box