Excal or Sov GT

[Heavy32]

Been looking at the Excal 1000 & II, both seem to be top-notch beach machines. Wanting to know what I could expect from either Excal as a around the house and at the park machine? Maybe I can ask my question this way - If you were going to hunt land 60-70% of the time and in or around the water the other 30-40% of the time... would you go with the Excal or the Sov GT? I understand the GT isnt waterproof... How similar is the Excal and GT at the park...? Just looking for some food for thought and wanted to hear what you guys would go with... Thanks Heavy

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Excal is heavy but works well at home. Sov works great at home and hard to beat on wet salt sand, but is not waterproof. .

 

[hamiddetecting]

Sovereign Gt and Excalibur are the same BBS, the difference is waterproofing and some Iron mask. For me i like to hunt on wet sand by Sov Gt and in water by excalibur. I wish you luck.

 

[OBN]

My opinion ........Excalibur, You hit that first Gold and you will never have dry legs again.

 

[Heavy32]

Thanks for the input - I have been leaning more towards the Excal, would hate to be standing knee deep, wishing I could be chest deep.. lol.. And I guess if I ever wanted to trade for a GT it wouldnt too hard to find a taker.

 

[dewcon4414]

Go with the Xcal.... it will pay for its self faster in the water than the Sov will in the wet/dry sand. Then with the extra money pick up a used ET you will like a TID machine better if you are dirt digging. Its all about getting the right machine for the job. The ET can be used in the dirt or on the beach. BUT..... like Joe said once you hit your first gold..... you more than likely will just buy another water machine as a back up.

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

This just happened yesterday. A friend of mine took his brand new Sov GT to the beach on it's maiden hunt. He was near the waterline and he bent over with his back to the water, a wave killed his brand new Sov GT. Fried the battery, water entered through the speaker into the circuit boards. Wasn't a big wave, maybe just a cup of water hit the face of the machine. "Go with the Excal" if you plan on being anywhere around water, and the Excal will work just fine on land as well.

 

[OBN]

Bigscoop
This just happened yesterday. A friend of mine took his brand new Sov GT to the beach on it's maiden hunt. He was near the waterline and he bent over with his back to the water, a wave killed his brand new Sov GT. Fried the battery, water entered through the speaker into the circuit boards. Wasn't a big wave, maybe just a cup of water hit the face of the machine. "Go with the Excal" if you plan on being anywhere around water, and the Excal will work just fine on land as well.

Dag, I feel for that poor soul. That would thrown me into a "Deep depression''

For anyone that this happens to,..................Pull the battery ASAP.....Pull the cover ASAP (Then use a distilled water rinse, followed by pure Isopropyl alcohol then spray with ACF50 or corrosion-X to displace water and protect from corrosion).
im·me·di·ate·ly! or ASAP!....If she did not short out, you could be your own Hero.....

 

[bigscoop]

Dag, I feel for that poor soul. That would thrown me into a "Deep depression''

For anyone that this happens to,..................Pull the battery ASAP.....Pull the cover ASAP (Then use a distilled water rinse, followed by pure Isopropyl alcohol then spray with ACF50 or corrosion-X to displace water and protect from corrosion).
im·me·di·ate·ly! or ASAP!....If she did not short out, you could be your own Hero.....

That is exactly what I had him do...unfortunately the battery was instantly cooked. He still has it open and drying out the last I heard. But it certainly illustrates the risk of using non-waterproof machines near/in shallow surf. There's just too much that can happen, kids splashing water, rouge wave, body splash, mishandling, etc. I'd be a nervous wreck.

 

[detectit]

Why do many like the lesser scanning frequencies of the Sovereign over say the greater scanning of the Safari? The Sovereign cost more also. What's the deal with that. The more numerous frequencies are not a greater of avantage? I see a lot of Sovereign's.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Why do many like the lesser scanning frequencies of the Sovereign over say the greater scanning of the Safari? The Sovereign cost more also. What's the deal with that. The more numerous frequencies are not a greater of avantage? I see a lot of Sovereign's.

The sov on a saltwater beach is amazing, it is sensitive, and teally deep. If I am not going in the water, I will choose my sov gt over my excal to hunt with. As far as 17 vs 28, it samples the soil and then chooses the best freqs for the current soil conditions...

 

[detectit]

Thanks for that info.. What I'm understanding, is that the extra 11 frequencies isn't such a big deal with the dry salt sand depth then. The soil content outways the extra number of those scanning frequencies. But that Sov GT is actually, just simply stronger? Plus none of the fluff readout like on the others? Many sure do lean toward it over the E-Trac, Explorer, Safari.

The sov on a saltwater beach is amazing, it is sensitive, and teally deep. If I am not going in the water, I will choose my sov gt over my excal to hunt with. As far as 17 vs 28, it samples the soil and then chooses the best freqs for the current soil conditions...

 

[detectit]

The 17 frequencies is what needed, what is best in salty sand conditions? The 28 are not null and void, and make no difference in depth strength? The Sov GT must be fairly reliable also. I don't see people discussing having to have them worked on. Work horse guts inside, and not as much to mess up? Plus STRONG ER than an E-Trac, Explorer?