I Bought The Beast! The Minelab Explorer II

[Michigan Badger]

I didn't have any serious intentions of getting the Ex.II but had a chance at a decent deal so I took the bait.

It's said to be mint and got it for $650 postpaid. How's that sound? Did I get ripped?

I've wanted to try the Explorer for a long time now. I figure maybe if we get our "Indian Summer" weather break I can test it a bit.

Any suggestions? Be nice now

Badger

 

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[warsawdaddy]

Check with mastereagle,he knows it inside/out.Right,ME? I understand sometimes you have to kickstart it with a Deleon.

 

[hollowpointred]

cool! i will be interested to see what you think of it. i have an SE which is practically the same thing and i really like it. I'm still learning it though but I'm getting better. once you begin to understand where everything falls on the smartscreen it is deadly at target id! the depth is nice too.

 

[Michigan Badger]

I understand sometimes you have to kickstart it with a Deleon.

Haha!

I used to own a DeLeon so I know what you mean.

 

[Michigan Badger]

cool! i will be interested to see what you think of it. i have an SE which is practically the same thing and i really like it. I'm still learning it though but I'm getting better. once you begin to understand where everything falls on the smartscreen it is deadly at target id! the depth is nice too.

I appreciate your hopeful words.

I've been reading the old reviews on the Ex. II and they either love or hate this machine. But this is true also of the SE.

I could be wrong but I think most people are really BEEP N DIGGERS. They want a turn on and hunt machine with maybe poor depth but great on clad.

Up here in no-coin land, what few goodies we have are deep and usually masked by trash. I work my bottom off finding an indian cent.

When I take a trip to the lower Peninsula down around Muskegon/Grand Haven areas I step out of the car and dig coins like crazy. Granted, most are newer coins, but at least they're coins. Up here some THers do the "Happy Dance" over memorial pennies. I've just got to transfer!

Badger

 

[Old Relic]

Wow! You change detectors more often than some people change their underwear! Have fun and please report your impressions. I know that sooner or later I'm going to take the Explorer plunge, too. Your GT feedback was great. I only wish I had known yours was for sale because you convinced me I need one to go with my Advantage.

HH
Old Relic
(A real Badger - from Wisconsin)

 

[Michigan Badger]

Wow! You change detectors more often than some people change their underwear! Have fun and please report your impressions. I know that sooner or later I'm going to take the Explorer plunge, too. Your GT feedback was great. I only wish I had known yours was for sale because you convinced me I need one to go with my Advantage.

HH
Old Relic
(A real Badger - from Wisconsin)

You just reminded me--promised the wife I'd shower tonight.

I may end up back with the GT. I just have to try the Beast.

I've got word from a very trustworthy source that it's about 4 inches deeper than the GT on quarter sized targets. But, that's assuming one knows how to run it. :P

Since it took me a year to figure out my VCR it don't look good.

Badger

 

[teverly]

I like my explorer 2.I have been using them since they came out.
See the stuff i posted in my finds today...exp2 with 5" coil,which i would highly suggest you purchase!!!!
Good luck and enjoy!!!

 

[Michigan Badger]

I like my explorer 2.I have been using them since they came out.
See the stuff i posted in my finds today...exp2 with 5" coil,which i would highly suggest you purchase!!!!
Good luck and enjoy!!!

How does the ExII compare to the SE? Which do you like using the most?

 

[teverly]

The 2 and the SE operate about the same.The se menu is a little easier to navigate and it recovers a little a faster after going over a target.
The tones sound a little different on the SE.
Hard to say.I think either one is a good machine to hunt with.

 

[Michigan Badger]

The 2 and the SE operate about the same.The se menu is a little easier to navigate and it recovers a little a faster after going over a target.
The tones sound a little different on the SE.
Hard to say.I think either one is a good machine to hunt with.

Thanks.

I hunt mostly very trashy sites with mild soil. I used the GT in full automatic and it worked great. I dug coins 7-8 inches deep with a loud signal.

What would you recommend by way of settings for the Ex.II? I mean to start out with.

Badger

 

[Michigan Badger]

Good luck with the Exp
I used the Exp II and the Sovereign XS2A side by side this summer.
The weight and pinpointing that most complain about with Exp were non issues with me.
Exp tones are great but the screen ID was less than impressive and the tones would alert
me to a target better than the sov., but the sov ID'd the target better.
As far as depth goes, the Exp only found one target that the sov. could'nt pick up in auto
preset sensitivity. But switched to manual the sov. picked it up also.
So, (for me anyway) you get more bang for buck with the sov.

Thanks. I agree that Sovereign is great.

But what I found was the Sovereign GT only worked well for me in AUTO mode. If I was checking a coin garden test piece I knew was there I could switch into manual and get a good signal. But in general hunting if I set the GT in any manual settings I got lots of false signals. I tried the sensitivity low and all that. The AUTO GB and Sensitivity mode is the only settings that worked for me.

Badger

 

[teverly]

The 2 and the SE operate about the same.The se menu is a little easier to navigate and it recovers a little a faster after going over a target.
The tones sound a little different on the SE.
Hard to say.I think either one is a good machine to hunt with.

Thanks.

I hunt mostly very trashy sites with mild soil. I used the GT in full automatic and it worked great. I dug coins 7-8 inches deep with a loud signal.

What would you recommend by way of settings for the Ex.II? I mean to start out with.

Badger

I would set it up for the coin mode 1st.Basically discriminate out anything that is not a good signal.
Also start playing with all metal mode and ferrous tones.Onthe exp 2 just turn the iron mask all the way down and that is basically all metal.Once you learn the tones in all metal using ferrous tones try that while hunting those trashy sites and see what happens....

 

[Michigan Badger]

I would set it up for the coin mode 1st.Basically discriminate out anything that is not a good signal.
Also start playing with all metal mode and ferrous tones.Onthe exp 2 just turn the iron mask all the way down and that is basically all metal.Once you learn the tones in all metal using ferrous tones try that while hunting those trashy sites and see what happens....

Thanks. I've always wanted to hunt in all-metal mode. But with the single tone machines I found it impossible. Just too much trash here.

Badger

 

[teverly]

the stuff i posted yesterday was all found in a really trashy site with exp 2 and 5" coil in all metal w ferrous tones. Each item i found was very distingishable from the iron tones and they read exactly where they should have on the screen also.........

 

[Michigan Badger]

the stuff i posted yesterday was all found in a really trashy site with exp 2 and 5" coil in all metal w ferrous tones. Each item i found was very distingishable from the iron tones and they read exactly where they should have on the screen also.........

AWESOME!

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

I think you paid a fair price for your Explorer II. That is pretty much what they go for. I think once you start popping out small coins at those deeper depths that you just pretty much know the other detector would have missed, you will fall in love with it. In my opinion, I also think it's much more enjoyable hunting with the sounds that an Explorer makes as opposed to the beeps of other machines.

 

[Michigan Badger]

I think you paid a fair price for your Explorer II. That is pretty much what they go for. I think once you start popping out small coins at those deeper depths that you just pretty much know the other detector would have missed, you will fall in love with it. In my opinion, I also think it's much more enjoyable hunting with the sounds that an Explorer makes as opposed to the beeps of other machines.

Thanks. i think I'll like it too if it's working right like the guy claims.

I've used the GT and really liked it but I think once I understand it I'll like the Ex.II even better.

Badger

 

[mastereagle22]

Get ready to be frustrated for a while.!!!

The first real hunt I used it, it worked perfectly. Since then I haven't made too many good finds. I think it is user error not the machine. The thing definitely finds deeeeeeeepppp stuff. I dug a 1943 silver Florin from 10 inches with BBs help. That is my deepest coin so far. I have dug some big pieces of iron and copper from 12 inches but nothing much deeper than that unless you consider the main cable trunk line I dug at 14 inches (measured with a yard stick) Didn't tamper with that since I didn't want to lose my internet and being able to visit the forum.

The machine is an awesome machine and I just wish the Beast and I could get on the same level of understanding I have with my Deleon. I am packing up the Beast for a trip to vegas. I am sending it with enough cash for a night on the town, one lap dance and $100 for the casino.

Good luck and congrats on buying what I think is the best machine out there right now. (my opinion does not represent any other opinion on the forum nor does it even represent an informed decision, heck I don't even know my own name most of the time so I wear a name tag)

 

[hollowpointred]

badge, for hunting trashy sites i agree with teverly. put her in all metal with ferrous sounds on and hunt real slowly. also, if you hunt in manual sensativity you will get better depth than in auto sensativity. in auto the machine is a little conservative in the way it adjusts itself to handle the ground minerilization. if the machine becomes unstable in all metal try creeping up the iron mask a little until the machine settles down a bit. of course you like to find iron so maybe these settings wont work for you! you could set the sounds to conduct and then the iron tones will ring in as high tones. or.............set it in const and all the tones sound the same. almost too many options!