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The Sovereign and the Excalibur are essentially the same machine. The Excalibur being the ?underwater version, they both work on the BBS technology of 17 frequencies which gives more depth, better target identification and better handling of highly mineralised soils. Both machines come with a built in automatic Iron mask feature which operates in discrimination mode it allows you to pick up ?good targets which are close alongside pieces of iron which would normally be blanked out and ?missed by other detectors. In the early model Sovereign this feature ?was an option and could be turned on ?or off by switch. In discrimination both machines have a graduated turn knob the more right you turn the knob the more the conductivite items are ? discriminated out. The Sovereign has a second knob which is a discriminating notch feature which narrows down the area which is being discriminated, this is feature not fitted to the Excalibur. ?
The target identification tone is fully variable the lower the tone the lower the conductivity e g Alfoil will give a low tone were as copper will give a very high tone as it is much more conductive. With experience you can generally identify your targets before you have dug them just by the tone of the signal.What you will notice is the constant change in tone of your threshold as you swing over targets. If you have just been over a piece of iron your threshold will blank out, momentarily vanish, then return at a very low tone. Where as if you have just gone over a good target you will get a ?sharp signal not blanking out identifying its conductivity then after your threshold returns at a higher pitch.
On deeper targets which or too deep for the machine to identify accurately you will get a good signal to start with but as you dig down closer to the target, if the signal begins to falter or blank out it will be a deep iron target. Be aware that if you are digging a deep target and it suddenly vanishes the chances are you have knocked the target with your digging tool and have turned it sideways making it too small for the machine to pick it up. Keep digging, ?chances are it will be in your next scoop full of dirt.Failing that you might have already dug the target out and it is laying in your pile of dirt beside you but it is very small and is sitting sideways making it too small for the machine to pick it up , try moving the dirt pile around then detect over it again chances are you will be able to find that small target, I have found that small ?gold chains are bad for vanishing when they are bunched up you will get a good signal but if you open them out they become very thin and difficult to detect.
For general detecting in sports grounds and parks ?using the Sovereign I run the sensitivity on auto, with the discrimination turned on but turned down to its minimum settings, with the volume turned to full and threshhold just audible. The reason I use Auto in parks is that most of your targets are shallow.More depth can be acheived by using the machine in manual sensitivity but it is not necessary here. I turn the discrimination down to its minimum because jewelry especially chains and thin gold rings will be discriminated out even at ?low settings where alfoil would be. If the park is badly littered with rubbish then it is possible to use the notch feature and discriminate out the most common piece of trash be it ring pull or whatever, ?but I ?would sooner dig a bit of rubbish than run the risk of missing some nice piece of jewelry or coin. The volume on full because the variabity of the tone of the target is greater and it is easier to identify your targets, I recommend using headphones with their own volume controls as some signals of large objects near the surface can be too loud and could possibly damage ?your hearing.
The threshold run it so you can just hear it but listen for minor fluctuation this could be small targets chains and jewelry also listen for faint low to medium signals this is a typical ?of gold.
When using the Sovereign in the outdoors ?for general relic or coin hunting turn your sensitivity to manual and turn it up until you start to receive false signals then back it off slowly until they stop. In this setting you will increase your machines depth capabilities. If you turn the machine onto all metal it will also detect deeper than in discriminate. Some people run in all metal all of the time and flick over to discriminate to help identify the targets. Pin pointing is best acheived by criss cross pattern over the target but with the machine tuned onto all metal as this helps narrow down the location by its shorter sharper signal.If your Sovereign is fitted with a digital id meter you will find it only works on discriminate mode and if you go over an iron object it will show a minus figure,gold 200 to 450 and ?silver 5oo plus roughly, it is dependant on how you have the meter callibrated. I have used my Sovereign in the sea wading in shallow water with the control box in a back pack, you must have the underwater coil fitted to do this.I detected this way for years and after a couple of near misses with large waves started using the Excalibur.
The Excalibur is heavy on land but once you are in the water the control housing acts as a float and the machine becomes bouyant and easy to handle. The machine can be seperated and mounted on a shoulder harness which makes it easier to handle on shore, but you have to be careful not to strain the waterproof seals on the cables where they connect to the control box by pulling on them. If you use your machine in this configuration secure your cables back agaisnt the control box by using some electrical tape so that they are not straining on the connections at all.
Settings I use on this machine in the water are manual sensitivity ?setting as high as I can get, targets sink very deeply in the sand so you want as much depth as possible , but also more sensitivity to small targets. Volume full, you want to be able to hear the different faint tones and signals. ?Discrimination on but turned down to minimum settings, this allows the iron mask to work, blanking out iron and picking up good targets. As I said at the beginning both machines are basically the same so whether using them in a park or wherever, the ?settings I would use would be the same for each. When using the detectors if you get a target which gives a good signal from all directions it will be a good target if the signal only sounds from one direction it will be iron being blanked out. Also if you get a signal which ends abrupltly it will be rubbish, good targets give a clear smooth long signal. ? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Well I think this is long enough getting typing cramp seeya Neilo ?
The target identification tone is fully variable the lower the tone the lower the conductivity e g Alfoil will give a low tone were as copper will give a very high tone as it is much more conductive. With experience you can generally identify your targets before you have dug them just by the tone of the signal.What you will notice is the constant change in tone of your threshold as you swing over targets. If you have just been over a piece of iron your threshold will blank out, momentarily vanish, then return at a very low tone. Where as if you have just gone over a good target you will get a ?sharp signal not blanking out identifying its conductivity then after your threshold returns at a higher pitch.
On deeper targets which or too deep for the machine to identify accurately you will get a good signal to start with but as you dig down closer to the target, if the signal begins to falter or blank out it will be a deep iron target. Be aware that if you are digging a deep target and it suddenly vanishes the chances are you have knocked the target with your digging tool and have turned it sideways making it too small for the machine to pick it up. Keep digging, ?chances are it will be in your next scoop full of dirt.Failing that you might have already dug the target out and it is laying in your pile of dirt beside you but it is very small and is sitting sideways making it too small for the machine to pick it up , try moving the dirt pile around then detect over it again chances are you will be able to find that small target, I have found that small ?gold chains are bad for vanishing when they are bunched up you will get a good signal but if you open them out they become very thin and difficult to detect.
For general detecting in sports grounds and parks ?using the Sovereign I run the sensitivity on auto, with the discrimination turned on but turned down to its minimum settings, with the volume turned to full and threshhold just audible. The reason I use Auto in parks is that most of your targets are shallow.More depth can be acheived by using the machine in manual sensitivity but it is not necessary here. I turn the discrimination down to its minimum because jewelry especially chains and thin gold rings will be discriminated out even at ?low settings where alfoil would be. If the park is badly littered with rubbish then it is possible to use the notch feature and discriminate out the most common piece of trash be it ring pull or whatever, ?but I ?would sooner dig a bit of rubbish than run the risk of missing some nice piece of jewelry or coin. The volume on full because the variabity of the tone of the target is greater and it is easier to identify your targets, I recommend using headphones with their own volume controls as some signals of large objects near the surface can be too loud and could possibly damage ?your hearing.
The threshold run it so you can just hear it but listen for minor fluctuation this could be small targets chains and jewelry also listen for faint low to medium signals this is a typical ?of gold.
When using the Sovereign in the outdoors ?for general relic or coin hunting turn your sensitivity to manual and turn it up until you start to receive false signals then back it off slowly until they stop. In this setting you will increase your machines depth capabilities. If you turn the machine onto all metal it will also detect deeper than in discriminate. Some people run in all metal all of the time and flick over to discriminate to help identify the targets. Pin pointing is best acheived by criss cross pattern over the target but with the machine tuned onto all metal as this helps narrow down the location by its shorter sharper signal.If your Sovereign is fitted with a digital id meter you will find it only works on discriminate mode and if you go over an iron object it will show a minus figure,gold 200 to 450 and ?silver 5oo plus roughly, it is dependant on how you have the meter callibrated. I have used my Sovereign in the sea wading in shallow water with the control box in a back pack, you must have the underwater coil fitted to do this.I detected this way for years and after a couple of near misses with large waves started using the Excalibur.
The Excalibur is heavy on land but once you are in the water the control housing acts as a float and the machine becomes bouyant and easy to handle. The machine can be seperated and mounted on a shoulder harness which makes it easier to handle on shore, but you have to be careful not to strain the waterproof seals on the cables where they connect to the control box by pulling on them. If you use your machine in this configuration secure your cables back agaisnt the control box by using some electrical tape so that they are not straining on the connections at all.
Settings I use on this machine in the water are manual sensitivity ?setting as high as I can get, targets sink very deeply in the sand so you want as much depth as possible , but also more sensitivity to small targets. Volume full, you want to be able to hear the different faint tones and signals. ?Discrimination on but turned down to minimum settings, this allows the iron mask to work, blanking out iron and picking up good targets. As I said at the beginning both machines are basically the same so whether using them in a park or wherever, the ?settings I would use would be the same for each. When using the detectors if you get a target which gives a good signal from all directions it will be a good target if the signal only sounds from one direction it will be iron being blanked out. Also if you get a signal which ends abrupltly it will be rubbish, good targets give a clear smooth long signal. ? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Well I think this is long enough getting typing cramp seeya Neilo ?
