5-19-2012 new minelab detector coming out?

[Critterhunter]

That's WAY too much money if it's true. If Minelab was smart they'd ditch the Excal and the GT and come out with a new waterproof Sovereign that has a VDI screen like the AT Pro...And make it light so it can be used just as easily on land like an AT Pro, and make it cheap like an AT Pro too. Somewhere in the $700 to $800 dollar range max. Got to admit that Garrett really has a winner with that thing. Sure, it isn't as deep as a Minelab and it really won't handle salt water nearly as good as an Excal but it's still great for fresh water, some salt water hunting, and of course land hunting.

 

[Rick(ND)]

The Excalibur is good up to 200 feet deep I understand so it can be used for diving, the Garrett AT Pro is good for maybe 10-15 feet of water if you are lucky and sure not as waterproof as the Excalibur and would worry if I even dropped the Garrett in the water as I have one and by looking at the build I wouldn't trust it with the control box in the water. The AT Pro is a nice detector and seems to work good in competition hunting, but other wise not even close to the Sovereigns as far as performance. My opinion would make a GT with a built in meter and try to make it balance better and that is about it as the rest is excellent. The Excalibur should still be made for those that dive and are serious water hunters, but also do something about the balance of it so it don't feel so heavy.

 

[cuzzi25]

I was at the B.O.N.E. last weekend in NH and there was a Minelab sales rep & tech there at dinner every night. Was great to have someone answer questions. I begged for info on new products but they wouldn't give a peep, even after a couple beers. Only thing they'd say was that we were gonna be blown away this year.

 

[chopz54]

Well if they are bringing out a NEW machine I hope its better than this amateur "vid".

Looks like its been done with microsoft moviemaker by a 4 year old.

 

[JimmyCT]

LOL. I am interested myself and have never heard back from Minelab. Apparently they wanted to leak out their secret a little?.... Apparently we will all have to wait for 5-19-12 to see if there is any truth to the rumor.



Well if they are bringing out a NEW machine I hope its better than this amateur "vid".

Looks like its been done with microsoft moviemaker by a 4 year old.[/quote]

 

[Critterhunter]

So a Minelab guy says we are going to be "blown away" this year? Then they have to be bringing out a new machine by the sound of it.

 

[cuzzi25]

Yeah, he definitely sounded like it was a new machine. They also told us that the minelab coils have chips in them and will give a much better ID than aftermarket coils. He was talking about the fbs line though. So, the numbers will be more accurate on minlelab coils

 

[Critterhunter]

Well, the Sovereign and Excal have a pre-amp in the coil to boost the received signal before it has a chance to pick up distortions traveling up the coil cable. The XTerra machines have a chip in the coil to tell the control box what frequency they are running on since that's how you change frequencies on those machines. Haven't seen anything on Minelab's site that says the Etrac/Explorer have a chip or pre-amp of any type in the coil, though? I at least know they don't have a pre-amp in the coil like a Sov/Excal does, but as said didn't ever see anything that says they have any kind of chip or pre-amp in them for that matter. Anybody? I've looked over Minelab's site where they list that info for the various machines and didn't see anything, or have ever read any messages that they do.

 

[Critterhunter]

By the way, all the Sovereign aftermarket coils have this pre-amp circuit in the coil just like the stock coils do. The only exception I read a blurb about was that perhaps the original Detech Penetrator round coils didn't have a pre-amp in them, which probably explains the reported lousy performance they got. I think the current versions of those coils have had them in them for several years now, though...As I hear these newer versions perform better than the old ones.

The Pre-Amp circuit in the Sovereign/Excal is unique to them as far as I know. I don't know of any other manufacturers that do this that I've heard about. The big perk about using one is the received signal in the coil's RX winding is very faint and weak, so it's prone to picking up noise and distortion as it travels up the coil cable to the box. By boosting the signal to give it strength right at the RX coil winding it does this before any noise is introduced to it, and now it's stronger traveling up the coil cable and so less apt to degrade, fade, or pick up distortions or noise as it travels. Very cool! And probably one of the reasons why some say the Sovereign is the deepest detector on the market compared to even the top machines from the same company.