Confusion over first MD purchase

[desdog]

I live on the east coast of Australia and have done plenty of research and read and read and read - perhaps that's why I'm confused. Of course finding this forum has just given me so much more to look at and I love it.
For 4 years I've followed Coin/Relic hunting and Gold Prospecting on and off. I'm a fair way from any goldfields so the likelihood of getting to one of them on any sort of regular basis is a bit of a pipe dream but not out of bounds. I can however see me going out to a few parks, historical sites, rivers and of course beaches. Who wouldn't living on the Gold Coast?
For me I've narrowed it down in my mind to either the Sovereign GT or the E-Trac but for the life of me I can't decide. Owners of each sing their praises and both would appear to do everything I want although the Sovereign may be of more assistance should I get off in search of gold.
I like gadgets and new stuff, the price of either unit is neither here nor there but but but....something draws me back to the GT time and time again.

What's the E-Trac screen like to read in the sun?
Does looking at a screen distract you more than just listening to tones?
What about different coils to suit the ET?
Can I justify the extra $500 over the Sov GT?
The Inline probe for the GT sounds like a handy accessory and I also like the idea of being able to hip mount the GT unit if needed
Some though query why get the GT + a display unit when for a few extra $100 or thereabouts I would get it all with the ET.

I often research anything I'm interested in but have never been so undecided in my life. I feel such a passion for this hobby/pastime and all I want is a damn good unit. I expect to put a lot of effort into learning whatever I purchase and I love learning curves. I do NOT want this to be X machine vs Y machine, just interested in opinions on here. Truth be known I expect the wife will want to join me and do this sometime over the next year so by Christmas I'm assuming I'll have to shell out for another unit.

Aaaaarrrgghhhh, so many questions so I apologise in advance.

Cheers and HH, Des

 

[plugger]

I would start with the GT if I were you. It's easier to customize (make it lighter) and you can hip mount the control box if you like. That will enable you to hunt longer and that will bring more finds. The more time in the field, the more you find, I don't care what machine you are using. It's a hobby, it's not supposed to be painful. Buy a used one and later, if you want to go to the Etrac, you won't lose any money. The resale on the GT is so high, it would be kinda like cheap rent, if you lose any at all. Full Disclosure: I have two GTs and I hip mount them both (not at the same time) and I wouldn't trade them for 4 Etracs!

Plugger

 

[themartaman]

I second the Sovereign GT or even a used Elite. That is what I have.

 

[Critterhunter]

You can't go wrong with either machine (Etrac or GT), and I was faced with the same delima. I didn't want to go back to an Explorer but I still wanted the king of depth, meaning Minelabs. So then it comes down to which. Like said above I also figured buying a used GT and used coils/accessaries would be a good stopping point to try it out, but if I think the Etrac would be better suited for me down the road I can get my money back out of the GT and put it towards it. I might do that one day but only if the GT doesn't continue to amaze me, and I don't see that happening. I'm planning on doing more in field testing of the two when I get the chance and will base my decision on that. I'm fairly confident that the GT will match the Etrac if they are both using the same size coil, or at least beat it if the GT is using something larger such as a 12" or say a 15x12. Some do say they think the GT goes deeper than it or the Explorer when the ground is really bad or for some other odd reason like maybe electrical noise, causing them to get unstabil unless you lower sensitivity.

I see you said you are planning to do some beach hunting. It's GT all the way, then. Not only can you hip or chest mount it to be safer if wading in the water, but many say the Sovereign is smoother/deeper on some beaches than the Explorer or Etrac. What little exposure I've had to the Etrac in the field has shown me it's got much better balance than the Explorer and might not wear me out as quick as the EII did. However, you still are looking at a GT if you want hip mounting ability right out of the box. There are many advantages of the Etrac over the Explorer including better seperation and pinpointing. Most say the Etrac is a big improvement in all aspects to the Explorer. About the only negative I've read some complain about is some think the way the Etrac grafts coins is a little more quirky than the numbering system the Explorer had, but I haven't looked into this further to see exactly what the difference was.

Dig down in this forum for a thread comparing the Explorer/Etrac to the GT that I posted a while back. I got a lot of good input when considering buying the GT. I also got quite a few PMs from people who didn't want to make a public statement to avoid model wars. Some owned all three and thought the Sovereign was as deep or deeper and/or liked it better for one reason or the other. Any one of these machines is pushing the limits of depth, and with the right coil one will beat the other in certain grounds. It more or less comes down to who knows their machine best. I'd take a "rest stop" as suggested by buying a used GT. Try to do some field comparisons to the Etrac with people and then if you decide to go with the Etrac you can get most of your money back out of it.

One other thing, from what I've read the MXT is where it's at for people who want a dual purpose machine that's just as good at nugget shooting as it is coin hunting. People say it's better at small nuggets than the Sovereign. I heard the ground tracking/fixed function was put on the GT to do better for nugget shooting, but a lot of people say the MXT is still better for tiny little gold targets you're more apt to find when hitting the gold fields. It won't compete with the GT when it comes to coins unless the ground conditions are good and/or you are using a bigger coil. In that case it might in fact match a GT or beat it, but I would bet the ground minerals have to be very low for that to happen and it more than likely would have to be running a larger coil.

In either case, you might consider a used MXT to sit along your Sovereign for trips to the gold fields. I plan to buy an M6 as it's got better features than the MXT for rings/coins, and that's saying a lot because the MXT is a very good gold ring machine on land. Since I don't prospect I'm opting for the M6 as it doesn't have the prospecting mode, yet has more tones than the MXT along with the same VDI and depth. It'll be my machine to use in heavy trash mainly to ring hunt or pop clads quick, mainly on those days when I want the more "friendly" feel of a Whites. Just something about the smooth vdi/audio and light weight construction that makes me always want to have a Whites as a backup to my "real" detector.

 

[kered]

Yes the sun upsets visability on the etrac although not so much without the cover that i always use, but having said that the depth of most items on the beach its not 100% acurate anyway, I prefer my etrac to any other detector i have or had in the past, only wish it was waterproof. Having had Sovereigns i go 99% by sound, but glance at the screen now and again to help eliminate digging deep iron. The etrac/explorer has probably the biggest choice of coil than any other detector(not counting the pure gold PI's)
You can also get an inline probe for the etrac too although i use mostly the pocket uniprobe as i have other machines that don't have one to fit that i use. I still use the Sovereign in waterproof form, the Excalibur for in the water and i keep an older Sovereign XS2aPro as a backup should the etrac fail.

Having said all this the Sovereigns are great machines and i think probably the best audio detail in the buisness bar none, its a great grounding for anyone entering the hobby, what you learn on the sovereign can be applied to many other machines, quite a few don't need to change and are happy with the Sov. I don't class going to the Etrac as an upgrate rather a change as they are both fantastic machines and wichever way you go i don't think you will be disapointed

 

[Critterhunter]

That's very well said, that moving from one to the other shouldn't be called an upgrade but rather a change. All 3 of these machines are that close in performance, to me anyway. That's not to say that I don't miss certain things on the Explorer or other computerized detectors. I must admit some of those fancy controls and bells and whistles do hold a certain interest to me. There's just something about being mesmerized by a fancy LCD screen while working targets in the field.

Years ago I was into computer programming and knew several languages so I'm not biased against a detector with computer controls and do miss a few features, even if they aren't used very often or critical to getting the best performance out of a machine. But you can go to the other extreme with say the DFX or Spectra and have what I feel is overkill control wise. Mostly it all reminds me of the old sale's saying....You sell the sizzle and not the steak.

I think it's funny that you said there are a few other machines out there with more coil choices than the Sovereigns. I guess it's all a matter of perspective because one of the reasons I left Whites was to have access to all the coils available to the GT. I would sit there and drool over all the larger coils available for other machines when nothing existed for my Whites larger than the 9.5" it came with. Never had the chance to try larger or different coil types when I had the Explorers but now I'm in a position to do that.

Whites did make a bigger coil but it was way bigger and meant for cache hunting with no good sensitivity to coin sized targets. There was the Hot Shot 12" but I tried two and neither would work. I was just telling a friend that I remember back in the day opening the Kellyco catalog and drool over those Hot Head coils. They were junk, but later I turned my envy to the first Excelerators out for the Minelabs (Penetrators?). Anyway, I was just telling him that I'm finally seeing my dream come true with the 15x12 I'll be getting in the mail I think tomorrow. Sure, the 10" GT coil is bigger than anything I've used before like the stock coils on the Explorers I owned and their great, but I always wanted a coil somewhere around 12" in size to max out coin depth. Finally getting to live that dream but I just hope reality is even half as good as what I had in mind.

 

[desdog]

Thanks all so much for your input - it is very much appreciated,

I don't know what it was but no matter what I looked at I kept on coming back to the Sov GT. I was dismayed when I started making enquiries a couple of days ago via email and stores started telling me it was on back order for 3-4 weeks.
Decided a few minutes ago to use the old phone (how quaint) and first on my short list was MinersDen in Melbourne and I am so excited!!!! Not only do they have one in stock but it comes with the ProPack, it's a great price, they offered free delivery........and it'll be here on Monday.

Can't remember the last time I was so eager on a purchase. I'm even thinking I could suffer from Mondayitis cos I'll be hangin out to get my new toy and hammer the back lawn. The wife and kids are very likely to be without me next weekend too.

Again, thanks to all those who commented.

 

[Critterhunter]

Hope you learn to love the GT. Down the forum a few pages I've got a custom ID chart made up for it with a bunch of coins and other targets. Good way to learn what to expect as you dig. It's still a work in progress so it's bigger than need be as there are double listings I still need to confirm before eliminating and such.

First thing I'd do is some air testing. When doing that take several foil balls the size of a pea, dime, nickle, and quarter and sweep over them. When I did that I was very surprised at how the machine kept them lower (like below 90 or so) on the VDI and also gave them a very distinct gritty/junky sound. Now take a real thin gold ring and sweep that under the coil. I bet you'll instantly see that it's very easy to hear the difference between most foil and gold rings. Try it with pulltabs too.

 

[go-rebels]

It appears that the Sovereign XS comes available once in a while but the used GT's are tough to find.

What are the important differences between these two machines? The GT has "Iron Mask" but isn't that already in place on the XS when set at zero discrimination? If you want to relic hunt using an XS, don't you just shift to "All Metal"? Sorry for my ignorance.

 

[XT18000]

And just when you thought you had it all sorted out someone ( me ) gives you something else for you to bite your nail's
short on; it's called HEADPHONES. You do want to use headphones! Oh the list is longer than your leg and comes
in more color's than a rainbow. Big ones, small ones, high price ones, low price ones, ones with wire's, ones
without wire's, OH what is a person to do? And you thought you were done!! Better get started on that problem right
away mate cause you got a lot to sort out! My vote go's to BLACK WIDOWS. Get ready for as much or more feedback
on this problem as you got on which detector to buy; but did I not read that you really like this sort of thing to keep you
up at night and drive you to the very edge? Good luck mate and Happy Hunting!

 

[desdog]

I fully intend on buying no accessories until I have a 100 hours or so under my belt at least! So, this means NO meter or pinpointer etc for now.
Almost without exception the advice has been to learn to love the machine and learn its tones. Come hell or high water I will do this and will dig everything....I can do with the exercise and isn't the fun in the hunt and just being out there doing it?
As the ProPack is part of the deal with the purchase of my GT, a pair of RPG headphones are supplied. Whatever their quality they will also have to suffice in the interim

 

[Critterhunter]

I'm on the other side when it comes to the need for a meter. I don't think I'd be learning this machine nearly as fast if I didn't have a VDI # to compare the tones to, let alone being able to see shifting VDI #s on junk targets that I can't always hear the slight movement of by ear alone.

I could see not needing a meter if I was strictly a beach hunter and my favorite beach wasn't thick with a certain trash target. I hear around certain outdoor bars you'll find a very specific tab or screw cap # that is simply everywhere. In that case a meter might be helpful if you didn't have the time to clean them all out every time you hunt there.

I'm mostly a land hunter for old coins/rings and I couldn't live without a meter. I've got too many spots to hunt that are filled with trash to dig everything out of them. I usualy only pick a few spots for the summer that I plan to dig every signal above iron out of each time I'm there. In that case the meter isn't needed, but anywhere else for me it would be like leaving without my digger.