Considering Sovereign GT

[jbow]

You could buy an F75 LTD and go MUCH deepter than a Sovereign or an E Trac .....If you're not hunting anywhere near a beach , it's a great land machine

Really... that may be so if there is little or no mineralization but in moderate to high mineralization the E-TRAC and Sovereign will eat the F75LTD's lunch.

I have used the T2 on a Florida beach in the dry sand with great results and the LTD will work in the wet sand if you GB on 0 or 1... but the GT is great on wet or dry sand and it is good inland in minerals or non. The E-TRAC is better though, IMO... but I agree it will work on the beach... it wouldn't be my first choice though because of the weight. I chestmount the GT and it is lovely anywhere... but again, the T2 and the F75 will work on the beach.. especially well in the dry sand and ok in the wet with manual GB set at the bottom... I assume the Omega will do it too.

J

 

[synthnut]

Julien,
I shoul be more speciifc in my discriptions .....Instead of saying "beach" , I should say "dry sand " " wet sand" "in the water " ........Just about ANY machine will hunt dry sand ......You can buy the cheapest of the cheapest and it will hunt dry sand ..... It's the wet sand that wreaks havoc on many machines ......Using a macine in water is self explanitory ....

Tony,
It's really sad that you have to go out an purchase another Excal II as a backup because of issues that SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT ...BEFORE the machine went out ..... With the problems you're having with the FIRST Excal II , I"m not sure that I would go out and buy a SECOND Excall II as a backup ....You might need a backup to the backup to the backup !!!........ Sorry ...I don't have the faith that you have in the quality control on the Excal II that you have .....Since you are in Fla. , I would by a machine from a reputable dealter right there , and I would make sure that the company I buy from will take back the SECOND machine and give you another one to work with if it doesn't work properly !!.....I would make DARN SURE of that !!.... 2 bad machines would really put me in a very bad way !!.... I wish you luck with your endeavor ..... I can't imagine what it would be like to live in Fla and NOT have a water machine .... To me it would be like living out at Montauk NY and not having a fishing rod !!......Good Luck !!....Jim

 

[Tony in FL]

Hi Jim - First off I totally agree that based on message boards posts and talking with others that Minelab needs to step it up a notch on quality control and customer service, at least with respect to the Excalibur. However my predicament is really not so bad. Months ago I noticed some falsing at certain beaches and even then only in the water. But where I hunt the most it performed like a champ. I went back and forth trying to decide if the occasional falsing was really an issue. But my warranty was nearing the end so I called up Minelab to turn it in for service. I thought since it is still under warranty I might as well use it. After they OK'ed the return I decided to do a little more hunting before sending it back (the return way bill was good for 30 days). On on last hunt the threshold went completely erratic whether in the the water, wet sand, dry sand, etc. It is interesting that I had already gotten the OK to send it back and afterwards the threshold issue occurred. Since I was in the vicinity of the one year mark I am actually lucky that I pushed the Excalibur on a few more hunts. Otherwise this threshold issue may have not surfaced until after the unit was returned at which point warranty coverage would technically be over.

Overall I have been quite happy with the Excalibur. The market melt value of my gold finds in one year exceeded the original purchase price. Because I got a great deal on a second Excalibur and they tend to hold their value so well I suspect I can sell my original Excalibur, once it is fixed from Minelab, and recoup much of the costs leaving me with the newer machine and warranty. I think this will work out pretty well. Of course I will probably still wind up buying an E-Trac because I want to have a backup, I wish to get more into land hunting, I like the discrimination options and trash separation capabilities, and should I go hunting with a buddy who does not have a detector I will have two great units to head out with.

 

[goldspot]

Have been recovering Spanish shipwreck treasure from beach over 45 years.Used the prs 7 army detector until sovereign came along.None better on the beach or easier.I waterproof all sovereigns and use only lithium battery's.Use 10 inch head while beach is cutting in storm then go to 15 inch coiltek after storm.Can dig Spanish 8's at 24 inch's.Allways use only all metal search.
I have never searched for anything but Spanish and only when it is storming and beach is cutting.Have found thousands of silver Spanish coins and over 150 gold coins plus many other items from the wrecks.Of course this over many years.

 

[Tony in FL]

Have been recovering Spanish shipwreck treasure from beach over 45 years.Used the prs 7 army detector until sovereign came along.None better on the beach or easier.I waterproof all sovereigns and use only lithium battery's.Use 10 inch head while beach is cutting in storm then go to 15 inch coiltek after storm.Can dig Spanish 8's at 24 inch's.Allways use only all metal search.
I have never searched for anything but Spanish and only when it is storming and beach is cutting.Have found thousands of silver Spanish coins and over 150 gold coins plus many other items from the wrecks.Of course this over many years.

Very impressive! I think a lot of folks would really enjoy seeing some pictures of your Spanish finds if you care to post. With respect to the Sovereign - how did you go about waterproofing them?

 

[synthnut]

Goldspot ,
Welcome to the forum ......Sounds like you're in a honey of a spot with all those Spanish coins !!..... Show us some of your finds if you care to share ....Thanks, Jim

 

[DonNWF]

n/t

 

[w6pea]

I may be wrong but I think when you send something in for warranty work doesn't it extend the warranty?

I took my RV in for some work just before the warranty was up. I was told by the dealer that it would cover that same repair by warranty for an additional 36 months. Maybe that's because of the laws here in Taxafornia ?