Give Your Opinions On The Various Sovereign Coils

[Critterhunter]

This kind'a spawned out of my other thread in which I've been asking about the depth of the Sovereign with various coils versus the Explorer/ETrac/Etc. I'm currently in the market for a used Sovereign GT and so I need to narrow down my coil choices based on the opinions of seasoned Sovereign users. Primarily I'm interested in max depth on coins in cleaner wide open areas I hunt, but I'm also interested in which larger coil works well in trashy parks, as well as which small coil gives you the best target seperation in highly trashy parks and other areas.

My opinion thus far is based only on what I've read and investigated thus far, so please feel free to correct me or offer a differing view on the various coils. Here's what I've gathered to this point...

Sunray S-5: Best trash seperation with decent depth.
Sunray 8": Better trash seperation than stock 10" but less depth.
Stock 10" Tornado: Best all around coil for multiple purposes. Can work in trash yet achieving really good depth.
Sunray 12.5": Best of the larger-than-stock coils in trash and better depth than stock.
WOT: Best depth on coins period, but not as good at trash seperation as Sunray 12.5". Decent pinpointing.
SEF 10x12 & 12x15: Better next to trash than the WOT but not as deep. Much harder to pinpoint and can be unstable. I wonder if they are better in trash or have better depth than the Sunray 12.5"?
Excellerator 14": Based on the lack of praise for this coil I think it doesn't have any advantages over the WOT or other larger coils?

So, from what I'm seeing I would figure that good coil options on a Sovereign GT for me would be...S-5 for working really trashy areas. Stock 10" coil for general use (how does it compare to the 12.5" Sunray?). Sunray 12.5" for max depth in moderate to trashy sites. WOT for max coin depth in less trashy and wide open areas. That's my current game plane...S-5, stock 10", WOT...and perhaps the 12.5" Sunray. Question: If I had the 12.5" Sunray is it as good as the stock coil in trash? In other words, could this be the best multi-purpose coil to always use on the machine?

Please feel free to chime in with your opinions and do your best to compare the various aspects of the coil with others in it's class. Depth, trash seperation, and pinpointing ability compared to the others in it's class would be helpful. Perhaps even weight of the coil compared to the others as well.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

My humble opinion the meter is more important than an extra coil to obtain max depth on deep coins and also with this benefit you can ID your targets.Another theory of mine a Sovereign hunter with a lame 800 BBS(I like this coil) could find more deeper silver coins with a 180 meter added than a user hunting with the Tornado 1000 coil without this aid on their Sovereign.You may save some money by buying an earlier model Sovereign,which they all perform very well.This would allow extra cash for the add ons.An old Sovereign XS with the add ons Sunray meter,S-1 probe and straight shaft will out perform any Sovereign without these including the newer GT.Don't get stuck with coils specs the secret is learning this detector.

 

[kered]

I found that the SEF 12x15 was deeper than the Wot 15" just as easy if not easier to pinpoint and a lot more stable(in and out of water) could be the type of terrain/beach, i chest mounted so didn't notice the weight as much

You have another choice, you could go for the sovereign amp with the coils you have, from what i hear they are pretty good, and not much dearer than a new coil, giving new life to all the coils that you already own

 

[Ron from Michigan]

All Sovereigns used for inland park hunting need these add ons.HH Ron

 

[crazyman]

I have the 10 inch slimline, 8 inch Coinsearch and the Sunray S-8. I have pretty hot ground and the S-8 is the one I use for most of my land hunting. The 10 inch is a great coil also and the one I use at the beach most of the time but in my ground I have to run my sensitivity in auto most of the time to keep it from nulling. With the S-8 I can run my sensitivity at around 1:00 give or take and so far haven't seen any depth loss on coin size targets compared to the 10 inch. I prefer the newer coils to the old Coinsearch. The Coinsearch signal is wider and more drawn out and I like the narrower response of the S-8 especially in trashy sites. Since the Saltwater beaches around here pose less of a problem when using bigger coils than my ground does I'm thinking of adding the S-12 also.

 

[Critterhunter]

Good info so far. Thanks for sharing. I'm surprised you think the 12x15 is stable and pinpoints better than the WOT. I think that's the first somebody has said that, with others thinking the reverse was true. Then again, they might have been talking about the 10x12? Any further comparisons you can give of the two and others would be helpful. How do you think they compare in weight and also in trash seperation? You've already said it's deeper, more stable, and pinpoints as easy as the WOT I think. Correct me if I'm wrong.

You know, I'm glad that I'm looking into the GT. I've owned many machines over the years including 2 or 3 Explorers. As I've said before my favorite has been the QXT Pro. Explorers are just too hard to work with both physicaly and mentaly. Seems to take the fun out of my hunts. I want a machine that can get deeper than my QXT by using bigger coils (none available for the QXT), offers tones and a VDI, and yet isn't going to work me over trying to stay on top of it to keep it working at top performance. I could really get the Explorer to perform but as said it was exhausting my body and my brain. I also don't want to worry about if I've tweaked it out for max performance. Sometimes too many bells and whistles can hurt you rather than help you, always keeping you wondering if it's been set right for that site. The GT seems to offer me the ability to max it out without making mistakes.

I've been pleased to see that there seems to be a cult following in the Sovereign circles. From what I'm reading it's got the depth of an Explorer or an Etrac, some say it handles trash better due to not having the top heavy and slow software lagging it between targets, and there seem to be endless mods for it such as the amp or performance tuning. Looking forward to buying a used GT and getting rid of my QXT Pro. Will trade and offer extra cash if somebody is interested.

 

[kered]

If your worried about trash separation you shouldn't have either of them on, they are too big, what i will say is that the sef seems to have a finer detecting line, and is also more sensitive to the smaller objects for its size, i have had a good few gold earring backings with the sef but not one with the Wot(could be just bad luck), the SEF is heavier but balanced as it has the lugs dead centre(also helps stop flipup or down in the shallows) and is also of sturdier construction.

The 10x12 is just as easy to pinpont, i think the main problem with learning to pinpoint with the SEF coils is that on normal DD coils the lugs are off centre hence the sweet spot is further forward in relation, with the sef the lugs are centred and so the sweet spot is virtuall under the lugs, if you are used to other DD's you are also acustomed to digging forward of the lugs and hence the target ids not there if you do the same on the SEF

"The GT seems to offer me the ability to max it out without making mistakes." <- you can have too much sensitivity and not know it till you are experienced with it, the explorer/etrac will let you know imediately

I dont think the Sovereign is deaper than either the Explorer or etrac, otherwise i would be still using one(although i have an old one as spare)

 

[Bling]

n/t

 

[Critterhunter]

I was reading field tests on the 10x12 and 12x15 coils. It appears the 10x12 is deeper than the 12x15 on coin sized targets when it's a smaller coin, while they both match depth on larger ones. Both coils are deeper on coins than the stock 10" coil but the 12x15 doesn't have any better depth on smaller coins than the stock coil.

For me the jury is still out if the 10x12 is as deep or deeper than the WOT but from what I've read most people still think the WOT is deeper. I'd also like to hear more input on the weight, pinpointing, and trash seperation of the two coils compared to each other. From what most have said the WOT pinpoints a bit easier but the 10x12 does a bit better at trash seperation. Still, it's way too early to say for sure on any of these things.

 

[wpruden]

The 8inch bbs coil is what I use as well and you can run the sensitivity higher with this coil and depending on soil conditions can max it out. When you learn the sov. well you can acheive depths 3 to 4 inches byound coil diameters. example an 8inch coil will achieve depths up to 11 to 12 inches, 13 to 14 with the 10inch coil and so on. Thats in moderate soil conditions going very slow!!!
The deep good targets will come on the threshold change, thats why a meter is key on the sov.get those numbers to climb on the famous sov. wiggle.

 

[Neil]

My humble opinion the meter is more important than an extra coil to obtain max depth on deep coins and also with this benefit you can ID your targets.Another theory of mine a Sovereign hunter with a lame 800 BBS(I like this coil) could find more deeper silver coins with a 180 meter added than a user hunting with the Tornado 1000 coil without this aid on their Sovereign.You may save some money by buying an earlier model Sovereign,which they all perform very well.This would allow extra cash for the add ons.An old Sovereign XS with the add ons Sunray meter,S-1 probe and straight shaft will out perform any Sovereign without these including the newer GT.Don't get stuck with coils specs the secret is learning this detector.

very well said Ron, I agree with you.

get the detector and learn it, the meter will help alot with that, worry about the coils later on. just knowing there are a boatload of coils for it makes it a great buy.

 

[Critterhunter]

Which small coil do people think gives the best trash seperation, S-5? Also, do they make a small concentric for it as I'd figure a concentric would give you more ability to laser out coins next to trash than a DD design.

 

[kered]

I can asure you that the 12x15 is deeper than the 10x12 on the smaller coins too

 

[Neil]

Which small coil do people think gives the best trash seperation, S-5? Also, do they make a small concentric for it as I'd figure a concentric would give you more ability to laser out coins next to trash than a DD design.

the S5 is 5.5" and the 8" tornado is 7 1/4", you get about the same seperation on both coils but the tornado will get you deeper finds.

just the opposite on concentric vs dd coils, the DD coils will do better in trash for the same size coil. Never used a DD coil? your in for a treat

 

[Critterhunter]

I'm only passing on what I've read and not making any judgements since I don't have a GT or the coils to test at the moment. If you read the "official" field test of the 10x12 and 12x15 you'll see that the 12x15 does not go as deep as the 10x12 on smaller coins. I'm guessing this is because the 12x15 and surpassed the point of deminishing returns on small coin sized targets.

I'm still wondering about the WOT versus the 10x12 SEF in depth and other performance traits, but I'm still leaning towards more people saying the WOT is deeper, but that the 10x12 has better trash seperation but is also a little more fussy with pinpointing. Still, I'd like somebody to change my mind on that.

I'm also still wondering which of the tiny coils is best for trash seperation and am leaning toward the S-5 thus far. Is this coil a DD? Are there any tiny concentrics out there as I would bet they'd be better at trash serpation based on the "V" shaped signal versus the "U" style of a DD.

Printed out the latest messages for later review so forgive me if this stuff has been covered. Once again, thanks for all the great input and keep it coming!

 

[Waterman]

I would sure be interested in hearing "Good" or "Bad" about the 18x15 SEF for hunting coins & rings on the beach, wet & dry. What do you think about it?

 

[Critterhunter]

Already posted this in another thread but it seems more fitting here...

I am now leaning more to the Sunray 12" coil than the WOT for the Sovereign. While I still hear the WOT goes slightly deeper, I also hear the Sunray is even lighter than stock, pinpoints good, and handles trash better than the WOT. Seems I'd have more useful situations with the Sunray than the WOT. If I was primarily a beach hunter I'd proper opt for the WOT, but I hunt a lot of parks besides open low trash fields and woods.

Now I'm also wondering based on what have said about Shaun's amp that perhaps I'd be better getting the amp first, which I think I'll do. The next question would be what coils does it work well with. I hear it works with the WOT but not with the SEF coils. Does it work well with the Sunray 12" and if so how does it compare to the WOT depth wise with the WOT not using the amp but using it on the Sunray. Also, wondering if it would work well with a 5" coil and if it would decrease the trash seperation ability of a small coil due to the stronger signal being pumped into the ground?

 

[Critterhunter]

Hopefuly somebody will find this useful....I was thinking it would be informative in this talk of coils to list the deepest coin dug with whatever coil you were using. List Sovereign model, coil size and make, type of ground (beach, turf, minerals, trash, etc), type of coin an it's depth. It might prove useful to those coil shopping. I'm probably wrong about this (correct at will) but thus far I think I've seen 11" for the Tornado 10" on a dime, 15" on the WOT and S-12. 9" on the 8" Tornado. This is from memory so please feel free to set me straight here. If you are using an AMP please indicate the before and after depth on that as well. Doesn't have to be found coins either. Can be test garden stuff.

 

[Rick(ND)]

XS2 Sovereign with the 8 inch Coinsearch coil, Sun Ray DTI 2 meter and the Sun Ray S1 probe got me over 30 old coins in a well worked park at 9-12 inches deep.
XS2 Sovereign with the 12 inch Ultra depth coil (white solid coil) with the same set up got me several deep coins around a old merry go round that has been well worked with a Barber quarter at 13-14 inches deep.
In both cases they were well worked parks and seen many detectors over this same area, but these were deep and you had to go slow, real slow and listen close to the slight threshold change to get them. Going just slow missed then and if I wasn't running a threshold I would miss them also. On the merry go round it took over a hour to go around it as I had to go so slow. Know the Sovereign well help to find these too.
Field testing the S12 Intruder of Sun Rays for park use got me a buffalo nickle at 9 inches with a nail beside it and going slow I could hear the null of the nail and then the tone of the nickle.
Favorite coils for me is the 8 inch coinsearch, SunRay S8, the Sun Ray S-12 Intrudder and the Minelab 10 inch Tornado coils. Not tried the 8 inch Tornado, but most everything else for the Sovereigns and these were the ones I found to be the best for me and my old park and ball field hunting I do..