Newbie's Comparison Of GT To Whites, Explorer, Etc.

[Critterhunter]

I thought it would be of intrest to potential new Sovereign owners to hear about my initial comparisons of it to the Whites, including the QXT Pro and 6000 Pro XL, as well as to the 2 or 3 Explorers I've owned over the years and a few other machines. Mainly, though, this will be a comparison of it to Whites and the Explorer. I plan to do the initial hardware comparison in quality, weight, balance, and so on, and then move onto my initial hunts with it and how successful they were. Later, months down the road, I'll report back with the success of hunts with it at the same places again. This will be useful to see if it's out performing other machines as a newbie user and then later as a more seasoned user.

There are several locations I plan to do these test hunts at which should offer good comparison info. One location is realitively clean, at the most moderate in trash, and has produced several deep mercs and Washingtons for me. I've worked this area with numerious machines, including the 6000 Pro XL, QXT Pro, and then later an Explorer. The QXT Pro was able to pull coins at it's maximum depth range....somewhere around 8 to 9 (at the most) inches in depth. The ground here isn't highly mineralized or contain a lot of iron or hot rocks. This site is much older than those Mercs and Washingtons and saw a lot of public traffic dating back to about the late 1800's. For this reason there should be deeper and older coins at this location.

Encouraged by the numerous deep dimes and quarters I was pulling with the QXT Pro, I was anxious to get back to this spot with a new Explorer. I hunted this area as a newbie Explorer user and then later as I gained the wisdom to hunt with it properly for maximum performance. I tried hunting in several configurations, including auto and manual sensitivity and with other various settings. The Explorer was not able to pull any more coins out of the area, let alone any deeper ones. Now, before anybody jumps down my throat about the Explorer let me just say that I've owned 2 or 3 and they are awesome machines. They'll hit harder and deeper on many metal types than the QXT Pro, but if the QXT is set up and used properly it gets about the same depth in non-mineralized ground on silver/copper coins. The QXT is a low frequency detector so silver/copper is it's specialty when hunting. However, if there is any kind of ground minerals or hot rocks in the area the Explore blows it away in depth on silver/copper. I just feel from my experience that under ideal ground conditions the QXT can match the Explorer in depth on silver/copper, probably why the Explorers I used were not able to pull anything deeper using the stock coil.

Anyway, this gives you an idea of what this one site is about. If as a newbie I start popping deeper coins I'll be real impressed. But I don't expect that to happen. We'll see, but as a more seasoned user later on down the road it will also be real interesting to see what this machine and 10" Tornado coil is able to do depth wise there.

Another few spots I have lined up are as follows. One particular location has such heavy hot rock and mineral concentration that ALL my previous machines were unable to get stable performance there. If you wanted to dig targets you had to dig the iffy ones because they were all that way. Lowering the sensitivity made the machines more stable but also limited depth largely. When I got my Explorer I went back to this spot and instantly starting popping barber dimes, indians, and 3 large cents. While the Explorer still wasn't given 100% perfect coin signals on everything but the large cents, it was giving me coin signals that were about 90% "perfect" and as a result gave me the ability to target potential coins and not just dig anything that sounded off as with the other machines. While these coins were only about 4" or so deep, the 3 large cents in seperate holes were in the 7 or 8" range and sounded real good (the ground in this area didn't have the hot rocks or mineralization. They did, however, each have an old square nail either on top to them, right next to them, or fused to the coin. Very impressive. So, this area will be both a good test of the Sovereign GT in high minerals/hotrocks, and also a good test for it an better area minerals wise but containing a lot of iron. A good test of both abilities of this machine.

At least one other spot (there will be others, I'm sure) that I plan to try it at is in the woods high on a ridge. This area is so remote and hard to get to that I'm confident nobody has ever hunted it. I managed to pull a 1909 barber half, 1904 barber dime, and an indian head penny from this site. It is infested with iron so I'm fairly confident there are more coins to be found if the Sovereign's Iron Mask can see the good through the bad.

Other spots will be described and the machine tested at, and as I said they will be visted as a newbie to the Sovereign and then later as I get more experience. The first thing I plan to do is do a comparison of the build quality of the Sovereign versus the Whites, as well as it's weight compared to them and the Explorer. That's the next message.

 

[Critterhunter]

At least two more sites come to mind that will also be good tests of the Sovereign. One is an old 1800's small school house that also was a speak easy and stop over for traveling people. This site is simply loaded with nails. I have yet to find a site that is this badly infested with iron. None of the machines I've used there were able to find any coins at all. There is an almost constant hitting of iron across the entire sweep. I know several other hunters who have tried this site with various machines as well and none came away with any coins. While it may also be a bit too much for the 10" coil on the Sovereign, I have high hopes that the iron mask ON may produce something. If anything, later when I get a small S-5 coil it may in fact be possible to finally get this place to give up a few of the old coins that must exist there.

Yet another spot, this one loaded with modern and old trash signals, is probably the most trashy park I've ever hunted. It has produced silver for me but mainly in the cleaner areas. It also has bad ground minerals making some of my machines unstable sometimes when working it.

All these spots offer some type of unique challenge to the Sovereign GT. They either are clean soil that isn't highly mineralized but with real deep coins, spots infested with iron, spots infested with trash, or areas that have high mineral and hot rock concentrations. The other benefit to them is that they've been hunted hard by me with various other machines so I can compare the Sovereign's performance to what it produced with other units.

Onto the initial hardware comparison of the Sovereign to the Explorer and Whites. I put the machine together last night and made several observations. First being that in some respects the build quality seems way less than that of a Whites, but that in other areas it seems a bit overkill as far as how strong it's been built. A few areas that seem to be overkill strengthwise include the coil it's self. While not as heavy as I thought it would be, it probably could be made much lighter. I noticed what appears to be a large amount of heavy Epoxy on the bottom of the coil. I've never seen this before on a detector. One wonders why the standard plastic enclosure of a coil's case wouldn't suffice. Still, this Tornado coil is no where near the weight I thought it would be as many have said Minelab coils are heavy.

The second major area of unneeded weight in my opinion would be the straight shaft. The upper metal shaft seems much thicker than it needs to be. The lower fiberglass shaft also seems much stronger than need be. I wonder why Minelab wouldn't use a lower carbon rod like Whites does. Even with the extra metal/fiberglass in size, it feels to me not as rigid as a White's shaft. I'm guessing this is due to the lack of a solid lock where the two shafts join. Even tightened, the plastic lock ring and metal tab/hole just doesn't seem as stiff as a Whites.

I'm guessing they also could have said some weight by going to a thinner coil cable. It looks almost twice as thick as the cables used on the Whites, not to mention that it's much harder to loop neatly and also is way too long for the standard mounting location under the arm rest. I realize that they did this so you could have the ability to hip mount the box, but it seems more logical to provide an extension cable as an add on to lengthen it for that purpose, cutting down on the weight as well as the unsightly looks of all those loops of the cable around the shaft. It took me a good half hour to wrap it nicely and finally get it to stay in place while I put the velcro loops in place to hold it in that position. Adding the DigiSearch Meter made the excessive length of the coil cable even more outrageous, since it now plugs into the meter, and the meter's cable going to the box also seems way too long.

I can see why people complain about the meter not being raised or tilted back. With the hand grip adjusted to a comfortable position in relation to the arm rest I found my hand was blocking easy view of the meter. I tilted the hand grip to the right about an inch or so and set it there. With it in that position I can see the meter with no obstructions, but it sure would have been nice to raise it 3 or 4" and maybe tilt it back some. Anybody have a solution without buying an aftermarket adaptor?

Initialy I found the hand grip awkward. It just didn't seem to fit into the palm of my hand flat. I then realized that the previous owned had installed it backwards so that it was tilted toward you instead of tilted toward the coil. Reversing it made things much better, and I like the finger strap that adjusts and goes over your fingers to further clean up the swing of the detector. I did not like the foam grip. This detector is only about a year old (previous owner bought it new) and yet the grip is crumbling apart in foam chunks. White's has a much more sturdy grip. I'm guessing a bike grip would work well to replace it?

I'm not too fond of the way the control box mounts to the bottom of the arm rest. When I tightened up the one plastic bolt and wing nut (maybe it should have came with two?) the bolt broke on me. I used two large (I think 1/4") nylon bolts and nuts in two of the mounting holes that hold it to the shaft. MUCH better, but the box still seems like it has some play. Makes me feel like it might somehow break loose and crash to the ground on me. I'm more worried about the snap attachment that goes to the box and mounts in the armrest slot. Seems like the wrong hit could unsnap it and cause the box to crash. The control box it's self is sort'a cheesy IMHO. Seems like they could have used a better quality plastic or even an aluminum case. Don't say it would make it too heavy. Whites use metal boxes. Figure out a way to drop some weight somewhere else.

Overall impression of the completed GT with the stock straight shaft and 10" Tornado coil, along with meter, is that it's very well balanced. I'm surprised. While it feels much heavier than a Whites when you are just holding the machine in your hand, once you put your arm into the thing properly and start sweeping around it doesn't feel any more heavy than a Whites to me. The balance must help that. I like the straight shaft and the feel of the unit. It's not nearly as heavy as I imagined, and is more balanced that I thought, so I don't see a problem with hunting for hours with it. MUCH more balanced and better feel than an Explorer! That's one of the things I hated about the Explorer, so I'm glad to see it doesn't handle like a pig as it did. I don't see a need yet to hipmount the box but I'll know for sure once I hunt several hours with it. A typical Saturday finds a friend and I hunting 7 hours non-stop so it'll be a good test. I'll report back on that later.

It's nice to have a rechargable battery pack along with a battery holder to use. However, I was surprised that the pack is only 1000 (1100?)MA. Well, at least they are nimhs, but a machine that is this power hungry should come with 2000 or 2500ma AAs IMHO. I use those all the time in my Whites and it really provides long run times, even lasting longer than normal shelf batteries. Buy yourself some 2000 to 2500ma Energizer AA batteries (8 pack for about $14) at Walmart and a good slow charger that will take about ten hours or more to charge them. Don't use the quick chargers as they are hard on batteries and don't provide as long of run time when charged. If you want to buy a really cheap and good computerized charger that will do any battery type you can think of (lipos, 123, nimhs, nicads, etc) go to Hobby City and order the Turnigy Accucel6 for about $35. You'll need to go up to Radio Shack to buy a holder to charge them. You can set the computer up for charge rate, peak shutoff, and so many other features, and a compariable charger will cost you about $150 any where else. I use these in the hobby of RC electric airplanes and many guys shop there for the best price around. Anyway, you'll get atleast double the run time out of the Energizers (or any other battery above 2000ma) than the stock pack. Use them in your regular battery holder. Take them out when you want to charge them. I'd also use that charger rather than the stock one as I trust the Accucel much more. It will display how many MA has been put back in the pack, cycle the pack for you if you want, and I'm more confident in it shutting off properly. Just be careful with the properly polarity of the stock pack's plug. If you don't know what you are doing then DON'T DO IT. Use the stock charger.

Took the machine to my front yard and powered it up. Auto sensitivity. Adjusted threshold and volume. Threw a quarter on the ground and set the meter to 180. Nice, no problems. Initial problem is I can't get the threshold stable in manual sensitivity. Perhaps it's the interference from the house ten feet away. I'm sure it can be done but we're talking my initial few minutes with the machine. Probably the iron I was swinging over or other trash in threshold mode was causing me to think the threshold was unstable when it was just hitting targets. Somebody help here?

Very initial impression of the audio: Well, I always complained about "beep and dig" type of audio "harmonics" from a lot of the machines out there. I need to hear the subtle differences and "meat" of the target's response so I can make my own judgements. I always thought the QXT (and in general Whites) had the best audio harmonics in the industry. Meaning, not just a "beep" but a long and rich language that I can listen to for slight characteristics of the target. Sweeping over that quarter I could instantly tell that the Sovereign has a lot more to say. Not only does it indicate conductivity based on numerous levels of tone, but also has an even longer and more drawn out "THIS...IS...WHAT...I...AM" type of response that gives me even more to pick apart and analyze for target potential. Although it's VERY early, I can say for sure that it's wanting to talk to me in long sentences rather than short two or three word phrases, if you know what I mean here. Now all I have to do is learn the language.

One last thing for now, practicing in the front yard made it very clear that the pinpoint switch is a major hassle. I'm used to pulling a trigger that's always at the tip of my finger like a gun on the Whites. And I thought the Explorer's pinpointing button was in a bad place! This needs to be addressed. Can anybody point me to a thread on modding it for an external pinpoint switch. Yea, I know how to solder, how switches work, and all that jazz. I'd just like to see what's already been done so I can follow it blindly. :') What I'm really interested in is to see where they mounted the switch and how. Perhaps drilling out the top of the pistol grip, or maybe even sticking out the side near an index finger?

All for now...Hope it helps potential Sovereign owners know what they are in for hardware wise. Initial newbie field reports soon. I plan to get out to the deep coin spot tonight!

 

[Critterhunter]

Two more after thoughts about the hardware, since I can't seem to go back and edit my message...Don't know if I said it but tilting the hand grip about an inch or so to the right, just to the point where my hand is not blocking the Digimeter screen, seems to make the unit handle better as well. I don't know if it's real or imagined but it seems like it makes swinging the detector a little more effortless, so it might be something to try even if you don't have a meter that is being blocked by it.

I'd also like to say that any of my doubts about the build quality or stiffness of the unit seemed to go away once I started swinging it around. It feels natural and like a solid extension of my arm. It gives me a more "solid" and "on course" feeling when swinging it around, I might even say more so than a White's. Perhaps it's in my mind or perhaps it's like driving a truck versus driving a car. I like the feeling a truck gives me while driving, and thus far I like the feel the GT is giving me. That may change as I do an extended hunt, as said.

 

[Neil]

n/t

 

[Rick(ND)]

The reason they are only 1100 Mha is they are AAA cells and not AA cell as it has to have 10 of them to get the correct voltage to run the Sovereigns. The alkaline pack only hold 8 AA cells so you can put in rechargeable in it as you will only get 9.6 volts instead of the 12 volts to run correctly.
Sounds like you like your QXT and have some experience and know it well, the GT may not match it now, but give it a chance and get to know the GT well and I feel you will see why many of us swear by the Sovereigns and getting separation and depth that is unbelievable. You got to get to know the Sovereigns for them to work like many of us tell you, If you do get to know it well I feel the QXT will be a backup detector.

 

[ToniSteve]

CritterHunter,
Great approach! Keep us posted.

Best Regards,
Steve

 

[Critterhunter]

A couple more things to clearify...First, how does the audio harmonics of the Sovereign compare to the Explorer? I've already said I consider the Whites QXT to have some of the best harmonics on the market, although you can only assign high or low tones to the desired targets with it. Still, it offers harmonic detail not found on many other machines. For example, I can hear the "skipping" or scratchy noise a bottle cap makes compared to a coin easily on it. The Explorer and Sovereign of course offer many more tones to identify the target based on conductity. The Explorer, however, I don't feel offers much in the way of detail in the "meat" of the target's audio (length and detail). I consider it lacking compared to the Whites in that respect. However, the Sovereign I can already tell has a nice long and drawn out detailed audio response to the target's characteristics. I have high hopes I can identify targets with it not only with the level of tone, but also by how the harmonics sound of the target as I pass over it.

While on the subject, there are a few questions I have about the Sovereign's target response. I'm worried that it's longer response in audio may have one downside, in that it won't seperate coins from trash targets. Yes, I know the Iron Mask ON feature is a legend when it comes to pulling coin signals that it sees through iron, but what about coins that are next to non-iron trash targets such as pull tabs or other such non-iron targets? Does the iron mask feature offer ability here as well? Also, the manual states that with iron mask ON the depth of the machine is slightly increased. I would figure this to be the reverse. With that in mind, is there any advantage to hunting with iron mask OFF at all when coin hunting? Does it see coins next to non-iron trash better? I could see you turning it off for relic hunting but is there any instance in which turning it off for coin shooting proves useful?

I'm also wondering about the silent search versus threshold mode when it comes to coin shooting. I like hunting in silent search on my machines but with discrimination set at zero. This enables me to hear any targets under the coil and lesson masking. However, this was on detectors where silent search does not cost you any depth. I'm wondering if using Silent Search will cost you a penalty in depth on the Sovereign, or if it has the necessary software to make the difference almost nill. I'll learn to love threshold mode if that means it's the best depth ability.

I could also use any advice at tuning the sensitivity at a site. Should I keep the coil stationary in a clean spot and then tune it to where the threshold is stable, or do I have to be sweeping over the ground while adjusting it to finally get the right setting? Is there a way to tune it by pumping the coil up and down in a clean spot, and I hear that a slight increase of tone when touching the ground will insure best depth. I'm mainly interested in the steps others use to set the machine up at a site to insure I'm maxing the depth out completely. I also hear that I should set the volume to max and then adjust it on the headphones to insure that I hear the deeper targets.

Back to the comparisons...I weighed the stock rechargable battery pack compared to the regular battery holder installed with 2500ma Energizer nimhs. The Energizers weigh exactly 1 ounce more in weight, but as I said it will more than double your run time. I think they still weigh less than if you were using regular non-rechargable batteries in the holder, though I've never weighed them to compare. The stock charger's plug is positive in the middle and negative on the outter contacts ON MY charger. Not saying it is with yours so always check yourself. I plan to buy this size plug so that I can cycle the stock nimhs on my Turnigy Accucel charger. Even nimhs still benefit from draining completely once in a while and this often allows more capacity to be put back into a back that hasn't been exercised once in a while by doing this.

I want to make it a point againt to complain about the length of the coil and meter's cables. There is no call for this kind of length. Imagine the production cost money it would save the coil and meter makers if they would make them only long enough to reach the box under the armrest. Like I said, if you want to hipmount the unit they should sell an extension cable for doing that. It makes no sense to make the majority of Sovereign users suffer with the extra weight and unsightly mess the longer cables cause, since I'm willing to be it's a much smaller community who are hip or chest mounting the box.

Still haven't got out to hunt with the unit yet. Hoping tonight.

 

[Critterhunter]

n/t

:') I learned how to type fast and properly in college. When you can type this fast it only takes a few minutes to pound out a long and pointless message.

 

[Critterhunter]

The reason they are only 1100 Mha is they are AAA cells and not AA cell as it has to have 10 of them to get the correct voltage to run the Sovereigns. The alkaline pack only hold 8 AA cells so you can put in rechargeable in it as you will only get 9.6 volts instead of the 12 volts to run correctly.
Sounds like you like your QXT and have some experience and know it well, the GT may not match it now, but give it a chance and get to know the GT well and I feel you will see why many of us swear by the Sovereigns and getting separation and depth that is unbelievable. You got to get to know the Sovereigns for them to work like many of us tell you, If you do get to know it well I feel the QXT will be a backup detector.

I've always heard people say this...that rechargables at 1.2 volts per cell won't operate properly in certain devices, yet I have yet to run into one thing I've used them in that didn't work fine. Not saying the GT won't be the first for this to happen to me, so maybe I'm wrong. Most people don't realize that most DC devices can operate at a wide range of voltage input, typicly 8 to 15 volts or so on a device that wants 12 volts. Even still, many detectors (assuming the GT is the same here?) use a voltage regulator to drop the voltage to a specific constant, often lower than the 12 input power being used. This is the reason why a lower battery voltage doesn't cost most detectors on the market to get less depth, as the voltage is already being regulated to a lower constant. Thirdly, as a regular battery drains it's voltage per cell constantly drops, while a good high capacity rechargable will tend to hold it's load voltage longer than a shelf battery, so in fact the shelf battery will often dip sooner in voltage and quickly be lower than the 1.2 volts of a nimh rechargable. If a device is that touchy about cell voltage I think it would quickly alarm that the batteries are "dead", in say 4 or 5 hours of use versus the 15 to 20 the manual is stating shelf batteries should have. Now, all that being said perhaps the GT is different. It'll be the first time in my many years of using rechargables in everything from flashlights to powering brushless plane motor's that they caused a problem. I guess I'll have to throw the nimhs into the thing once I've gotten used to it's operation and see if they effect the performance in any fashion.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I used 2650s from experience new batteries may hold 8 hours with smaller coil but after that about 3-4 hours before the death squeal not enough voltage you need 10 AA batteries like the rechargeable pack to operate proper,not like the Explorer.Learn the Sovereign too many differences to use side by side with other units,or its just going to be an experiment gone bad.Kinda of like a retarded nephew playing with a chemistry set.

 

[crazyman]

You need to put in the hours in the field using the Sovereign to learn it. learning to recognize the audio differences on deep targets and targets close to trash is the key to digging targets left behind by other detectors. I spent about 50-60 hours learning the Sovereign on our nasty saltwater beaches digging everything and experimenting before I took it on it's first land hunt. It's not a complicated detector as far as setting up. Except for the sensitivity all my settings stay the same whether I'm hunting a saltwater beach, old park or ghost town. My ground is not the best and can vary from one site to the next so I use the bobbing method to set my sensitivity for each site I hunt. Even though I bought a new meter I don't think I will be using it anytime soon as the key so far to finding deep coins and good targets in iron with the Sovereign is in the audio alone. One thing about the wide audio response on the Sovereign is that it's a good indicator to judge depth of targets. In my ground as the target gets deeper that wide audio gets narrower and softer. Cherry picking the deep old coins with the Sovereign should be a breeze in those old parks.

 

[UtahRich]

I used 2650s from experience new batteries may hold 8 hours with smaller coil but after that about 3-4 hours before the death squeal not enough voltage you need 10 AA batteries like the rechargeable pack to operate proper,not like the Explorer.Learn the Sovereign too many differences to use side by side with other units,or its just going to be an experiment gone bad.Kinda of like a retarded nephew playing with a chemistry set.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Yes,

I will agree that the rechargeable will work in most everything I have run into other than the Tesoros detectors that use a 9 volt battery and the Sovereigns. The Sovereigns need the 12 volts or as close as you can and beleive it goes to low battery alert and shut down with less then 9.4 or somewhere around there. The 8 rechargeable are 9.6 volts so it dont take much time for them to go into low battery alert. The lower Mha batterys may last a few minnutes while the higher ones can go a few hour or more. Dont you think if the 8 cell rechargeable would work Minelab would have made them that way, Maybe this is something they can make in future Sovereigns a 10 cell holder, but then again maybe not as someone would try to put 10 alkaline in it for 15 volts.

A Few years ago many were having problems with Sovereigns shutting down, losing depth and not being stable and found out these were the ones using 8 rechargeable in the alkaline pack in most every case, but I know e have higher ratings now then we did then, but when I go out detecting I want my Sovereign to be working 100% as I dont want to miss that 1916 D merc or a 1909 S VBD penny because it was not working like it should.

Being you have the GT now you should be going out to use it and start learning it every chance you can, then ask questions on anything you dont understand as we are here to help. Reading post after post and not using it will not help until you get out to use it and understand what we are talking about. There is no easy short cuts, the easiest way is to get out and use it and start understanding it and ask questions as you go.

Good luck and hope to see you post some great find with your GT, just keep it simple to begin with and enjoy.

 

[kered]

Both my Tesoro golden umax( with 9v 280mah from vapex) and sovereigns worked well with nimh rechargables, once the voltage reaches the cutoff point it will shut down but untill then its working 100%. Things have come a long way since the old nicad rechargables, i say no more as this has been discussed many times(no disrespect of your opinion RickND)

 

[Critterhunter]

I finally got out last night with about two hours to hunt and the results are VERY impressive! Details in next message but first on rechargables. Voltage of a good quality high MA nimh battery are higher when charged than 1.2 per cell these days. Often the computer TX I use for RC electric planes reads in the 11.5 range for several hours on a freshly charged nimh 8 pack. I just checked the stock pack after roughly 3 hours of use (air testing and about 2 hours hunting last night) and it's at 12.65volts, where as an older 2500ma 8 pack that was charged a few days ago is resting at 10.5V. So, there might be some play here regarding how many hours an 8 nimh pack will go before it starts sounding alarms. I'll just have to try my 8 2500ma nimhs and see how long they last before voltage hits critical. Another factor to consider is that while the stock pack is 10 cells, they are only 1000ma per cell capacity. In RC we factor in something called the "C" raiting, meaning how many amps a pack can deliver without the voltage dropping a lot under load. I would suspect that the stock pack under load from the detector would drop it's voltage a good bit, as C raiting is somewhat directly related to the MA (capacity) of the pack. What I'm saying here is that I suspect a high capacity nimh (2500ma or more) might just hold it's load voltage higher than the 1000ma AAA cells can, resulting in the stock pack soon dropping below the load voltage of the higher capacity AAs. Still, that's all speculation so I'll just have to try.

Anyway, yea, I know that hunting experience counts the most but there is still valuable information that can be gained from the perspective of more seasoned Sovereign users. That's the reason I'm asking a lot of questions, as I like to research any project I'm involved in to give me a greater aspect of what I should expect.

Now onto the impressive two hour maiden hunt...

 

[Critterhunter]

With two hours to kill off I went to the one site I previously described. This is a site dating back to the late 1800s and has produced a lot of deep silver mercs/Washingtons. It's very moderate in trash over most of it, averaging maybe a non-ferous targer every ten feet or so as it's been picked over by other hunters as well as my friends and I over the years. It doesn't see much modern traffic these days so as a result there isn't a lot of square tabs or clad. The soil isn't mineralized and contains no hot rocks.

With a limited time to hunt I figured I'd try to cherry pick a few deep coins in the 180 range. Discrimination at zereo, threshold mode, and managed to keep it stable with the sensitivity at max. Very impressive. There is no nearby electrical wires and I suspect that the machine could handle more sensitivity. I'm willing to be this is what one of those "performance tunes" involves...perhaps there is a pot on the circuit board that can raise the level of sensivity scale that the external knob is able to control. Meaning, adjusted upwards internaly might make the current "highest" setting on the sensitivity knob somewhere in the 3/4ths max range. Anybody have details on this?

So I'm cherry picking 180 signals. Yea, I know...dig everything at first to learn the machine but I didn't have the time. Besides, this would be a good way to see if the GT can carry a total newbie. I dug three 180 signals that turned out to be trash. Since I don't know the audio yet I would suspect that. While this isn't exciting the fact that two of these were very deep (at the 8 or 9" range) and small, yet gave really loud sound offs was impressive.

After wandering around trying to pick some more 180 signals and not finding any in roughly 20 minutes, I decided that looking for deepies might be better put off until I had more time and experience. At the back of this field there is roughly a 10 foot wide by 60 foot long area that is loaded with trash and iron. I've gridded this spot with all my machines and so have friends, including my QXT Pro and a few Explorers, digging the "iffy" coin signals mixed in with the trash. I figured this would be a good test of the IRON MASK ON (which I kept on the whole time I was out). To further hamper the machine and let it carry all the newbie weight, I cranked the discimination up to full, or "silver mode" as you guys call it.

Within minutes I get a 176 signal that sounded good. Out pops a zinc from about 3 inches deep. Hmmm....how did I miss that before? Swept back over the spot it came from and found the answer....threshold nulling out into iron. A few minutes later another 179/180 signal turns out to be a clad dime at roughly the same depth. Sure enough, sweeping over where it came from I heard the threshold nulling out. OK, looks like Iron Mask is already carrying this newbie's weight and getting a few targets even the Explorer or the ultra fast recovery speed of the QXT had missed. Several minutes later another 180 signal. Sounded a little big but figured I'd better dig it as I don't know how to judge target size yet. From 4 or 5" out pops an old bronze belt buckle engraved with the letter "D". Wow, how did I miss that thing before? It's roughly the size of a half dollar but square in shape (see picture). Marked on the back "bronze". Now I'm impressed even more!

With about an hour left to hunt I figured I'd hit a local freshwater beach. This is a small lake with a beach area roughly 100 yards long and 50 yards wide. Not very big, and the only local beach within 20 miles or so. As a result, I know of a guy who hits it on a regular bases and probably anybody else who lives nearby and wants to beach hunt in the sand close to home. With the nearby power lines now I can't get the sensitivity to stabilize unless it's at about the 2 o'clock position. Figured I'd better hunt in auto for a while to see how the threshold is supposed to act. Then back to manual and got it mostly stable with some drop outs here and there in the 2 or 3 o'clock spot. No signals for about four minutes as I suspect it's been hit hard. Then I see a spot that looks like people were wrestling. Figured the disturbed sand would be a good spot. Suddenly I hit a 156 signal. Thinking, that's slightly above nickle. Decided to switch to auto sensitivity. Target is now gone. Switch back to 2 or 3 O'clock on the dial. Target is back, solid, and sounds smooth. Thinking to myself (auto sensitivity is way over compensating. Can't trust it. Manual for now on. Anyway, I dug out about five inches, maybe 6, of sand. Sweeping over the dug up sand I hear the target. Kick it around with my foot and I'm staring at a gold looking ring! Must have looked at it for two minutes and swept over it, watching the meter. Can't be that I'm this lucky with my first day out and maybe 5 minutes on the beach! Sure enough, 1947 woman's class ring, 10K gold, small "j", big "R", small "f" in the center. "High School" below that. "1947" across face. Still thinking, it's at least got to be plated, I notice "high school" is worn more than halfway down and still looks like gold! The engraving on the face is very detailed, so this helped further confirm my belief until I looked under a loop at home. It's the real thing!

Walked about ten feet and got a "nickle" 147 number. 3" deep out pops a nickle. Wow, I have to leave now but I'm going back tonight! I suspect the ring was deeper than whatever machine the local guy who pounds it is able to reach in that sand, and I can't say much for his gridding skills because he should have got that nickle at least. Have to leave by now but swept around a bit more and heard a few more targets that are worth digging, so the spot is by far not cleaned out.

How about that? Two targets dug in less than 10 minutes and they are both "keepers". I forced the Sovereign into a position with my settings and "high standards" of what I wanted to see (perfect signals) and it was able to carry a total newbie to a few good finds without hardly digging any trash. I feel the meter really helped here, as I watched for the numbers I expected and don't know the audio enough yet to use it as my guide. Meter first for now, then listen to how that number is supposed to sound. These are the best pictures I can do with my camera.

Overall impression of machine thus far: I could feel the weight near the end. Cocking the hand grip to the right isn't going to work. I need to set it at dead center. Other than that the machine wasn't wearing me out like the Explorer, but I could feel the weight a bit more than I would with the QXT. Still, I think I can hunt with it for hours without needing to take a pain killer. I'll know more later on and will consider a lighter aftermarket rod if need be, but I don't it's going to be a problem.

Meter: You know, at first I was let down that a meter with 180 numbers didn't have slight variations from clad dimes and quarters to silver ones, and so on. However, I was looking at it the wrong way. The QXT doesn't have that kind of resolution either, with just a zinc zone and a "COIN" zone. So why am I feeling bothered by the 180 number for a copper to dollar range? Besides, the lower part of the scale on the GT has much more resolution than the QXT. Below zinc on the QXT it goes rountab, then nickle/square tab, foil, then large iron, then small iron. That's it...just 5 zones to offer below zinc. Yea, I can sort'a tell the differences between targets based on the audio and ID response on the QXT, but the GT has so much more in the way of numbers and scale below zinc. Much more precision to "split hairs" and try to avoid the bad for the good. I can see my gold ring count going way up with this unit, as well as on all those "odd" old coins that live somewhere in this lower land of numbers.

Threshold Mode: I can see why it's real helpful to have it hold the tone of the last target you swept over. Made me notice and move back to check out a target that the coil just nicked the edge of. When do you guys prefer silent mode?

Pinpoint: I managed to pinpoint targets without switching into all metal/pinpoint. Wasn't hard at all. Anybody else do this? Will it work on the deep ones without needing pinpoint?

Coins In Trash: What should I be looking for here ID and audio wise? Is it possible to pull a good ID out of a coin in trash or perhaps iron. Can I let that "carry" me for a while or do I need to dig by tone only for those?

At first I felt a little trapped by the slow speed I had to walk with this machine at. I can cover so much more ground quicker with the QXT, but I kept telling myself "good things come to those who wait". Detectors are like women. If you want to fall in love again you can't be looking for the same traits in the next one. You've got to look for what's special about the one you're with now. That's what I have to do...learn to look for and use the strengths of this machine, not try to force it into the doing what another can.

 

[Critterhunter]

One more thought. You tell me. Beginners luck or was the machine doing it's thing? I've heard many a story about a new guy to a machine making some incredible finds on his first day. Most say this is due to him not falling into "bad habits" and digging targets that normaly wouldn't be dug by those who think they know the machine and what to expect ID/tone wise. I would suspect in the case of the ring that it was the machine, as a 156 number is for sure one worth digging on the beach. The buckle as well, since it was a good solid 180 number and sounded just like a quarter in my air tests, for the most part. Then again, I in no way know the language of this machine yet at all. You decide.

 

[Rick(ND)]

We all seem to have different opinions and that is good as we can all learn more by keeping a open mind.
I tried many different rechargeable 9 volts in the Tesoros I had and didn't care for any of them as they seem to work good when taken off the charger, but if they sat in the detector for a few weeks it seem like within a hour or so detecting they would go dead. These were nickle metal hydride's with the highest ratings one I could get 2 years ago as I haven't used or bought any different ones anymore as i don't have a 9 volt detectors any more.
I can use the rechargeable in my Explorers, E-Tracs and the X-Terras plus my F75 and the wife's MXT with no problem as there factory packs use 8 cells, but the Sovereign battery packs use 10 cells and why 8 cells will not work correctly in my opinion.
From my Electronic background working on TVs and such lower than required voltage on many things will harm them is why they have voltage regulators in them which make sure it can not go over a certain voltage, but if the input voltage is not higher than the required voltage it can not work properly. in my opinion running the 8 cell rechargeable is getting close to the lowest possible voltage required and will work if the Mha is a higher one for a while if these are fresh charged ones, but if they were charged a month ago and used now it may be a problem as the Nmh will lose voltage as they sit.

Anyway it is nice to see others opinions and hope we can all understand it is just opinions of what works for some may not work for others.


Rick

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Critterhunter,nice hunt! I never use the all metal or pinpoint mode to center targets.Discriminate and notch turned down or off to help with climbing numbers.The S-1 probe is used to retrieve my targets.HH Ron

 

[kered]

I agree with you Rick that batteries charged and left will lose their charge over time, about 1% a day according to the specs but probably a bit more depending on the quality Freshly charged once cooled are best although the new Sanyo Enerloop are supposed to hold more than 80% of charge for at least a year, they also come ready charged unlike the normal nimh.
(I have an old motorbike that i take for a spin in the summer but each year i have to drain and renew the gas otherwise it wont start or runs poorly if it does, a similar problem)

I think the voltage regulators in the sov are for the same reason, a big difference in voltage in the freshly charged battery to a one nearly dud but i can honestly say with my hand on heart that 8 x fujicell 2500mah rechargables lasted longer than the stock recharge pack in both my elite and GT, even though it was only 8 AA compared to 10AAA(i must add that i buy quality not the cheap honkong fui ones ) you get what you pay for and notice in the long run, also a good charger helps

Something else to take into account is that all detectors aren't the same, even though they appear identical some are deeper than others, this could possibly be a reason why some could also have a cutoff voltage slightly higher or lower than others, i think its just a case of try it and see in the one you have, if it works fine, if not the batteries always come in handy for other things even if its only the wallclock or toothbrush, a pack of 8 won't break the bank