OK, so is the Sovereign and the Excalibur the same machine?

[Ben ( Lancaster OH )]

Are they both the same machine less water proofed, and a couple of switches? many of you say that the sovereign is a better beach/water detector. Are the electronics inside the box/tube similar? The real question is this: Is it worth the time to find a way to install a sovereign in a waterproof box to go beach/surf detecting? They are much less expensive than an Excalibur, especially used. Any and all comments/criticism are welcome!

 

[Sven]

Yes, basically the same machine. Ecal. are using the same electronics in a different configuration. To waterproof a Sov. will cost you a few hundred bucks plus for parts to do it right. Current Sov XS-Elite prices are running $375-600.00
If you look hard enough a used Excal. will run from $500 plus depending upon the age and what comes with it. I think it also has a weighted searchcoil
If you going to beach and water hunt save up for an Excal.

If your more into inland hunting, beach sand hunting and occasional shallow water hunt and know you are not going to get the box wet, get a Sov. You could always hip or chest mount the box.

I had an older Sov. XS2a , rear mounted, a meter and a weighted Excalibur Sea horseshoe searchcoil.
It was a deep sucker, no problem finding dimes at 10" in the red clay soil of Georgia. I actually liked it better than the Elite I owned a year before that. But it was heavy!! I was going to waterproof it but, changed my mind.
My elbow was good for about 2 hours of hunting before it started to get painful.

 

[Critterhunter]

I'd figure you could waterproof and older Sovereign and save yourself some big money if you do it right. Think about it...large PVC tube for electronics or a plexiglass or sturdy rubbermade-like container to put it in. As a double safety you could put the electronics in a bag and use rubberbands around the cable exit area so if the box does breach you've got a backup. Weighting the coil (if you wanted to weight one) would be a little harder to do. Perhaps a sand balast of some sort on top? The rod would also have to be modified by plugging it with spray in foam or something waterproof. At least on other detectors the hollow rod will run water right into the box if you tip the detector down at an angle. I think there was mention on here about waterproofing a Sovereign or an Explorer. Do a search for "waterproof" and see what turns up.

 

[ivanll]

http://www.minelab.com/aus/products/coin-relic-detectors/sovereign-gt?view=compare