Seeking advice on the Sovereigns.

[Mick in Dubbo]

Hi all.
Thinking about upgrading my current detector (X-Terra 30) and got three detectors on my short list A Sovereign, an XS Explorer, or an MXT.
Just prier to buying my X-Terra, I had owned an original Sovereign with a solid mono coil.When I bought it, I was completely ignorant of how a sovereign behaves, having only heard how good they were. Only owned it for about 6 weeks, before selling it through frustration and the enticement of the then just released X-Terras. I did seem to start to get a bit of a handle on it (bought by mail order) but was seriously ticked off with the fact that it would go blank for 3 seconds EVERY TIME I passed over a peace of iron, and couldn't understand the sounds to save my life, with nowhere to ask for advice (since discovered this great web site).
Thinking about getting one with a metre(trainer wheels), but would like to know for sure, about how to deal with the fact that it blanks out so much.Is this normal behaviour for a sovereign, or is their a way of setting them up so that this could be reduced or even eliminated?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Mick Evans.

 

[Marc(NB)]

when a sov is nulling out(blanking as you said) its doing its job of letting you know its iron in the ground.I mean if your area is infested with iron you have to slow down to a crawl while swinging your coil(thats where patience is a virtue) Theres isn't much you can do,except if you want to use a small 5 inch coil to get the hits that may be between the iron junk.Others here can elaborate more,as they do have many years of experience also.

 

[adam in cal]

It will blank out while over iron , and yes the reset speed is way slow, that is just why some people hate it , in an old site loaded with iron it is a super challenge to find goodies , the new Gt does have a switch to turn off the iron mask,when you hunt with iron mask off you may not get the constant nulling effect but willbe bombarded with iron blips and chirps also a frustrating venture .........the sovereign is a great machine , if you want a seirious detector capable of finding good deep targets on a consistant basis then the sov. is clearly the one to get, there is and will be some frustration involved while learning but, eventually you will begin to reap heavy rewards for you time and paitence . good luck

 

[Dirt NC]

when the iron nulls out the treshold, slow way down and listen carefully. a good target will usally still sound off even if the threshold has nulled. i routinely find good targets in the same hole as nails and other iron objects. once you master a sov. you will love it. it just takes time.

 

[M.L. Hinds]

When I first traded for a Sov XS I had a 5900 di pro sl that was my trade and if you know about the 5900 its analog and built like a tank!! So when I recieved the XS I was kinda disappointed cause it felt like a toy to me and made all kinds of crazy sounds! I started to get the hang of it and just as I did I traded it. Cause I was getting somewhat frustrated!! So I stayed away from it for a while. But ended up later with a Sov. Elite and let me tell you they are killer.. If I wouldn't have needed money woulda still owned it. First thing I did to learn the detector was take of the meter and listen to what the detector is telling you!! The sounds and the meter together confused me at first.. By just using sound you get very familar with what a certain sound is telling you and in a way it starts to speak to you. Then start using the meter along with it and you will have another tool..!!!!!

 

[jbow]

it will still tell you if there is something good in the ground too. I really love mine, it's a GT. I have several coils but mostly i use the 10" BBS and a Sun Ray S-5 coil. It is heavier than most detectors that I have used though but with the coil mounted under the arm it is well balanced and does not feel heavy at all to me.
On the other hand my buddy uses an MXT with the elliptical coil and it is lighter and he produces consistantly with it, the MXT is a very good machine too. Another very good machine for relics is the Tesoro Tejon as is the Teknetics T2 and the T2 is the lightest, best balanced detector I have ever used and runs for 40+ hours on 4 AA batteries...

Good luck!

J

 

[Rick(ND)]

From what I understand if you turn off the iron mask it will null even more. With it on you may get fooled by iron more, but also see a good target next to iron also. This is why I always run with iron mask on on my GT and why I got the coins I got today as they were in with iron.
The rest you have right Adam as you have to go slower in iron as it will null more and my going slo-o-o-w you will hear the coins in with the iron.

Rick

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Just like to say thank you to everybody for taking the time to pass on your knowledge to me.Unfortunately, I think that the nulling on the sovereign, would be to big a pebble in my shoe to be happy with it.
All the best,
Mick Evans.

 

[Rick(ND)]

The Sovereigns are not made for everyone, if you are a clad hunter I can see where this would be a tough detector to use. If you want quantity it would be too as it is not to fast. Now if you want some deep targets and not a lot of iron as many deeper detector get then the Sovereigns are great as you have seen. The Sovereigns are slow the same as the Explorer are, but they do go deeper and will get coins other detector miss we see many times, so these are more for those that are looking for quality and not quantity.
I was working a area on Sunday that is loaded with rusty bottle caps and nail and I just had to slow down my swing of the coil in that area, but when out of that area I could speed it up a bit more, but still my wife with MXT could go almost twice as fast swinging the coil. I got some nice old coins while she got twice the coins I did, but hers were all new ones. I got quality while she got quantity.
Like I say the Sovereign and the Explorers are not made for everyone or every place so you have to go with what works the best for you and keeps you interested in getting back out to detect.

 

[I a thr]

I am having the same problems as Mick i think. I have had a GT for nearly a year and still don't have it figured out. I have other detectors I feel comfortable with so the GT always takes the back seat. I can't seem to force myself to learn it as seems much easier to grab my old faithful detector. I have read all the stories from sovereign users and that's what keeps me from selling it , but if I never use it why keep it. I probably only have 4-5 hours on it. I understand I need to use it to figure it out. I just have a hard time with it. Need some confidence.
HH
Bill

 

[Rick(ND)]

If I told you my first time out with the Sovereign was so easy to use and fun I would kidding myself and those that have learned the Sovereign.
My first week out and a good 20 hours I was so disappointed I bought a CZ7 and a GTI 2000 and used those. The Sovereign took a backseat to these detectors and I still used it and tried to learn it and was getting better. I did some signals comparison when I got a good signal with the CZ7 and seen what the Sovereign could do and it seen it better. Many I thought were good with the CZ the Sovereign nulled on only to see when dug it was iron, so I knew the Sovereign was working better at IDing.
What put the frosting on the cake is when I took all 3 to a well worked park we go camping at and detect. Took the CZ7 out for 3 hours and got a buffalo nickle and many rusty bottle caps. Took the GTI 2000 out and is was very erratic, but did get a old Canadian dime and 3 or 4 Wheaties in the next 3 hours. Next morning I was trying to decide which detector to use for a while and decided to try the Sovereign XS I had. Walked out the camper and picked up 3 new pennies right away, then got a nice signal and it was 5 Wheaties in one hole, a few more feet and another Wheaties, then another. Then I got a barber dime and 2 IH in the first hour all from the same area I was at before. One of the reason was not much trash other than rusty bottle caps and the Sovereign hates them most time. This park was like virgin again with some deep coins and even in the nail infested area we couldn't work before I did well. All I needed was the confidence in this detector to spend the time to learn it, if I never had got the confidence and the patience to learn this detector I probably would have left it sit in the closet or sold it.
I believe I got over 60 old coins that weekend out of this park I was lucky to get 5 or 6 on a weekend before.This made me a believer and with the confidence I had in it went to a old park in Fargo that no one finds anything anymore and the first time I get a seated dime and 2 IH, so now I am real confidence in the Sovereign that i would have sold the first 20 hours or so.
I sold this to a good friend on mine and he mastered it in one afternoon(must be a fast learner), but he seen what I could do with it, so he had the confidence already in it.His first year was posted in Minelabs information book back in 1999 as did so well with the Sovereign in so many worked out area, or people thought were worked out. He found that he loved going to places that were old and been worked over well, didn't have to mess with the new coins and could listen for the deep ones. I remember his first 5 weeks while learning the Sovereign as he got( The reason is I kept the paper in my billfold): 108 Wheaties,14 silver Rosie's,13 merc dimes,3 barber dimes.1889 seated dime,1882 shield nickle,1 walking lib half,5 Buffalo's,4 war nickles,10 IH pennies,1 gold filled ring,5 sterling silver rings and about 2 weeks later get his first silver dollar!!
I think the reason was he had the confidence that this was a good detector and he just had to use it to get to know it better as he knows the Detector can do this is areas that have been worked to death with other detectors over the years.
The Sovereign is not a clad detector as it is slow, but if it is deep and you get to know your detector it can do the job many have a problem with.
I think you still use or used to use a Musketeer (advantage) and I too used one for a while and i know it is good, but to me it is no Sovereign if you want to coin hunt.

Confidence is the main thing and getting to really know your detector will make a big difference.

Rick

 

[allison]

I really enjoyed this thread. I am a new owner of a Excal 1000 and I am having much the same experience as I read others are having and/or have had in the past. this gives me confidence to keep on trying and use some of the techniques I read here. Thanks to everyone.
I heard about a book by Clive James Clynick called "Finding Gold, Silver and coins with the minelab Soverign and Excaliber". Does anyone know where I can buy a copy of this book (new or used).
Thanks for all the encouragement you didn't even know you were giving to me.
Al Amstutz
aamstutz@charter.net
Beulah, MI.

 

[I a thr]

I guess I'm just going to have to force myxelf to use it and get the comnfidence. There are alot of spots around here that have been hit that may hold many more old coins. I just need to take it out and use it. I knew that ,but have a hard time leaving the my other machines idle as I do have confidence in them. I no longer have the Advantage but it did me good. I sold it after using my XL Pro which has gotten my oldest coins to date. I just hate to go out and think of not finding anything. And that's the feeling I have. Wish you were closer so I could get you to coach me a bit.
HH
Bill

 

[chuck ky]

you should have no trouble with the nulling. i sometimes hunt in full disc. which means the sovereign will null on every thing you have knocked out but you can still find all coins but nickle and gold. the coins can be found thru the null unless you sweep too fast.

 

[jbow]

n/t

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Thanks Rick.
Yeah. I tend to be a clad hunter.I love finding all those $1 and $2 coins in the ground here in Australia. I'm still fairly newish to the hobby and tend to not want too dig too deep in the parks that I hunt. As I get better at it, then I will start to have a go at those deeper targets,as I always get a bit of a kick out of it when I find a pre-decimal coin (pre 196.I have hunted a few older sites, but haven't had much luck yet.When my experience grows in the hobby, then this will be a detector that deserves another look.
Just like to say to all that have posted here,that I have found your comments are quite encouraging and I would like to pass on my gratitude to you for making them.
Cheers!
Mick Evans.

 

[John OH.]

I've seen them on Ebay.

 

[Art (NWOH)]

Scroll up.

 

[John OH.]

n/t

 

[Art (NWOH)]

n/t