For quite some time there has been a lot of discontent with the quality and service coming out of minelab. I have noticed this mainly on the Excal posts. Has this been across the board on all their machines? I have considered buying a used (6 months) Sov. and would like to know if they have suffered from a lot of issues as well. Thanks.
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Sovereign GT
- Thread starter Tseeker
- Start date
Critterhunter
New member
I've never heard anything about quality issues with the Sovereign, other than some initial early models (I think the XS) not having shielding in them from the factory. The Sovereign is built like a tank, and I'd dare say has less quality issues from what I see than the Excal. Really the Excal isn't that bad. You've just got to remember that the Excal is probably the most commonly used detector out there (at least by serious water hunters, which also means they hunt with them more and are more active in the forums), and so one would expect to see more problems on the forums with them than any other machine. More of them, more used, and used more often by those who are serious about water hunting. There may be some quality issues with some of them, but remember what the machine is being used for. Careful pre-inspective maintenance of the machine might have warded off some of the problems you hear about. I know if I handed offered to give my friend's Excal a look over I bet that machine would have died this summer. Split coil (used with no coil cover), sand in the rubber gasket, one or two of the wire nuts were very loose, etc. That being said, there does seem to be some factory issue with some failures. But again, I've never heard of that said about the Sovereign in any way, shape, or form.
Tseeker - I've only sent my Sov GT in for repair once in five years, and it was my fault. After years of shallow water hunting and storing the unit in a gun cabinet with the coil end up, some water eventually worked it's way down the inside of the shaft and into the box and caused damage. I've literally beaten the hell of out that unit in both water and dirt. My Excal II however, is another story. It's never been submerged, but has been back for repair twice. It is not made well. Repair turnaround time (warranty or not) is the real issue. It is slower then hell. No way to sugarcoat that fact. One of my hunting buddy's has had the same issues as I. I just got my Excal back and haven't been out with it yet so I'm holding my breath that it works.
The first Minelab Metal Detector I owned is my Sovereign GT. I registered with this forum a week or so before I bought it. I have yet to have any problem with my Sovereign. I have since gone on to purchase both a SD2200v2 and an Explorer SE Pro 2. I have used all three of them. To this day I prefer my Sovereign GT. If they ever change the Sovereign I will think about getting another detector Only if it's an upgrade to the Sovereign GT line.
Critterhunter
New member
w6pea said:
As do I.
