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Sovereign slow

L

Lee66

Member
Posted this on another forum but thought it might be best to put it here for the sovereign experts to offer their advice.

I've had a Sov for beach hunting for several years, but haven't figured it out for old coins. Bought Ron's meter and read up on the technique. Read about hunting it slow. I think the light bulb went off today. Got a couple of sites that have been hunted hard for years before I discovered them. I've only gotten a very few slivers off them because the easy stuff is long gone. Loaded with modern trash and I discovered today it's also loaded with iron. I could hardly swing the Sov a foot in places without it nulling on the iron. I was using the 8" tornado. In places I stood still and just barely moved the coil trying to keep a threshold. But I did pull two wheats. Both had iron in the hole. I just covered down the left field foul line and covered is not the word. I probably only covered half of the area I hunted. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys,

Leeinsc
 
I'm no expert, but the site you are describing sounds exactly like a site I took the Sovereign to about 5 years ago shortly after purchasing it and getting familiar with the sounds.
This place is also loaded with modern trash which is an understatement and also has iron debris.
It took awhile for me to start getting the older coins, but once I understand what to listen for and the importance of slowing down, I started pulling out some nice old coins.
This site was also hunted hard years before I got into detecting from what I am told.
To me, it sounds like you are on the right path to making some great finds.
The meter is very helpful and I see you have one.
I have heard that a good pair of headphones with volume control and a limiter switch for those targets near the surface.
Also, I have seen others mention the importance of keeping the volume control at full volume and adjusting the headphones to a comfortable level of volume.
I use the 10" coil and am amazed at the way this coil can pick up good targets right next to iron.
One thing I have learned is that sometimes I have gotten an excellent signal one way, but turning and checking the signal from another direction, it nulled or would not give a very good signal.
I was experiencing this one day and decided to dig since the signal sounded so good one way and I'm glad I did.
I found a wheat penny in the hole along with some nails.. since then I have found many, many coins mixed in with iron.
Until I started finding these coins mixed with iron, I never would have thought that so many good targets could be masked by iron to make a difference... figuring only missing a very few at a given site.
This experience really opened my eyes as to the capability of the Sovereign over many other machines.
These coins were not all that deep either, but the nails and other bits of iron had hidden these targets all these years.. but the Sovereign found them.
I found over 100 wheat pennies at this local park and most were in holes with iron.. that convinced me that I have the right detector for this site.
Keep hitting that spot and investigate those iffy signals for a while until you are satisfied what the machine is trying to tell you.
Good luck to you and looking forward to you posting some of your Sovereign finds!!
 
I appreciate the encouragement. Looks like I'm on the right track. Just keep working it in small chunks and slow down even more. In this case, slow is fast I guess.
 
Learn to listen for that high tone. There is a place that I have detected many times. My last trip I dug five clad dimes. Every one of those dimes had a piece of iron/steel in the hole with it. I dug each one of them because I could pick out that high tone. None of them gave me a good reading on the meter. Good luck soring the silver out of he trash.
 
Sounds like you are getting the hang of the Sovereign. I been using a Sovereign since 1996 myself, but haven't much the last couple of years because of health issues and hope to in the spring. By far the Sovereigns will out perform most anything on the market, that is if you spend the time to learn it.
First thing most hate it when they first try it as it makes a lot of noise with the different tones it makes, but learning these tones along with your 180 meter to verify what you are hearing. Soon you wont need the meter, but I always use mine as when you hear the right tone it will stop you in your tracks. This includes the high tones and those lower tones of the nickles as this tones is a easy one to learn from experience.
Got to go slow and sometimes really slow depending on how much depth you want and the conditions as going slow you will still hear the nulls, but also anything good close to a null as the threshold will recover from the null. I have to go super slow at time depending where I am at. Did around a old merry-go round at a old park that been hit so many time it should have been worked out. Took a good hour and a half to go around it real slow and listening to any threshold change and got quite few old coins that others had missed, the depth was anywhere from 6-14 inches deep and when I swung the coil a little faster all I got was a null. Got to listen close to the tones going slow and when you do hear one you have to work it with the wiggle over just that small area to get the signal to come in better, I even can tell where the signal come from and can come at it from a different angle to see if I still get it and if I can get it 2 or more different way it mostly good, but can be fooled at time too as it is not 100%. Some of the deeper ones that is weak I had to pinpoint using the 90 degree turn, then hold the coil still and switchback to disc and do a slight wiggle and it is is good the threshold will try to change and in some case the threshold will not change and I know it is good, if nulls I know it is bad.
It is rare I use auto sensitivity, normally run about the 9-11 O'clock position and reg you swing speed so the threshold is coming and going, if a solid null I know i am going too fast for the conditions and have to slow down.

There is alot of different tricks we use and most i am sure comes with experience with the Sovereign and the more you use it the better it will get, be prepared to learn something new every time out which I feel you are doing from what I see,
I better go with that for now before I write and book again.
There is one thing bad with the Sovereign and that is they don't make them anymore, but sure wish they did as other do too as they are one great detector once you have the patience to learn them.


Good luck and I hope to see some great finds posted by you.

Rick
 
Sometimes LESS sensitivity is best in trash. The Sov still will pick up targets near iron. To much sensitivity and you are trying and reaching some deeper iron thats just nulling out the machine or you get wrap around. Not everything is deep..... less sensitivity you are picking up less trash to null the machine. Be creative.....even pattern hunt. make sure you have a good pair of headphones as well. Headphones can be a game changer.

Dew
 
You may have hit on part of my trouble. Having used the Sov almost exclusively as a beach machine, I am used to running it as hot as conditions allow to get depth on beaches. Cutting back on the sensitivity sounds like my next move.

Thanks
 
If you have been beach hunting with it you may have to change you style too. We tend to helter skelter hunter sometimes on the beach or cover as much sand as we can in the time we have. Slow it down grid and work an area. I was a dirt/field hunter for many years and traveled full time doing it before moving to Fl. That kind of hunting helped...... but i had to pick up new techs for the beach.

Dew
 
Don't be afraid to run the GT in silver only mode. That would be two or sometimes three notches above max discrimination.
Also, don't be weary to run on auto sense while detecting inland.
Then grid like an etcha-scetch.
The sovereign still goes super deep even at high disc settings as well as being in auto sensitivity. At the beach, I use 12:00 on the sensativity and the GT purrs. But most areas inland need auto sensitivity as 12:00 is too much juice.

HH
Jason
 
Lee the 800 Tornado is great in thrash excellent separation and good depth.Remember in bad ground conditions to switch from band #2 to #1.Slow down and dig iffy signals this isn't a race and patience will give better results. HH Ron
 
Okay guys, finally got a little time to detect the old ball field again. Set sensitivity to auto tune. Was hitting a quarter at about 8 inches waved over the coil with coil on the ground so I felt good about having enough depth to get the deeper coins on this site. Haven't dug any deeper than 6 inches for any coins here. Worked the same 3base foul line but didn't get anything past a couple 3 inches. The recovery seemed faster meaning after an iron null, the threshold seemed to come back a little quicker. I chased a few a signals that seemed to have a high tone really tight to iron. The meter was trying to climb. Hit high 170s and one hit 180. Only found old rusted iron in all of them. Moved over a little into left field and saved the hunt with a small silver ring next to iron that would hit 180 on the meter if I swung it just right. Guess ther just isn't anymore silver down the 3rd base line. Will start griding small sections of the field and see what happens.
 
On the GT find that band 2 works the best for me as far as ID as can tell the nickles from Pull tabs much easier and even feel the depth is a little better for me, so I run in 2 and will switch to one if i have too much interference from electrical or another detector close by, switch back to 2 as soon as I can.



Rick
 
By running in auto the threshold will be smoother and recover faster and a good place to start, but by running higher sensitivity and going slow is where you will get the deeper coins once you get to know your Sovereign. On the GT it may false on iron more as it is very sensitive, but by coming at the signals in more than one direction you will be able to tell which are falses and which is good targets. Also on the deeper coins the numbers on the meter may not hit the correct ones, but sure trying and the tones are trying to hit the right ones, but just can't make it as it is so deep and such small signals..

Rick
 
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