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The Original Sovereign
- Thread starter synthnut
- Start date
Jim,I have owned and used two Original Sovereigns.This Sovereign has an appetite for hot rocks.The signal that sounds like deep silver is 99% of the time with this unit a hot rock.It doesn't matter if the iron mask is on or off I got the same response.This is my least favorite Sovereign,because too much time is spent digging hot rocks.
Neil
Well-known member
The plug in battery was a good solid connection, same one they continued with on the XS model.
There was no shielding on it or the earlier XS models.
I prefer that V type connection it had to the pole, I thought that was the simplest and yet rock solid way to hold the control housing to a rod. Shame they went away from that.
The metal portion of the rod was two piece and sometimes had a wobble to it.
The grey cable on the coinsearch coil was more flexible and less prone to holding a rounded shape(from being wrapped around the rod) then the later black cabled coils.
The battery cover could be popped off if hit/scraped from the bottom, did that a few times putting it in the bed of a truck.
The bar graph meter wasnt a good match for a detector that can ID so well at depth. the numerical one that replaced it was a nice improvement. trying to remember when that one came out, dont think it was till after the XS model or at least late it its production.
There was no shielding on it or the earlier XS models.
I prefer that V type connection it had to the pole, I thought that was the simplest and yet rock solid way to hold the control housing to a rod. Shame they went away from that.
The metal portion of the rod was two piece and sometimes had a wobble to it.
The grey cable on the coinsearch coil was more flexible and less prone to holding a rounded shape(from being wrapped around the rod) then the later black cabled coils.
The battery cover could be popped off if hit/scraped from the bottom, did that a few times putting it in the bed of a truck.
The bar graph meter wasnt a good match for a detector that can ID so well at depth. the numerical one that replaced it was a nice improvement. trying to remember when that one came out, dont think it was till after the XS model or at least late it its production.
Thanks guys ....I appreciate the info .... Does the first model run more eratic , or hotter , than the newer models ? ..... Then again , I ask myself , "does eratic mean hotter ? " ...... If it's not as deep as the newer machines , I don't guess it's as hot .....?????..... Do you know what it was about the early Soveriegn that made it more suseptable to Hot rocks ? Some say that the Sovereign GT is the "deepest" of the Soveriegns .....I know that this is a tough one to judge, but on average , would anyone want to GUESS APPROX , how much deeper a GT would be over the original Sovereign ? .....Thanks , Jim
I owned one of the original Sov's- bought it in may of 1994. The reason that I bought it? It told me when I was looking at iron. I was so absolutely frazzled at digging iron that I didn't know what to do. I was still young at the sport, and don't use much disc for fear of knocking something out. I met and hunted with a guy from Gonzales, LA who was a sov dealer, watched him put it through its paces, and was sold on the spot. That may seem a piddling reason to buy a machine, but in those halcyon days of yore, it was an absolute revelation. I'm ON Sov # 4 now, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. I have owned Nautilus, fisher, garret, Big Bud, etc- all good machines. But the Sov- a gift from the relic goddess Patina!
Chuck Smith
St. Francisville, LA
Chuck Smith
St. Francisville, LA
Jim,I don't think the Original is erratic and is just as deep as the other Sovereigns.But every park I hunted with the Original was loaded with hot rocks.When I searched these same parks with other Sovereigns these hot rocks disappeared.I have used all the Sovereign models,they all have great depth and you would have to split hairs to find the depth winner.Perhaps the greatest difference would be coil choice for depth performance.I went out yesterday with a BBS 800 coil on my XS-2 and found 5 wheat's a 1957 Roosevelt that was at about 8 inches with the small coil.
The tones were set very low on the originals and response seemed sluggish . Turning the tones up makes it act like a different machine.. The original I have now has a rev 1 processor in it and it acts more like a XS, less scratchy or raw sounding.. I dont know if the Rev 1 was used in some originals or was a replacement part,..All XS & later models Ive seen have had the rev1 in them.. No discernible difference in depth... Original XS & XS2 are my favorites and GT least favorite.. Hate the Elite/GT mounting system and case design and the straight shaft...
Thanks again guys....
Chuck ,
GREAT story !!.....
Neil ,
I guess if I end up buying this machine for an extra , I will hope that I never have to deal with hot rocks !!.....
Ron,
Good the hear that the depth issues are splitting hairs ......
wildherre ,
Do you have a picture of a link or a photo of where I can adjust the tones on the ORIGINAL Sovereign ? .... What markings show if this machine is a Rev 1 ? ......
Thanks again guys .....Jim
Chuck ,
GREAT story !!.....
Neil ,
I guess if I end up buying this machine for an extra , I will hope that I never have to deal with hot rocks !!.....
Ron,
Good the hear that the depth issues are splitting hairs ......
wildherre ,
Do you have a picture of a link or a photo of where I can adjust the tones on the ORIGINAL Sovereign ? .... What markings show if this machine is a Rev 1 ? ......
Thanks again guys .....Jim
I usually adjust the tone on all of the old Sovereigns I purchase.One time I picked up a XS when I had a XS-2 adjusted prefect for me so the tones were matched.It reminded me of tuning guitar strings to match the correct cord. Be very careful how far you adjust and be prepared to tweak to a higher or lower tone once used in the field,suggestion bring a screw driver along to open the box. Good Luck After thought you didn't mention the cost of the Old Sovereign,but at this point they sell very well on Ebay you may make a dollar or two if it doesn't workout.
....Is the tone pot in the same place on all of them ? ....Thanks. JimJim, the Original I had was a bit more sensitive to hot rocks and iron than my Elite or GT. I don't think it was any deeper but it was more sensitive. Even running it in normal mode (iron mask off) it was a little more sensitive than later models. The Original seemed to be slower and the tones were lower and more drawn out also but I think part of that was the Coinsearch coil itself as I still have that same old Coinsearch coil and it acts similar on the Elite and GT also. I didn't get a chance to try the newer coils on the Original but the Tornado coil has a narrower crisper response and I'm not sure if it actually separates better or just gives you a false impression that the detector is faster between the two. When I bought the Elite I couldn't believe how smooth it ran and how well it handled the hot rocks and iron compared to the Original and I fell in love with the Sovereign again. The GT seems to fall somewhere in the middle of the Original and the Elite as far as sensitivity when using the iron mask switch. I'm thinking of selling one of my GT's and picking up another Elite or maybe an XS to waterproof for lake hunting. I don't need the other options for this type of hunting.
Sven ,
Thanks for the advertisements on the original Sovereign ....
Crazyman ,
Thanks for the info on this model .....I might have to send it in to have it worked on ...????.....I'll see .....Either I don't hit that many hot rocks around here, or my GT and my E Trac just handle them in the background ....?????.....JIm
Thanks for the advertisements on the original Sovereign ....
Crazyman ,
Thanks for the info on this model .....I might have to send it in to have it worked on ...????.....I'll see .....Either I don't hit that many hot rocks around here, or my GT and my E Trac just handle them in the background ....?????.....JIm
I thought you posted that you sold your Sovereign 3 days ago? Did I read something wrong?
Waterproof Connectors - 3 days ago
I sold my Soveriegn , and I am contemplating a water machine as I have told you guys in the past ..... I am considering an Excal or a CZ-20 or21 ......If i go the Excal route , I still have a brand new 10x 12 coil that might just fit the bill for a nice coil for the water ....What waterproof connectors have you guys been using for your water machines ? ......Is there a special schematic I have t
by synthnut - Minelab Sovereign Elite/GT and Excalibur Forum
Waterproof Connectors - 3 days ago
I sold my Soveriegn , and I am contemplating a water machine as I have told you guys in the past ..... I am considering an Excal or a CZ-20 or21 ......If i go the Excal route , I still have a brand new 10x 12 coil that might just fit the bill for a nice coil for the water ....What waterproof connectors have you guys been using for your water machines ? ......Is there a special schematic I have t
by synthnut - Minelab Sovereign Elite/GT and Excalibur Forum
w6pea.
I never sit still !!......I ended up trading my Sovereign GT and some $$ for an Excal 1000 as I wanted a dedicated water machine .....I was looking for either an Excal or a CZ-21 .......A gentleman on the forum told me that he had a few different machines and one of them was an Excal 1000 ...He bought a new Excal II , so he offered me his Excal 1000 ....He was interested in a Sovereign GT , so we worked out a deal ...... Another machine that he had was a broken Original Sovereign and we worked out a deal on that too .....I figured that maybe I could get it to work and I would have it as a back up machine .... Still working on it , and hope to have it working , but so far it's not looking good ......I have to go into the box now , and I was asking if anyone knew which pot raised the audio pitch while I"m in there ......If I get it working , I want to raise the pitch on it ....... Ya can't have too many detectors ...... My main land and dry/wet sand beach machine is the E Trac .....and my Water machine will be the Excal .....The older Sovereign will be an extra when someone want's to come with me to hunt if I can get it working ....Jim
I never sit still !!......I ended up trading my Sovereign GT and some $$ for an Excal 1000 as I wanted a dedicated water machine .....I was looking for either an Excal or a CZ-21 .......A gentleman on the forum told me that he had a few different machines and one of them was an Excal 1000 ...He bought a new Excal II , so he offered me his Excal 1000 ....He was interested in a Sovereign GT , so we worked out a deal ...... Another machine that he had was a broken Original Sovereign and we worked out a deal on that too .....I figured that maybe I could get it to work and I would have it as a back up machine .... Still working on it , and hope to have it working , but so far it's not looking good ......I have to go into the box now , and I was asking if anyone knew which pot raised the audio pitch while I"m in there ......If I get it working , I want to raise the pitch on it ....... Ya can't have too many detectors ...... My main land and dry/wet sand beach machine is the E Trac .....and my Water machine will be the Excal .....The older Sovereign will be an extra when someone want's to come with me to hunt if I can get it working ....Jim
The Rev 1.1 processor should have a Id sticker saying Sovereign Rev 1.1.. Mine is hand written on a piece of paper and stuck on the MC68HC705C8P with a piece of scotch tape.. link to pics of a couple different boards,, one with the Rev1.1 sticker and and a Original board with out it.......wildherre
sovboards
sovboards
I had used the XS and was doing well after I spent the time to learn it. Then I tried a original and I was not impressed at all, the tones didn't sound as nice and to me didn't have the depth I was getting with the XS. I felt maybe this one wasn't as good so I got another one off E-Bay and this one too was the same and didn't work for me for coin hunting. I have tried all the different models of the Sovereigns and kept my 8 inch coin search coil as this coil is one I feel is one that makes the signals better to hear as they seem to draw the signal out more. Also they do have fantastic depth, but are not waterproof. With this in mind I tried this coil on all the different Sovereigns and feel the XS, and the XS2 are the best older Sovereigns, the GT is the best new Sovereign while the Elite and the XS2a were OK, but to me they couldn't do what the XS or XS2 could while the original was OK 2, but would be my last pick of the Sovereign. I will say the 10 inch Tornado coil that came with the Elite was the first 10 inch coil I really liked, before that I used my 8 inch Coin search and the S-12 of Sun Rays with was very good. Sun Rays S-8 was also one great coil and we seen some better separation and great depth, but the signals were not as drawn out as the 8 inch Coin search coil was.
notagain715
New member
Hi guys,
My name is Jack, this is the first time I have responded to any posting at this site. I have owned a MineLab machine since January 1997. I have hunted with it only to come home with a few clad coins. So I don't use it much any more. I have been reading about all the good stories being shared here, so I decided to contact you and find out if my machine is the one that only finds hot rocks or is it that I don't know how to listen to what the detector is trying to tell me. I'm willing to learn!
I really don't see photos of the same detector I have. (dark blue box and only one switch). I believe it is not the first model since it only has one toggle switch for discriminate / all metal and it uses a vacpac rechargeable battery. I would include a photo, but I'm having trouble attaching a 3.13MB photo.
My real question is... was there a short time between models when they made some machines that just didn't work right and they made another model like the EX Pro 2?
I will look for your responses with open eyes and mind.
Jack in Seattle
My name is Jack, this is the first time I have responded to any posting at this site. I have owned a MineLab machine since January 1997. I have hunted with it only to come home with a few clad coins. So I don't use it much any more. I have been reading about all the good stories being shared here, so I decided to contact you and find out if my machine is the one that only finds hot rocks or is it that I don't know how to listen to what the detector is trying to tell me. I'm willing to learn!
I really don't see photos of the same detector I have. (dark blue box and only one switch). I believe it is not the first model since it only has one toggle switch for discriminate / all metal and it uses a vacpac rechargeable battery. I would include a photo, but I'm having trouble attaching a 3.13MB photo.
My real question is... was there a short time between models when they made some machines that just didn't work right and they made another model like the EX Pro 2?
I will look for your responses with open eyes and mind.
Jack in Seattle
If it is than it should be a black box and it will say Sovereign on the side of it. In 1997 the Sovereign XS was sold and should say Sovereign XS on the side of it also and also the coil will be white solid one that will say Coin Search on it too. Now in 1997 there was a blue Minelab, but that one was the Musketeer and the control box wasn't square like the Sovereigns, more of a oblong box. There was a gold hunting detector by Minelab too that was a square box and may have been blue in color, but the older Sovereigns were black, the Elite was silver and the GT is a blue that we have now.The Sovereign was the only one of Minelab that have the multi tones back in 1997.