Upgrading to the GT for the first time

[Mentez]

Hello All

This is my first ever post. I've been detecting for 20 years here (in the UK) and am purchasing a new gt tomorrow to get my hobby back on track again after a change in personal circumstances. I've really enjoyed reading all your posts and the topics discussed...so thanks to all of you for helping me make up my mind to get a gt over a goldmaxx power. It was you guys who finally persuaded me!
It's going to be an upgrade from a minelab x-terra 30, which, at the time, I thought was a brilliant machine and a huge step forward from my treasure ace150. I've never tried a gt, but there is just so much positive comment on them that it has won (even though it was pushed by the goldmaxx power!). The only thing that put me off was watching a youtube video by a guy called "Norfolk Wolf" testing a sovereign elite where the recovery speed was appalling. Seeing as I'll be mostly using it on ploughed farmers fields in the UK, including some cracking villa sites, it was important that iron didn't null a good target close to it. I'm hoping that I am making the right choice by getting the gt.
Its first "proper" outing will be along a famous roman road in 4 days on a roman settlement site; which has had a bit of detecting on it over the years.

This week I joined my first detecting club in 20years too! I was amazed by the amount of the more "serious" detectorists who had safari's and explorers (not that there is anything wrong with those machines of course!), hardly anyone had a Whites or a Garrett!
So, even though this topic has been done to death, thanks again for your, unknowing, assistance in helping me choose a good main detector.

Mentez

 

[matthias]

Happy Hunting Mentez!

 

[Bling]

n/t

 

[Mentez]

Well, it's purchased, home...and out of the box. One thing I have noticed straight away is that the bloody shaft is s shaped instead of straight. I suppose that's for the european market (because we do corners and the USA doesn't ??)

I'm having trouble ground balancing it. I tried it indoors but the thing is so sensitive that even a zip on the sofa is picked up during gb at an amazing distance so I've had to turn it off!!!! Instantly this thing has blown the x-terra away!

And who says there is a recession....the guy in the shop gave me

 

[Art (NWOH)]

Uniformly damp is best. Layers of moist and dry are more difficult.

HH

 

[Critterhunter]

Don't even try to use it in your house or near the house outside for that matter. It will be unstable even at low sensitivity settings most of the time. You need to get away from electrical lines and such to really see the machine work properly. Keep it in noise band 2 as that matches most ID charts, but if the machine seems noisy flip over to band 1 at a site and that some times will quiet it down. As for recovery speed, recovery speed means NOTHING. I'm going to dig up an old artcile I wrote on that and bump it up on this thread. Read that and you'll have no worries. This machine will separate as good as anything on the market provided you aren't swinging super fast, and when the two targets become "one" in that they are touching each other it will reveal the good target better than any machine I've ever used as well, even better than my Explorers. I really feel Iron Mask ON earned it's name on the Sovereign. I felt it was more of a name than a function on my Explorers, trying to live off the reputation the Sovereign created with Iron Mask. Yea, it worked OK on the Explorer but IMHO it's not nearly as good as it is on the Sovereign.

I bumped that thread up to the top but here's a direct link to it...

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1168161,1168958#msg-1168958

 

[deanosaur1972]

Good choice.........

I have had my GT for a very short time - and am extremely happy with its performance (understatement).

With regard to recovery time.....

The beach area that I cover has many people who detect it - and you can probably name just about every machine that has been on there. Inside an hour I had a silver ring that was deep (dry sand) and had been there a while, so why hadn't it been found before? A second swing over the hole produced a null - the ring was sat on some old iron, GT Iron mask performance and my natural slow swing picked it out easily - I am still wondering how many 100's of times that same exact spot had been detected before.

I am still learning the machine but its performance so far has been stunning......

 

[otlew]

I have had my GT for exactly one hunt. It doesn't have a meter and came with the stock coil, 10" Tornado. There was a more experienced GT user on the hunt and he was a great help, and most of what he learned came from posts in this forum. He was busy doing his hunting and I did not quiz him much. He found 16 coins I think it was and I found 2. I turned it on with his suggested settings and started detecting. So now you know the sum total of my knowledge of the GT.

I followed the link that critterhunter provided to a previous post he made and found the answer to something that had me puzzled. I planted a quarter flat at 7-1/2 inches, placed a cut to length plastic drinking straw dead center of the coin. Filled in the hole tamped it and poured water into the hole. I could not get and still cannot get the GT to detect this quarter in the discriminate mode, with any setting I tried. The only way it will find it is in all metal and also in pinpoint.

My Omega 8000 would barely whisper on it using the stock elliptical 10" coil, the 11" DD will hit on it solid. My Ace 250 with the sniper coils will hammer it loud. What the blank is going on, this Sovereign should out do these two detectors hands down, I thought to myself. Then I read the aforementioned post, the GT does not like disturbed ground and/or air pockets. Whoa I thought, this describes exactly my circumstances.

Great forum with tons of information, if I can just retain and apply it I bet the Sovereign GT and I have long relationship ahead.

 

[Critterhunter]

Also, wiggle the coil right over the coin fast and adjust the sensitivity. You'll be surprised to find that too high a setting can null or degrade the signal. Another trick is to leave a wheat penny or other coin buried at your favorite spot all the time. That way you can calibrate your machine over it each time you arrive, and it's a great way to see if anybody is hunting your spot and getting as deep (if the coin is gone). Bury it just a tad deeper than you can ID it properly because as the ground heals and a hallo forms the depth of the machine will of course get better.

When I stick a coin in the ground at a new site to calibrate sensitivity I try to pack the soil as tight as possible so it doesn't throw things off. What I'm wondering, though, is what happens with the disturbed ground? Does it make the ground more hot or less hot? I would guess it makes it more hot. What I'm getting at is that if that's true then once I obtain the best ID with proper sensitivity setting maybe I should raise it just a hair more because normal undisturbed ground would allow a slightly (by a hair) sensitivity setting. Just a thought I'd like to hear opinions on.

 

[Mentez]

Thank you very much for helping me out. CH - thanks a lot for the link, very interesting article and really, really helpful.
I'm of the same opinion as you about disturbed ground and detecting. As N says, over here it's the disturbed stuff which (certainly in my experience) has yielded the roman/medieval etc, but what I'm beginning to wonder is if that isn't because over the past 20 years most people have been detecting with machines which had a finite depth of no more than 6 inches - which is the average kind of plough depth here? This would scrape up finds from just below and bring them into the detectors range, which explains my very similar find rate to a detecting partner over the years - he used much more expensive machines and I used a viking 5/garrett treasure ace 150/minelab xterra 30. Many times that garrett could "see" targets right at the edge of his whites xlt!

As the GT is so famous for depth, I'm wondering if the problem N talks about in regard to the experiment he did in the back garden with a test bed had more to do, as you suggest CH, with the machine taking more time than most to get used to the soil conditions.

Anyhoo, it's all great fun, and my roman site for Sunday has been given the green light although I've been warned by the organiser that it's wheat stubble. I told him I thought it would be OK as I'd bought a new machine. He laughed a little and asked what I'd bought. When I told him it was a sovereign gt he stopped laughing, went quiet, then said.."well, I think you'll be OK."

 

[bootyhoundpa]

congrats on your purchase.. from my own experience i can tell you i was somewhat disapointed with the gt the first few times i used it. eventually the finds started coming.. there is a bit of a learning curve but practice makes perfect.. critter makes a very good point about burying a coin or two in the ground to use as a tool for dialing in the sensetivity.. i buryed two coins in my back yard at about 5inches .. i tune up on these two coins every time i go out detecting .. it seems the ideal sensetivity setting can change day to day probably due to moisture content in the soil .. i found that getting the ideal sensetivity setting combined with ideal swing speed is the difference between finding deep coins or finding nothing as i have had both experiences at the exact same site.. take the time to learn this machine ... you wont be sorry.. dont be afraid to dig up some junk targets.. the good stuff will come in due time.. i now find this machine is definatly my favorite for hunting open field colonial sites.. it has found a lot of good targets that my old whites 5900 had missed such as buttons bullets and deeper coins etc etc.. happy huntin to ya,,

 

[Crispy Critter]

Well, it's purchased, home...and out of the box. One thing I have noticed straight away is that the bloody shaft is s shaped instead of straight. I suppose that's for the european market (because we do corners and the USA doesn't ??)

Darn.......I wish you were here in the US. I'd trade you my new, stock, straight rod for your s-rod. Seems like I'm always detecting around corners plus I like the easy view of a meter when it's mounted on top of the s-rod. Can't seem to find one here and really do not want to have to pay the price of a new one. I guess I'll just have to keep searching.

Enjoy your new machine!

HH, Crispy Critter

 

[Mentez]

Well, it's had the "first outing"..


What an excellent machine!!!! Deetected today on a club site and within 1 minute had found a late saxon/early medieval spindle whorl - decorated too with a spiders web pattern. Roman spoon end. Roman bronze horse decoration. I have to say that it's a pleasure to hear the nulling sound as it passes over iron. As I'm learning the machine I had it in auto sensitivity the whole time so I'm guessing there is still some depth to go?

One interesting thing, I witnessed with my own eyes an etrac user get a good signal (he had it on speaker) and then proceed to dig up a 2 inch wide buckle...the depth?..........about 2 foot!!!!!!! If I hadn't seen it I would never have believed it. Anyway, the gt is an excellent machine. I look forward to getting to know it a bit more.

 

[w6pea]

I have to second this. I have a SD2200v2 and an Explorer SE-Pro II.
I know that the SD2200v2 is a complete different ball game from the
Sovereign GT. The Explorer SE is a good machine. I feel that my Sovereign Gt runs circles around the Explorer SE Pro II.

Good luck digin'

Dig Everything...and of course Dig Deep !

 

[bigtim1973]

Hello All

This is my first ever post. I've been detecting for 20 years here (in the UK) and am purchasing a new gt tomorrow to get my hobby back on track again after a change in personal circumstances. I've really enjoyed reading all your posts and the topics discussed...so thanks to all of you for helping me make up my mind to get a gt over a goldmaxx power. It was you guys who finally persuaded me!
It's going to be an upgrade from a minelab x-terra 30, which, at the time, I thought was a brilliant machine and a huge step forward from my treasure ace150. I've never tried a gt, but there is just so much positive comment on them that it has won (even though it was pushed by the goldmaxx power!). The only thing that put me off was watching a youtube video by a guy called "Norfolk Wolf" testing a sovereign elite where the recovery speed was appalling. Seeing as I'll be mostly using it on ploughed farmers fields in the UK, including some cracking villa sites, it was important that iron didn't null a good target close to it. I'm hoping that I am making the right choice by getting the gt.
Its first "proper" outing will be along a famous roman road in 4 days on a roman settlement site; which has had a bit of detecting on it over the years.

This week I joined my first detecting club in 20years too! I was amazed by the amount of the more "serious" detectorists who had safari's and explorers (not that there is anything wrong with those machines of course!), hardly anyone had a Whites or a Garrett!
So, even though this topic has been done to death, thanks again for your, unknowing, assistance in helping me choose a good main detector.

Mentez

Well this is my first post on this site also. I have just received a sovereign elite. I will admit I am kind of intimidated by it somewhat just because it seems somewhat different than the other detectors I have used in the past. This is my 3rd minelab.....I have owned a musketeer and an x-terra 50 in the past. I really liked the xterra 50 very much. I was using a whites mxt previously but I had to let it go to pay for somebills because of my job situation. I came across someone locally with the elite and we worked out a trade. Anyways it is so dry outside and the ground is so hard that I have only took it out in the yard to see how it does react while searching. Did you get a meter with yours? I see where alot of guys say they calibrate their sovereign before they go hunting. Is this a must each time before I go out? I am glad to see you had a good first day with your new GT. Keep us posted, Tim

 

[Mentez]

Hi Tim

Nope, I didn't get a meter. One of the reasons I got a gt was the fact there was no meter. I had an xterra for a few years and I'm sure it talked me out of digging a few targets by the numbers it showed me. Looks like I'll be ground balancing it for every trip but it's only a few seconds. It's a good machine, much, much better than the xterra I had.
Good luck with the elite.

 

[Crispy Critter]

Hello All

This is my first ever post. I've been detecting for 20 years here (in the UK) and am purchasing a new gt tomorrow to get my hobby back on track again after a change in personal circumstances. I've really enjoyed reading all your posts and the topics discussed...so thanks to all of you for helping me make up my mind to get a gt over a goldmaxx power. It was you guys who finally persuaded me!
It's going to be an upgrade from a minelab x-terra 30, which, at the time, I thought was a brilliant machine and a huge step forward from my treasure ace150. I've never tried a gt, but there is just so much positive comment on them that it has won (even though it was pushed by the goldmaxx power!). The only thing that put me off was watching a youtube video by a guy called "Norfolk Wolf" testing a sovereign elite where the recovery speed was appalling. Seeing as I'll be mostly using it on ploughed farmers fields in the UK, including some cracking villa sites, it was important that iron didn't null a good target close to it. I'm hoping that I am making the right choice by getting the gt.
Its first "proper" outing will be along a famous roman road in 4 days on a roman settlement site; which has had a bit of detecting on it over the years.

This week I joined my first detecting club in 20years too! I was amazed by the amount of the more "serious" detectorists who had safari's and explorers (not that there is anything wrong with those machines of course!), hardly anyone had a Whites or a Garrett!
So, even though this topic has been done to death, thanks again for your, unknowing, assistance in helping me choose a good main detector.

Mentez

Well this is my first post on this site also. I have just received a sovereign elite. I will admit I am kind of intimidated by it somewhat just because it seems somewhat different than the other detectors I have used in the past. This is my 3rd minelab.....I have owned a musketeer and an x-terra 50 in the past. I really liked the xterra 50 very much. I was using a whites mxt previously but I had to let it go to pay for somebills because of my job situation. I came across someone locally with the elite and we worked out a trade. Anyways it is so dry outside and the ground is so hard that I have only took it out in the yard to see how it does react while searching. Did you get a meter with yours? I see where alot of guys say they calibrate their sovereign before they go hunting. Is this a must each time before I go out? I am glad to see you had a good first day with your new GT. Keep us posted, Tim

Those that use the meter, usually calibrate the meter before every use because of the fact that the adjustment knob can be easily bumped or moved which throws the calibration off.

 

[Critterhunter]

critter makes a very good point about burying a coin or two in the ground to use as a tool for dialing in the sensitivity.. i buryed two coins in my back yard at about 5inches .. i tune up on these two coins every time i go out detecting .. it seems the ideal sensitivity setting can change day to day probably due to moisture content in the soil .. i found that getting the ideal sensitivity setting combined with ideal swing speed is the difference between finding deep coins or finding nothing as i have had both experiences at the exact same site.. ,

Yep, not only the type of soil your are hunting but also it's moisture content will determine what the best sensitivity setting is. I know the last thing people want to do when they get out to a site for a hunt is to dig a hole, pack a coin in the ground, and fool around with sensitivity for a while. Then if you find it's no problem to ID you've got to dig it up, stick it deeper, and then hope this time it's fringe enough (for that site) that the best ID narrows down to a tight spot. If anything you'll at least see that one spot gives the proper ID the easiest (if you don't quite have the coin to fringe depth yet and don't feel like sticking it deeper). It takes time and patience. Adjust it, sweep, adjust it, sweep, and once you think you've found the right spot I like to turn the sensitivity off that spot and start all over again (go higher and lower). I do this like three times until I'm positive it's at the absolute best setting. However, I have not been out hunting too much yet seen I've arrived at this "discovery" of how to calibrate it. 95% of my experience on the GT has been prior to this when I was always masking out to the edge of stability. So I'm hoping I'll start to show some really deep numerous coins for my efforts.


What's also interesting is (read the S-5 thread) I found that that tiny 5.5" coil ended up being at 2PM on the dial at a high mineral/hot rock site that the 10" coil also wanted 2PM at. That makes me scratch my head a wonder, because I would have bet good money that the smaller coil would allow a higher sensitivity setting once calibrated with the dime test. The depth was still outstanding (at least 8 or 9" on a dime or penny I bet based on how hard those hit at around 6 or 7" hit). Also interesting is that once I found this setting via the buried dime test I did an air test at I was maxing out on a silver dime at around 6 to 7". That just goes to show that these BBS machines really do get more depth in the ground, unlike any other machine. They need to see that ground matrix in order to achieve best performance.

I still think too that since the ground is freshly disturbed this makes the ground matrix a little hotter. Every notice how much falsing a machine will produce over freshly moved construction dirt? For that reason I would figure you could probably bump the sensitivity up just a tiny hair more than what you find the buried dime told you to set it at. Undisturbed ground should I think be less hot and thus allow a slightly higher sensitivity setting to work just as well in it. Still would like opinions on that, though. If anything, I really do believe on these FBS and BBS machines that it is far better to have your sensitivity set too low rather than too high. They seem less effected in depth by somewhat lower sensitivity settings, and more prone to less depth with too high of settings. Found that to be true on my Explorers as well. I've seen them miss mercs at 3 or 4" in high minerals when the machine seemed perfectly stable. Sensitivity lowered and suddenly mercs are popping out of the exact same spots. Too high a setting and you blind the machine. Goes against the conventional wisdom on most machines that I've owned. Most give max depth when set at the very edge of instability. Not so with these Minelabs. It's hard to believe and convince yourself of that fact. I know it took me a while of bumping heads until I went against every fiber of what I knew and started testing the reverse of what most would say is the "rule" in calibrating a machine.

Back to the S-5 having the same 2PM setting. That's starting to make me think something else might be at play here than just straight out coil size. Perhaps it has something to do with the amount of RF noise in the air or the limits of the machine (meaning circuit noise) in amplifying a signal. Then again various coils might very well prefer different sensitivity settings. Maybe it just so happens that the way the S5 and 10" are built that they both match up in what they prefer for best depth at the same sites. If I start finding say a 3PM setting works for them both best at another site then I'll really be wondering about this.