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Which Sovereign to waterproof ?

S

synthnut

Well-known member
I'm looking for another Sovereign to waterproof but don't want to spend a lot of $$$ ......Which older Sovereign is a good machine to waterproof ? ....Which model Sovereign would you buy and why ? ...... I don't want to screw up my GT in case of a problem , but I want a decent performer in Saltwater ....I won't be going THAT deep , but will build a box to protect it ..... Thanks in advance ...Jim
 
Jim, I would think any Sovereign you can find that is in good condition at a good price would do the job. I don't think there is any performance difference between any of the Sovereigns so just shoot for the best deal you can find. The only problem might be getting one of the older models fixed if it breaks.
 
The Sovereign I would pick would be the XS or the XS2 as I felt they were the better performers for me out of all the others other than the GT which is the best. The difference in these 2 are the battery packs as one has a plug in pack while the XS2 has the drop in battery pack. I also just found out Minelab don't make the drop in packs anymore so those with the XS,XS2 and the XS2a will have to make the plug in pack work.
There is a XS control box on E-Bay right now with the Sun Ray battery pack, charger and alkaline pack that would do the job for you. Would love to buy it myself, but funds are very short right now.
 
:unsure::shrug::goodnight:
 
What's that about above? Anyway, I'd say the same thing. Any older model will work pretty much as good as any other for the most part. The main thing is find a box alone and at the best price. Remember too that the control boards in these things are pretty darn flat. If you remove the board from the box and the face plate (keep the face plate intact and plugged into the board) you could really reduce the needed box size. Just line the new box with foil, ground that to the ground on the board, and then wrap the board in something like thin foam to prevent it from shorting to the foil. You could mount the face plate on a bracked raised up above the board, and if you really wanted to get fancy you could mount waterproof dial controls onto the box that just slide over the existing POTs on the face plate to control them. Of course you could just keep the entire box in tact and then place that in a bigger box, but I think when I get around to doing this I'm going to remove the board and the face plate and make the box as small as possible. I plan to put the face plate controls facing up on the box so it's as small as possible.

Please post some photos and info when you start building yours whichever way you go about it.
 
My plan with my XS2 was to convert it to a plug in when the rechargeable needed replaced.I made a conversion on a Musketeer from a drop in to a plug in very easy.Besides the plug in never comes loose.I would use a older Sovereign for a water mods for resale reasons.Less money lost just in case for an experiment gone bad.
 
For Some reason they will not let the Minelabowner link to work.
try typing in www.minelabowners.com
 
Yes that is the plan on the used XS2a i just sold as i am going to convert it over as i was able to find a XS plug in one that is 2600 Nickle hydride battery pack for it which is almost 3X what the original was so it will last much longer when hunting. Not sure how tough it is, but feel it is a simple job.

Rick
 
Thanks for all the info .... I think the XS models may just work for me .... I will modify them to use Lipo batteries so the pack or the drop in , is somewhat a moot point ...... I have to take a look at it when I get it to see how hard it would be to dismantle and reconstruct a waterproof model from there, or if I'm better off just building a box in a box type setup .....????? ....Not sure yet ..... I think that I'm better off buying a complete detector too ...By the time I figure in what's needed to build this thing, it may be cheaper to go with the complete detector rather than going with a seperate box .... For not much more than the $200 price on Ebay , I should be able to land an older model working Sovereign .... This would give me additional rod parts , and also a coil ..... Just about any used coil you buy is gonna be at least $100 so that brings the machine up to $300 already without anything else .....Jim
 
I look at it the other way. Since I already have the stock 10" coil that I'll probably never use on land again (so long as the 12x10 gets as deep or deeper), and I'll also never use the stock GT shaft on land ever again either, then all I need is a control box. I would first get the Sovereign and then take apart the box to see how hard it would be to remove the control board/face plate and if it's going to make it much more compact. If you don't really see yourself saving all that much space then might as well just throw the entire box in a waterproof one. I bet removing the board/face plate is going to save a bunch, though. I'd remove the plastic off the face plate so that just the mini circuit board/knobs/switches are on that part. Mount that thing on a bracket of some sort so that it doesn't touch the control board and I'd probably mount the controls facing upward on the waterproof box. That's going to keep the box shorter/flatter than mounting the face plate section in front facing you like it is on a Sovereign IMO.

As for water proof connectors I wouldn't go that route unless I'm planning on changing coils or headphones all the time. Instead I'd just waterproof the entry/exit of the coil and headphone cables with a healthy dose of Shoe Goo. The stuff dries clear so you can inspect it for any potential leaks, stays rubbery so it won't crack down the road, and I would just feel safer being able to see through the entire thing to insure no leaks rather than using water proof cable connectors that can't be looked inside of. Besides, those add more bulk requiring a bigger box and of course expense.

I would throw a few packs of decadent (forget the name) drying packs in there. If you search on the web you can easily make those things yourself in your oven. If you have some sitting around they are no good because they've already sucked up moisture from the air over the years. I'd use a clear box to monitor for leaks. Once the waterproof box/wire connections are done throw that in a tub with a brick on it for a few days. Stick your hand in there and flex the cables. Don't put the control box inside it. If it hasn't leaked for a few days then it's probably going to be safe.
 
By the way, if you don't want to use waterproof control extenders then how about a latex glove. You could cut a hole in the box and then seal the thumb/index finger portion of the glove to the box. Now you can stick your two fingers inside the change controls. Sort'a like a Sovereign Bubble Boy. :biggrin: Of course no external controls are really needed either way. Just set the machine up and seal the box before hitting the water.
 
Do a search for "waterproofing, Sovereign" in both this forum, the beach forum, and the modifications forum. You'll find a TON of info and pictures on how people did things various ways. I wade up to my belley button with my control box chest mounted, but if I wanted to go deeper I'd throw my GT into a waterproof box. Since my 10" stock coil stays on my water rig anyway I'd install that and a pair of headphones connected in a waterproof way to the box I put the GT in, then I could just take out the GT and throw it quickly back on my land rig.
 
I was just there and there is a new link look here
 
Critterhunter said:
Do a search for "waterproofing, Sovereign" in both this forum, the beach forum, and the modifications forum. You'll find a TON of info and pictures on how people did things various ways. I wade up to my belley button with my control box chest mounted, but if I wanted to go deeper I'd throw my GT into a waterproof box. Since my 10" stock coil stays on my water rig anyway I'd install that and a pair of headphones connected in a waterproof way to the box I put the GT in, then I could just take out the GT and throw it quickly back on my land rig.
Click to expand...

Also, search for "waterproof" as well as "waterproofing" and "Sovereign" in this forum, the beach forum, and the modifications forum. You'll find a ton of stuff on that and many different ways it was done. Some people even removed the control board and face plate and stuck that into a waterproof custome built case instead of just throwing the control box inside a waterproof box. Some excellent ideas. I even saw where a guy took I think a Troy Shadow and rmoved the electronics from the control box and installed that into a clear waterproof custom built case, complete with waterproof control knobs sticking out of the box. I've seen several who did the same thing on the Sovereign. If you remove the face plate cover as well I've seen where they laid that horizontal and thus had the waterproof controls extending out of the top of the box. Very cool idea.
 
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