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Who prefers to NOT use the digital meter with their Sovereign GT.

Since Critter does not have an E Trac to compare his Sovereign to, and Wil, I am asuming that you don't own one either , and you both are in agreement that the E Trac has this boring "beep beep " tone to it , I will refer you both to the E Trac manual to read up on what you can do with the Audio on an E Trac .....I agree that the tone of the Sovereign is very SEXY as I have called it in other threads , and I can speak from experience because I have owned the GT, now own an original Sovereign, and also own an Excal , but I would advise you to read what can be done to an E Trac before you have everyone believing that it's just a "beep beep " machine ..... The audio pages in the manual are from page 58 to 69 .......I hope this helps ....Jim

http://www.minelab.com/__files/f/4065/4901-0065-1.3%20Instruction%20Manual%20E-Trac_Screen.pdf
 
I think some of the XS models didn't come with internal shielding if you have an older Sovereign. My GT is no worse around EMI than pretty much any other machine I've owned. Regardless, all machines have certain frequencies they are sensitive to, so while one site might give the Sovereign problems another site might give another machine problems. I rarely have to switch out of band 2, but usually when I have to it will eliminate the problem. Rather than do that I mostly just lower the sensitive to deal with it, because I don't like how band 1 changes some target values. Throwing it into Silent Search or turning off Iron Mask will also help.

On the Etrac, I believe I said "they do have some traits to their audio" (Etrac/Explorer). It's not as bad as some machines, but it isn't as unprocessed as others either. I much prefered the audio of my QXT Pro over my Explorers, and now of course the Sovereign even more. The Etrac's tones can be adjusted to talk more like a Sovereign but everybody I've talked to says it still doesn't offer as telling of "sentences" when set up that way. Just like the Explorer it's audio is processed more, or at least doesn't want to allow the machine to "sing out" over targets for too long.
 
I rarely use the meter. Most of my hunting is in pre 1900 ghost towns and logging camps so I'm after both coins and relics so I dig everything. It's the same when beach hunting. If I do hit an old park and want to be selective I pop the meter on to help with IDing and seperating shallow zincs and other trash while listening for the deeper targets that might be mixed in.
 
Yes, the Sovereign has a different voice than the E Trac , and while the tone is drawn out more on the Sovereign , it's what is needed when dealing with the Sovereign .....As a matter of fact , if you want that tone drawn out even FURTHER , get yourself a CoinSearch coil !!..... This coil goes on for DAYS !!!..... I call my CoinSearch "Chatty Cathy" ......Drawn out talk is not really needed all that much with the E Trac, even though it can be adjusted to do so , since a lot of the work that you do when using the Sovereign is already done in the background when hunting with the E Trac properly set up .... When dealing with the masking issue that the Sovereign presents, and the averaging of numbers and, having to do the "wiggle" , you need as long a tone as you can afford when using the Soverign , to decern what your target is ... The E Trac will spit out audo however you want it , and gives you conductive AND Ferrous numbers at the same time .....It gives you both Ferrous and Conductive numbers in Quick Mask too so you're not guessing ....It's right there on the screen ....You don't have to listen to see how deep the target is , because it's right there on the screen ...... There are ways of recieving this information using the Sovereign , (except the masking issue ) but it involves the Sovereign Rituals as I call them ....They all take time, and careful listenning , and that is something that I don't have a lot of when I'm detectiing .... I still love the Sovereign for exactly what it is .... I will probably always have one in my arsenal ......Jim
 
Okay I'm not putting down the explorer or etrac, its just that many hunters who owned or still do did not master the sovereign because the coil is inline withe the meter. Now on tones I was simply stating the lanquage of the sovereign. I now about the PITCH HOLD on the SE and etrac, that pitch is processed still nothing wrong with that. The sovereign has a unprocessed signal, I know about the coin search coil as well.
I'm not starting a beef with anyone, we are talking about using the meter on the sovereign the pros and cons with and without.
The explorers and etracs are super machines my grip is the sovereign somewhat pushed by the wayside, its still a super simple machine!
Wil
 
My hunting is done in old worked out park, ballfeild, school yard and a few Private yard with permission to do so. I need the meter and the S-1 probe to dig mostly the better targets, but the tone is the first thing I go with, then look at the numbers while going over this target. On the deep ones I find you may not hear the difference that much, but with the numbers on the meter trying to climb along with the tones I know it is good even though it don't get to the correct numbers as you know it is trying.
I have used the E-Trac and all the different models of the Explorer and all the different models of the Sovereign and find the Sovereign are more of a turn on a go machine unlike the Explorers or E-Trac which I find you have to set up more for the site you are at. If set up right for that area they do have a advantage over the Sovereigns, but if you know your Sovereign well, they will do great.
I find the statement false where some say you have to spend more time analyzing the signal with the Sovereign than the Explorer or E-Trac, I find just the opposite as when you get to know your Sovereign well you will know when you hear the right tone and investigate it further. The thing that i find great with the Sovereigns is what you hear is what you see on the meter at the same time. On the Explorer and E-Trac you may hear a good tone, but the numbers or cross hair don't read what you are hearing until you stop and let the threshold come back. The E-Trac is one great detector and probably the best there is, but it is not as easy to use as the Sovereign and I do dig more trash with the Explorer or E-Trac then I do with the Sovereign as I know my Sovereign well and know what to listen for, but still learning on the E-Trac and at this time I feel the E-Trac will be the only detector that could ever replace my Sovereign GT once I know it a bit more. Like Minelab says the E-Trac is not a Explorer and those that tried the E-Trac and didn't like them, but like the Explorers better are the ones that tried running the E-Trac like the Explorer, that is my opinion anyway as the E-Trac is a great detector which many have proven over and over again, but for those of us that really know the Sovereign we find them easier to use and can keep up to many with the Explorers or E-Trac.
I will say the E-Trac does give you more options to set it up for your preference with tones and response.
With any detector it is only as good as you know and understand it which is done by getting out to use it and learning what it is tell you. With the Sovereign, Explorers and the E-Trac it give you a lot of info, more then other detectors i feel and lets you the operator decide to dig or not. The meter on the Sovereign is a must for me to see what the close tone are.
 
I have Joe Patrick's meter mod installed on both of my Sovereigns. The meter is always along for the ride. I use it because I have it with me. I use it in the sand to separate out the zinc pennies. Some guys don't dig high tones with the Excal. I can narrow that down to zinc pennies with my Sovereign and meter. I would rather dig a bottle cap than a zinc penny. I hate em. This is just one use for the meter. The meter is a tool. I use it to my advantage.
 
Hey Synthnut thanks for exposing me to the e-trac owners manual..... now I want one :) I'm curious though, if you were gunna detect wet sand in ...say La Jolla shores (in southern California) Would you choose the e-track or a gt?
 
Jiminsandiego,

Download the manual. I download various manuals all the time just to read them for fun. :)
 
I use the meter when not on the beach, It really helps me in a trashy area. I hunt a field at times that is used for football & soccer games and practice. It really helps during the end of the day when I get tired.
 
I know the meter can add to the information we are getting from the Sov, but, when you say it helps, exactly how does it help? Does it help you find a gold ring or gold coin? It seems, and I'm definitely not the expert, that we can find the silver and most coins by running up the disc or listening for high tones. Seems you could do that without the meter. The meter would help find nickles if you are not sure of the tone. But the gold is all over the scale, so it seems that, depending on the site, you would have to ignore the numbers and dig it all or at least dig the best sounding tones or you would rely on the statistics for gold that have been posted here by a couple of members, disc and notch the least likely range, and dig everything that beeps or at least the best sounding tones in that range. Seems like the meter wouldn't be that much help. Please correct me as I must be overlooking something about the use of the meter.
James
 
Rick ,
I agree 100% that the machine that you know completely , is the BEST machine you can use !!.....PERIOD !!.... That statement reminds me of a conversation that I had with a gentleman that I got my Excal from ...He was a long time user of the a Whites DFX ....He knew that machine inside and out .... He also had an Explorer SE Pro .....He really loved the new SE Pro ....I asked him which was the better machine ...He said , the DFX was .....I said why ....He said " I know that machine inside and out , and I know every setting on it " " I can't say that for the SE Pro , so the DFX is the best for now " ........Jim
 
jiminsandiego ,
I hunt the E Trac in wet sand and dry sand ...... I discriminate out pennies ....I don't want them , and it's also rare to find rare Pennies on the beach , so I discriminate them out ..... In the water , I run an Excal for now ....I might get a CZ-21 to compare ..... The Sovereireign will be an additional machien when someone comes over for a hunt, or if the E Trac breaks down ...Jim
 
I like your innovation. Have you thought about bending it a little so that it points toward your head? It might not matter much but I bet it would be easy to do... probably look a little wrong but hey... detectors look wrong to everyone else anyway.

I made a stand for mine when I first got it. I used some aluminum strip about 1/2" wide. I bent it into two legs with about 1.5" flat area at the top, drilled a hole there, bent the bottom of the legs around into feet, attached a thin sort of pipe clamp to the hole in the top. The clamp is for a pipe the size of the shaft. Then I took some ole goatskin drivers and cut strips of leather, wrapped the shaft inside the clamp, and tightened it down... it worked surprisingly well. I use the "offset" PVC sidemount from Dixie for the Meter and S-1 control box. These days I loosely coil the extra cable from the meter around the sidemount. That way if I decide I want to chestmount the box it is quick and easy.

Your design is a good one, I like it.

J
 
It helps to ID a minnie 173. A half, quarter, dime, or bronze penny (or a can) 180... other than that, if you get good sounding audio you better dig. I like the meter because the SovGT is so stable on the TID that a good target, a deep one sat 8 to 10 inches, if it is a ring or coin will usually give the same number from 4 directions. I've tested it before on some targets like that against the T2, F75, Explorer, E-TRAC, and Tejon... and found it to bethe only one (that day/that site/those targets) to give a good TID. A white gold circlet with small diamonds, some odd silver piece, three wheaties... 2-1917 and 1-1918... I was hunting a place where I knew there had to be something and I couldn't find any good signals... it wasn't a setup test it was just that the GT was the last machine I tried and BAM... in a few minutes I had a handfull of good targets. The gold came in really low, around 100+/- I don't remember exactly but I do remember that the TID was steady and did not jump or change from different directions... in that case the meter made a difference because it didn't change even one number. Maybe audio would have given me the same conclusion but the meter made it easy and fast. It also helps if you are in a site infested with a certain pulltab because unless they are bent or broken they will read the same everytime. I suppose after some time one could learnthe audio well enough but in someone's yard it is good to have a little help as long as you don't let it persuade you to leave good targets in the ground. Too much target info will tend to convince people to pass on recovering a target many times... I have done it but I have learned "when in doubt... dig" I have started digging a lot more tabs and especially shallow junk targets at older sites... because, the easy silver and the easy relics are gone. What is left is either masked or stuff that is hiding in plain sight... shallow, reading like junk and still there because no one will dig it. Two of my best finds came that way... but I have gotten off topic unless to say that to rely on the TID too much is going to work against you. Use it to verify a 180, to avoid a common tab that is infesting a particular area, or to see if the number changes a few digits when you hit it from the side (it may still be a good target colocated with iron though).

The meter is a helper but not a crutch. If you rely on it too much you will leave too much in the ground... IMO.

J

J
 
Either that or the O8K... (sorry... I meant to say the Sovereign).

:poke:

Julien
 
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