Who here still using there Sovereigns machines for the beach???

[Beachhunt1]

An environmental cover , to keep the head free of salt water , and salt air , that's why the GT's are not selling , Equinox are better to cope , plain & simple , Gt's are out Equinox in , also you can't beat the difference in weight on longer hunt's , with a 15 inch coil on the Equinox and half the weight difference of a GT , adding water proofing , the GTs are antique now .

Well all of your statement is incorrect. A hip/chest mounted Sovereign is the LIGHEST set-up available at the beach. PERIOD!

 

[Beachhunt1]

Yeah, the EQ is lighter than the standard Sovereign setup, but serious GT users quickly learn to hip mount the controls. With a $30 homemade CF shaft and the WOT coil, I’m swinging less weight than that EQ.

If people are concerned about it getting wet, then they should buy an Excal. You can chest/hip mount those controls too.

BBS machines aren’t the most modern technology, but they find the goods. Once you learn them, they’re hard to put down.

I can't agree more. The Sov is a killer on gold chains.

 

[OBN]

I did some recon last weekend. Seen 3 Nox's in the water....and 2 out of the water, they are taking over! Only other machine seen, At Pro drysanding it. I've not seen a GT or Sovereign in years.

 

[Beachhunt1]

True, but I wouldn’t say the GT is strictly a dry sand detector. If you know what you’re doing, you can hunt the white wash.

R5

The only machine that come close to the Sov. in white wash is the MDT. In moving water the Sov. is King!

 

[Cfmct]

Yeah the Equinox is lighter. It does hit on small items harder. I still think the Equinox has issues in the software. I was the first people in SC to get the Equinox 800 and have had gone though 2 of them. BUT at the same time have used the CTX and my Explorer 2. I always go back to the Sovereigns there nothing better than "listening" to the targets than relying on a meter. Plus also have no issues using any wired earbuds or headphones with the Sovereign Elite/GT. No worries about if the wifi boosters are on at the hotels with a Sovereign either. I can take my cellphone on the beach with Sovereign the Equinox have to leave it in the car. In some areas of Myrtle beach it's impossible to hunt with the Equinox because of the wifi boosters are on full max. Not on that but the cell phone towers driver the Equinox crazy. My buddy would complaining the whole hunt while I am digging my butt off.

My opinion is the GT is better than the NOX.. the GT's processor is slower but it finds deep gold and you will leave the bottles caps to the NOX users

I used to chest mount mine and stick it under my waders...

Its the best wet sand detector out there as far as I am concerned..

 

[Tom_in_CA]

My opinion is the GT is better than the NOX.. the GT's processor is slower but it finds deep gold and you will leave the bottles caps to the NOX users .....

Not sure about the bottle cap thing (since I always hunt beach erosion, when there's simply no light-weight crown-caps to begin with). But everything else you're saying: I agree with. The Sov , esp. with 10" or Wot, is going to go deeper. And still have respectable sensitivity on some smaller gold .

HOWEVER: there's a small percentage of certain gold items that *can* be missed with the Sov, and yet the Nox can get it. And I'm not talking about earring studs or tinsel thin chains (that have no weight and I could care less if I miss them). I'm talking about some rope-gold type chains that might in fact have weight to them, yet present a difficult target for a machine like the Sov.

Those type targets probably represent a very small percentage of jewelry that you "might miss". Yet .... it happened to me : My buddy picked up a gold necklace, that had a type of woven braided gold strands, that made it a difficult target. Yet the over-all weight was hefty. I ran my Explorer over it (which is akin to the Sov. disc. strengths & weaknesses). I could barely get a peep off of it. Ie.: I probably would have passed it as an iron grunt. Yet he was showing me a repeatable signal in the conductive range with his Nox. And he was not digging iron either.

Admittedly, this represents a very very small slice of jewelry that a person would encounter. And by-the-end of the day, your finds tallies are better by having a few added inches of depth with a Sov.

 

[KOB]

Stop trashing the Nox ! It's the best machine known to mankind. Everyone should have one. Just don't get it wet.

 

[Cfmct]

Not sure about the bottle cap thing (since I always hunt beach erosion, when there's simply no light-weight crown-caps to begin with). But everything else you're saying: I agree with. The Sov , esp. with 10" or Wot, is going to go deeper. And still have respectable sensitivity on some smaller gold .

HOWEVER: there's a small percentage of certain gold items that *can* be missed with the Sov, and yet the Nox can get it. And I'm not talking about earring studs or tinsel thin chains (that have no weight and I could care less if I miss them). I'm talking about some rope-gold type chains that might in fact have weight to them, yet present a difficult target for a machine like the Sov.

Those type targets probably represent a very small percentage of jewelry that you "might miss". Yet .... it happened to me : My buddy picked up a gold necklace, that had a type of woven braided gold strands, that made it a difficult target. Yet the over-all weight was hefty. I ran my Explorer over it (which is akin to the Sov. disc. strengths & weaknesses). I could barely get a peep off of it. Ie.: I probably would have passed it as an iron grunt. Yet he was showing me a repeatable signal in the conductive range with his Nox. And he was not digging iron either.

Admittedly, this represents a very very small slice of jewelry that a person would encounter. And by-the-end of the day, your finds tallies are better by having a few added inches of depth with a Sov.

I have used them both and prefer the GT.. I ran a SEF 10x12 coil on the GT..

 

[Cfmct]

Stop trashing the Nox ! It's the best machine known to mankind. Everyone should have one. Just don't get it wet.

Spoken by someone who uses his as a hat rack

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I have used them both and prefer the GT.. I ran a SEF 10x12 coil on the GT..

As it turns out, my friend is going to bring that gold necklace in question, to my house next month . For a get-together we're having with some md'ing buddies. And one of the friends has the Sov. that he'll bring. We'll test the said-necklace with the Sov. and see what happens. I have always been of the opinion that the Excal, Sov. and explorer achieve the same end-results, when it comes to ability on smaller-gold. But we'll see if the Sov. is somehow better on this particular item.

One difference I've seen though, for the Sov, is that it has the unique ability to get insane depth (with seemingly no loss of sensitivity to small stuff) when going to the Wot coil. Versus the Excal and Explorer, both of which I tried the WOT on : All it did was get more coverage/swath. But not more depth on coin-sized targets.

Ie.: The explorer and Excal seem to hit a "point of diminishing returns" at about the 11" coil size. But Sov. does indeed get more depth, on coin sized targets, when going to the bigger coils.

If I didn't detest the annoying audio of the Excal and Sov, I'd be using them

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Here's the necklace I'm alluding to :

 

[Beachhunt1]

As it turns out, my friend is going to bring that gold necklace in question, to my house next month . For a get-together we're having with some md'ing buddies. And one of the friends has the Sov. that he'll bring. We'll test the said-necklace with the Sov. and see what happens. I have always been of the opinion that the Excal, Sov. and explorer achieve the same end-results, when it comes to ability on smaller-gold. But we'll see if the Sov. is somehow better on this particular item.

One difference I've seen though, for the Sov, is that it has the unique ability to get insane depth (with seemingly no loss of sensitivity to small stuff) when going to the Wot coil. Versus the Excal and Explorer, both of which I tried the WOT on : All it did was get more coverage/swath. But not more depth on coin-sized targets.

Ie.: The explorer and Excal seem to hit a "point of diminishing returns" at about the 11" coil size. But Sov. does indeed get more depth, on coin sized targets, when going to the bigger coils.

If I didn't detest the annoying audio of the Excal and Sov, I'd be using them

MANY of us hunted the Sovereign in All Metal Pinpoint mode. Let us know the reading in THAT mode!!!!!

 

[Cfmct]

As it turns out, my friend is going to bring that gold necklace in question, to my house next month . For a get-together we're having with some md'ing buddies. And one of the friends has the Sov. that he'll bring. We'll test the said-necklace with the Sov. and see what happens. I have always been of the opinion that the Excal, Sov. and explorer achieve the same end-results, when it comes to ability on smaller-gold. But we'll see if the Sov. is somehow better on this particular item.

One difference I've seen though, for the Sov, is that it has the unique ability to get insane depth (with seemingly no loss of sensitivity to small stuff) when going to the Wot coil. Versus the Excal and Explorer, both of which I tried the WOT on : All it did was get more coverage/swath. But not more depth on coin-sized targets.

Ie.: The explorer and Excal seem to hit a "point of diminishing returns" at about the 11" coil size. But Sov. does indeed get more depth, on coin sized targets, when going to the bigger coils.

If I didn't detest the annoying audio of the Excal and Sov, I'd be using them

The chain I am wearing right now I found with my GT but it already had a crucifix on it was 18k.. years ago I found a old 18k chain eyeballed it... the GT only made a peep when I rubbed the chain on the coil...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

MANY of us hunted the Sovereign in All Metal Pinpoint mode. Let us know the reading in THAT mode!!!!!

Yes. The all-metal pinpoint mode on the Sov and Excal has a very pleasant sound. It's only the disc. audio that, ... to me .... was very annoying.

And I don't doubt that the Sov. will pick up the necklace in all-metal mode. But ... if you are trying to pass nails, then .... would you really be hunting in all metal anyhow ? If you intend to "dig all" (including iron), then why not simply get a beach pulse machine ?

When I used the Excal for many years (which is like the Sov), I would often go to all-metal mode, for kicks and giggles sometimes. But would typically cross-check the item in disc. mode. If it went silent (ie.: rejected it), then I would assume "iron". If it gave no indication either way, then that could mean it's at the depth where the TID can't get a read on it. Sometimes I'd chase those "just to see". But realistically, was always using it in disc. mode, so-as-to-pass iron.

 

[Beachhunt1]

Yes. The all-metal pinpoint mode on the Sov and Excal has a very pleasant sound. It's only the disc. audio that, ... to me .... was very annoying.

And I don't doubt that the Sov. will pick up the necklace in all-metal mode. But ... if you are trying to pass nails, then .... would you really be hunting in all metal anyhow ? If you intend to "dig all" (including iron), then why not simply get a beach pulse machine ?

When I used the Excal for many years (which is like the Sov), I would often go to all-metal mode, for kicks and giggles sometimes. But would typically cross-check the item in disc. mode. If it went silent (ie.: rejected it), then I would assume "iron". If it gave no indication either way, then that could mean it's at the depth where the TID can't get a read on it. Sometimes I'd chase those "just to see". But realistically, was always using it in disc. mode, so-as-to-pass iron.

Yes it is lots of work digging all. But it comes with rewards too. It is clear that pulse machines are not good for thin chains either. Just as in other machines target identification falters at depth with the Sovereign.
Even though the Sov. acts PI like in all metal, it is not a PI. The mystery of a very quiet sound off, or small tick on the sovereign was always exciting to see what it was.
After three years of working the Equinox it is clear in water contact which machine works better. Also I just don't get that small deep sound with the Nox. the signal is so processed I either here it or don't

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Yes it is lots of work digging all. But it comes with rewards too. It is clear that pulse machines are not good for thin chains either. Just as in other machines target identification falters at depth with the Sovereign.
Even though the Sov. acts PI like in all metal, it is not a PI. The mystery of a very quiet sound off, or small tick on the sovereign was always exciting to see what it was.
After three years of working the Equinox it is clear in water contact which machine works better. Also I just don't get that small deep sound with the Nox. the signal is so processed I either here it or don't

Good post. Good perspective. If someone were "afraid of missing a nuanced type of small gold", then ... sure .... . But where I'm at, at least on my beaches, the cost of "digging all" (and not rejecting iron), in order to get the extreme rare gold item that read in the iron range, is going to cause you to "lose by the end of the day".

If the "pickens are thick" (after storm erosion), where "speed is the name of the game" (to get the most amount of targets before the tide chases you out), then : The person who was passing nails is going to have the most amount of conductive targets, in his apron, by the end of the day. So the odds of the "person with the most gold", is going to be the "person with the most conductive targets".

But I'm talking unique erosion situations, which is the only time I'm hitting beaches. So my situation might be different than yours, or your type beaches.

Maybe my beaches are more iron-ridden d/t industrial history of past burned down wharves, etc.... Perhaps in Hawaii, or some bay-watch type beaches of strict-tourism and tons of swimmers , and where the iron ratio isn't punishing, then sure: Dig all.

 

[Beachhunt1]

Good post. Good perspective. If someone were "afraid of missing a nuanced type of small gold", then ... sure .... . But where I'm at, at least on my beaches, the cost of "digging all" (and not rejecting iron), in order to get the extreme rare gold item that read in the iron range, is going to cause you to "lose by the end of the day".

If the "pickens are thick" (after storm erosion), where "speed is the name of the game" (to get the most amount of targets before the tide chases you out), then : The person who was passing nails is going to have the most amount of conductive targets, in his apron, by the end of the day. So the odds of the "person with the most gold", is going to be the "person with the most conductive targets".

But I'm talking unique erosion situations, which is the only time I'm hitting beaches. So my situation might be different than yours, or your type beaches.

Maybe my beaches are more iron-ridden d/t industrial history of past burned down wharves, etc.... Perhaps in Hawaii, or some bay-watch type beaches of strict-tourism and tons of swimmers , and where the iron ratio isn't punishing, then sure: Dig all.

Everything you just said is: oh so true!

 

[onthespot]

I've only found 2 chains & a bracelet with the Sov GT. Both chains and Bracelet were heavy K18.

 

[goodmore]

I have used Sovereigns for years. Maybe two decades. I chest mount it and can hunt the break zone. I know and love the tones.

I have hunted with Nox as well. Not as much as the Sovereign but enough to offer an opinion.

The Equinox will find small gold the Sovereign will never see. I found a small 14k ring that would fit a very young girl at decent depth. I know the Sovereign would have cruised on by.

The Sovereign will pass those annoying small pieces of trash that the Equinox will make you dig.

So pick your poison.

Me? The Sovereign gets used in the.colder months when I will hit more dry sand. I.can hunt the slope as well and the Sovereign keeps purring along. It is also better on bottle caps. A real weakness of the Equinox.

Warm weather in the wet? Equinox all the way. No trash and small gold can be found from recent drops.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

...

So pick your poison.

....

great synopsis. Good post. Highly dependent on hunt sites, junk tolerances, tonal preferences, etc....