Every time I see a post by a former Minelab user stating they didn't get more than 4 or 5 inches in
depth, I try to figure out how this can happen. The only things I can come up with are, the sweep
speed, and sweep of the coil itself. I believe first of all the the rod length is the most important.
Some manuals tell you to make the rod length so that your arm will hang straight down without
bending your elbow, while this is definately more comfortable, I thinks its a major mistake. If your
arm is hanging straight down with the coil level in front of you there is no way to make that coil be
level with the ground in a complete arc, unless your sweep is contained to a few feet directly in
front of your toes. It is imperative that the coil on the Sovereign(or any detector) remain at a
constant 90 degree angle to the ground while remaining as close to the ground as possible. If you
think about it, having the arm hanging straight in front of you will tend to make you swing the coil in
an arc back and forth, making your only full depth capabilty's directly in front of you. The Sov
hates that point where the coil is lifted from the ground and often false signals any time the coil is
lifted from the ground. If you adjust the length so the coil is flat to the ground about 1-2 feet in
front of you, this will allow a better swing arc, while keeping the coil flat as you bring it closer to
you on each side. Any one who uses a Sov is aware of the slow sweep required for the Sov to
acheive maximum depth, but perhaps thats the reason for them not getting the depth. Some can
just not swing slow, or cannot adjust to it. I know I get impatient and want to cover more ground,
I just have to force myself to slow down. The one thing you should do if you are swinging faster
than you should be is to at least take the time to investigate any threshold nulls while doing it. The
sov will null on a good target if the sweep speed is to fast. So if you at least slow down around
those nulls, you may be able to get the sov to respond to the target. This also will enable you to
pick up some good targets near trash. This is the reason I like to keep the sensitivity down far
enough to always have a threshold sound. I know others turn it up as high as they can with out
falsing, but I like to keep it at the point where the threshold is still there at most times. I know if
your in a really iron infested area taht this is almost impossible, but in most cases 12 oclock on the
sensitivity will still give you a pretty steady threshold sound. Keep the threshold at a point where it
is just barely audible, and investigate any changes either higher or lower, with a very very slow
sweep and wiggle it quickly over any of the response zones. I hope you guys not getting the depth
can understand what I am trying to say. But for the ones I see posting you have already given up.
All I can say is good luck with your new detectors, and when you get done hunting out an area,
please post the site here, so one of us that live nearby can come and give it a soverizing. :))