Dear Minelab,
In the last nine years what has really been new that hasn't come from Minelab, you are the only company that is offering us new products.
The Explorer when it was launched was a new concept, innovative, exciting, shear technological brilliance, a multi frequency detector offering greater depth and improved identification on small targets, and much more besides.
Explorer has been my main detecting platform now for a number of years; and further more it has been reliable throughout all this time, being used over the whole spectrum of detecting conditions, especially on beaches where it has no equal.
Some have said it was a bit on the heavy side, and others have stated that it had a slow recovery speed. Yes, it was a little heavy, but I've been used to heavier detectors in the past. For a detector of this calibre you don't let it worry you, because you get completely engrossed in your detecting and hitting the targets. But you are listening, clearly Minelab listened to the feed back and responded to those minor criticisms, and reacted, - reaction that has manifest itself in the lighter and added performance of the Explorer SE.
Although the SE looks like its predecessor, there are a number of additional benefits that have greatly enhanced the way it operates, now transforming a good detector into an even greater one. The Black styling although only aesthetic does give the SE a smart professional look, which really appealed to me. It didn't take long to try it out either, it did seem different; the feel and balance are great, this is obviously a result of the lighter coil, but not just that, the grip now thicker offers more reassuring handling, and swing capabilities, it's the comfort zone.
I've never had difficulties in setting the Explorer up, but the changes made to the Menu structure on the SE make access to key programming functions a lot quicker and more user friendly, especially for those people buying this great detector for the first time, you lucky lot, we didn't have anything like this when I started!
I am so pleased with the changes to the audio tones and especially the pin point mode. If it was only those two functions that had been changed I would have been a happy man anyway - but to have the many other well considered improvements; correlation of iron Mask settings with digital readout values, finer Threshold stability in trashy environments, and faster more powerful processor makes it a perfect winner for me.
Well more about the Audio tones and how they affected my detecting experience. My first outing on pasture with the SE prompted me to use Iron Mask as I usually do, with just a little iron discrimination. Sensitivity set to 24, manual, and Pitch Hold to start, with deep recovery. The idea of the audio pitch increasing on the threshold tone, similar to the target signal, and especially those not rejected, definitely helped to discern the unwanted targets when the threshold blanked. I don't think it would be suitable on a trashier site where the Threshold would change constantly. But, there's something for everyone, I was very pleased with the way it worked. Other audio sounds, normal, long and smooth give you greater control than the old sounds.
The new Pin Point function was fantastic and picked out every target with ease; this in unison with the depth information was one of the highlights of the new SE for me. What am I going to do with my rather expensive probe attachment - ah I forgot the detector is also lighter for not having it.
Quality has always been the maxim for me in anything I've purchased; it's that reassuring point that somebody has put time and effort into achieving something good, Minelab has done that with their detectors, the clarity of their manuals, and Explorer SE definitely. Does it show that I think you've done it once again, for me this is a winner!
I will keep you updated on the results of my detecting trips and successes, I'm sure there will be plenty of these in the coming months.
Regards
John Williams