Minelab:Explorer SE
Full Specification
Manufacturer: Minelab
Model: Explorer SE
Price: $1199.00
Type: General
Skill: Advanced
Weight: 14.00
Display: LCD
Frequency: 28 Simultaneous Freq
Headphone: 1/4
click here for manual for Explorer SE
Description: The Minelab Explorer SE is considered by many around the world to be the most technologically advanced metal detector ever manufactured. Incorporating FBS, Full Bandwidth Spectrum, means that the SE transmits not one or two, but 28 different frequencies, from 1.5kHz to 100kHz, into the ground at the same time, making sure not to miss conductive targets regardless of their size. An extremely fast microprocessor combined with 3rd generation software providing excellent discrimination, and a feature ensemble too long to list here, are all packed into this fabulous metal detector.
Average Rating: 4.5 based on 2 reviews
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All Reviews
SE first impressions
I've been metal detecting for 30 years and understand the importance of having the very best detector I can afford. I bought the Minelab SE only 2 weeks ago, but have put in a fair amount of time testing and in the field. I want to share my opinion of the SE so far.First let me point out why I bought the SE. For the last 17 years I have hunted our city park with some very good detectors including the Whites, Eagle Spectrum, XLT and DFX. This park has been a city park since 1888, and being located next to the Arkansas River has been flooded on average every 30 years. Each flood has deposited a layer of soil from 3-6" deep. Needless to say the oldest coins are up to 24" deep. Over the past 17 years I have managed to pull coins down to 10" with the Eagle Spectrum and the DFX, but only getting coins back to the 1940's at this depth tells me there are plenty left for the detector able to go deeper.
I've read so much about how deep the SE can go, but I also understand it's hard to separate fact from fiction, and a lot is hype and exaggeration. You see many comparisons between the Whites DFX vs Minelab SE, and you've got to take them all with a grain of salt, so I felt my opinion might help those looking to possibly own the Minelab SE. I might add I currently still own a White DFX.
After assembling the SE, which was very easy and quick, I gave it a few air tests before heading to my test garden. Air tests with the SE were very impressive. The gold ring my DFX would air test at 10" was easily being picked up by the SE at 14". Of course we all know air tests have little to do with a detectors ability to detect targets in the ground, so off to my test garden I went.
My test garden is 2 years old and is closer to a "real world environment" then most test gardens. When I moved to my new house the first thing I did was to setup a test garden. I don't work the area at all, but prefer to leave the ground just as it is. In my case my garden seems to have a major iron infestation. When testing my DFX all I could get was chatter which I thought was EMI(electromagnetic interference) the DFX is known to experience. The SE didn't fair any better, but it did tell me my problem is more than likely highly mineralized ground and not EMI. The SE, no matter what I tried, would not maintain a steady threshold. If the coil was moving, the threshold was null/silent. Like my DFX, the SE was unable to detect my deeper targets. The only detector that has been able to handle my test garden and find my deepest targets was the Garrett ACE 250. Both Garretts I have tested in my yard were able to maintain a rock solid threshold. I believe this is why they were able to get better depth in my test garden.
While the Garrett ACE 250 is a great detector and out performed both my DFX and SE, the opposite was true in our city park. The ACE 250 wouldn't register the targets at 9-10" that both the DFX and SE were able to detect. I guess it just goes to show even a test garden results are not conclusive. Oh well, back to the city park.
My first experience with the SE was not a good one. Being used to the DFX, the information supplied by the SE was very confusing. I had read the manual 5 times before I even got my SE and 3 times after, and still was perplexed by all those sounds. I've never been a big fan of tone ID, and the SE was sounding more like a musical instrument than a metal detector. I later found all those tones were different targets, and the SE was trying to tell me to slow down so I could tell the good from the bad. That is one thing I do like about the SE. It teaches you good detecting technique by forcing you to slow down and check each sound individually. I had learned this lesson from my older TR/VLF detectors, but the Whites detectors had spoiled me with their great visual information.
I took both my DFX and SE to the park as sorta my own way of comparing the two head-to-head. When I'd get a good target with the SE I'd check it with the DFX. I wanted to know which was truly the deeper detector. What I found was the DFX was able to detect any target my SE could. At first the SE seemed to be pulling many good coins out of the same area I had hunted with my DFX, and I thought the SE was clearly the deeper detector, but common sense told me other wise.
The SE was finding more coins, but why? Every one I checked with my DFX was found with it as well. It was then I realized the stock SE had an obvious advantage over the stock DFX. The SE SlimLine coil is a DD coil. Unlike my DFX's stock 9.5 coil, the SE covers a greater area on each swing increasing the odds of the coil being over a good target. The SE's DD coil also gives it the advantage in trashy areas, which this park was. I also realized almost every target I found with the SE was near some kind of trash. Now it was starting to make sense.
The SE is a great detector, and deserves to sit on the top rung of the detector ladder. My only dislikes are the weight and display information. They really need to put the SmartFind and Digital screens together. Much like the DFX which has VDI(SE's Digital),SignaGraph(SE's SmartFind) and Icons(not on SE). I do like the SE's depth reading in motion mode, but they really need to give some numbers instead of having the user guess.
I plan to give the Minelab SE a full season of hunting before I make my decision to keep it or sell it. I like the SE, but unless it proves itself in the field this year I will keep my DFX. It is my opinion the DFX is every bit as deep as the SE, and a little easier to use and lighter.
Average rating:4.5 based on 2 reviews
Rated: 
stars submitted by Terry Adams from Dodge City, KS submitted on 12/31/1969
This review has been selected as useful 24 times
My First Hunt
I did my research for one month. I called and got price quotes for the Minlelab SE and the Whites MXT. I chose the Minelab because it was advertised to go deeper and with the 28 frequencies I was convinced it was the better of the two. Well this weekend It proved me to be right. All I did was turn it on and with the factory preset setting I found treasure. I found square headed nails that dated the property for me. I found a rusty iron hatchet head at 20" down. I found a 1960 penny at 10" down. So I am sure that I will enjoy this Minelab for many years to come. You owe it to yourself to try one out.Average rating:4.5 based on 2 reviews
Rated: stars submitted by Rodney Boyette from Dillon, South Carolina submitted on 12/31/1969
This review has been selected as useful 7 times
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