Help Me Make A Decision...

[Smudge]

Ok folks, here's the situation:

I want a detector for the salt beaches here in Florida. I also plan to spend a lot of time in the surf and on the dry and wet sand. I will be hunting almost exclusively on the east coast of Florida.

I cut my chops using the Sand Shark so I know what I'm in for with pulse induction machines, especially in trashy areas. In my area, the iron/bobby pin/ twisted wire pieces makes up about 20% of my day's finds with the Sand Shark, so it wasn't a terrible ratio. Bottle caps are my biggest nemesis!

I sold the Sand Shark and am ready to buy a White's Dual Field, mostly because of the greater depth and the sensitivity to small gold. I'm not worried about the "neutral buoyancy" (read that: floating) coil at all. I have a way to work with that.

But I hesitate. There are a lot of folks out there who love their Excals, in spite of some reported malfunctions and a long history of terrible Minelab customer service (maybe that's starting to change?).

I realize I'm comparing apples to oranges, but neither of these detectors are cheap and while I imagine one day I'll own both, for now it has to be one or the other.

I know of the Excal's superior iron masking capabilities, but like I said, iron makes up only about 20% of my finds on any given day. I wish the Excal could do something about all those blasted bottle caps without knocking out all the other targets, but I know I ask too much.

I can't help but feel that the Dual Field might trump the Excal on depth and small gold sensitivity.

I'd really like to hear the thoughts of dedicated Excal and Dual Field users out there. There's a lot of people who post on this section who opinion I respect greatly.

If anyone thinks I'm ignoring another good beach detector, let me me know too!

I'm going to buy one or the other come Friday.

 

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[erikk]

L_ bo and I did a little test on which is deeper on a few targets, the DF PI........or the excal in AM, with a Amp..Both Maxed out on settings........Guess which hit all 3 targets no problem? And which got 2 only?................You made a good choice Smudge.......Congrads...............joe

I doubt you'd run the excal like that in auctual hunting conditions.
In heavy black sand a PI is better on depth.

Heavy black sand=Infinium LS 4 me

 

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[Silver Surfer]

Congrats on your new detector Smudge!
I decided yesterday that I am going to sell my PI Dual Field, and here is why... I hit the beach yesterday (where I did well last week) and as I had said I would, hit it with the PI... After 4 hrs, I switched to the Excal... The decision to sell has not one thing to do with the ability of the unit itself.. I dug hardly any iron, and only one fish hook, and one bobby pin... Got a lot of coins that were a good 1 1/2 ft deep, and even a Mexican 10 pesos coin that left a hole up to my knees..
But I just dont have the stamina to dig as much as I have to dig with this unit, period... I dug many pennies, bottle caps, and pop tabs that were all over a foot deep... I cant do that for hours.. I also noticed that I got a burn in my shoulder that I do not get with hours of the Excal... ALthough I dont really seem to notice the flotation of the coil, I came to the conclusion that it has to be the reason I was getting the burning in my shoulder that I dont get with the Excal..
So I will be posting the hardly used PI in the classifieds... If it cant sell there, then off to epay.. I really have no complaints about this unit, and it did pay itself off with two of the best finds I have ever had... It's just that I cant handle a unit that simply goes to deep for me to handle for hours.. Gonna get a second Excal as a backup, as much as I fear to.. I just hope I dont have continued problems with them like I have with my current unit..
Cant wait to hear how you like the Excal...

 

[Indasurf]

L_ bo and I did a little test on which is deeper on a few targets, the DF PI........or the excal in AM, with a Amp..Both Maxed out on settings........Guess which hit all 3 targets no problem? And which got 2 only?................You made a good choice Smudge.......Congrads...............joe

I doubt you'd run the excal like that in auctual hunting conditions.
In heavy black sand a PI is better on depth.

Heavy black sand=Infinium LS 4 me

 

[OBN]

I doubt you'd run the excal like that in actually hunting conditions.
In heavy black sand a PI is better on depth.

Actually, I do run Full-Bore on this beach, OC Md. Almetal, sensitivity at 10am, threshold just audible. Amp on 3/4's. One of the main reasons I do, with the amp and running Hot like this the coil has a wider field of detection not just the depth. But in all fairness to the Dual Field , It's the very first time out, using CJC's settings and Craig's PI {CFmct} gain almost full, pulse delay near minimum and threshhold just audible,.......... maybe with some fine tuning to this beach I can obtain that 3rd target. The Infinium does well here also, but has alot of falsing because of the rushing saltwater..which will be in my video "Summer Gold" The DF is as stable as the Excals and will have a place in my lineup. Crazy, But every beach requires different detectors to get the best results and with so much competition that is just one of the many skills/tools you need to be at the top of your game. By the way, in the Chesapeake Bay the Excalibur does not do well, that's where the CZ20 & the Infinium 10x14 mono shine.

 

[Indasurf]

I doubt you'd run the excal like that in actually hunting conditions.
In heavy black sand a PI is better on depth.

Actually, I do run Full-Bore on this beach, OC Md. Almetal, sensitivity at 10am, threshold just audible. Amp on 3/4's. One of the main reasons I do, with the amp and running Hot like this the coil has a wider field of detection not just the depth. But in all fairness to the Dual Field , It's the very first time out, using CJC's settings and Craig's PI {CFmct} gain almost full, pulse delay near minimum and threshhold just audible,.......... maybe with some fine tuning to this beach I can obtain that 3rd target. The Infinium does well here also, but has alot of falsing because of the rushing saltwater..which will be in my video "Summer Gold" The DF is as stable as the Excals and will have a place in my lineup. Crazy, But every beach requires different detectors to get the best results and with so much competition that is just one of the many skills/tools you need to be at the top of your game. By the way, in the Chesapeake Bay the Excalibur does not do well, that's where the CZ20 & the Infinium 10x14 mono shine.

The sensitivity of the Infinium can be toned down to work in all areas with different methods not listed in the manual. I have mine purring real smooth and stable in harsh black sand. I'll post some of these tips again real soon. Thanks!

 

[erikk]

I doubt you'd run the excal like that in actually hunting conditions.
In heavy black sand a PI is better on depth.

Actually, I do run Full-Bore on this beach, OC Md. Almetal, sensitivity at 10am, threshold just audible. Amp on 3/4's. One of the main reasons I do, with the amp and running Hot like this the coil has a wider field of detection not just the depth. But in all fairness to the Dual Field , It's the very first time out, using CJC's settings and Craig's PI {CFmct} gain almost full, pulse delay near minimum and threshhold just audible,.......... maybe with some fine tuning to this beach I can obtain that 3rd target. The Infinium does well here also, but has alot of falsing because of the rushing saltwater..which will be in my video "Summer Gold" The DF is as stable as the Excals and will have a place in my lineup. Crazy, But every beach requires different detectors to get the best results and with so much competition that is just one of the many skills/tools you need to be at the top of your game. By the way, in the Chesapeake Bay the Excalibur does not do well, that's where the CZ20 & the Infinium 10x14 mono shine.

The sensitivity of the Infinium can be toned down to work in all areas with different methods not listed in the manual. I have mine purring real smooth and stable in harsh black sand. I'll post some of these tips again real soon. Thanks!

It's all in the fine tuning and that is not learned overnight but when U do it is as smooth as silk

 

[Smudge]

Well, my first trip to the beach wasn't too successful. There was massive traffic jam due to an accident that kept me from getting to the beach until late. Once I got there, it didn't produce much.

The Excal will take some getting used to.

The alternating threshold really threw me off and I was starting to think the machine was malfunctioning. I took it to the sales rep at Kellyco who convinced me it wasn't. And she uses the Excal regularly.

I garnered a few coins, but also dug very little trash.

The tide was simply too rough for me to do much surf hunting today, sad to say.

Not an exciting start, but a start nonetheless.

 

[OBN]

Congrads on the New Excal..It will pay for itself in no time.

Check out oldebeechnut and oldbeechnut on youtube these may help, I do hunt in PP in a lot of these.....which does help alittle on the east coast but on the west coast {Florida} almost no difference on depth between PP & Disc...........have more going up in the next couple weeks on the excals, Infinium, and the CZ20..they are a little loud, but this is just to the cam for video purposes...

 

[Silver Surfer]

GREAT videos Beechnut!!!

What advantage is there in running PP mode? A little more depth?

 

[OBN]

Wider field of detection, deeper...but not every beach...the matrix of the sand can adversely affect this field and either help or hinder your depth in Almetal/PP. Best to find a deep faint target in PP and switch to discriminate to check n see which is the best in your location.

 

[Smudge]

Thanks for posting those videos. I will check them out tonight.

I realize the Excal is little bit different and it's a machine I will grow to love and appreciate. I just need to understand it better.

My shoulder is a little sore from swinging it. I got the Anderson long shaft so the control box is mounted behind the elbow. I also have a belt mount for it but everybody advised me against using it.

Silver Surfer, sorry to hear you're selling the Dual Field, but I completely understand your position. One reaches a point in one's life where digging two foot holes for a hair clip just loses its luster.