Excaliber Questions

[The-Bone]

Hi all. Hoping to tap the vast experience we have here. I am considering an Excaliber but have a few questions. Here goes:
1. when using it in saltwater (mostly New Jersey beaches) does the unit false on incoming waves?
2. how well does it pinpoint?
3. how long of a learning curve to master the machine/
4. have the earlier production flaws been addresed

thanks
John

 

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[water007]

NEWBIE QUESTION on Excal II

It can take you a while to get use to the machine, just like any other machine. There is a great temptation to run these machines "too hot" and this can actually cost you some deeper faint signals that can be lost in, or mistaken for, chatter/falsing, especially if there is no nulling of the target such as with small gold targets. Easy for the "whisper" of these faint signals to get lost in all the threshold noise and chatter that is typical when running the machines really hot.

I have a new Excal II AND I am a Newbie to the sport. So, a dumb question - What do you mean by "running too hot"? Also, what settings are best overall for surf zone MD?

 

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[The-Bone]

Running too hot means having the gain set too high...you will get a lot of falsing and some targets that are supposed to be disriminated out will sound off as good targets

 

[OBN]

Running too hot means having the gain set too high...you will get a lot of falsing and some targets that are supposed to be disriminated out will sound off as good targets

The Bone is correct, and this is in the Discriminate mode of the excalibur...

You can hunt in the PP mode and can get away with alot more....Got a video of a deep target, hunting in PP mode then checking in discriminate
It shows how much you can adjust up the senstivity, and volume to bring out the deep faints of the excalibur...and this is good for wetsand to about knee deep water...can vary from one location to the next based upon conditions, like black sand, matrix of the conditions below the coil. And this is in PP mode only...notice just setting the coil down on the sand, she is HOT to contact. By hunting in PP you are able to crank up the senstivity, get a few more inchs in depth, but unable to hunt in discrimate with this much heat because..like thebone said....

Note, my PP to disc is switched by a toggle on the handle grip.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I have been using the excals for 4 years, own 2 of them, they have both been customized, one has a WOT coil hard wired on, the other has a 12x15 sef butterfly coil hard wired on. I hunt in the water, in the surf as well as on the wetsand, here are my settings.

1. I use no descrimination.

2. Threshold is set to sound like a tiny mosquito buzzing in my ear, not too loud, just a constant buzz.

3. Sensitivity is set so the unit is stable, it will vary from beach to beach and even different settings for different spots on the same beach. You want the unit to be stable. Do not be afraid to turn down the sensitivity to get it stable, you will get all the depth you want still....

(You will get some falsing as waves roll over the coil if your in real shallow water this is normal, but it is easy to tell when it happens as it happens just as the wave rolls over the coil.?

4. Volume is maxed out.......

 

[bigscoop]

I have a new Excal II AND I am a Newbie to the sport. So, a dumb question - What do you mean by "running too hot"? Also, what settings are best overall for surf zone MD?

As others have already replied, setting the sensitivity too high can actually cause you a lot of problems, i.e., excessive and erratic threshold noise, falsing, etc. I set mine pretty much the same way Treasure Hunter has suggested, (I also use a WOT) also adjusting the sensitivity as often as needed to keep it running stable. A lot of Excal users don't want to reduce the sensitivity because they fear the loss of depth, but adjusting the machine just enough so that it remains stable isn't going to cost you much in the depth department and it will certainly outperform an unstable machine and offer you a much better learning curve and a more enjoyable hunting experience.

 

[water007]

All of the above is very helpful!
Thanks, danke, gracius, merci, etc.... BTW - where do you get a WOT?

 

[trsrseeker]

Thanks for the videos OBN!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

All of the above is very helpful!
Thanks, danke, gracius, merci, etc.... BTW - where do you get a WOT?

Here is one location... Coiltek Search Coils

 

[dewcon4414]

Another good advantage is the ability to hunt in PP. I find sometimes especially in shallow water where the surf may cause falsing you can switch to PP where you dont get the constant PITCH HOLD changes.

Dew