What Excal settings for salt?

s1u2r3f4

Sr. Member
Oct 15, 2011
421
186
On the brink....
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excal II
Minelab Explorer ll
Sov Gt
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I've read the books and have been on the beach experimenting. Analysis paralysis is setting in. If I run high sensitivity am I losing depth in PP? When you're in a foot of water can you still run it hot? If you are digging zincs at 10 in. will you hear gold? The questions just keep coming??? Also, is the Sovereign worth having if you already have the Excal? Happy New Year to you all! You're a great bunch of people. Have really enjoyed the posts!:icon_thumright:
 

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bigscoop

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2010
13,373
8,689
Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Sent you a PM, an invite. Your question isn't quite as simple as it appears. Sometimes actually experiencing it is much easier. :thumbsup:
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,466
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
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Dont worry about losing depth by adjusting the senseitivity, it is much more important to have a stable detector... Many times I run sensitivity turned down and I am not losing any depth to speak of... I adjust my sense till my detector is stable then inch it up (hotter) just a hair......

For the wet sand you can't beat the sovereign gt, it is just not waterproof, if it was waterproof I would use all the time I hunted the salt beaches...
 

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s1u2r3f4

s1u2r3f4

Sr. Member
Oct 15, 2011
421
186
On the brink....
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excal II
Minelab Explorer ll
Sov Gt
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Dont worry about losing depth by adjusting the senseitivity, it is much more important to have a stable detector... Many times I run sensitivity turned down and I am not losing any depth to speak of... I adjust my sense till my detector is stable then inch it up (hotter) just a hair......

For the wet sand you can't beat the sovereign gt, it is just not waterproof, if it was waterproof I would use all the time I hunted the salt beaches...
But why is the Sov better than the Excal? Aren't they the same detector?
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Jul 27, 2006
48,466
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
But why is the Sov better than the Excal? Aren't they the same detector?

Excal is based on an early Sov model, they are not the identical, lot more options on the Sov than the Excal...... If I know I am not going in the water for what ever reason I will choose my Sov GT to hunt the wet salt beaches...
 

dewcon4414

Bronze Member
Mar 22, 2006
2,138
1,237
Gulf Coast, Fl
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
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Detector(s) used
MDT, Nox, Blue Xcals and CTX
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Better ability to tweak the Sov.... and you have coil options..... thats a huge advantage. VLF send and receive coils are both on at the same time.... to much sensitivity in disc and you can over power you receive .... much like EMI. You shouldnt have a problem running full sensitivity in PP its not being processed you just get an increase in threshold. A lot has to do with the factory salt setting when it comes to detecting gold.... or NOT as well as Conductivity of the targets at various depths.

Dew
 

Tony in FL

Full Member
Nov 7, 2009
220
26
Gulf Coast Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030
Primary Interest:
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Another point of view to consider. . . personally I would pass on getting a GT. Past price increases have made it more of a high price detector than a mid price detector. Second Minelab stopped making them so after 3 years (due to warranty support) Minelab may not even be able to service them. Third, one rouge wave or drop into the water and you have potentially ruined your machine. With a waterproof detector you don't have to worry about an unanticipated rainstorm, getting chased in by tides, salt spray from surf, etc.

It seems you already have a machine for land (i.e. Explorer). So if you are looking to buy another machine for the beach why buy one that limits your ability in the water? If you already have one Excal I would suggest getting a second Excal (with different sized coil), a CTX, or a PI machine.
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
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Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have 2 excals, one has the wot, the other has the SEF 12x15" butterfly coil and I have a sov gt.... many times you cant get in the water on the east coast due to the surf, on days I cant go in the water I take the sov gt over the excals....I will always have a sov gt it is that good...
 

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