CTX vs Excal Real world saltwater

[Bejamble]

So I have had my ctx for a year now and the excal for about 3 months. About 700 hours on the ctx and 100 on the excal. I have to say both machine are very good machines on the beach. What "I" have noticed is depth is about the same in my conditions. The excal seems to pick up smaller items better. The excal also has stronger sounds based on the size and depth. That being said the ctx has better "what to dig" tools to determine good targets from the bad. Keep in mind gold and platinum rings can sound exactly like pull tabs and junk. This is really no different than any machine on the market. If I had to choose a single machine to use for salt water, I really think I would choose the excal. Take both machines onto land and it's a no brainier which to use though. Anyone care to provide additional feedback that has experience with these 2 machines?


Cory

 

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[testing123]

I believe "volume gain" on the CTX can be adjusted. I believe that's the term... you can adjust deeper targets signals to sound deeper, or not as deep. I think that made sense?

 

[Bejamble]

Correct, just personally feel that on the excal it was more noticeable.

 

[Terry Soloman]

There is no one machine that does it all. If there was, we would all own one.

 

[Bejamble]

Try convincing my wife that If you can tell here I need a GPX

 

[jcobb]

Thanks for the info!
I recently upgraded to a new CTX from a AT Pro, I mainly hunt on land. But a few times a year I travel to the coast.

 

[GreenMeanie]

I found the recovery slow on the excals and my CTX picked up some really tiny targets the excal would never find.

 

[MBbeachrat]

My CTX with 17" much better then my Excalibur in wet sand. Smaller items and larger items. CTX with standard coil just a little better then Excalibur but much faster.

 

[OBN]

CTX Stock versus XCAL Stock .. CTX

CTX Stock versus XCAL Modded .. Excalibur

 

[Bejamble]

Im still running stock on my excal but going to look at upgrading the coil. Seen alot but havent read into whats available and the advantages. Sounds like many are happy with coil swaps though.

 

[OBN]

Being able to swap the coil is a great advantage along with the remote PP to Discriminate toggle, and a good set of head phones. I have over 600 hours on the coil swap endcap and want to do one more year of testing before I release the endcap since it is rather challenging to install, but once installed one can use anything from the small Sunray 5 to the WOT (BBS only) with a simple twist off and twist on.

Another exciting item I am working on is a "After-Burner" for the Excalibur. Air test and in the ground test nets me from 3, to a weak 4 inch's more in PP and Discriminate, this will place the Excalibur in the area of a PI.... this item goes between the coil and the control unit, providing a 11.48 percent stronger detecting field. Once I am back from Chicago next week I will be testing in the
Chesapeake Bay... stay tune... and the cost on this is rather high, about 300 each, my cost. It will be interest to see if it can handle the saltwater.... With all this no way a CTX can compete .. only area I see the CTX as being better, is a little faster in a trashy area and better Target ID tools.

And this is drysand, wetsand and in the water..Excalibur. By far on land... CTX

 

[lost items recovery]

Being able to swap the coil is a great advantage along with the remote PP to Discriminate toggle, and a good set of head phones. I have over 600 hours on the coil swap endcap and want to do one more year of testing before I release the endcap since it is rather challenging to install, but once installed one can use anything from the small Sunray 5 to the WOT (BBS only) with a simple twist off and twist on. Another exciting item I am working on is a "After-Burner" for the Excalibur. Air test and in the ground test nets me from 3, to a weak 4 inch's more in PP and Discriminate, this will place the Excalibur in the area of a PI.... this item goes between the coil and the control unit, providing a 11.48 percent stronger detecting field. Once I am back from Chicago next week I will be testing in the Chesapeake Bay... stay tune... and the cost on this is rather high, about 300 each, my cost. It will be interest to see if it can handle the saltwater.... With all this no way a CTX can compete .. only area I see the CTX as being better, is a little faster in a trashy area and better Target ID tools. And this is drysand, wetsand and in the water..Excalibur. By far on land... CTX

Patiently waiting...thumbs up!!
!!PATENT!!

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[bigscoop]

Being able to swap the coil is a great advantage along with the remote PP to Discriminate toggle, and a good set of head phones. I have over 600 hours on the coil swap endcap and want to do one more year of testing before I release the endcap since it is rather challenging to install, but once installed one can use anything from the small Sunray 5 to the WOT (BBS only) with a simple twist off and twist on.

Another exciting item I am working on is a "After-Burner" for the Excalibur. Air test and in the ground test nets me from 3, to a weak 4 inch's more in PP and Discriminate, this will place the Excalibur in the area of a PI.... this item goes between the coil and the control unit, providing a 11.48 percent stronger detecting field. Once I am back from Chicago next week I will be testing in the
Chesapeake Bay... stay tune... and the cost on this is rather high, about 300 each, my cost. It will be interest to see if it can handle the saltwater.... With all this no way a CTX can compete .. only area I see the CTX as being better, is a little faster in a trashy area and better Target ID tools.

And this is drysand, wetsand and in the water..Excalibur. By far on land... CTX

I'm not sure I can stand an 11.48% stronger field with the 12 x 15 coil......darn thing already has me digging too deep sometimes. j/k But seriously, that will certainly be a huge advancement, especially when using the smaller coils.....can't wait! Before long we're going to have to start calling these modified machines, "OBN'ers".

 

[MBbeachrat]

Yea as OBN says big difference between his Excalibur and my stock. OBN please mod my Excalibur!

 

[Jason in Enid]

I'm not sure I can stand an 11.48% stronger field with the 12 x 15 coil......darn thing already has me digging too deep sometimes. j/k But seriously, that will certainly be a huge advancement, especially when using the smaller coils.....can't wait! Before long we're going to have to start calling these modified machines, "OBN'ers".

I was just thinking the same thing. I'm already digging beer cans over 2 feet deep, I don't know how far down I can chase targets. If this was in the water instead of in damp sand I would never have reached them.

 

[bigscoop]

I was just thinking the same thing. I'm already digging beer cans over 2 feet deep, I don't know how far down I can chase targets. If this was in the water instead of in damp sand I would never have reached them.

It's strange sometimes, but there are those days when everything seems to be really deep and plentiful.....pull tabs, dimes, nickels, pennies, etc.....

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I found the recovery slow on the excals and my CTX picked up some really tiny targets the excal would never find.

I have found several tiny gold targets less than a gram so how small are we talking.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

It's strange sometimes, but there are those days when everything seems to be really deep and plentiful.....pull tabs, dimes, nickels, pennies, etc.....

Small enough that they will drive you insane, trying to figure out what they are.
Smaller than my pin pointers can detect.
Often the only way that you can isolate the target is sweep a handful of dirt over the search coil, till it beeps
then keep dividing what you have in your hand till you can finally isolate the target.
At times, I will just bag the handful of dirt and deal with it when I get home.

I suspect that it has to do with the higher frequencies that FBS systems can operate at which are more sensative to gold and most likely everything else. The CTX is great for finding hammies "smalll coins hammered out of silvee wire in Europe.

In my opinion, for beach hunting it's more of a curse than a advantage.
As a rule of thumb if you cannot get it within five scoops walk away!

And yes, with a slow sweep, followed with a wiggle when you get a chirp, the Excalibur will find small stuff.
Or just use pin point, it is amazing what it will pick up too.

 

[dewcon4414]

There have been VERY few targets ive ever walked away from .... if i started digging im going to find out what it is. My Xcal will hit on a .3 gram piece of gold..... i dont believe the CTX will hit on it any smaller.... my Explorer wouldnt. You do have some tone adjustment for the CTX id like to have. BOTH machines have known problems.... so i can fix a lot of Xcals for the price difference. I can swap headphones on the Xcal.... that does make a difference. Not sure id use a bigger coil if i could.... but a smaller one comes in handy. Yes the Xcal is a slowwwwww recovery machine, but i hunt in AM most of the time with Joes PPer so thats not a real issue. Most targets ive found at 2' isnt going to be a gold ring unless i just cant get the thing in the scoop.

Dew

 

[MBbeachrat]

I must also add that with the CTX I no longer dig clad. After hundreds of predictions from the numbers I know when it is clad with extreme accuracy. I will still dig nickels because it is near gold readings but I always know it is going to be a nickel now. I am sure I will miss a few school rings ( which my wife always returns) but the advantage is still great. I really hunt on beaches that are loaded with clad and am not interested in finding $10 in change anymore. My finds have really increased by this method. The bad thing about my CTX is it is not a machine to use in the surf because of its build. It is for wet sand and very swallow water two feet or less.