Undecided

PI PETE

Hero Member
Aug 10, 2009
550
291
Detector(s) used
Excal_1000 / Whites VX3 / Shadow 2-Troy / & Infinium L-S/Garrett / AT GOLD
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
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cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,221
14,545
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The PI's like the Dual Field and Sand Shark, won't be quiet on my beaches, so I don't think they'll be any quieter than your Infinium. If you want total silence while hunting (except when you hit a target), get a CZ21. The don't use a threshold tone. You can also get the Excalibur and turn down the threshold to silent or just a slight hum.
 

penzfan

Bronze Member
Apr 12, 2014
1,417
994
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030 - Excal 1000 - Excal II - Sovereign GT - RTG/Oleg Scoops - XPointer
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Excal or CTX. There's a good reason so many ocean hunters use them...
 

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
Excal.....there's a reason why it's still the top seller and still #1. For every hunter who has a CTX, CZ, ATX, Dual Field, etc., nearly all of them still own and often fall back to the reliable and time proven Excal.

PI machines have their place but hit the beach after a storm and you'll be digging tiny pieces of scrap until the cows come home. The CZ is a fantastic machine but it is susceptible to hot rocks, etc., and when currents slow the coil speed you also risk missing targets. But the Excal is time tested and proven to perform coast to coast under a wide variety of hunting conditions.
 

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sonnar28

Jr. Member
Dec 2, 2011
89
86
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Go for the Excalibur.

You have obviously learned coil control from using a PI machine for years, it will be easy to leverage that into hunting by tones with the Excal in discriminate mode, which has a nice stable threshold. You can also hunt in pinpoint (all-metal) mode, which is very much like using a PI. And then you can "reverse hunt", where you acquire the target in all-metal, then check it in discriminate to make sure it is not iron before you dig it.

If you really want total silence except for targets, the CZ 21 will do exactly what you want.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Charles
 

ChampFerguson/TN

Bronze Member
Nov 22, 2013
1,181
1,620
TN
Detector(s) used
Minelab Safari .......... Minelab Excalibur II ....... ........Minelab CTX 3030
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Excal. Eventually with the OBN PP mod + new headphones.

bigscoop describes me perfectly: I have and hunt a CTX on dirt, dry, wet and water, i but fall back on the Excal when conditions warrant it. (and am going to get a PI someday when I can get to the beach more regularlyl)
 

LawrencetheMDer

Hero Member
Feb 22, 2014
984
2,395
Ohio and Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Manticore, Minelab CTX3030 w 11" and 17" DD coils,
Minelab Excalibur II w 10" coil, Equinox 800 (4) w 11" and 15" coils,
Troy Shadow x2 w 7" coil, Pointers; Garrett Carrot, Pro Find 35,
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Bigscoop echos my thought - Excal. A lot of the beaches I detect have tons of black sand and no problem. I'm in the surf all day long and no problem in terms of battery life (about 13 hrs on original and you can get longer lasting batteries), quiet running and I dig deep targets. I run in all metal and use discrimination only to check for iron. Don't expect to use the original shaft - Uggg.
 

sandmartin

Sr. Member
Feb 20, 2015
296
284
Scarborough, England
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 900.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I thought long and hard before I bought my beach machine, I tried an Excal but didn't like the constant hum so I went for the CZ21, very happy with it and if it's good enough for Casper 2........
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,221
14,545
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I thought long and hard before I bought my beach machine, I tried an Excal but didn't like the constant hum so I went for the CZ21, very happy with it and if it's good enough for Casper 2........

You can turn that hum off you know........
 

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
cudamark is correct, you can always turn the threshold (the buzzing) off and hunt in silent mode. But the CZ is also a great machine. Gook luck and enjoy!
 

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