Excal 1000 Florida

[Haoleman]

Well, it's been 6 weeks since we arrived in Florida and I have hit the beaches around Flagler and combed the shore at Apopka Lake regularly. Have found half a quart ziplock bag of clad, few pieces of jewelry and a frickin' ton of aluminum. There are so many redneck deposits here, it's almost impossible to find the good stuff. You can't go a foot without another beer can overpowering the detector. Lots of iron too and a few pieces or ordinance! Seems there was a lot of bombing practice around the lake during WWII. No old coins yet. Unfortunately most of the springs are state parks and are off limits to detecting and the rest are all surrounded by houses. We are staying in Zellwood right now and will head toward Crystal River in a few weeks. Will try all the Gulf Coast heading northwest.

Question regarding batteries for the Excal. $100 bucks is a ripoff. As most of my detecting is beach, has anyone built a non waterproof pack? Or are they available for purchase? I can only get about 4 to 5 hours on a charge and it's new. Also what setting is your favorite. I am setting my disc at about 13 to full in junk areas.

Terry

 

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[guzz1]

  I  Saw one ON eBay for 49.00  a while back.. SO they do make   them.  Good Investment for backup pack..  OR you could call Kelly co... They might stock them....
10- 4  ON the junk ON the Beach ...I  get a Lot pull Tab's too ,, but you have to dig them.  You never know.. you could Miss a  nice ring ... I would also back the disc to 1 ses 3, you probably missing some good targets because disc set to high ,, threshold just so you can hear it ,, sounds like a flea in you ear , good luck Terry hh Guzz1

 

[borninok]

Agree with Guzz.......based on info from Sandman, on the beach, I set disc at 3; sensitivity on Auto.....threshold so that you can barely hear it. I'm still learning the 1000, but after awhile I may play with the sensivity.
--Mel

borninok

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

On my Excal, I set volume to max, thresh till it sounds like a misquito buzzing, sense I start at auto, and then adjust it till it settles down. I use no disc at all, you will disc out some gold rings if you do...

There is an akaline battery pack you can use, you cant dive with it but I have I got mine wet many times with no poblems....

Good luck and good hunting........

 

[JoeSWFla]

Well 4-5 hours on even a 600MaH battery doesn't sound right.Should last
over 10 hours easy.Needs to be charged 12- 14 hrs. Don't have to run
down all the way each time,but periodically it should be run flat then
charged the usual 12- 14 hrs. to make it last.They do have the alkaline
battery packs,but they have gone up in price.I got the last $49 one on
ebay.They're now about $60.If I had to buy another pack, I would go for
the re-charge at $99,instead of Alk.pack at $60.As for the 13 on disc. ,
let me know how that works,as it does knock out the tabs.tops,foil,
most screw caps and smaller aluminum,but still gets the bigger bands
and chunky gold,but knocks out a lot of the smaller diamond rings,
white gold,and plat.By the way,you can get the replacement batteries
for about $33 and install yourself if you are handy(ebay).HH Joe

 

[billinstuart]

I bought a NiMH aftermarket battery from E-Bay..good deal! It was a really tight fit in the container. The battery is easily removed by slipping back the black sleeve, revealing a stainless set screw. Remove the set screw, and the o-ringed end cap slides off. The battery hooks up with a 9 volt type plug.

The replacement had TWICE the rated capacity/life of the original rechargeable unit.

 

[Haoleman]

Hey thanks for all the info. I will try to make my own battery pack. Has anyone tried lithium ion batteries? That's the latest option. I know that I can get any AA nicad cell for less that 2 bucks so it should only take about $20.00 for all the parts to make a 12 volt pack. It also would make it more convenient to mount off the detector if in belt form. Imagine a pack made up of sub c's! You could detect your brains out for 24 hours or more and recharge them in 10 minutes with an RC Car charger!!! Don't forget the no doze

Terry

 

[camb1]

I have seen someone use a 4 ah battery from a home alarm system. He was getting about 24 - 26 hours. It was mounted in a pouch on his belt. He made a adapter from a old battery pod to connect it to battery. I would not use lithium/Ion batteries without contacting Minelab first. They are not recommended by a lot of detector companies. I believe they run at a higher voltage.

 

[TheTreasureAddict]

Hey whats up,

Keep the discrim low around 2 or 3, if not ull weed out things you dont want to weed out, trust me. If you need proof simply do some bench test. You can weed out the pulltabs but with it youll give up the gold and not all pulltabs will be ignored. Keep the sound at a minimum, its easier to hear the different sounds of different items. Sensitivity should be half way, dont leave it on auto, ur missing alotttttttt of stuff! This is a bad rumor, dont be lazy! Try it nexy time ur out. Use the sens halfway up and locate an item u can barely hear, then switch it to auto, I guarantee it wont pick it up! Next thing is the battery, I really recommend contacting Lisa at minelab and explain to her the battery issue, they should help u out and make u happy. If ur going for another battery goahead and get the battery pack one, so u can replace batteries when needed. I love it! Also yes ive seen many build ur own excal battery options just look around. Hope this helps!!

CRACKBADGER

 

[borninok]

Crackbadger,

Question....in your experience, where do you find the location of the target normally? Toward the middle of the coil, toward the top of the coil, or to the bottom of the coil? I'm having a hard time coming from my DFX coil and then using my Excal 1000. Also, if you find the target to be in a certain location of the coil, does that change for different metals? Appreciate any info. As I have said before.....geez, just give me 1/3 of what Crackbadger is finding...LOL
---Mel

borninok

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Mel, I am sure crack will be posting to your question soon.

Not in pinpoint mode but in the disc search mode I have found from my experience on my excal that once I find a target if I back off of it, then slowly move forward till it first starts sounding the target again, it is at the front toe of the coil. ...

Very rarely do I ever go to the pinpoint mode as I can always find target using above method....

Good luck and good hunting....

 

[Haoleman]

So far I am finding that the target is in the center of the coil. I keep swinging the coil in the pinpoint mode and make sweeps smaller and smaller keeping an eye on the location of the loudest signal and mark it. Then I swing at 90 degrees and do the same thing. Small targets like coins are always found within a 3" circle of my mark. The sharper the signal, the closer to the surface it is. I also find that it is accurate enough to determine the size of the object like a beer/soda can so I don't have to waste time digging them.

I tried the settings recommended but there is so much trash here, it doesn't work unless you want a wheelbarrow full of beer cans and other crap. I will say however that the cans will bring in more cash than the coinage!!!

I'll have to wait until I get to a better, less trashy location to try these settings again.

Terry

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Sorry, I went back and clarified my above post. I should have said that method is in the search mode........

I never take time to go to the pinpoint mode as I can always find target using above method....Just my experience..........

 

[rdi]

my Excal works as Treasure Hunter's target off toe or heel....Rdi

 

[Montauk3]

Crackbadger,

Question....in your experience, where do you find the location of the target normally? Toward the middle of the coil, toward the top of the coil, or to the bottom of the coil? I'm having a hard time coming from my DFX coil and then using my Excal 1000. Also, if you find the target to be in a certain location of the coil, does that change for different metals? Appreciate any info. As I have said before.....geez, just give me 1/3 of what Crackbadger is finding...LOL
---Mel

borninok

My method is to first get a good signal.
Get a ballpark pinpoint.
Switch to pinpoint mode.
Put the coil ahead of the target, then slowly bring it back towards me.
If you get a loud strong signal, (target near surface) the target will most likely be within the first two inches from the back of the coil.

If the signal is fainter, (deeper) it will more then likely be towards the center of the coil.



Try to visualize a "V" shape going into the sand. If something is near the surface, it stands to reason that it is near the edge of the coil. This is the reason that we always tell newbies to sweep the coil close to the ground.

Once you have the basic concept understood, it will be yahoo city.

I hope that my method is a help to you.

 

[borninok]

Thanks, all. I'm keeping this thread handy and will be trying these methods out on my test bed. This is why I'm glad we have winter time....so I can practice, practice, and practice...........and when it warms up.....I will be able to go out there and "swang" away!

I know in PMs that Shreck has sent me, he also shares some of my difficulties....he's like me....coming from the DFX to the Excal ... from icon on screen....to tone.

Thanks again.
---Mel

borninok

 

[Montauk3]

Mel, I think it is not really necessary to be able to define every tone. Try to decipher a harsh tone from a mellow tone. Dig ALL the mellow tones. More work? you bet. I bet I'll hear that YAHOO all the way down here.

The Excal2 is my fourth machine, It is by far the best one yet. It does have some faults for sure, but the stability is absolutely great. I am considering getting rid of my BHID Because the Excal is the one that can't be pried from my cold dead hands.

Carry on.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Montauk3, trade that BHID. I had a new one under warranty, after the battery door leaked on me a couple times, I sent it to Whites and they replaced the door and the bottom battery compartment. I bought a used Excal and moved the BHID to my water backup.

Less then a month after getting my 2nd used Excal I traded in my BHID on a new Sovereign GT with a WOT coil. I got a $500 trade in on it with free shipping back to me. I never looked back.....

I now just bought a waterproofed Sovereign GT with a WOT for $600 and I love it in the surf, JDNail who did the conversion did an excellent job, it almost looks professional. I have one Excal for sale now and the other Excal is now my backup to my waterproofed Sovereign GT. I still have my other Sov GT with WOT, I use it on the beach when I am not going into the surf.

Good luck and good hunting..

 

[TheTreasureAddict]

HEY HEY HEY,

WOW, I feel some of you are working way to hard! I am very quick when I hunt and the reason is, the more dirt u move the more u find. First off I never really use pinpoint mode unless I lose something. Sometimes ull get a sig u cant find and then, and this is rare, Ill use it. Basically the sweet spot on the Excal is the very tip. Right at the nose of it, so as soon as I hit a signal ill swing over 1 or 2 times, makeing sure its repetitive, then Ill back the machine up until I dont hear it anymore then move the machine up until I do.Bam thats the best and quickest method. I can easily target objects using this method allowing for a quick dig also, ultimately allowing more time for the bling bling. I in the process of an Excal vid and ill definately add this topic! Hope u get the good stuff!

CRACKBADGER

 

[borninok]

Alright....a Crackbadger video special.....sweeeet! I'm one that has to see it visually to understand it. So, that would be perfect!
Thanks!
--Mel

borninok