Underwater MD

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,460
54,902
Florida
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
Personal preference, for me it was as the Excal will tell you when your target is iron, other 2 want.... If your hunting a beach that is very clean, then might not matter, but if your beach is dirty with iron it saves a lot of digging for worthless targets.
 

steelheadwill

Gold Member
Jan 2, 2010
6,689
715
New Castle NH.
šŸ„‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Brain eyes ears and nose
Primary Interest:
Other
Hi Nutria :hello:
I'm gonna give you my opinion.
I've owned an excal, and recently purchased a Tesoro Sand shark, (retail a bit less than the garrett)
In my opinion, the Tesoro works as well as the Excal, is lighter, uses 8AA batts instead of the Excals dedicated battery,
has the same range of user configurations, has shaft locks that eliminate the play found in the excals shaft.
and the lifetime warrantee is a definite plus.
Your first foray into using Pulse machines may be an 'ear opener', they pretty much require an entire new skill set
from low and multiple freq machines.
Here's a review from a well respected and experienced detectorist:
REVIEW: Tesoro Sand Shark PI - Beach and Water - Just Go Detecting - Metal Detector Community
Hope this helps! HH to you, Herbie :icon_thumleft:
 

maipenrai

Bronze Member
Nov 11, 2010
1,151
242
Thailand/Europe/California
Detector(s) used
Excalibur 2 1000
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Excal owner here, I havent noticed any play in my shaft, and it locks, but its not an old machine, so maybe it will develop some play. Your right about the weight, even for me its heavy, but with the extra strap I made, its better now. Its no problem in the water, but if you hunt a lot on the dry, it may be a big problem. Also it takes AA batteries, just need to buy the extra case.
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,460
54,902
Florida
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 owned 3 excals, still own 2, none of them had any play in the shafts..... I hut with a harness so weight is never a problem and I only hunt with large cois on my excals( 15" or 12x15") the bigest advantage of using a harness is I can let go of my detector at any time and it hangs right by my side, if I need to use both hands I can.....
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have been doing some research in order to buy one Underwater MD.
IĀ“m debating between the Sea Hunter, Sand Shark
What do you experts think? Is it worth spending the extra 500 dollars for a Excal?
Thanks a lot for your help

You didn't note if you wanted it for diving or wading, fresh or saltwater. I have used PI's for wading and diving and prefer the VLF or BBS of the Excal for both. Since the Excal nulls on all hairpins, fish hooks and other iron trash, you are not digging deep holes wasting your time when you could be sweeping for the good stuff. It is worth it to spend the extra money to save your time which will be made up in faster finds than a pulse detector.
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,422
30,105
White Plains, New York
šŸ„‡ Banner finds
1
šŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
You can't go wrong with the Sand Shark. You can own a great VLF and the PI Sand Shark for less than one Minelab Excalibur. The Shark shoots deeper than the Excal, and is not as hard to learn. Good Luck!
 

OP
OP
Nutriasub

Nutriasub

Hero Member
Nov 16, 2010
932
146
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75 - Garret Pro Pointer
thanks a million to all for the input.
I think the use I will give it will be wading and low depth free diving (snorkeling), maybe some wet-dry sand...
I do not want to spend big bucks on the excal, so iĀ“m narrowing it down to
SAND SHARK
CZ-21
I have read good reviews on both.
As you guys know I detect with a F75, do you think the change will be that huge from the freq MD to a PI? I have an extreme low disc on my machine, and I dig most of the iffy signals. What IĀ“ve read from the PI detectors is that they do not discriminate much, so IĀ“m guessing it will be like going All metal mode..am I right?

Thanks for all the help
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,460
54,902
Florida
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
You will never dig iron with an excal, you will dig lots of iron with the Sand Shark if your on a dirty beach and most beaches are dirty.....You spend more for the excal, but you also get a lot of it back when you go to sell it....I bought a used excal for $800, used it for 18 months and sold it for $750.....Cost me $50 to use it for 18 months and that doesn count the gold etc I found with it, and I dug no iron....

You always should consider what the value of your detector will be when you go to sell, does it hold its value. Most people wouldn't buy a car that has low resale value...
 

Last edited:

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,422
30,105
White Plains, New York
šŸ„‡ Banner finds
1
šŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Pulse Induction machines DO NOT discriminate, so yes, you will dig ALL targets. While you will dig a lot of iron, you'll also dig MORE treasure than an Excal owner - in my never humble opinion. Oh, and the Fisher CZ is not even close in depth to the Sand Shark or Excal.

thanks a million to all for the input.
I think the use I will give it will be wading and low depth free diving (snorkeling), maybe some wet-dry sand...
I do not want to spend big bucks on the excal, so iĀ“m narrowing it down to
SAND SHARK
CZ-21
I have read good reviews on both.
As you guys know I detect with a F75, do you think the change will be that huge from the freq MD to a PI? I have an extreme low disc on my machine, and I dig most of the iffy signals. What IĀ“ve read from the PI detectors is that they do not discriminate much, so IĀ“m guessing it will be like going All metal mode..am I right?

Thanks for all the help
 

Apr 13, 2012
368
106
Maryville, Tn
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
You didn't note if you wanted it for diving or wading, fresh or saltwater. I have used PI's for wading and diving and prefer the VLF or BBS of the Excal for both. Since the Excal nulls on all hairpins, fish hooks and other iron trash, you are not digging deep holes wasting your time when you could be sweeping for the good stuff. It is worth it to spend the extra money to save your time which will be made up in faster finds than a pulse detector.

Very good point you made there Sandman :icon_thumleft:
 

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