Nickel Trick for Excalibur II

[Cyber Rosco]

Hi Ya'll! I'm on vacation in Maui and trying out my new Excalibur II for the first time. Works great until it detects large (overload) type objects or the waves hit and changes mineralization beneath the loop. "Sensitivity" is in automatic. The "Threshold" loses its setting and either increases in volume and/or changes its pitch to a low sounding buzz.

1, I tried raising the loop in the air for about a minute and sometimes it will settle down and recover.

2. I've taken the "Sensitivity" out of automatic and reduced it - which seems to help a bit -- but, then I lose some of the depth (not much, but some).

3. I've resorted to my "Nickel" trick -- putting a nickel in my sandal and waving the loop over it, and after it detects the nickel - I get an even threshold tone back again. It only takes a few seconds to get my normal threshold level/pitch again.

So, this is a trick that I can pass along to those experiencing similar issues -- however, I'm sure there are some Excal gurus out there who can explain what is happening when I'm detecting over changing mineralizations, etc. and how to settle my Excal back to normal threshold without having to resort to my "nickel" trick.

Any takers!

 

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[Cyber Rosco]

I keep a nickel in one sandal and a dime or penny in the other -- it was supposed to remind me of the pitch each coin makes with a rounded sound -- (my crude form of notch discrimination). Gold rings are supposed to sound close to the same pitch as a nickel, so I like to guess at what I'm digging before the scoop hits the sand -- a form of ear training. When the low pitched "buzzer" sound stays as the new threshold level -- it throws off my ear training -- hence, the nickel puts it back at the threshold frequency to find gold. (That's the theory I have, anyway...).

Any other Excal tips & tricks that people have (salt, fresh water and land) are greatly appreciated while on my learning curve with it!

Found a listing on Maui's Craigslist where a newlywed lost his ring close to where I am staying. I contacted him to help locate the ring -- hoping I can do a good deed while testing out my Excal. Wish me luck!!!

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Not a bad idea! Thanks!

 

[svensken77]

I agree with the threshold going a bit up and down in sound but after i heard that I tried pinpoint mode and noticed that i finds deeper objects in pinpointmode and also the threshold is more stabile, when theres a deep target that i can hear silent with pinpoint the Disc mode dont pick it up before i digged a bit, i would have missed many coins this way if not used pinpoint. And you can also turn disc on to see if its worth digging all the way.
I dont know if this is Normal behavior or maybe just on mine but anyway the Excal finds DEEEEEP stuff..

By the way, I tried this today in Saltwater here in Sweden.

 

[Cyber Rosco]

Well, I never got a call back from the newlywed who lost his ring near where I was staying. So, I took my Excal II out for another spin this morning -- about an hour before & two hours after low tide. First place I hit was a quick search where people were playing vollyball on the beach -- a few clad coins -- nothing spectacular. So, went to waist deep water where I saw signs of small rocks protruding near shore -- presuming this to be close to bedrock.

Got a couple of signals, aluminum shred (6 inches) and one copper coin (about 8 inches) . Movement was very slow and no other hits. So up to the shoreline and followed the waters' edge -- looking for signs of bedrock/cutaways/water swirls. In a small depression I found a slightly crusted dime (10 inches). Walked in a circle pattern and near the dry sand, I found a freshly dropped clad dime (5 inches) -- but, it was right in line with the older dime I just found -- only it was about eight feet away. So, I followed the line back down to the water and found a few more coins right in the same path. One was a crusted nickel at 8 inches - so, I know if I could pick up nickels that I could also pick up gold rings.

My discrimination set to 1. Went into the water about mid-waist and got the nickel/gold sound again -- not real faint but the same solid sound from two directions, as I had a few minutes before.

I took three scoops and saw a glint of a yellow & shiny metal object just as the scoop left the sand and it got quickly covered up by the sand walls.
Each scoop felt liked it weighed a thousand pounds ( good way to build your arm muscles)). I kept trying more scoops - but, I couldn't retrieve it with the type of hand, sand scoop I was using. I could have had better luck if I was using some snorkel gear -- but, alas, the object went out of range and I had to let it go.

So, I know some good stuff is out there -- but, I need a better scoop for waist/chest high water -- any suggestions on a good one?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

You need a good water scoop, there are many out there, Sunspot, BeachBrute and others....If your going to hunt in the water you need a water scoop........They are not cheap, but worth every dime, the gold ring you missed may have had enough gold to have paid for a good water scoop ($179-$199). Just like a good detector, the money you spend on a scoop is not lost, it is still there, just in the value of your scoop till your ready to sell it.....Example buy one for $189, use it for 2 years, sell it for $139, cost you $50 to have a top of the line scoop for 2 years, not counting the value of the jewelry you found....

 

[Cyber Rosco]

Thanks TH! BTW, would those scoops be good for river and lake use that have more rocky bottoms? If not, can you suggest scoops that are best for those conditions? I'm always around rivers & lakes but rarely around ocean.

Thanks in advance! HH!

 

[Cyber Rosco]

Thanks for PP tip, Sven-77. The PP/Disc knob slips -- so, I leave it in Disc at all times so I don't cause further problems. Any solutions for a slipping knob?

 

[Talon]

Check out this thread. Too bad about that gold getting away... I had to leave a few targets today that I just couldn't get down to while snorkeling. Kept running out of air!
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/b...9550-sunspot-stealth-has-new-scoop-720-a.html

 

[Jason in Enid]

CR, learn to use your excal. The changing tones are normal operation.

 

[Keppy]

That is a good idea..... When mine don't recover fast enough for me i wave by digging tool over it so i can get back to hunting..... But i like that coin in the shoe idea...