Excalibur II settings

Moe (fl)

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Jul 25, 2007
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Took the Excal-II for a test run at the beach today. It seemed to work nice but didn't find many targets. There was a lot of new sand so that may explain why. I found a dime, a copper token, a copper buckle, pieces of aluminum, and an old fish hook.

Do you use the same settings for water wading than beach hunting?

I was running mine in DISC 1, SENS 9-10, VOL close to max, THRESHOLD audible, and mode DISC and PinPoint (switching a few times)

I read some where that the SENS should not go higher than 6 or you will lose depth. Is this setting for the water or the beach or both? I was using SENS 9-10 and the machine seemed okay. How would I know to lower the SENS? Does the machine become unstable?

I noticed that the PinPoint (all metal) mode all targets sound the same. Also the iron mask is off because it picks iron. How do you tell the targets apart in All Metal mode? It also seemed to get more depth in All Metal mode. After finding a target in All metal mode I was switching to DISC to see if the target was good or iron. Is this what the Excal experts do?

Thanks.
 

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digum smacks

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learned this from one of the best, disc-1, sens-9,vol-max,heres the most important,thresh-not audable,turn it till it clicks and leave it.its silent so theres 0 falsing and you will hear targets loud and clear
 

JP

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I would run it in Auto for sensitivity until you get to know the machine well. Also, unless one wants to dig everything, including bobbie pins, run it in DISC, and disc on 1. If you are looking for relics then yes you would want to run it in pinpoint. Threshold barely audible otherwise it makes all kinds of noises with changes of environment. Yes, in pinpoint mode, all sound the same, at least to me it does, that's why it is a dig all mode.

Also, while you are running it in pinpoint mode, the disc numbers don't matter because it bypasses it. It is in an all metal mode. Placing the switch on DISC allows you to adjust the other dial with numbers.

Another important thing to remember is to apply silicone grease every so often to the battery connection.

Hope it helps and good luck with your new machine.
 

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Moe (fl)

Moe (fl)

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Thanks All!

Exca//pirate - what SENS should be if run the machine on the beach (not the water)? Shouldn't this be higher than 6?
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Adjust your sense till it is stable for the conditions, in the water or on land then back off just a hair. It will vary depending on the beach and water conditions your in.

Looking at the sense dial like it is a clock, I run mine anywhere from auto to 3 o'clock position on the dial, but most times it seems to prefer the 11-1 o'clock position. What you want is a stable detector and it isn't that hard to get with the Excal.

I have ran mine many times in the wet sand in auto and it was stable, but most times I have had to adjust it down due to the black sand, salt and mineral conditions of the beach at the time.

Don't worry about losing depth, I have dug deep targets 10-16 inches at the 3 o'clock position many times.
 

dighistory

Tenderfoot
Mar 31, 2009
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Excal/pirate,

Thank you for your post. I was ready to ship my brand new Excalibur off to be checked out.

I have been using Auto Sensitivity in the water, like it tells you to in the user manual, and all I have gotten is a continuous generated tone that varies wildly in intensity and pitch; which once triggered was independent of coil movement. Keeping the machine absolutely stationary for an extended period of time would eventually recover the threshold tone only to return to erratic tone melodies when machine was moved again. A seven day vacation of this and you can imagine how I am feeling. I had tried lower sensitivity settings briefly with no confidence because of the user manuals insistence on using auto sensitivity setting while in the water.

All the more confusing because on the sand the Excalibur II was rock solid stable and to my knowledge did not pass up a target. I found many coins, toys, and some jewelry including one tiny earring back; it was getting late and dark and I though I was chasing a ghost till I finally caught the tiny object in my hand.

Its a six hour trip to the beach and now I can't wait to go back, but I will use up my time starting at the other end of the sensitivity dial thanks to your post.

By the way...Does the Excalibur II, in pinpoint mode, generate a tone while being held stationary above a target?

Thanks again.
 

Treasure_Hunter

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I have both an Excal 1000 and 2 Sovereign GT's one of which has been custom water proofed, I use it in the surf to hut, it is my primary water machine On all three I turn the sense down (clockwise) till the machine becomes stable, then I tweak it back up just a hair. The threshold I set so it is barely audioable, like a tiny mosquito in your ear, volume I max out and I set discrimination usually to 0, but never more then 1.
 

gravediggermax-vabeachva

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Nov 24, 2005
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moe

since u have the excal II, u might be able to run the sensitivity around 7 or 8. my older excals. i would never run above noon or1pm using the clock face as dial.
my excal II's run much smoother than my other excals...................i had in the past.

in pinpoint u can crank up the sensitivity up, but then u have to crank it back down in descrm. mode............................many many hunters hunt in in pinpoint and they switch to descriminate for better id......................meaning to see if it nulls.....................or u can leave it in pinpoint and dig all targets like having a P I unit.

at 10,9, 8,7 it goes plenty deep.................not like u are looking for super deep relics, mostly fresh drops and most will be 12" or less, most will be even less.

get the silcone grease if u can find it for the battery like someone said

make sure your scoop is good and sturdy, u will need it

good luck, keep us posted

u will have time to experiment and have fun.
 

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Moe (fl)

Moe (fl)

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Jul 25, 2007
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Thanks.

In some beaches I can get up to SENS 7/8. It works fine and goes deep!

-Moe
 

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