Minelab Excal vs Whites

[whiteriver23]

OK - so I'm a 73 yr old MD'er looking for a good fresh & saltwater machine.
Had a Whites BHID 300 and loved it until it was stolen so, now I'm searching for
a replacement. Only used the 300 in freshwater & had lots of finds but, I'm seeing
a lot of good comments about the Minelab Excal with the exception of the knobs
falling off and a few comments about the learning curve. Definitely don't want to
go the PI route since I don't look forward to digging really deep holes for bobby
pins. Seen a few negatives about Minelab service being slow and expensive. The
one plus I had with Whites on my BHID 300 and my MXT was good service and quick
turnaround. I've also thought about a Sand Shark and a Tiger Shark since the
two combined would be about what a Excal would cost. The more I research
the more confused I get. If anybody has had some experience with the Minelab,
or the Shark detectors I'd surely appreciate you comments. I expect to head
to the Texas gulf this winter for some beach hunting.

Thanks
JP

 

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[Jason in Enid]

Excal is primarily a diving detector, it is the owners who have modified it for beach use. The stock shafts are not really designed for land which is why we build our own straight shafts...

I don't like it for diving either.

 

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[TENNESSEEGAL]

Without a doubt the Excal is probably the most versatile water machine out there, it has fantastic target I.D. and separation capabilities, good to great depth (depending on how it's tuned and setup), and despite what you may hear from time to time it's also a pretty reliable machine, the number of actual complaints being very small to the number of these machines in use. As for the weight of the control housing, several ways of dealing with this such as a hip mount, chest mount (which I prefer), or a homemade or aftermarket balanced shaft assembly (I still made a custom shaft for mine even though I use a chest mount.) I've used the CZ's for about 15 - 20 years now and really like them, actually use to praise them as being the best all around water machine, but after using the Excals and becoming more familiar with them I'd have to give the Excal a noticeable edge in most situations.

Hey Bigscoop! Could you post a pic of your settings on your excal? I have mine on auto sensitivity or the highest it will go. and on the lowest description. It wont do an good for me to post pics of mine, a couple of the knob markers fell off. LOL

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

TG,

Look at sensitivity like tuning a radio to get a good station, different areas require a different frequency to get a good station, 92.8 might be great station in one city and be nothing but static in another city.

Its the same for beaches if your always running auto your not tuned for most beaches... You want to tune your sensitivity so detector is stable and smooth, dont worry about losing depth, I usually run my excal between 10am and 2pm based on a clock face depending on the beach I'm hunting...

 

[TENNESSEEGAL]

TG,

Look at sensitivity like tuning a radio to get a good station, different areas require a different frequency to get a good station, 92.8 might be great station in one city and be nothing but static in another city.

Its the same for beaches if your always running auto your not tuned for most beaches... You want to tune your sensitivity so detector is stable and smooth, dont worry about losing depth, I usually run my excal between 10am and 2pm based on a clock face depending on the beach I'm hunting...

Thank you TH. That helps a lot!

 

[bigscoop]

TG,
Sent you a PM.

 

[TENNESSEEGAL]

TG,
Sent you a PM.

I got It BigScoop! Thank you!