Minelab Excal vs Whites

whiteriver23

Jr. Member
Mar 3, 2010
46
7
Bull Shoals, AR
Detector(s) used
MXT - BHID 300
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
 

Upvote 0

Jason in Enid

Gold Member
Oct 10, 2009
9,593
9,229
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
bigscoop said:
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

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,531
55,062
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
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...
 

Last edited:

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Treasure_Hunter said:
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! :)
 

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