This PI machine is wearing me out

[boss driver]

My Sand Shark is wearing me out. Hits deeeeeep, but hits everything with no clear indication of composition (as advertised). I'm looking to move to something that will give some iron discrimination and although I understand the trade-off is a little depth...I'm good with it. Don't want to break the bank, would like to stay in a price comparable to my Shark, but looking for input from others who've made the switch or who can speak to the pros/cons of their saltwater machines. I don't go deeper than chest high and usually only waist deep...or more often knee deep or less. Thanks!

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

Ahh yes, spoken like a true senior citizen from the sugar-sand beaches of Florida!

Who you calling senior, I'm only 67, I just went through my 5th mid life crisis.....

 

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[Billinoregon]

Who you calling senior, I'm only 67, I just went through my 5th mid life crisis.....

Wait, you mean I get to have more than one?

 

[cudamark]

How does the Excal handle black sand beaches?

I find it does pretty well if, you swing the coil slower, try to keep it an even distance from the ground, and you don't bump the sand. This is in PP. In Disc, it's pretty chatty if you run it hot, like I do. I still dig the occasional iron target, but, nothing like using a PI. Those things drive me crazy on my beaches. With a big coil (I.E. 15"), I get the same depth as my buddies' stock Dual Field.....at least we haven't found a target that would hit on one machine and not the other yet.....in two years of trying.

 

[cudamark]

Man Up! Digging it all is not like lifting bricks all day. Join us in the surf and laugh at all the Minelab and Fisher guys jogging up and down the wet sand like Sandpipers. Keep digging and grow strong. Use the Sand Shark, BE the Sand Shark!

Thanks for getting all that junk out of my way Terry!

 

[lookindown]

Thats a false advertisement if i've ever seen it, lol.

You don't dig iron with a CZ21 either...unless you want too....so why is it false advertisement?

 

[dewcon4414]

Dew.... youve just not spent enough time driving the Xcal buddy. You are the poster boy for the SS and your finds prove it. Nothing wrong with being a sand piper Terry.......ill match find with you at the end of the day as well as iron. I dig very little iron unless its a VERY VERY deep bottle cap. I use a blue and in PP .....not as deep as a PI we all know that, but you will cover move beach and that style of hunting can make up or exceed anything deep you may have passed up. The Xcal or CZ are worth having and ANY water machines going to pay for its self.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Thanks for getting all that junk out of my way Terry!

Not at all Cuda! Just keep in mind I also got all the old and new gold that came with it, so you'll probably hit a lot of recent drops.

 

[Billinoregon]

Dang it Terry. Cut that out!

 

[flgliderpilot]

Thanks for the comments so far. Terry...I'm torn to put it down but geez...I've got piles and piles like that. Ready to work a little smarter and less harder. 3 years of the Shark is wearing me out. But it sure hits the stuff!

Flglider...which detector leaked for your friend?

It was a CZ-21. He elected not to have it repaired and is considering switching to a PI machine due to funds. I also have a CZ-21 and it's awesome in the water. I don't dig iron (unless i want to), but I still dig bottle caps.

It was a tough choice between the Excal and CZ, but the CZ seemed easier to chest mount with a shorter learning curve, and standard batteries. I met a gentleman and his wife who basically detect for a living, for the past 20 years. They travel they world, and they were both using CZ-21's. So that helped me make up my mind, but there is no wrong answer Excal and CZ are both great machines.

 

[Billinoregon]

Need ... more ... detectors ...

 

[cudamark]

It was a CZ-21. He elected not to have it repaired and is considering switching to a PI machine due to funds. I also have a CZ-21 and it's awesome in the water. I don't dig iron (unless i want to), but I still dig bottle caps.

It was a tough choice between the Excal and CZ, but the CZ seemed easier to chest mount with a shorter learning curve, and standard batteries. I met a gentleman and his wife who basically detect for a living, for the past 20 years. They travel they world, and they were both using CZ-21's. So that helped me make up my mind, but there is no wrong answer Excal and CZ are both great machines.

The Excal is easy to hip mount or chest mount also. You can use either rechargeable or alkaline battery pods too.

 

[cudamark]

Not at all Cuda! Just keep in mind I also got all the old and new gold that came with it, so you'll probably hit a lot of recent drops.

I've got a pile like that too....... old and new.....and without the pain of digging iron!

 

[Boatlode]

My Sand Shark is wearing me out. Hits deeeeeep, but hits everything

Candy azz. Real men dig everything.

 

[Fletch88]

Well I'm a candy azz then! I'll take discrimination over raw depth any day of the week. At the end of the day it's all about enjoying your time spent swinging not how much crap I can dig at 20"

 

[jeepGold]

The Excal is easy to hip mount or chest mount also. You can use either rechargeable or alkaline battery pods too.

Yes, the excal is easy to do an inexpensive hip mount. I did it with a simple carpenters belt. Makes swinging easier. It DOES however cause excessive stress on the cables due to you swinging your hips back and forth when you shake your scoop. It also has you running the cables from the excal out, up, and along the side of you to the shaft which overly exposes them to external dangers like your shovel when you're digging.
I went from the hip mount to having it mounted at the very top of the shaft behind my elbow. Makes it balance VERY VERY well, Keeps all the wiring much less exposed. Mate that with a pro swing 45 or even a DIY shoulder harness and a cheap bungee cord and you can literally hunt longer than the sun is up. I don't know why I didn't do it this way a long time ago.

 

[Captain Caveman]

I'll throw in another positive post for the CZ. I dig a lot of junk, but it's not iron. Also, I don't detect on the dry sand anymore because of the sweeper trucks. I stay in the water the entire time.

 

[jeepGold]

I give those sweeper drivers and ugly look every time they drive past me. Then again, who ever said I wasent ugly

 

[cudamark]

Yes, the excal is easy to do an inexpensive hip mount. I did it with a simple carpenters belt. Makes swinging easier. It DOES however cause excessive stress on the cables due to you swinging your hips back and forth when you shake your scoop. It also has you running the cables from the excal out, up, and along the side of you to the shaft which overly exposes them to external dangers like your shovel when you're digging.
I went from the hip mount to having it mounted at the very top of the shaft behind my elbow. Makes it balance VERY VERY well, Keeps all the wiring much less exposed. Mate that with a pro swing 45 or even a DIY shoulder harness and a cheap bungee cord and you can literally hunt longer than the sun is up. I don't know why I didn't do it this way a long time ago.

I wear mine behind me on my lower back. It's out of the way, no stress, no problems. The headphone cable goes up my left side and the coil cable on the right. I leave a lot of slack for it, so it doesn't bind or cause a sharp bend.

 

[Fletch88]

Cuda, I think I'm going to try that method. I met a fellow pirate Sunday that had his on his back belt line. Seemed very comfortable. I've about decided to just hunt in disc rather than flipping back and forth from am-disc on my straight shaft. When the threshold pitch changes on the Excal without a target response you are basically hitting targets as deep as you will in pp

 

[penzfan]

I manufacture and sell Hip Mounts and Shaft Extensions for the Excal if anyone is interested. Free shipping and a 20% discount to all TN Members. PM me if interested. Thanks

Yes, the excal is easy to do an inexpensive hip mount. I did it with a simple carpenters belt. Makes swinging easier. It DOES however cause excessive stress on the cables due to you swinging your hips back and forth when you shake your scoop. It also has you running the cables from the excal out, up, and along the side of you to the shaft which overly exposes them to external dangers like your shovel when you're digging.
I went from the hip mount to having it mounted at the very top of the shaft behind my elbow. Makes it balance VERY VERY well, Keeps all the wiring much less exposed. Mate that with a pro swing 45 or even a DIY shoulder harness and a cheap bungee cord and you can literally hunt longer than the sun is up. I don't know why I didn't do it this way a long time ago.