Couple questions - Excal in shallow water

[SorryDangDog]

I have never talked with another MD'er, much less an Excal owner, so hoping to converse with y'all to get an understanding of the little nuances of my machine.

I am an MD beginner and have a new Excal 1000, I absolutely love it. I have used it 4 out of 5 times in the water at the beach and plan on almost exclusively using it in the water. Fortunately, those first 4 trips were right after a nice deep cut was formed at my beach (I had already learned that cuts were good from the forum) and I had very good beginner's luck. So I know I can hear targets and find trash, junk, clad and gold. I haven't found any silver yet and now with the cut mostly gone and beach replenishment going on, I know it may be awhile before I find anything at all, without traveling to some other beaches where fresh drop opportunities might be greater.

In the mean time, I am just working on learning my machine and how to get the most out of it, when operating in the water. I have worked it from ankle deep to chest deep in the past but yesterday spent about 3 hours in knee to thigh deep water. I am operating in pinpoint, I have the sensitivity on 6 and the threshold right at the beginning of a hum, but no hum - which yesterday was between 12 and 1:00.

With the settings as described above, I can hear the waves (one false signal) wash over above the coil and on occasion I can hear false signals. I also know if the coil go off a parallel plane with the bottom I will get a false signals and I know I may have a tendency to get false signals more often right to left than left to right.

Neither of these sets of false signals bother me too significantly, the waves I know immediately. The false signals are a little different, as I usually sweep back and forth over it and decide if it's a false signal or a deep target. Swore on 2 of them yesterday that they were deep targets, only to have them disappear completely after one scoop.

I realize and have no issue with the fact that it may take me 100 or 200 hours to get proficient with my machine. However, I don't want to be practicing bad habits, if I can avoid it and I wanted to use y'all as a sounding board.

So, my questions are:

Do my settings sound about right for in water conditions?

Am I wrong to assume that it is better to manually set the Sensitivity in the "Sub-Aqua" range, at the highest level w/o (major) false signals, than it is to have it on Auto?

In water, do you have your Threshold set at "just hums" or "just doesn't hum"?

Thanks for any input or critique.

Terry

p.s. FWIW ~ I have always had a bad set of ears and that was before deep diving, guns and loud music in the 70's.

 

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[dewcon4414]

Im not certain if you are in salt water..... but minerals and salt content can very even from shallow to deep water. I run my sensitivity as high as possible to a point of chatter... then back it down. My Xcal II will run at about 8 sensitivity.... my Xcal 1000 around 7. As you can see machines very too. I dont like auto just not the depth you want out there.... as far as sub aqua.... only with say a WOT coil. YOu dont want to over power your coil.... but you do want as much sensitivity as possible. I prefer some hum... but im used to a dirt detector and that hum can tell you a lot about a site. The Xcal is a pretty forgiving and simple machine. My comments are based on using disc. I hunt a good bit in PP.... different animal.... you can crank up the sensitivity well beyond what disc can handle. I set my threshold in disc then switch over to PP.

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

First, in PP your machine is going to tone on "all metals", even halos when they are present, which could explain those disappearing signals after one scoop, this is also true with the endless tiny pieces of brittle iron that abound. As for the "hum", quite often this hum is the indicator of a deep or faint target response, the breaks in the threshold hum serving the same purpose as a tone, so adjusting the hum out can actually work against you. Many of the fine gold chains that I found have been due to threshold breaks, not tones, the threshold break offering me clue that a possible target was the actual cause of the disruption. "Sensitivity settings" can vary from one machine to the next, just the nature of the individual machines, coil size can also play a role, as can coil control and the conditions being hunting. Rule of thumb, "seek stability", even if that means reducing the sensitivity until stability is achieved.

 

[bigscoop]

I hunt a good bit in PP.... different animal.... you can crank up the sensitivity well beyond what disc can handle.
Dew

Dew, I don't experience that with the machine I'm using now. I can run the same sensitivity in both modes and even at hot settings with no noticeable difference. This wasn't the case with my other Excal. Not sure why this machine is so much more stable then other Excals I have used? Wish I did.

 

[dewcon4414]

BigScoop.... because its broke man What sensitivity can you run BS? Neither of mine likes more than 8 in disc and then they become unstable. In PP i run around 9, but disc is a bit chattery if i have to switch.

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

BigScoop.... because its broke man What sensitivity can you run BS? Neither of mine likes more than 8 in disc and then they become unstable. In PP i run around 9, but disc is a bit chattery if i have to switch.

Dew

I'm "old blue" so no pre-set numbers on the dial, but when water hunting, and even in the rough and turbulent stuff, I usually hunt at or above 3/4 in both modes with no noticeable difference, and I am constantly switching back and forth, the addition of the remote switch now making that more convenient. On other Excals I have used I would generally have to back the sensitivity down in the rougher and more turbulent stuff. I'm sure the smaller coil plays some role in this but I have used other 8" Excals that I couldn't hunt hot at all in these same environments. Not sure why?

 

[SorryDangDog]

Thanks guys, that's what i was looking for.....I'll keep having fun and getting to know her better.

 

[bigscoop]

Thanks guys, that's what i was looking for.....I'll keep having fun and getting to know her better.

Take her shopping at the beach every chance you get and she'll be good to you.

 

[mikeothmer]

Disappearing signals- I read somewhere that if the signal disappears take one more scoop and the item will be in that scoop. I was hunting some wet sand the other day and had this happen so I took another scoop and sure enough there it was. It work 8 different times on that hunt. It would be a shame to miss a pull tab! Lol

 

[SorryDangDog]

I'll remember that Mike!

Disappearing signals- I read somewhere that if the signal disappears take one more scoop and the item will be in that scoop. I was hunting some wet sand the other day and had this happen so I took another scoop and sure enough there it was. It work 8 different times on that hunt. It would be a shame to miss a pull tab! Lol

 

[Ace350]

I have never talked with another MD'er, much less an Excal owner, so hoping to converse with y'all to get an understanding of the little nuances of my machine.

I am an MD beginner and have a new Excal 1000, I absolutely love it. I have used it 4 out of 5 times in the water at the beach and plan on almost exclusively using it in the water. Fortunately, those first 4 trips were right after a nice deep cut was formed at my beach (I had already learned that cuts were good from the forum) and I had very good beginner's luck. So I know I can hear targets and find trash, junk, clad and gold. I haven't found any silver yet and now with the cut mostly gone and beach replenishment going on, I know it may be awhile before I find anything at all, without traveling to some other beaches where fresh drop opportunities might be greater.

In the mean time, I am just working on learning my machine and how to get the most out of it, when operating in the water. I have worked it from ankle deep to chest deep in the past but yesterday spent about 3 hours in knee to thigh deep water. I am operating in pinpoint, I have the sensitivity on 6 and the threshold right at the beginning of a hum, but no hum - which yesterday was between 12 and 1:00.

With the settings as described above, I can hear the waves (one false signal) wash over above the coil and on occasion I can hear false signals. I also know if the coil go off a parallel plane with the bottom I will get a false signals and I know I may have a tendency to get false signals more often right to left than left to right.

Neither of these sets of false signals bother me too significantly, the waves I know immediately. The false signals are a little different, as I usually sweep back and forth over it and decide if it's a false signal or a deep target. Swore on 2 of them yesterday that they were deep targets, only to have them disappear completely after one scoop.

I realize and have no issue with the fact that it may take me 100 or 200 hours to get proficient with my machine. However, I don't want to be practicing bad habits, if I can avoid it and I wanted to use y'all as a sounding board.

So, my questions are:

Do my settings sound about right for in water conditions?

Am I wrong to assume that it is better to manually set the Sensitivity in the "Sub-Aqua" range, at the highest level w/o (major) false signals, than it is to have it on Auto?

In water, do you have your Threshold set at "just hums" or "just doesn't hum"?

Thanks for any input or critique.

Terry

p.s. FWIW ~ I have always had a bad set of ears and that was before deep diving, guns and loud music in the 70's.

Terry,
Look up and ask a forum member "Gary Drayton". He is a reputable hunter from Florida. I believe he wrote a book on the 3030 and beach hunting. As a matter of fact he did. I looked him up on the web and he has a website.

http://garydrayton.com/New_Sovereign_book_.html

Good luck and happy hunting.
Ace.

 

[SorryDangDog]

Thanks Ace! I am going to buy his Hardcore Beach Hunting book, for sure.

 

[Ace350]

Don't get the hardcore one.
That's not the one I was talking about.
He made one specifically on shallow water hunting.
That's the one you should get.

There is also an author Clive James Clynick that wrote a few books specifically on the Excal and beach hunting.
Here's his website.
http://clivesgoldpage.com/

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

BigScoop.... because its broke man What sensitivity can you run BS? Neither of mine likes more than 8 in disc and then they become unstable. In PP i run around 9, but disc is a bit chattery if i have to switch.

Dew

All excals are different some are just more sensitive than others, it is just the the way it is with detectors, the electronic components are just better tuned to each other, just like some cars are better built even though they are same make, model and year.

I use no discrimination at all, set sense till it is stable then kick it up just a hair hotter, hunt in both pp and disc... I get really good depth, but I am also using a wot coil on one excal and 12x15" SEF Butteyfly coil on the other and that really increases depth.



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ace350]

I see Clive just came out with two more books.
He just posted them in the marketplace section.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/treasure-related-stuff-sale/

 

[SorryDangDog]

Thanks for that Ace, I hadn't even found that page on the Forum yet. I appreciate it.

I see Clive just came out with two more books.
He just posted them in the marketplace section.

Treasure Related Stuff For Sale

 

[SorryDangDog]

Thanks Hunter, makes sense to me and that helps, as so far I was being conservative, rather than pushing the edge.....still learning my way with her!

All excals are different some are just more sensitive than others, it is just the the way it is with detectors, the electronic components are just better tuned to each other, just like some cars are better built even though they are same make, model and year.

I use no discrimination at all, set sense till it is stable then kick it up just a hair hotter, hunt in both pp and disc... I get really good depth, but I am also using a wot coil on one excal and 12x15" SEF Butteyfly coil on the other and that really increases depth.



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2