Excal questions... Please help...

[Silver Surfer]

I had posted on the Beach section about water machines... I was ready to buy a Fisher Aquanaut, and still may, but so many say the Excal is the machine to have...
I found an Excal 1000, the guy wants $999 obo for, and it has never seen the water. Comes with a lot of accessories. I guess his dad bought it and then got sick and couldnt use it... Anyway, he says it was bought in 2005 and I wonder what is the difference between the Excal1000 and the Excal II.. Any of you know, and would that be a good deal for that machine?
Lastly, on the Aquanaut, I see where many say it is horrible in salt, but then many say it is good in the salt as long as you arent "in and out of the water"... I would be buying this as strictly an underwater machine, so maybe it would be good? I would use it until I move out of Florida, and then I would mostly be using in fresh water.

I like what I read about the Excal, but lordy, that is a lot of money...

Comments and advice really needed and appreciated...

 

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[Sandman]

I can help you out as I have three 1280's (long story) and found them to be good strong detectors, but not in the same class as the Excal 1000. If that Excal has the larger coil, get it. There isn't a lot of differences between the older Excal and the newer Excal II. Some say the newer one is cheaper made. But many like them and maybe they never use the older one. Make sure the one you buy doesn't have the sword icon on the side as these were really old.

The !280 only has on type of sound or beep and as with any water machine you want the larger coil for coverage and depth. The 1280 is very good on batteries and I have taken mine down diving for 160 foot I think it was with no trouble. Same here with the Excal but never had a reason to take a deeper dive with it as mostly used it around wrecks.

Where the Excal shines is in it's ability to sound off on a gold ring very near or under a iron nail. The 1280 can disc out the nail and mask out the ring so you won't know it is there and the 1280 isn't as deep.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

 

[Silver Surfer]

The guy says the Excal was bought new in 2005 Sandman... Does that mean it isnt the old one you described? I can ask him about the Sword thing..
From what I read though, the Excal has a pretty sharp learning curve.. Is that the case? Also, such a spendy machine might mean giving up my MXT, is the Excal a good land machine too? I really like my MXT, even though it only has a single tone.... I cant remember what brand it was, maybe a Tigershark, that one of our members has. We met up for a hunt and he was wanting to sell it due to it's weight on land, and it was a HEAVY machine.. I wouldnt want to swing the Excal for long on land if it were that heavy...
Thanks for all your advice..

 

[Silver Surfer]

Oh, forgot to ask Sandman.... What is your opinion on the Tesoro Tigershark? How does it compare to the Excal as far as functions. I know they are apples and oranges with the price difference, but what exactly are the differences?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

In my personal opinion $999 is too much for a 2005, I would not pay over $750 for it, but that is strictly just my personal opinion. I know right now they are hard to get, and people are anxious to find one and willing to pay for it......I paid $475 for my last used Excal, bought it end of last year, added a used WOT coil and straight shaft for a total of $600..

LOL, at a $1000 each for a stock Excal, I wonder what I could get for mine with a WOT coil hardwired on one and a Sunray S-12 intruder coil on the other, both are on straight shafts.......

As far as weight....With the straight shaft it is balanced a lot better and when you use the harness it's a piece of cake. I can swing mine from dawn to dusk with ho issues at all, but I use the harness and bungee...

Good luck sir.....

 

[Keppy]

Every one tells about the learning curve they scare more away from buying detectors. When they do not have a big learning curve . Hell the Excalibur and Sovereign are turn on and hunt detectors . Some say it took them a year to learn there detector but those ones are 50 years old and still in the 7 th grade.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Every one tells about the learning curve they scare more away from buying detectors. When they do not have a big learning curve . Hell the Excalibur and Sovereign are turn on and hunt detectors . Some say it took them a year to learn there detector but those ones are 50 years old and still in the 7 th grade.

Shhhhhhhh...... They do not have a huge learning curve ........... Send me your unloved Minelabs, I am running a home for unloved Minelabs.. ......

Watch the "old" comments, I'm way over 50, but my wife isn't.....

 

[Keppy]

Every one tells about the learning curve they scare more away from buying detectors. When they do not have a big learning curve . Hell the Excalibur and Sovereign are turn on and hunt detectors . Some say it took them a year to learn there detector but those ones are 50 years old and still in the 7 th grade.

Shhhhhhhh...... They do not have a huge learning curve ........... Send me your unloved Minelabs, I am running a home for unloved Minelabs.. ......

Watch the "old" comments, I'm way over 50, but my wife isn't.....

OH OH ..Got you beat I am WHY OVER 60 wish i could say under 60 though... think i will have a No make that.. ....GET THE EXCALIBUR THE LEARNING CURVE ONE DAY...........

 

[Silver Surfer]

Ended up getting an Excal II that is a 2008 model... Didnt take long to figure out that it is a "turn and go" machine, but just for the record, it will have a learning curve when it comes to the tones, chatter, and pinpointing.. But I found a few dollars in clad, so I must be doing something right.. LOL..
What I DO love is that horrible moan it makes over bottle caps!!! That is about like the machine saying "oh man, your'e not gonna dig that are you"...
It sure is nice when you hit that high silver signal... Cant wait to find gold with it. But I fear it wont like small gold chains. I put one on the ground, and even with disc at 1, it still would not give me a signal. Thicker chains was solid. Baby 10k ring also didnt make a sound...
Cant wait to hit the local swimming hole tomorrow...

 

[47thelement]

You sir, have made an excellent decision! I bought a nylon belt at Harbor Freight for $6 and attached the control unit and battery pack of my Excal II to the belt. Now the total weight that I swing with my arm is probably equivillant to a pint of Guinness. Lord knows how many of those I've swung back in a day. So I can probably swing the Excal II all day long also.

Happy hunting

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Be careful with the controls on your side, it puts stress on the cables. I use to mount mine there, but stopped once I realize how much stress there is on the controls.....Get the harness with the bungie....A straight shaft and harness, and I can hunt from dawn to dark and no arm pain at all............