Had my first ocean adventure this past weekend

[DeepseekerADS]

I dropped down to the NC coast last Friday - didn't even notice it was the 13th....

It was the first time I've used my Excal II, and also the first time I hit the ocean. I learned a lot on this experience, and know I have more to go.

There'd been a storm lately. I went during high tide, and then I went during low tide. Those waves tried their best to knock me down, and I just got lucky on that.

Every wave that hit me made the Excal break into a steady loud buzz kinda sound. I'd reset it, it would be fine, and then came another wave.

I need to replace my scoop handle with a carbon fiber one. Wet sand is heavy, need to make adjustments there.

I got out of the water...

Lots of iron, and that would make it go off into a buzz too. I learned that if I throw a good target on the ground and then passed my coil over it, it would reset the sound.

I'd not used an Excal prior to this. But I went from Etrac to the CTX, and now the Excal. I understood the sounds. In one of the heavy trash areas I went, lots of ground noise, I was plucking good targets right from the midst. I dug 11 coins in the same area my cousin with his Ace 250 found only one. Multi-frequency machines really do have an advantage.

I'll be doing some changing in the way I outfit myself for my next water adventure. Next time I'll have a planned target versus going down to the end of one the miscellaneous random roads I took to the beach.

I have begun now!

 

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[releventchair]

Uh - oh ,lookout coast!
Reads like a good start.
Don't pee in the water ...you'll get a rash.

Good hunting to ya.

 

[tony curnick]

I dont know the excal that well but it sounds like it needs a bit of fine tuning if the waves are setting it off

 

[RustyGold]

Congratulations on making it down to the beach. I reset my Excal by passing it by the scoop.
Best of luck!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I dont know the excal that well but it sounds like it needs a bit of fine tuning if the waves are setting it off

I agree with that! I'd been reading CJC's The Minelab Excalibur "From Beginner to Advanced", used the settings suggested there. And it worked very well with those. But those waves and the iron.... I'll be studying and experimenting! I need to use it on the land as well for some time under my belt. You just can't learn one of these gizmos on your very first use!

 

[OBN]

It will come in time, the waves and any type of current will set the Excalibur off, specially if ruff. You may have to adjust the sensitivity down below 12 o'clock. I been working on settling that noise down for I hunt in PP and it is still noisy. I Removed most of the cables and pod from the elements and it is like night and day, almost silent, And that really helps with the faints.
For you, the further you go out in the water there is less trash so you may want to try using the Excalibur like a PI, dig all targets, and it is deeper in PP. That will help the falsing also hunting in PP...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Congratulations on making it down to the beach. I reset my Excal by passing it by the scoop.
Best of luck!

So you have that happen too? Then I'll worry much less that there's anything wrong with it other than tweaking the settings. When the waves were hitting it, initially I thought I had a problem. But then it reset easily. Those waves were hitting hard.

I do have my reservations about hunting there. This was the area of the shark bites on the NC coast last year - a lady lost a leg there last year.

Two of the thrift stores there had used wet suits for sale - one was $40 for the top & $40 for the bottom. I tried the wet suits on at both locations, sized as "mediums". I couldn't get them on, and then the parts I did get on were a darned difficult task getting off. I don't consider myself a big guy (5'-10" at 145 lbs). But looks like I'll need "large" or "extra large". That was another bold adventure for the trip.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

It will come in time, the waves and any type of current will set the Excalibur off, specially if ruff. You may have to adjust the sensitivity down below 12 o'clock. I been working on settling that noise down for I hunt in PP and it is still noisy. I Removed most of the cables and pod from the elements and it is like night and day, almost silent, And that really helps with the faints.
For you, the further you go out in the water there is less trash so you may want to try using the Excalibur like a PI, dig all targets, and it is deeper in PP. That will help the falsing also hunting in PP...

Great tips there! Thanks! I'm not advanced enough yet to have thought of PP versus Disc.....

Your statement that you removed most of the cables and pod from the elements - I'm a tad confused by that statement. Do you mean something simple like just separating them enough to give less contact between the cables and elements? I could see where they might cause an electrical "interference" between them.

 

[Indian Steve]

Time to try it out in Fresh Water! Do you think the lake is warm enough yet?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Time to try it out in Fresh Water! Do you think the lake is warm enough yet?

It won't be any colder than that Atlantic Ocean was! And there's no sharks in fresh water

 

[Indian Steve]

I have heard of catfish as big as a man in there! I hope you had a great time at the beach.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I have heard of catfish as big as a man in there! I hope you had a great time at the beach.

I guess we'd be what they call "a big gulp"

Yep, had a great time!

 

[RustyGold]

So you have that happen too? Then I'll worry much less that there's anything wrong with it other than tweaking the settings. When the waves were hitting it, initially I thought I had a problem. But then it reset easily. Those waves were hitting hard.

I do have my reservations about hunting there. This was the area of the shark bites on the NC coast last year - a lady lost a leg there last year.

Two of the thrift stores there had used wet suits for sale - one was $40 for the top & $40 for the bottom. I tried the wet suits on at both locations, sized as "mediums". I couldn't get them on, and then the parts I did get on were a darned difficult task getting off. I don't consider myself a big guy (5'-10" at 145 lbs). But looks like I'll need "large" or "extra large". That was another bold adventure for the trip.

Try the O'Neil wet suits one piece they are the most comfortable for me. As for sharks if you see them coming at you poke them in the nose with your scoop handle and they will do a 180.
If you don't see them coming at you then...

 

[OBN]

Great tips there! Thanks! I'm not advanced enough yet to have thought of PP versus Disc.....

Your statement that you removed most of the cables and pod from the elements - I'm a tad confused by that statement. Do you mean something simple like just separating them enough to give less contact between the cables and elements? I could see where they might cause an electrical "interference" between them.

80% of all the cables, Now all are out of contact with the saltwater, the coil cable is run thru the shaft and totally sealed off so it stays dry and out of the swirling electrons of the saltwater. Along with that the main pod which houses the electronic is also removed from the elements. Now when using this machine in the saltwater it is like hunting the wetsand, it's that silent, compared to hunting in the saltwater. I know I could have used that machine today. Hunting shallow it was almost useless with the waves hitting the cables and pod, very noisy. To help some I was hunting with the waves/current and not against them..

 

[DeepseekerADS]

80% of all the cables, Now all are out of contact with the saltwater, the coil cable is run thru the shaft and totally sealed off so it stays dry and out of the swirling electrons of the saltwater. Along with that the main pod which houses the electronic is also removed from the elements. Now when using this machine in the saltwater it is like hunting the wetsand, it's that silent, compared to hunting in the saltwater. I know I could have used that machine today. Hunting shallow it was almost useless with the waves hitting the cables and pod, very noisy. To help some I was hunting with the waves/current and not against them..
View attachment 1314695

That's interesting. I replaced the upper shaft with a Plugger straight shaft and mounted the battery & control unit to the rear. I wrapped the coil cable around the shaft tight, but with the flexibility of shaft adjustment depending on my needs. I tied off flex points using cable ties.

In your picture, all your connectors are loose. How do you handle waterproofing when connecting these cables? I had the impression that I needed a professional to work with these / seal these connections. I'm certainly not without "home skills".

 

[cudamark]

Great tips there! Thanks! I'm not advanced enough yet to have thought of PP versus Disc.....

Your statement that you removed most of the cables and pod from the elements - I'm a tad confused by that statement. Do you mean something simple like just separating them enough to give less contact between the cables and elements? I could see where they might cause an electrical "interference" between them.

For sure hunt in pin point (all metal). You'll easily get another couple of inches in depth and it's much more stable in the water (at least mine are). The threshold tone will stay the same too, and not vary like it does in discrimination.