Newbie - Which detector for underwater? Choice of two?

[BVI Hunter]

Hi

All as new member, but very long follower of this great site, I thought it was time to extend my detecting into the ocean! and ask those who know!!

I have read hundreds of posts about which is the best detector etc, so thouight i would throw this out there;

I am lucky enough to now live in the Caribbean, on a group of reletivley undeveloped islands. So, trash is minimal, but possible finds HUGE!


So, for in-water hunting, do I go for a PI (Garrett Sea Hunter??) or something like a Excal
(I will start off wading / snorkelling, then perhaps scuba)

Given the choice, what would you choose??

thanks again all!

 

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[Steve Herschbach]

If trash is minimal I use a PI. If I was headed for what you describe tomorrow I would be packing a White's Surf Dual PI. That is just me, there are other options.

 

[BVI Hunter]

Thanks Steve!!

IYO, would you say the WS Dual PI is better than the seahunter?

 

[baywalker]

XCAL 2 but that's just me .

 

[BVI Hunter]

Now I'm confused!!

I was leaning toward the SEAHUNTER as I planned on digging every target (as even iron here will have some historical history) and thought the PI would give a good depth too....

What is a guy to do....!!

 

[mad4wrecks]

The Garrett Seahunter Mark II is a very sensitive, rugged, reliable & affordable detector built exactly for what you intend to use it for. It is also a good beach machine. Tom

www.wreckoverysalvage.com

 

[Terry Soloman]

Save your money and get a lifetime warranty with a Tesoro Sand Shark! Good Luck!

 

[AC1955]

Husband loves his Excalibur.

It is a hard choice. Good luck...and happy hunting.

Anita

 

[Can Slaw]

I am one of the Sea Hunter users and really enjoy the benefits of different size changeable coils. Changeable headphones and amazing depth. Garrett's customer service is almost impossible to beat, you won't have to worry about a warranty or ever have to buy parts.
Mel Fisher Treasure Company that has located over $400 Milion in sunken treasure, still uses Sea Hunters and they can afford to buy any detector said a lot for me. The 14 inch coil compared to a 10 inch coil sold me.

 

[gravediggermax-vabeachva]

Which detector for underwater? Choice of two?

excalibur or fisher cz21 - your two choices.
now if like u said, u want to dig all those historic bobby pins, hair pins, fish hooks and wire to name just a few and waste a lot of valuable detecting time - all the great choices above will serve you well and the above will work great if your beach is kinda clean of trash.
jmho for a newbie

 

[Sandman]

Max is right and I second his choices. While a Pulse detector will go deep, it finds small pieces of hairpins at good depths which wastes a lot of time and energy. Both the CZ-21 and Excal are almost as deep as a pulse but they have good disc.

 

[mad4wrecks]

I think he made it clear that trash is minimal and that even iron objects may have historical value. If you are going to use the detector mainly for diving, buy one designed for diving. Being able to hip or BC mount the Seahunter is a benefit too.

 

[Jolly Mon]

Some of the top multi/dual frequency Vlf's will beat some of the less expensive pulse machines in your area in the wet sand, but start getting into the water and things change very quickly.
If you are planning on mainly detecting in the water, and you are in a low trash area, go with a PI. If you get a modern unit you will be able to differentiate most Ferrous from non-ferrous targets. Iron sounds different. With practice you will avoid most of it if you wish.
Detectorpro has apparently stopped producing the Headhunter PI, so the deepest pulse machine manufactured by a major company for shallow water work in low mineralization is the White's Dual Field. It is waterproof to 100 feet and has an adjustable pulse delay that can be turned down in deeper water/ higher mineralization. The 12 inch coil is hardwired, but for jewelry hunting this should not be a problem and will be the coil of choice the vast majority of the time anyway.
If you are going to be scuba diving a lot, the Garrett Seahunter is a fine choice. Several different coils are available and the machine is rugged and has stood the test of time.
The Dual Field will legitimately nail a 7 gram 14kt. gold ring at 15 to 16 inches when you are able to run the pulse delay at its lowest setting (15us).

 

[ivanll]

For underwater work when using a PI unit I prefer a detector with no motion mode the Garrett Sea Hunter MKII have both a motion and a no motion mode and changeable coil size.
.
ivanll

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Thanks Steve!!

IYO, would you say the WS Dual PI is better than the seahunter?

No, I would not say that. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[OBN]

Jollymo
Detectorpro has apparently stopped producing the Headhunter PI,

Out with the old, and in with the new............

Some of the top multi/dual frequency Vlf's will beat some of the less expensive pulse machines in your area in the wet sand, but start getting into the water and things change very quickly.

Very true....

 

[BVI Hunter]

OK, some great advice from those in the know!!

given the follwing;

1) my areas will be low in trash, some even unihabited islands
2) cash availible at this moment in time
3) i will be snorkelling / diving most of the time
4) some good notes posted about thr SEAHUNTER

I think I will be ordering the SEAHUNTER this weekend!!!!

 

[ron lord]

They say you waste time with the sea hunter and the Sand shark, but they are all wrong. If you hunt the same area all the time, you clean out the area of all junk Making it easier to find the very deep Gold and silver rings. I own both of these detectors. I have dug ring as deep as 26 inches in cleaned out areas. Think of it like this, You can buy a sea hunter MK2 and a Sand Shark cheaper than you can buy an excall 2,and the sand shark has a life time warrant. The choose is your. Good Luck !!

 

[Captain PopTop]

How do you know theirs not alot of trash ? , you may be surprised, ever watch surviorman hes always finding trash to use to survive in remote areas, if you got the dough ($) and since your in a remote part of the world get 2 detectors one for back up, get a VLF & PI

 

[ivanll]

Dive detecting and beach/shallow water snorkel detecting is not entirely the same.
.
For mostly diving I would look at.................JW Fisher Pulse 8x..............it got heaps of options.
.
JW Fishers - metal detectors, sonar, magnetometer, rov, video, pinger, cable tracker