Which water detector??

[can]

Looking at the "best water detector" out there. For those with experience what are your thoughts for water detecting and why. I am looking at the excal II or the 3030. Thanks for your thoughts

 

[can]

If you are brand new at this the Excaliber will take MANY hours (60 &) before you begin to understand what it's telling you about the target. Not sure how long the others take to understand.

Thanks for the heads up, but here is my thinking on your suggestion. Why learn a lesser machine and then have to learn again with an upper level machine. And spend more money. Time is on my side. Thanks for the help.

 

[ScubaDetector]

Here is a good video that shows the different sounds of a Sovereign GT which is basically a non waterproof Excal. Some people love the audio others hate it. It is all a personal preference.

That is a VERY good video and audio of the sounds the Excal makes. Thank you for posting it. I was looking for that very thing. If you can live with the sounds it is a great machine. My CZ is silent except for a short beep. It is also a great machine. When you are in 4 and 5 foot of water you need quiet to hear boat engines while diving. I do anyway.

Either machine is tops. Get one and learn it and you will find gold. My website has some tips. http://www.scubadetector.com

 

[can]

Here is a good video that shows the different sounds of a Sovereign GT which is basically a non waterproof Excal. Some people love the audio others hate it. It is all a personal preference.

Thanks for the help

 

[WestGhost]

Lots of good insight here. No one machine can do it all. If you want depth, like ScubaDetector said you want a PI machine. Just be prepared to dig everything. If you are looking for discrimination, I have been very impressed with the CTX 3030. If you are new to the hobby you may want to invest in a more entry level machine and work your way up. The expense and learning curve of some of the more high end detectors is STEEP!

 

[Da Sand Crab]

The Tesoro Sand Shark will work for you wherever and in whatever conditions you want to take it.
At 600.00 and a lifetime warranty. If you learn to use a P.I. detector properly and patiently you will be rewarded
greatly.

 

[CASPER-2]

MOST PEOPLE THAT KNOW ME - KNOW IM A DIE HARD CZ21 USER - I DO NOT USE IN SILENT MODE BUT IN ALL METAL AND ALWAYS RUN WITH A TONE - AND I HAVE GOTTEN SMALL GOLD AND CHAINS/BRACELETS WITH IT - I PICK UP PIERCED EARING BACKS WITH IT
MOST OF THE SPOTS I HIT ARE HAMMERED WITH MINELABS - I HAVE YET TO SEE ANOTHER CZ21 USER NEAR ME IN THE WATER
95% OF GUYS I SEE OR HUNT WITH USE MINELABS AND I'D SAY 90% OF THE TIME I OUT HUNT THEM ---BUT THATS ME
THERE ARE ALOT OF GUYS THAT DO JUST AS GOOD AS ME IF NOT BETTER WITH MINELABS - BUT I WOULD NEVER SAY THE EXCAL IS BETTER THAN MINE
NOT WITH ALL THE STUFF IVE FOUND BEHIND THEM - AND IM NOT TALKING NEWBIES OR ONE OR TWO GUYS - IM TALKIN VETS AND LIKE 20+ GUYS
BUT ONCE AGAIN - THATS ME
GUYS THAT HAVE OWNED CZ20s OR 21s THAT IVE TALKED TO - MOST WERE USING THEM IN ID MODE - WHICH YOU CANT BELIEVE HOW MUCH STUFF THEY/YOU MISSED USING IT THAT WAY OR THEY JUST USE THE MACHINE WRONG AND GAVE UP ON IT
IVE ALSO GONE UP AGAINST RELIC HUNTERS ON LAND AND OUT SHOT THEM - THEY USING SOME OF THE BEST LAND MACHINES OUT THERE - CZ21 PICK CW BULLETS CLOSE TO 2 FEET DOWN THAT THEY COULD NOT EVEN GET A SIGNAL ON - I HAD A GROUP OF GUYS NEAR ME THAT WERE NOT GETTING ANY HITS AND HAD THEM ALL CHECKING MY TARGETS - I WAS PICKING UP MINIE BALLS AND MUSKET BALLS - ALL AROUND 2 FEET DOWN IN ALL METAL
ONCE AGAIN - THATS ME - 99.9% I DONT THINK WOULD USE IT IN ALL METAL
FOR SOMEONE THAT LIVES 2 - 2 1/2 HRS FROM MOST OF MY WATER SPOTS - I THINK IVE DONE DAM GOOD - ALWAYS WONDER HOW'D I DO IF I LIVE CLOSER LIKE ALOT OF YOU DO
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/members/29748-albums.html

The CZ-21 is a silent search machine. I absolutely love it because I want to hear boats that invade my 200' boat free zone here. It has three beeps. One low tone for iron, a mid tone for lead, gold, aluminum, brass, and a high tone for silver. A bell tone for large items.

The excal, well, go to Youtube and you can hear the sounds it makes. It just doesn't make a crisp clear beep. I don't know how to describe it. I have hunted side by side with them. I have never detected a target they didn't and vice versa.

The nature of gold is different than most any other metal a detector hits. A gold chain for example is not found by mass, like a silver chain. A machine will only pick up a pendant or the largest link. Gold rings with broken shanks give scratchy signals at best for the same reason. So in fresh water the best machine for gold chains you can dive with is the Tesoro Tiger Shark.

However both the CZ and the Excal will do great on rings in fresh water. I have both the CZ-21 and the Tiger Shark. I know my Shark picks up nickels and gold my CZ misses. I like to clean out spots the best I can with the CZ and then play with the shark.

Some do that in salt water also. Play with a CZ or an Excal and then go to a PI afterward. Just be prepared for every piece of iron down there.

As I said there are only TWO reasons why I like the CZ better than the Excal. First is cosmetic. I think the Excal is ugly. I can hip mount my CZ and I feel I look professional.

Second reason is the noise. I want silence underwater so I can hear stupid boaters.

I do not want to become propeller bait. Hope this helps.

I also have found plenty of gold chains. Unfortunately most have been eyeballed digging other targets while diving

 

[CASPER-2]

...AND PLEASE UNDERSTAND - IM NOT YELLING - IM USING A GOVERNMENT COMPUTER AND WE DO EVERYTHING IN CAPS - EASIER TO READ

 

[CASPER-2]

THERE'S A GUY ON UTUBE THAT DOES DIVING VIDS ON ALOT OF THE UNDERWATER MACHINES - CZ21 - EXCAL AND OTHERS
GOES BY THE NAME DETECTORCOMPARISIONS I THINK - HE SEEMS TO DO JUST AS GOOD WITH WHAT EVER HE USES
SO IT ALL ABOUT WHAT YOU LIKE

 

[Tenderfoot]

Agree. If you're going to spend the time learning a machine, it might as well be a good one.

 

[TheRingFinder]

Can - I recommend the Excal hands down. What an incredible machine and very durable. Rechargeable battery pack and never; have I ran low on power. I did have a CZ21, it was very cumbersome, needed batteries, and mine actually leaked in the battery compartment. So, needless to say - I was not pleased with the CZ21. I know other great detectorists on this forum use the CZ and have great results - though this is just my experience.
Good Luck -

 

[ScubaDetector]

Casper, I have a question for you. When you hunt autotune, do you switch between that and "0" to see if your target is iron? We hunt differently with the CZ I know. I have mine hip mounted and I never touch the knobs or button after I get in the water. I also hunt fresh water and you are in a salty environment, I think. Another factor is I am never sanded in. My targets hit hard pan before they get too deep. Thanks for your input. At bullet beach I hunt with discrimination at 1 and under a few docks. Mostly I hunt at discrimination "0"

 

[cudamark]

The CZ-21 is a silent search machine. I absolutely love it because I want to hear boats that invade my 200' boat free zone here. It has three beeps. One low tone for iron, a mid tone for lead, gold, aluminum, brass, and a high tone for silver. A bell tone for large items.

The excal, well, go to Youtube and you can hear the sounds it makes. It just doesn't make a crisp clear beep. I don't know how to describe it. I have hunted side by side with them. I have never detected a target they didn't and vice versa.

The nature of gold is different than most any other metal a detector hits. A gold chain for example is not found by mass, like a silver chain. A machine will only pick up a pendant or the largest link. Gold rings with broken shanks give scratchy signals at best for the same reason. So in fresh water the best machine for gold chains you can dive with is the Tesoro Tiger Shark.

However both the CZ and the Excal will do great on rings in fresh water. I have both the CZ-21 and the Tiger Shark. I know my Shark picks up nickels and gold my CZ misses. I like to clean out spots the best I can with the CZ and then play with the shark.

Some do that in salt water also. Play with a CZ or an Excal and then go to a PI afterward. Just be prepared for every piece of iron down there.

As I said there are only TWO reasons why I like the CZ better than the Excal. First is cosmetic. I think the Excal is ugly. I can hip mount my CZ and I feel I look professional.

Second reason is the noise. I want silence underwater so I can hear stupid boaters.

I do not want to become propeller bait. Hope this helps.

I also have found plenty of gold chains. Unfortunately most have been eyeballed digging other targets while diving

An Excalibur can be easily hip or chest mounted too. It can also be set for silent search. Just turn the threshold down until the sound just goes away. With a large coil, it goes just as deep as a CZ21 and a most of the PI units.

 

[can]

I thank everyone sharing their thoughts and experiences. Talking with the best brings knowledge, that is important when making a decision. Thanks to all