CZ-6a New to me...

[asanaman]

I have a few questions on a CZ-6a Ipicked up for a $100. It appears to be in excellent 'detecting' shape, but I would like hear from some experience people about this unit. I air tested a nickel and dime and both hit steadily at 10" and lost the nickel after 11".. The dime was hitting thru 11 1/2" very consistenly. From the reading and searching I see this is fairly consistent, but not a lot of talk about it. I have also read where it can be altered to mimic the CZ-3D, but without the 4th tone. Would there be any good reason with the air testing being what it is, make a difference in the performance that would justify an attempt to change it over or alter it.

I have had it out twice with a friend and the 6a virtually 'saw' every target his machine did and then some. the clarity and the ease at which it sought out coins was impressive I do not want to get into what he was using, but he has very good detectors, and about 10 years of detecting on me. I let him use it and in less than 10 minutes he was astounded by the performance or 'Cherry Pickin' I had done with it. He witnessed this in a trash infested area, and wanted to try it. So after the 10 minutes he had pulled 7 more coins. All said and done I had recovered twice as many coins and various other unique treasures.

I did dig trash too, but a lot less than I have dug before. Absolutely a unique machine, at various operating parameters. I know it sounds like I am sold on this one based on the performance, but that is not the case for the questions. My current arsenal is laden with high end detectors, and all have there place for where my travels take me, whether it is underwater or on land.

Have I stumbled onto a good unit or above average, and I ask this because the reading I have done has not been as informative as others.

Thanks in advance,
K

 

[prodrigsr]

I have one and the only thing i do not like is the weight. But considering the alternative it is awesome! Listen to the smooth high tones and dig them up. I have found a lot of silver with mine and some at over 10in measured. The main thing to do with the 6a is to slow down and listen very carefully to what it is saying to you. The more you use it the better you will get at what it is saying. I have yet to find a gold ring with it but from what I have read gold, or lmost of it comes in on foil. Let us know how you like it.

 

[therover]

..then you got an outstanding deal on one of the best all around detectors ever.

I would not change it 3D specs unless you have a lot of older, less trashy sites you want to hunt. In the end, if you dig both high and mid tone hits with your 6a, you will get all the coins the 3D would pick up. Only difference is, you will dig more trash since some of the mid tones on the 6a will hit as high tones on the3D in enhanced mode. If you only want to dig high tones, you may miss some older nickels and Indian head pennies on the 6a since they may hit as mid tone while hitting high tone on the 3D in enhanced mode.

You got a damn good machine so I would not mess with it. At some point you could always pick up a used 3D too...and if you get that one for $100...PLAY THE LOTTERY !

JC

 

[tvr]

You got a great deal.

It sounds like it is tuned as it should be. Unless it ID's wrong I don't think I'd consider a retune. ID's can skew a little on deep targets, tending to average down just a little.

CZ's are good detectors. I think you are seeing what they can do.

I like the CZ6a in particular for it's water resistance so I don't worry too much about salt spray or rain showers. Just don't submerge it. I keep the big coil on it for use on the salt water beach. It loves finding deep targets over the wet sand.
tvr

 

[asanaman]

Thanks to all of you who responded. It appears the further I play with this unit, the more I like it.. Little heavy, but I may 'straight shaft' it.
I know it sure is quiet, between targets, even under power lines...

K

 

[Crabman]

You got a great deal. I am a newbie to metal detecting, I have been trying several detectors. The CZ-6A is one that I know is a keeper! I had my best day out today. I learn the CZ6A a little more each time I go out.

 

[therover]

n/t

 

[Crabman]

No I used the 10.5 inch coil and the Sun-Ray in-line probe to help with pinpointing. The machine was heavy, but I am after a little exercise anyway. I was lucky enough to stumble upon a fresh cut (first time for this). Unforutnatley, only had an hour to hunt it. And took on a couple bucks in clad, and a couple other odds and ends, no jewelry. May not sound that fantastic, but this was the first time that I came home with mostly coins and just one or two pieces of iron. Left the rest of the trash in the ground! The coins range from being right under the cut to several yards away.

Then went out again this morning with the same set up. I showed up pretty close to low tide but the beach was fully sanded in. Targets were few and far between. I just kind of wandered. Found this one patch that some "lighter" coins were coming out of, just pennies and dimes. Just wasn't turning up anything heavy, found a couple of toy cars though that made my daughters happy, so other fun finds. But no precious metals. I still had a great time despite the bad conditions.

Looking forward to getting a PI to compliment the CZ6A especially for days like today. Just got to generate a little extra money first.

Thanks for asking! At this point, I can feel the hobby getting more addicting.

 

[asanaman]

Okay guys, I have to say that I am getting used to the newly acquired machine, and I LIKE IT... AS stated above it is quiet and be danged if it ain't a little testy in the mid-range tone. Haven't really understood the sound as I have my other machines. Pretty solid all the way around though and sounds off after 5 on the volume.

Now as far as water related hunting goes, I do have a PI (2 in fact) and like them at the beach. How does the CZ-6a run in the salt water areas. I have read as much as I can, and seeing that it pretty much an all around good detector no matter where you are. I am planning to hit the Gulf Coast soon, and would like an opinion on that area if anyone has one.

K

 

[tvr]

The CZ's handle the saltwater mineralization beautifully! I wouldn't get more than ankle deep in the water with the CZ6A, it is spray resistance, but not water proof.

Try setting it up in normal mode. If it won't ground balance and act stable over wet sand in normal mode, switch to salt mode and it will behave well. I have dug some deep holes to retrieve what the CZ6a finds over the wet sand.

Terrific wet sand detector!
tvr

 

[harvdog42]

I just picked up a CZ6A and today was my first day at the beach with it. I did a little park detecting just to get used to it and the tones and readout were very effective in discriminate mode. At the beach the tones weren't much good. No matter, autotune mode works wonderfully at the beach in the wet/black sand. The pinpointing is so quick and accurate you can generally tell if the target is iron or not in autotune mode. I previously used a Sand Shark PI for the beach and I like it but the pinpointing is no match for the CZ6A. Came home with a pocket full of coins and junk jewelry today but no gold. I can smell that it is coming however. I'm using a 10 1/2" coil on the CZ and have it hip mounted. These are my first impressions. Someone stated in a post that if he could only have one detector it would be the CZ6A. Right now I have to agree.

Harvdog

 

[tvr]

Hey Harvdog,
Doesn't that Autotune double blip on hair pins remind you of the Sand Shark? Sounds like good cross training!

Try running autotune with sensitivity way up ... then flip the discriminator to 0 and sweep a slow narrow sweep over the target. See what the tones tell you. A low tone to mid-tone bounce on a target that pinpoints deep might be just what you are looking for. Just be ready to dig deep.
tvr

 

[harvdog42]

TVR,

There are a lot of similarities with the CZ running in autotune and the SandShark. I think my overall coin count is a little improved however using the CZ with the 10 1/2" coil. More ground coverage in less time than using the SandShark with the 8" coil. I tried the SandShark with the 10" coil and found my coin count being reduced. The 10" coil on the SandShark had me digging very deep on on a lot of "broad" type signals which usually turned out to be junk. The CZ with the 10 1/2" coil also has a slightly crisper response in autotune than the SandShark with the 8" coil.

The down sides are with the CZ you have to ground balance and it is a little more unforgiving in thick black sand. I think I'm going to stick with the CZ this summer and see what happens. I'm sure I will learn more, the more I use it. As for the tones bouncing back and forth in the wet sand, I'm not sure I want to deal with that. I found I could call targets pretty accurately in autotune although not 100% of the time.

The 10 1/2 coil on the CZ is heavier than the SandShark coil but I use a rigged up sling that has worked very well for me.


Harvdog

 

[tvr]

If you aren't going to be flipping between autotune and discriminate, you may want to consider a straight shaft set up.

Therover posted some pictures of his straight shaft set up fairly recently ... here it is:

CZ6a on straight shaft

Cheers,
tvr

 

[Dan-Pa.]

On an older unit that is as deep or deeper than most units even the new one with recent technology...