I was wondering if this is normal or do I have a problem. Lets say I am heading in out of the surf on a low tide and I get to the waters edge at freshly exposed sand that may have water still on at times but mainly really wet sand not under water. I try to detect that area just at the water line and maybe 3 feet above. I get constant falsing every swing. if i walk further up on dryer wet sand it seems stable. I have not noticed any change by turning down sensitivity. I do not know if it does it in pin point. I did notice if i really scrub the sand hard with my coil it seemed to help a little. I like to hunt this portion of the beach but my excal II can't seem to handle it. I tried a real slow swing still the same. I either have to be in the suref enough to cover the coil or far enough on the wet sand to not have any standing water. Any ideas?
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Excal II. erratic in the wet sand
- Thread starter klopek
- Start date
Was your Battery fully charged?
Any sand inside the Coil Cover?
is this the first time having this issue? I say that because for some reason when I hunt on St.Pete bch, Fl My machine falses like that too.. But Nowhere else..
A lot of falsing happens when the battery is low just before needing to be recharged..
Did you submerge the control pod prior to this happening?
Any sand inside the Coil Cover?
is this the first time having this issue? I say that because for some reason when I hunt on St.Pete bch, Fl My machine falses like that too.. But Nowhere else..
A lot of falsing happens when the battery is low just before needing to be recharged..
Did you submerge the control pod prior to this happening?
The battery was fully charged. I had been out in the waves just prior. This excal is only a few months old. It did it since day one. Maybe GulfHunter could let me know if his excal does the same thing, since we hunt the same beaches. Mine is a excall 2 10 ". Other than this weird undetectable area at the beach the thing works great. I know it is tricky on the machines to try to detect were the ground is changing from wet to dry all the time.
Neil
Well-known member
you will get some falsing when waves wash over the coil, but if the coil has no waves washing over it or its fully submerged and your sens isnt to high you should not be getting the falsing you are talking about.
like mtpockets referenced, I would remove your coil cover and try it without it. they get sand and water in them and that moves around and can cause falsing.
also try the auto mode on your sens and see if that works. other than those two things, I would say youve got a short somewhere, a bad connection in your coil cable most likely.
Neil
like mtpockets referenced, I would remove your coil cover and try it without it. they get sand and water in them and that moves around and can cause falsing.
also try the auto mode on your sens and see if that works. other than those two things, I would say youve got a short somewhere, a bad connection in your coil cable most likely.
Neil
ridgerunnerII
New member
I have the same problem and found out that if I tilt the coil and let the water run out, it works better. Need a better solution though so am considering the epoxy alternative or Plexiglas approach. Any thoughts? Lloyd
iv had 5 Excal's and they all would false at wet sand ! you just need to turn your sentivity down until it quits.i can run mine on 8 on dry sand but must go down to 6 on wet sand or in the water.if it starts makeing crazy noise as the controll box hits the water,make sure you have silicone greese on the small rubber washer in the battery connector.and iv never had sand under my coil cover cause any problem.mabe im just lucky but after 8 water detectors iv never removed the coil covers.good luck
I Klop
Look normal for me, If you start wet sand with out going in the water, it is OK
But if you go out of the water to do some wet sand, yes it take lots of false for 15 to 30 minutes.
The salt water in your cover and in the shaft, will move and give false. Put your machine up side down to empty the shaft and the cover.
It is worst if you use a strait shaft, as the control box interfere with your wet salty clothing.
Until your machine dry out a bit, try to walk perpendicularly of the shore line
Walking parallel to the water line, will always give some false. Here in Florida, there is almost no mineral(black sand) and i do get false to.
Look normal for me, If you start wet sand with out going in the water, it is OK
But if you go out of the water to do some wet sand, yes it take lots of false for 15 to 30 minutes.
The salt water in your cover and in the shaft, will move and give false. Put your machine up side down to empty the shaft and the cover.
It is worst if you use a strait shaft, as the control box interfere with your wet salty clothing.
Until your machine dry out a bit, try to walk perpendicularly of the shore line
Walking parallel to the water line, will always give some false. Here in Florida, there is almost no mineral(black sand) and i do get false to.
Thanks everybody truely invaluable info. I will try some of the tips listed saturady when I go hunt. I am starting to lean toward it being water in my shaft after coming out of the water. Never thought of that . I will definitelty try turning it up and draining the water and see if it does not fix it to an acceptable level of falsing. Thanks again and if anyone else wants to shime in on there experience with or theories please do.
I got my excal from demarcodetector sales. I tried it last saturday. It would false like crazy in the wet when coming out of the surf. I tried draining the rod. removing coil cover no change. it does not false so bad in pinpoint but the threshold goes erratic with every swing. I did not try to let my clothes or the control box dry out first but. I cannot detect the wet sand Like I see people on here do. There is a video of a guy detecting in the wet sand. I noticed in his video he keeps his coil off the sand I tend to scrubb mine a little . I cna detect all day totally submerged in the surf and it is just as smooth as can be. so I doubt I have an issue with a faulty battery pod seal or coil. I guess if I get to go this weekend I will try to detect first in the wet sand and see how it does.; I got a call into minelab They said Bil would call me back so far no one has returned my call. I will try again tomorrow. I do not want to send in for service if it is an operating characteristic of tis machine. Is it normal for the little heat shrink bands to slide off the control housing. if so could I use a hair dryer to tighten it up?
HawaiiMDer
New member
I have the same problem here in Hawaii. For me it's a combination of high mineralization and the water rushing under the coil. But if i detect completely in the water or dry sand, my detector is very stable. It just might be the mineral content in your sand and also the water rushing up and down the beach under your coil. At least that's what i've experienced. And tuning it down helps a little, but not totally until i'm totally in the water or totally on dry sand.
Ken
Ken
klopek
Yes good idea to try wet sand first.
For test purpose, Stay in discrimination, do all your setting in the dry sand, them go on the wet sand but with no water, readjust the sensitivity(should be about 1-2hr less), then get closer of the water and readjust again (1-2 hr less again) So, if your max sensitivity is 11o'clock on dry sand, you may have to be around 2 or 3 o'clock on the edge of the water.
If you go completely in the water, you should be able to gain back some sensitivity.
Also check what happen if you use Auto sensitivity.
Check your coil cable to make sure it do not move with your swing.
Keep us inform and good luck
Yes good idea to try wet sand first.
For test purpose, Stay in discrimination, do all your setting in the dry sand, them go on the wet sand but with no water, readjust the sensitivity(should be about 1-2hr less), then get closer of the water and readjust again (1-2 hr less again) So, if your max sensitivity is 11o'clock on dry sand, you may have to be around 2 or 3 o'clock on the edge of the water.
If you go completely in the water, you should be able to gain back some sensitivity.
Also check what happen if you use Auto sensitivity.
Check your coil cable to make sure it do not move with your swing.
Keep us inform and good luck
Send it to Minelab... It needs to be serviced.. Or send it back to the dealer you bought it from..
But First Ask them for a Shipping Label... This way you don't have to pay the $35.00 to ship it for repairs.... After all you didn't wanna buy a Broken Machine right?
Good Luck.. Hope they fix it quickly for ya..
But First Ask them for a Shipping Label... This way you don't have to pay the $35.00 to ship it for repairs.... After all you didn't wanna buy a Broken Machine right?
Good Luck.. Hope they fix it quickly for ya..
My first Excal II was a dog with a falsing problem in nearly any wet condition. Minelabs sent a shipping voucher and fixed it. If it is simply a matter of a little fast moving aerated water moving under the coil that will give falsing with most VLF machines and is not a reason to be concerned.
If it is stable under water and in the dry it should be OK. Working in fast moving shore break water can be a challenge for all but PI machines. They do fairly well in those conditions. Do as others have said and make sure the coil cover is not full of debris.
If it is stable under water and in the dry it should be OK. Working in fast moving shore break water can be a challenge for all but PI machines. They do fairly well in those conditions. Do as others have said and make sure the coil cover is not full of debris.
My problem with the Excal. 2 involves erratic signals at variousfrequencies when I hunt in the water. I can hunt on shore in both wet and dry sand with a steady tone, but as soon as I go in the water, bleepblopbloop. When I started using the machine about 18 mos. ago, it worked fine but now,varying the sens., cleaning the coil cover I do that regularly), hunting in auto... nothing helps. What's the problem? I heard that one hunter did something to his battery pod and solved the problem. Anyone know what was done? Thanks in advance for any help you cangive me.