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Excal in the surf with stock shaft ... Question

E

EasySwing

New member
I think from all the input of my last post I am leaning towards the Excal vs. the GT. Thank you for the support. Went into the surf today and snagged a 17.7 gram gold ring so that much closer to the purchase.
My question is this.. A lot of guys like the straight shaft for the balance on dry land, but find it different in the surf. I realize the s shaft design is basically for the scuba diver and remarks are made as to how uncomfortable the stock shaft is swinging it for long periods of time. In the surf is the ergonomics better, in particular the the shaft mounted pod on top keeps the metal detector from bobbing up in the surf. Is this true? Is it easier with the stock setup to swing say in waist deep water? Thanks, Marty
 
It has been my experience that the straight shafts that hold the control pod and battery behind the elbow are easier to swing in the water. The pod and battery have less area to swing in that configuration.

I've had shafts that hold the pod & battery under the arm and I found that to be a real pain when swinging as the pod and battery give some resistance when swinging. Ditto with the factory S shaft.

Some folks like the chest mount as it takes the pod & battery out of swinging at all. I tried that and while I liked it, the cables kept getting in the way too often. Bad enough to worry about the cable for the headphones let alone the control pod.

I like the behind the elbow mount as it allows for easier access to the control knobs. I now have the remote switch so that is less an issue. I prefer the balance of the behind the elbow mount as it acts as a pendulum and the pod/battery offsets the weight of the coil. Almost like swinging nothing in the air. Less so in the water but still way nicer in my opinion.
 
Im going thru the learning process, but i have found the S rod isnt better. Its just harder to fight the current with..... now if you are diving the shorter shaft under water the S rod gives more control. I dont think many disagree the straight shaft is the better choice..... the question is hip mount, chest mount or behind the elbow set up. I suggest you set it up like i did and try them.

Dew
 
In my experience just the couple times in the surf with the standard shaft .I felt like i was swinging a boat ore through the water ,so i made myself a straight shaft and that was better but still tired my arm out quickly so i resorted to the push pull method then i could hunt most of the day. .Go with a straight shaft they are the best shaft in my opinion wet or dry or surf.

HH
 
I guess I'm the odd duck here, maybe it's my age (66).

I started out with the S rod that came with the Excal. from the factory. I found that on dry sand it just was to much for my arm and back, so I ordered a hip mount kit and a straight rod from Plugger. Now on dry sand I found this configuration to work just great, but in water it just wore my arm and shoulder out swinging that thing, so I went back to the S shaft from the factory, and with the hip mount on dry sand I found it to be tolerable, but in the water I found that set up to be less of a drag on me and I could hunt much longer before I become very tired. My last hunt I hunted over 4 hours and still wasn't real tired. As I said I guess I'm the odd duck. Rick IL
 
The detector is not that easy to switch around. If your like me you will be in the water and back out in the wet up to the towel line, and back in the water. You want the best set up go with Plugger's chest harness and a straight shaft. If you want to keep the detector on the rod mount it behind the cuff. I did have a Sovereign and an Excal. Sold the Excal. But I used my Sovereign GT shaft and the chest harness. A nice set up.
 
there's two of us out there swinging a Excal with a S Rod & using a on the back hip mount.....I've tried straight shafts & they just wear me out.......I'm also a 65 year old Odd Duck......HH...Tab.
 
I have a new minelab excalibur and a friend of mine told me today that he was told a few yrs ago how to startup the minelab excalibur. He said first put it in pinpoint...2) turn the sensitivity fully off (clockwise) 3) turn on threshold and adjust for a faint hum.
4) return sensitivity to Auto Position 5) then turn from PP to discriminate.

Can anyone agree or does it matter. is their a special way for hunting the beach water or wet sand.

When you do first start it up on the beach should the coil be on the ground or inthe air ?
Thanks
Ron
 
All looks good on the adjustment other then the Auto..I would try and stay out of that if you can..not the deepest but the more stable
of all in tough hunting conditions..around 12 o'clock is a good start for sensitivity..Learn your machine, tones, settings, how it reacts to different targets/conditions, and get Clive's books on the Excalibur..a great machine. And remember
Every beach is different, and results of what works on one beach to the next can vary as much as night and day. I adjust mine, on the ground..and make sure there are no targets near, n blacksand
 
I usually go between 12 and 3 o'clock on my Sensitivity when in the water ...... As Oldbeechnut says , every beach is different ........ I can go from a NY beach to a NJ beach in the same area , and have to set my machine up completely different for each beach .......There is not enough trash in the water for me to ever run in Auto Sens ......Jim

I hunt with a chest mount Sovereign or a Chest mount Excal .....I use a straight shaft on both machines ......I built my own out of light weight aluminum ....I also have a mount behind the arm cuff to put the box if I want to change things up ....
 
Thanks every little helps. I kind of like about 1 o'clock with the sensitivity seem to find more then when running auto ?!
 
Ok I'm understanding much more now. It's funny that everyone (almost) tells me to go Auto and leave it their, but I found that my friends were finding more then me everytime !!! So that when I move the sensitivity to 5,6,7, and I started to find more day after day. I posted this question to see if I was on the right track. Thats and I'm still open for your opinions if any left.
Ron
 
Your chest mount for the Sovereign gt what are you using for that.? Another question is their a certain way that you wrap the cable up the shaft , does it really make a difference on how you do it'

My friend has a Sovereign Gt and I have an excalibur (new one) he seems to hit on more targets then me no matter how I set my controls. I use Dis. with sensitivity about 12 oclock to 3 oclock This all takes place on the east coast of fl. What are thoughts. Is it the cable wrap ? or is the GT that much better in the dry and wet sand
 
I'd run the sensitivity as high as condition's will allow while still maintaining stability (not constantly falsing). Could be that your friend just happens to be swinging over the target's and maybe you are not? Good luck and HH-CC
 
Is the computer inside both the same with both units. Or does the Gt have the edge.
 
I was at 4,5,6, on the sensitivity. I moved to to 7,8 maybe that will work. I did find out one thing today PP is deeper on my unit but not as stable in the threshold hum
 
Where can I find Clive's books on the excal? I'm running an Excal ll and a Soverign with the 12x15 coil and am having good days and bad days with each. I learned about setting the Sens toward zero for water and wet sand but the Sov, even after watching the Utube video, is still a puzzle. Maybe the books would help. I'm 76 now and get along with the printed word better than with my memory.
 
If your using the Excalibur and you go into the water put sensitivity on 4,5,6 try that probably 5 you shouldn't get any falsing if you do go to 4...OK
Kellyco metal detectors has those books or google Clive's books on excalibur and you will find it. Good Luck 76 your doing very good. God Bless
 
digger880 said:
Where can I find Clive's books on the excal? I'm running an Excal ll and a Soverign with the 12x15 coil and am having good days and bad days with each. I learned about setting the Sens toward zero for water and wet sand but the Sov, even after watching the Utube video, is still a puzzle. Maybe the books would help. I'm 76 now and get along with the printed word better than with my memory.
Click to expand...

There's a couple of books here.......http://www.findmall.com/read.php?45,1586821
 
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