First time out with the Excal II- impressions and lessons learned

[lawsonland]

I got an Excal II from NEDs (great to work with them). I headed to Wildwood NJ.
The tones are different from the Etrac and do not seem to have as many. The Excal has

 

[tvr]

Good write up. You will learn the Excal well! And yes, locating target center when you can't see the coil is a challenge. It gets better with practice but a few years on, it still remains a challenge for me.

As an alternate to chest or hip mounting, I like the balanced straight shaft. Personally, I think it puts less stress on the cables and accomplishes the task of making it easier to sweep and control.
Cheers,
tvr

 

[Critterhunter]

The tones are different from the Etrac and do not seem to have as many. The Excal has

 

[dewcon4414]

First off i dont think thats and earring...... i believe its a belly button piercing, i have several. Great score on the gold ring. Pitch hold isnt my thing either i prefer the smooth tone of PP. Bottle caps.... learn that tone on the shallow ones dig anything elce that alerts the machine. The Xcal isnt complicated thats what makes it the best water machine currently in use. Bigger scoop.... you catch on quick. I use my Exp SE some of the time on the beach when the water is to ruff to get in. BUT its a choice i make in advance by watching the wind, wave, and tide chart. I dont like leaving the beach to get another detector...... and having a jeep, well you just dont leave anything in them you cant live without. You will see what i mean once you have more time on the machine, likely you will use the Etrac less. You will learn the benifit of digging it all over selective digging with the Xcal. It really knocks out iron well. Ive ran every target worth while across both coils after every hunt..... the SE gets better depth, but not by much on small gold. I hear more going on with the SE than the Xcal on the beach so im not as likely to miss that target with the Xcal. Silver and high conductors..... hands down the SE sucks it up.... but nickels you dont miss many with the Xcal. You made some great observations for the first time out. Straight shaft works well for the balance. Even that you need to get set up properly. I bought a plugger behind the elbow..... really different than the one i made. It wasnt as balanced so it was killing me on the beach. It took a simple adjustment of the handle to make it work. Ive found it just as light as a hip mount when properly balances out there and you arent using your cable as a theather having it constantly moving out there.

Dew

 

[Critterhunter]

Also, the Sov/Excal have a very "robust" audio report, and for that reason some feel they are less likely to miss a target at extreme depth with them than a machine that is putting out more short simplified beeps or blips on targets. That's one of the keys I think to them finding stuff at extreme depth on the beach, and also why no park is hunted out when you are swinging a Sovereign there. The audio being more "meaty" also means you are more likely to notice a high tone mixed in with a bunch of lows when working heavy trash IMO. I know it does for me. Far as the threshold keeping the last target's tone, I didn't care for that either at first but now I wouldn't live without it. Can't tell you how many times I've just nicked the edge of a target and didn't really notice it's report but the threshold now being a different tone has stopped me in my tracks and told me to re-sweep that spot I just passed. One of the reasons hardly anybody uses Silent Search mode on the GT. Why take away one of the best features of the BBS machines? Only time I'll run Silent Search is if I'm wandering the woods for hours looking for any hit to indicate activity, but once found I switch back to threshold mode and work the area. Also, Minelab says you can swing faster in Silent Search mode, so that helps when trying to scout a big area for any activity.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

very good review... i can relate to so many of the points you mentioned...... i highlighted my coil top with white paint to make it a little easier to pinpoint with.... as far as pinpointing i might suggest shorther strokes--the minelab wiggle as it is called.... i also use a 6 inch scoop,...i personally also find disc mode to be deeper and more responsive to good targets..... gold on the 2nd day.... id say you are well on your way.....good luck....

 

[Critterhunter]

By the way, those are some really killer finds there. Looks like you are well on your way to paying the machine off.

 

[Raven69]

Well done on the gold! Dew is right about the "earring" the threaded end is where a little ball screws on to stop it falling out.

I set mine up so the controls are on my waist at the back. The stock configuration is not well balanced as you found, though I do set it back that way when diving.
When digging I locate the target and when I'm happy it's in the middle of the coil, I put my left foot (I'm right handed)against the back of the coil, move the coil out of the way and bring my scoop down just in front of my toes and dig.



HH