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For those who use both Excalibur and PI units

A

alton

New member
If you use a Excalibur (or CZ20 or other VLF), what PI unit is your choice for it's running mate?

I'm looking at the Infinium LS, Surfmaster PI Pro, Sea Hunter MKII, and possibly the Aquasearch. The Infinium and below is more in my price structure for right now.

I hunt in local freshwater lakes and mountain streams, but I'll be making frequent trips to SE Florida. Occasionally I might use it for relic hunting, but main concern is performance in the water.

What would you get on my budget? What would you get if the budget had no reasonable restraints?

TIA
Alton
 
Does it for me....Easy to setup, great performance, doesn't cost an arm and a leg and if you have a problem Whites Service is outstanding...Geo
 
I use the surf PI pro In southern California beaches (no fresh water yet) Its great detector all round for coins and jewelry, great depth but no discrimination which will suit your relic hunting.
I picked mine up off E-Bay for $400 nearly brand new.
 
Infinium. Very deep, large collection of coils, isolated battery compartment, easy to waist-mount and easy to pin-point. A little tricky to balance in the water to minimize the high-low sound at end of swings, but good info on the Infinium Prospector Index site to help with that. Need to use a nylon bolt to stabilize the shaft. First choice in the water if there isn't a lot of iron. Can get a good used one in the 600's, although they don't show up very often.
 
Hi, I saw this new article on the PI Pro and thought it might answer some of your questions. Thanks, HH
http://www.losttreasure.com/FieldTests/ArchiveView.cfm?ID=LT20070625
 
Its deeper than the Whites machine, but most P.I.'s are. Easy to I.D. iron but pinpointing is not to good and its a little fragile compared to a Whites or Goldquest SS by the nature of its design.

Re the Whites P.I. whats not been mentioned is the one step forward two back thats happened with its design.
Original model allowed two extra batteries to be used so that rechargables could be used.
Performance was compromised by the smoothing out circuitry. Makes it sound great in ground with small fragments of metal but at the cost of depth.
Pro version was introduced to bring the performance up to that of the third party U.S. and U.K. modified machines. Performance was improved as a gain control was added but this was at the cost of the loss of the pulse delay which was not the best move.
If I was in the U.S. and couldn't run to getting an Eric Foster machine I would buy a second hand pre Pro version and get Bill Crabtree to modify it.

Brian
 
I recently bought a DetectorPro PI for salt water beach hunting. I found that the unit works great in the wet but not really great in the dry.I found alot of iron pieces. They make my detector go nuts.I like the Detector Pro because it is easy to handle . The headphones contain all the batteries and electronics. All you swing is the coil on a rod. I haven't found any gold yet but I am sure I will. The PI units are for beaches that don't have alot of rusty iron, you will dig and dig and dig somemore (if it is littered with iron).I have found alot of clad and having some fun becoming accustomed to the new unit. My plan is to see how the unit works for me this summer. If it finds I will keep it, if it doesn't I will sell and try something else. HH GregM
 
With it's larger coil I'd only recommend it for beaches with wide open spaces. Pinpointing can be difficult and if your hunting around a lot of rocks, it might drive you crazy. Other than that, I love the unit and it hits really deep.

therick
 
I was following this thread on the Garrett forum and was wondering if you have used it in the Atlantic?

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?32,525242,525273#msg-525273
 
I use it in the Gulf. The coastal disparity that is mentioned is probably BS. Saltwater is saltwater. Since you are still ruminating, another very informative thread is on GoldDredger.com Discussion Forums and got to Matt's Treasure Hunting, Page 2, the Garrett Infinium thread from Sept 06. firestarter. It goes back to May 06. He talks about detuning, the depth capability and the characteristics of the Infinium in general.He claims targets at 3 feet, although no mention of size. I have dug a nickel at 18" with it in wet sand below dry sand on the beach. Haven't found really deep targets in the water or sand but have found gold. Just a matter of passing a coil over the target. Good luck in your decision. I know what you are going through. It shouldn't be so hard to decide, but it can be. I am very happy with my Infinium, and likewise my Excal. BTW, I had questions about the Infinium and Garrett technical support was superb.
 
The deepest is the Aquasound.
This is a straight TR but has sensational iron discrimination.
They are custom made in Florida.

Only a problem if there is black sand around.

It is vastly superior in depth to any VLF or PI.....I have tested against them all including high powered Minelab pI's.

Tony.
 
I think I would like to try this detector if it performs anywhere close to the way it is advertized. I know better than to expect perfection and to think it would be so simple as to turn it on and hunt with it.

I don't mind working hard to learn how to use it. In fact, I enjoy that in some strange hard to explain way. If learning to tun it is all there is to the problem, then there is no problem. If it is something that patience and learning can't overcome, then I would be concerned.

Thanks again
 
I had a PI and was stranded out there Digging IRON Now I have a Excalibur and I Enjoy metal detecting in the water. Finding what I want not digging 12 inches on a HairPin for 10 minutes. Every time you dig a whole in the water it fills its self back up
 
Aquasound is good in clean sand but not that good and Minelab don't make a high power P.I. for wet sand use.Whats optimised for gold on land is not optimised for beach use.
I prefer the Eric Foster designs over everything else unless ground cancelling is required or detecting is to be carried out underwater at depth ie beyond wading depth.
 
I have the Goldquest SS, Excalibur and a friend's Minelab 3000...the Aquasound puts them all to the sword. 50% deeper than the Goldquest SS and Excalibur and I estimate 20% deeper than the Minelab PI's...done all the tests using pvc pipe cut at specific lengths and then buried in wet sand with a ring placed in the bottom.
 
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