Frequency/Transmission?

EastCoastmetal

Silver Member
Sep 24, 2016
3,879
4,230
Nova Scotia
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro International
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Need to purchase a new machine, Going to be on the beach 50 percent of the time or more.

I see the new Garrett max coming out,

Was looking at minelabs.

The max only has a frequency of 13 khz or so I believe.

Minelab Excalibur II has 17 frequencies: 1.5, 3, 4.5,...25.5kHz)

Minelab Safari has a range of 1.5 - 100kHz

So question is, does a higher frequency make that much of a difference?

Or is a pro Garrett with 15 khz good enough?
 

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Excal is what you want if your only hitting the wet sand the safari will do with an environmental cover

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Multi-freq machines are WAY different than single-freq VLF's. Apples and oranges. Single-freq machines lose depth and false in wet saltwater sand and water because they can't handle the conductivity. :skullflag:
 

So ... does this mean the Excal isn't as good in the field as the safari?

I plan on doing 50/50 beach with some water and in fields or dry land etc.

I doubt that I will ever be diving , maybe up to my waist sort of thing in salt and fresh water.

The Minelab Treasure Detector Series

Excalibur II Made for Coin, Relic, Jewellery, Beach & Dive detecting. Thanks to the unique design of the Excalibur II this amphibious detector has all the features you need and can be used just as effectively in or out of the water. Whether you love combing the beach or deep sea diving the Excalibur II is a must have.

Safari Made for Coin, Relic, Jewellery & Beach detecting. Minelab's Safari metal detector powered by multiple frequency technology delivers on both simplicity of use and high level performance in the field.
 

Excalibur is a BEACH / WATER machine - period. Yes, you can use it on land, but it's not set up for it. The Safari is GREAT for land, dry sand, wet sand, and ankle deep water, BUT since it is NOT waterproof, you drop it while scooping a target, or get hit by a wave - it's dead. :occasion14:
 

Excalibur is a BEACH / WATER machine - period. Yes, you can use it on land, but it's not set up for it. The Safari is GREAT for land, dry sand, wet sand, and ankle deep water, BUT since it is NOT waterproof, you drop it while scooping a target, or get hit by a wave - it's dead. :occasion14:

Oh... I guess thats why some people have more then one machine.
 

Even If you don't drop the Safari or any other non water proof detector in the water by accident, if your on a salt water beach there is salt mist in the air, if you don't have a good environmental cover on controls your going to get corrosion on the motherboard, keypad and coil loom.

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I would look at the beach and water posts section see what they use !! Lots of very knowledgable people on this site who do this for many years, . Good luck
 

Even If you don't drop the Safari or any other non water proof detector in the water by accident, if your on a salt water beach there is salt mist in the air, if you don't have a good environmental cover on controls your going to get corrosion on the motherboard, keypad and coil loom.

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Good point, Nova Scotia is surrounded by salt water.

I would just get a pro or max, but it seems the Mindlabs are a better machine for wet sand/water which is where I will be most of the time, I guess.

Might end up with a max , then maybe later get a Excal with the "loot" from the Max ....ha ha , wishful thinking....


The other problem is, I have to wait for the Max to be released, I want a new rig "now" lol
 

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Sounds like you need a CTX if you're only going to have one machine.
 

Eh good deals and packages on AT pros right now because of the Max being released, have to wait like 2 months for a max and who knows if there will be bugs etc.

Sooooooooooooo..... ordered a AT pro international package , should be here this week hopefully.

Maybe get a Excal next spring depending on finances etc.
 

The AT Pro will work fine for your land hunting and dry sand at a salt water beach. Not so good in the wet sand or water though. You'll definitely want something multifrequency that's made for that environment.
 

The AT Pro will work fine for your land hunting and dry sand at a salt water beach. Not so good in the wet sand or water though. You'll definitely want something multifrequency that's made for that environment.

Ya, your probably right, but don't have 2 to 3 grand to spend on a CTX or Excal .

This will get me up and going since the piece of trash I had was nearly useless lol.

We will see, maybe next year I will add another rig to my detector collection.
 

You should be able to get a good used Excal in the $800 range. If you're real lucky (like I was) even less! :icon_thumleft: I happened to stumble across and Excal 2 in pawn shop for $250.
 

You should be able to get a good used Excal in the $800 range. If you're real lucky (like I was) even less! :icon_thumleft: I happened to stumble across and Excal 2 in pawn shop for $250.

Wow, thats awesome. Ya maybe I will keep an eye out for used ones. I could handle $250 hehe
 

Sooooo finally received my AT Pro and ran it through its paces, works great on dry land, pretty awesome actually. Then I went to the beach, great on dry sand, then headed to wet sand and the salt water, so kinda what I expected, its really finicky on wet sand, even with ground balancing, you cannot what so ever touch the coil to the ground or it goes all crazy. Need to really pay attention to the distance from the sand/rocks or you get false readings constantly.

Looks like I will be lining up that Minelab excal for next year lol.

But did find something else out, how out of shape I am lol, damn my arms hurts, using muscles I haven't used in years it appears. Going to take a few weeks to bring things up to par, but thats a good thing, plan on getting out everyday that its not raining.
 

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