Infinum vs. Excal. II

[scrooge]

Hi guys not to get off the subject of the Excalibur but I was wondering about the coil of the Infinium!! Does that 14" coil really go deeper to pick up the rings and coins, I was just really curious because I owned a Sea Hunter with a 12" coil in the past and it only picked up large iron pieces!! Does the Infinium go deeper than my Surfmaster PI's 8" coil? I need something that can go really deep when I am diving underwater because I have a beach that I know has more gold but just can't be reached by my PI. How hard is this machine to use and set up? Just wanted to know because I would love to get another machine but don't know which one to get!! I have been doing research about this machine and found an article which a guy by the name of Steve that does nugget hunting in Alaska used this machine in Hawaii. He said that this machine gets noisy is that true? I mean I can stand some noise but not lots of noise that I can't hear my beeps!! I was wondering I have heard that Whites is coming out with a machine too anyone know what that is about? Aloha

All I know is my Infiniumis on it's way back to Garrett for the second time.................

 

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[G.I.B.]

I just received my Infinium yesterday. Going to the beach this weekend and will give it a try.

I still have my Sand Shark...

What is the problem with your Infinium?

 

[scrooge]

I just received my Infinium yesterday. Going to the beach this weekend and will give it a try.

I still have my Sand Shark...

What is the problem with your Infinium?

The first time I sent it in was for false signals at the end of each sweep and the machine would not stay ground balanced. Garrett replaced the coil and something inside the control housing. It worked for 2 uses and then right back to the same problems only worse, the machine is making crazy sounds no matter where it is used. I have used PI machines in the past and never have had any trouble. Garrett may have quality control issues, others on this forum and other forums have had to send their units in for service including John who posts quite a bit on this forum. I won't be buying another Garrett anytime soon...

 

[G.I.B.]

I can only hope I don't have problems with mine...

Thanks for the info and good luck with your new machine.

 

[Adrian SS]

The Excalibur is a waterproof version of the Sovereign XS . I have the Sov XS and an Infinium.
My Sov will get a 1/4doll and an Australian 10 cent coin in wet sand in disc mode at a good 14 inches with the 10 inch black all terrain coil and 15 inches plus with the 15 Inch WOT. In the All Metal mode the depth is very slightly less. This is in wet saltwater beach sand.
If you can only get a 1/4 at 5 inches you are definitely doing something wrong. My Sov has the Iron mask built in but it still will give a low tone on gold targets that come into the iron range, it is up to the operator to decide whether to check the low tones or not. if you are looking for small gold rings etc at the beach then you have to dig the low tones.
My Infinium goes deeper than my Sov when both are fitted with similar size coils, but not by a lot.
Adrian

 

[G.I.B.]

Adrian,

Does the Excal squeal like a see-saw with the waves like the Infinium does?

The weeeeeeeeee--haaaaawwwwwwwwwww weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-haaaaaawwwwwwww wee-haaaaaaaawwwwwwwwww is driving me insane....

 

[Adrian SS]

G/Day GIB,
No the Excal does not squeal and neither does my Infinium.
Getting the Ground balance right is critical for saltwater detecting with the Infinium.
I assume you have done all the right things but try this anyhow: (for wet salt beach)

1. Switch Off.
2. set threshold to 4 and disc to zero.
3 With coil flat on the sand, switch on straight to Lock and wait for the battery check and then let the detector stabilise for a minute or so
4. Listen for any elec interference and adjust for the quietest position if necessary.
5 Reset disc to zero and threshold to 4 after frequency adjust.
6. Select Fast track and attempt to ground balance on the wet sand by pumping the coil up and down several times until the ground balance is as best as you can get it. and then select Lock.(while coil is still on the ground) and then set Threshold to where you like it.
7. Lift the coil off the sand, if it produces a tone then the Ground Bal is still not right. If all is OK..
8. Set Disc to 3 to compensate for the salt. You can set the disc as high as 4 without loosing too much sensitivity to 10/18ct gold.
If all is well the machine should be fairly quiet when you scan the wet sand.
Now take the detector into the water just a few inches deep and retry, it should still be fairly quiet.
If the machine becomes noisy as you get into deeper water then re ground balance as per the above instructions. Do not let the coil come up out of the water while attempting ground balancing in the water. (REMEMBER TO REST THE DISC TO ZERO BEFORE RE GROUND BALANCING).
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Adrian SS

 

[Detector Wars]

Adrian,

Does the Excal squeal like a see-saw with the waves like the Infinium does?

The weeeeeeeeee--haaaaawwwwwwwwwww weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-haaaaaawwwwwwww wee-haaaaaaaawwwwwwwwww is driving me insane....

My infinium does exactly that, that's a good way to describe it.

 

[Detector Wars]

G/Day GIB,
No the Excal does not squeal and neither does my Infinium.
Getting the Ground balance right is critical for saltwater detecting with the Infinium.
I assume you have done all the right things but try this anyhow: (for wet salt beach)

1. Switch Off.
2. set threshold to 4 and disc to zero.
3 With coil flat on the sand, switch on straight to Lock and wait for the battery check and then let the detector stabilise for a minute or so
4. Listen for any elec interference and adjust for the quietest position if necessary.
5 Reset disc to zero and threshold to 4 after frequency adjust.
6. Select Fast track and attempt to ground balance on the wet sand by pumping the coil up and down several times until the ground balance is as best as you can get it. and then select Lock.(while coil is still on the ground) and then set Threshold to where you like it.
7. Lift the coil off the sand, if it produces a tone then the Ground Bal is still not right. If all is OK..
8. Set Disc to 3 to compensate for the salt. You can set the disc as high as 4 without loosing too much sensitivity to 10/18ct gold.
If all is well the machine should be fairly quiet when you scan the wet sand.
Now take the detector into the water just a few inches deep and retry, it should still be fairly quiet.
If the machine becomes noisy as you get into deeper water then re ground balance as per the above instructions. Do not let the coil come up out of the water while attempting ground balancing in the water. (REMEMBER TO REST THE DISC TO ZERO BEFORE RE GROUND BALANCING).
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Adrian SS

I have tried this method as well as other methods of ground balancing and it does not work underwater for me. I will try another method that another forum member has mentioned, where you ground balance with the wave.If that doesn't workthen I will try the 8" and if that doesn't work I will have to go back to using the Excall to see how that handles the waves.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Excal will have no problems with the waves. It also will not have you digging up bobby pins.

 

[scrooge]

G/Day GIB,
No the Excal does not squeal and neither does my Infinium.
Getting the Ground balance right is critical for saltwater detecting with the Infinium.
I assume you have done all the right things but try this anyhow: (for wet salt beach)

1. Switch Off.
2. set threshold to 4 and disc to zero.
3 With coil flat on the sand, switch on straight to Lock and wait for the battery check and then let the detector stabilise for a minute or so
4. Listen for any elec interference and adjust for the quietest position if necessary.
5 Reset disc to zero and threshold to 4 after frequency adjust.
6. Select Fast track and attempt to ground balance on the wet sand by pumping the coil up and down several times until the ground balance is as best as you can get it. and then select Lock.(while coil is still on the ground) and then set Threshold to where you like it.
7. Lift the coil off the sand, if it produces a tone then the Ground Bal is still not right. If all is OK..
8. Set Disc to 3 to compensate for the salt. You can set the disc as high as 4 without loosing too much sensitivity to 10/18ct gold.
If all is well the machine should be fairly quiet when you scan the wet sand.
Now take the detector into the water just a few inches deep and retry, it should still be fairly quiet.
If the machine becomes noisy as you get into deeper water then re ground balance as per the above instructions. Do not let the coil come up out of the water while attempting ground balancing in the water. (REMEMBER TO REST THE DISC TO ZERO BEFORE RE GROUND BALANCING).
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Adrian SS

I have tried this method as well as other methods of ground balancing and it does not work underwater for me. I will try another method that another forum member has mentioned, where you ground balance with the wave.If that doesn't workthen I will try the 8" and if that doesn't work I will have to go back to using the Excall to see how that handles the waves.

You should contact Garrett I was having a similar problem and was told it was a shielding problem in the coil. No complaints with the Garrett costumer service they sent UPS by to pick up my unit at no cost to me.

 

[Adrian SS]

HI GIB,
If your machine is still causing problems after trying all of the above advise then it might be time to send it to Garrett for a check up.
Cheers,
Adrian

 

[Adrian SS]

G/Day Treasure_ Hunter.
That is true, you will not dig many bobby pins while using the Excal and using the disc mode because they give a low tone which a lot of people tend to ignore. That is also what a lot of small gold rings and chains do. You will need to check those low tones in the all metal mode and check for the clipped double beep sound typical of bobby pins and nails.
With the Infinium most bobby pins will give a double hi/lo tone as each edge of the coil passes over the pin plus also in one direction there may be almost no signal.
I learnt many years ago not to put a lot of faith in metal detector discrimination, it can be easily bamboozled by mineralisation and the way a target is positioned in relation to the coil.
I will always remember the 2 oz gold nugget a mere 5 inches down in mineralised ground that produced a low tone and negative reading from my Sov. If I had not become a dig all targets person by then I would most likely have walked away from that signal thinking it was another piece of rusty iron.
Cheers,
Adrian SS

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Hello Adrian SS,

Congrats on your nice finds

I use no disc on any of my Minelabs, (2 Sov GTs & 1 Excal 1000), don't want to disc out a nice gold ring with diamonds by accident. I dig anything that gives me a tone in both directions (N/S E/W) no matter how faint. I do not dig the nulls, I use to when I started just to see what they were, but never once found a null to be anything other then iron. I have dug nulls that also had chirps and found a good target beside a piece of iron.

My comment was just a friendly "Minelab" dig at the bobby pins, I know a couple hunters that use the Infinium and have real good luck with it.

Good luck....

 

[Adrian SS]

HI Treasure Hunter,
Sounds like you understand the Sov & Excal very well.

i have found more good targets at saltwater beaches with my Sov than any other detector that I have used. it might not go as deep as my Infinium and is not to flash in our gold fields but it is a pleasure to use at the beach once you get used to the tones, no playing around with ground balance, no pumping the coil up and down, just smooth efficient detecting from the wet to the dry.
Cheers,
Adrian SS

 

[G.I.B.]

Hey guys, thanks for all the help.

I'm starting to get a handle on the Infinium now. It takes a lot of ground balancing before, and after entering the water. Once balanced though, seems to do pretty well. Big learning curve here...

All in due time I suspect.

Adrian, it's not the machine that's screwing up, it's me. I've got a lot to learn.

 

[Indasurf]

Hey guys, thanks for all the help.

I'm starting to get a handle on the Infinium now. It takes a lot of ground balancing before, and after entering the water. Once balanced though, seems to do pretty well. Big learning curve here...

All in due time I suspect.

Adrian, it's not the machine that's screwing up, it's me. I've got a lot to learn.

It does take time to really learn this detector!!! It's definitely not recommended for a beginner and I would guess takes at lease 50hrs to get comfortable with all the little sounds and nuisances of it.

Many hunters have tried this machine and given up on it before having really learned it! I almost gave up on it myself but I'm always finding new things about it.

Now that said, the Infinium in an experienced hunters hands is a VERY lethal detector!!!

Thanks!

 

[Adrian SS]

HI GIB,
Good to hear the Infinium is begining to shape up.
The ground balance is critical for saltwater beaches and can take a few minutes to get it right.
Cheers,
Adrian

 

[Willee]

The eternal question ... what detector detects the deepest.
If raw depth is all you are after then you should know that no VLF detector will detect deeper than a PI type.
Buy a PI and hang the biggest coil on it you can get and know you are going as deep as ANY machine can possibly go.

However, for most folks there are "other" factors ...
Where are you hunting?
What are you hunting for?
What is medium you are hunting in?

For example I will tell what works best for my style of hunting and why.
I am looking for recently lost jewelry in salt water and dry salt sand.
The key word here is "recently" in other words it isnt going to be very deep ... normally.
For the water, I use an Excalibur II because it has all the depth I need for what am looking for and requires no ground balancing.
It is easy to set up, it runs smooth, and discriminates (nulls) out Iron.
My discriminator is set as low as it will go and I dig every solid target and sometimes a "chirpie".
(a null with a tone on the end of it)

For the dry sand I prefer a 10 to 15" coil, not for depth, but to cover a lot of ground with each swing.
I also want some discrimination to get rid of those beer bottle caps.
A lighter scoop makes dry sand recovery easier and faster than when in the water.
I will recover all the pull tabs and small foil bits on the beach cause I know some gold rings sound like that sometimes.
But I want the Iron bits blanked out!
My favorite detectors for the dry sand is the BeachHunter ID with the 12" coil or an Explorer XS with a 15" WOT.

Now if I want to hunt wet sand at super low coastal tides in the winter for the older and much deeper targets, then I would choose a PI type detector like the Intifinium and just accept digging all the iron out there to get down to the good stuff.

If I knew the local beach gets pounded every weekend by local hunters using VLF equipment then again, I might choose the PI to get down deeper and see what they have missed hoping they have cleaned out most of the surface junk for me.

Fresh water lakes are a lot different than salt water beaches.
The bottom on most fresh water lakes is not sand, but instead its silt, mud, and clay.
Try digging down and sifting thru 20" of that stuff only to find a bobby pin.
(You better have a strong magnet in your scoop or you will be chasing that thing around for a while)
Then repeat that 15 times and see if you are still enthusiastic about the hobby.

Willee

 

[Indasurf]

The eternal question ... what detector detects the deepest.
If raw depth is all you are after then you should know that no VLF detector will detect deeper than a PI type.
Buy a PI and hang the biggest coil on it you can get and know you are going as deep as ANY machine can possibly go.

However, for most folks there are "other" factors ...
Where are you hunting?
What are you hunting for?
What is medium you are hunting in?

For example I will tell what works best for my style of hunting and why. it
I am looking for recently lost jewelry in salt water and dry salt sand.
The key word here is "recently" in other words it isn't going to be very deep ... normally.
I use an Excalibur II out in the water because it has all the depth I need for what am looking for and requires no ground balancing. It is easy to set up, it runs smooth, and discriminates out Iron.
For the dry sand I want a 10 to 15" coil, not for depth, but to cover a lot of ground with each swing.
I also want some discrimination to get rid of those beer bottle caps.
A lighter scoop makes dry sand recovery easier and fasted that in the water.
I will dig all the pull tabs and small foil bits on the beach cause I know gold rings sound like that sometimes.
Bit I want the Iron bits blanked out!
My favorites for the dry sand is the BeachHunter ID with the 12" coil or an Explorer XS with a 15" WOT.

Now if I want to hunt wet sand at super low coastal tides in the winter for the older and much deeper targets, then I would choose a PI type detector like the Intifinium and just accept digging all the iron out there to get down to the good stuff.

If I knew the local beach gets pounded every weekend by local hunters using VLF equipment then again, I might choose the PI to get down deeper and see what they have missed hoping they have cleaned out most of the surface junk for me.

Fresh water lakes are a lot different than salt water beaches.
The bottom on most fresh water lakes is not sand, but instead its silt, mud, and clay.
Try digging down and sifting thru 20" worth of that stuff only to find a bobby pin.

Willee

Plenty of beaches have been replenished or cleaned recently. I've also encountered sanded in locations where my VLF machines can run for 20 min before sounding on a coin!!! I believe under these situations nothing beats a PI machine!

Now that said, I've also hunted chest/neck deep locations that have almost no trash out in water at that level. When it's like that, I can hunt and only hear targets every few minutes if lucky. When the hunting is like that I listen for whisper deep signals so I have a decent chance of bringing home a gold object!!!

The Infinium does have some disc ability and if used correctly (reverse disc/iron check) will prevent alot trash type digging! Sometimes I only dig the high/low signals using the reverse disc/iron check and go just for the gold!

It depends on the location and hunting type that you're doing. I don't use my Infinium all the time as no machine is perfect for every occasion.

I use it mostly in the water in "BAD" black sanded locations and I can tell you no VLF I've used will bang down as hard in ground like that!

I also owned a Sov at one point (very nice detector too)!

The competition at the beaches is fierce now with some of the older gold at deeper depths being missed. This is where I like to walk with the PI!

On many PI detectors, Bobby pins do make a different sound and most experienced PI users can tell the difference between them.

I would never use my PI in fresh water as I own multiple water machines too. All of my detectors get used in the proper situations and locations best suited for that specific hunt!



All the best and thanks!