Minelab Excalibur 11 question

[OldJerseyGirl]

I got the Excalibur a couple of weeks ago and am still learning the machine. I have taken it to a park and made out O.K. with it. However I have taken it to two small swimming holes and into the shallow water. When I first start I have a nice even tone, But, it turns into a very loud humming noise. If I let it near my scoop it goes back to the nice tone. But, it does not stay there. What am I doing wrong? It is very annoying. these are both fresh water. Have not tried it at the beach yet. I am very dissapointed with it right now.
Can anyone tell me your settings for fresh and salt water hunting.
Thanks, Becky

 

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[TheRingFinder]

Hey Jersey Girl - That's how the Excal operates, It switches between 2 tones. I like the low humming tone, so when it switches to the higher pitched tone; i'll just swing it towards my target net and it changes back "I scuba, so I don't have a scoop to change the tone" - You can leave it at either tone and you will still hit your targets, but I do understand, I hate the high pitched tone.
I have two excals, and have been using them for years - if you have any other questions, don't hestitate to ask!! Good luck out there!!!

BTW - Excals are made for water and they are very poor on dry ground - You might want to think about getting another machine for land.......E-Trac is nice!!!!

 

[bigscoop]

Your speaking of the machine "threshold" which is designed to make the pitch changes you're describing. I'm not really all that great at explaining it but basically those pitch changes are caused in two ways, poor coil control, or potential targets. The pitch of the threshold will change every time your machine detects a metallic anomaly within the search field, the pitch being relevant to the type of metal or mineralization detected. For instance, iron will return a low growling pitch, while silver will return a higher pitch, etc. PP hunters rely on these threshold pitch changes to help determine the identity, or metal type, of potential targets. These pitch changes can also aid the hunter while in discrimination mode. Regardless what mode you are in, and while still learning the machine, it is always advisable to switch modes whenever these pitch changes occur and try to locate the source. When hunting in PP - if you got no actual tone when the pitch change occurred then it is likely that the source was either very deep, very small, or too far away from the coil. In this case you should have at least gotten a very faint break in your threshold hum, or a lull, if you will. If you got no tone and you were hunting in discrimination you should have at least gotten a null - or the same type lull in the threshold as when hunting in PP. Basically, regardless what mode you are hunting in you should always think of the Excal as having two entirely different target response systems - the typical tone responses and the threshold responses. I always tell people that there is a lot more going with the Excal then they first realize and that it can be confusing at first, however, I also tell them it is certainly worth the time to learn the machine. Don't let it frustrate you, instead, worry less about actually finding targets in the beginning and try to focus on what the machine is trying to tell and why. Baby steps will serve you much better in the beginning VS trying to run with a new technology that you aren't yet familiar with.

 

[TheRingFinder]

Also remember that the threshold volume should be turned to the point that you can hear it, though it is not bothersome "not too loud". Keep the volume for targets up higher and this will improve your hunt.........Give it time and you will love this machine!!

 

[OldJerseyGirl]

Thank you all. And I do have a Whites MXT pro that I love for hunting parks. And I am not used to the sounds on this Minelab yet, but have been using it on land and it is not bad. Found a lot of clad. However what I am talking about is not a different tone. It goes from a nice hum to a very loud like bees buzzing. You could not hear a signal if you tried when this happens. Well, not really, you can hear a pull tab or coin on the top. I am new but do understand that the sounds for different metals are different pitch. I do run it in disc. and the threshold to just when I can hear a hum. I turn it back til I hear none, then turn it up again til I hear the faintest hum. My sound I keep at about 7. I am going to try the beach for the first time soon and hoping this does not happen too much. Oh and yes, if I put it near my scoop it will go back to the nice hum. I am just wondering why this does not happen on land. I hunted a park with it for four hours and never happened once. I am digging junk, but have got the bottle cap down pat. Pull tabs just get dug. Have to learn it and can only do that by using it.

 

[OldJerseyGirl]

One more thing I wanted to ask. Will it hurt the battery to recharge before it is completely down. I have used it for about 9 hours already. I can't find anything in the book about when it is safe to recharge. Hate to wait til I am using it and the batteries go . If I go to the beach I would like to recharge the day before I go.

 

[Midas_touch]

Jersey.... I've had an excal2 for a few years and I typically charge the battery after 8 hours of hunting time. Haven't had any problems with battery memory or loss of performance.

As far as your change in tones it happens when the detector is in discriminate and then nulls out on a bad iron target. It maintains this null until the next target is found or the scoop trick.

One thing a lot of beach hunters prefer with the excal is to hunt in pinpoint mode instead and then switch over to discriminate to see if it is a non iron target. It will cut out on that harsh null tone from using discriminate the entire time and may also pull up some deeper targets for you depending on your beach and sand conditions. If you do try this method and hear a target in pinpoint but not in discrimate take a few scoops of sand out until you can hear a clear discrimanate signal. Typically I dig deep targets regardless if I can't hear it in discriminate.

Have fun and the excal is an excellent beach detector.

 

[OldJerseyGirl]

Thank you Midas. Very good advice. I will try hunting in pinpoint. I am learning I hope.

Thanks again to all who answered this post.

Happy Hunting!