Minelab SE and Xcal

Got out today to do some testing after passing a couple of PMs to Tom. I spent about 3 hours on the beach ... both wet and dry sand. Gridded several areas with the sand scoop then set in to find some targets. Again i could set the sensitivity all the way up on the Xcal and it ran stable.... but i backed it down once finding a deep target. What i noticed it IDed the target at 10 sensitivity but as i raised the coil there was a point (4 inches) it stopped IDing..... not unusual, except when i lowered it it didnt id the target again until i took it all the way to the ground. However at sensitivity of 7 it IDed at the same distance above the ground and once i lost the signal .... it DID id the target again as i lowered the coil. I was using the slim line coil (10) just because i wanted the same size coil. I could run the sensitivity at 28 but lowered it to 26 with the black sand and used IM just above AM to match the Xcal. I found several targets but was looking for deep fringe targets or tiny ones. I was IDing pull tabs at 11 inches very weak with the Xcal.. but having used the SE i had no problem hearing it and getting better distance above the sand with the SE. On every target the SE sounded better and was deeper. It surprised me the distance of tiny pieces of copper that the SE hit and in a couple of time the Xcal gave a nice smooth threshold and didnt see the target no matter how i adjusted it. BUT... like Tom said im not on the beach to find junk and coins. I hit no jewelry during this hunt but did dig several deep pieces of pull tabs. The only was to accurately test is was to find GOLD, but that didnt happen today. Ive got to get more hours on the Xcal because its obvious my ears are tuned to the SE with all the hours ive used it. Fun day on the beach.

Dew

Correct resultant...... the Explorer is slightly more sensitive/deeper than the Excal. You will find this differential to be much more accentuated on smaller (real) gold jewelry. You also have more of an ability to 'over-drive' the Explorer..... IRT the Sens. Some areas.... you may be able to utilize this ability.

The lower range, including the iron range on up thru the gold range of the SE is much wider than that of the Excal ..... not to mention it has a much better discrimination ........ When you open up an SE to accept all targets , you will hear much more than you would with the Excal .....You are also dealing with a lot more masking with the Excal / Sovereign detectors than you are with the SE / Etrac range of detectors , estpecially in the more trashy area's .....Jim

I'll be able to tell you even more after I finish buiding my SE water machine .....Others have already created these machines with great success .....Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2011 03:51AM by synthnut.

I was using the standard slim line coil.... its not the best coil for sure..... but it is a 10 inches. So there are better coils.... not to mention a choice of great headphones over the Xcal. I was using IM 31 just because there still was iron and black sand that made this coil snap cracker pop. If they used the FBS and eliminated the screen giving us the wider disc and tones in a water machine it would be an interesting set up. Jim get that thing done and let us take a look at it. Just recently i saw someone putting a detector in a box with instructions how to do it and the parts. [metaldetectingforum.com] This was for a SOV which doesnt have the complications you will have with the Exp. How does one make adjustments once in the water? Which coil you looking at using and do you already know how well it deals with salt. I know mine goes a little nuts in the wave line with the same setting i use on the wet sand. So Tom..... are you saying the SE IS best to use on the dry/wet sand for gold? I know it wont pick up there really small pieces you get with say a gold bug.

Dew

Two different beasts and will take time to acculmate yourself to a new unit.

I will say although not as deep the Sov sure gives mellow sound on silvers coins but again will take time....to learn the audio...

Dew,
I have already designed some very simple adapters to allow me to have my cables and such to come out of my box and be waterproof .....As far as my controls go , everything is pushbutton ....I will have a soft, clear, Eisenglass material sandwiched in between 2 pieces of plexiglass and will have everything gasketed so not to leak .... Since everyting is pushbutton on the SE , it will be easier to control than if I were to go with the Sovereign ..... The Soveriegn is either put it in a box and set it and forget it , or you have to do much more modding so you can use the pot's without them getting wet ..... I will probably be using the Pro Coil as I am very fond of that coil on my E Trac ..... Jim

BTW ...The 10" Tornado coil that comes on the Excal and the Sovereign happens to be a GREAT coil .... one could do a lot worse ....Jim

Jim.... my comment was about the original slim line coil that came standard on the original SE..... ive no complaint about the Xcal coil at all. Sounds like you have quite a project ahead of you. Dan.... I cant really make a lot of comparison right now about the two machine except what im seeing with my limited time on the Xcal. I like being able to get wet and chase down some of the stuff others cant get to. Thanks Tom for helping me along.

Dew

Dew,
Do yourself a favor with your Excal ....Hunt reverse discrimination ....... in other words hunt in " Pinpoint " mode , and double check the targets in " Discrimination" mode .....I've found that I can go deeper in "Pinpoint " mode .. ...to the point where you might not even hear the target in "Discrim" mode ..... Then you KNOW you are deep ..... You are digging just about everything on the beach anyway ....especially if you are hitting pulltabs ....If you dig many pulll tabs you know that you are in the gold range ..... Foil will bring you into a gold range too !!.... 14k small gold womens rings sound very much like pull tabs .....

Yes, I have so many projects to complete and even more to start .....I can surely use the time during the Winter months if I don't make it to Jamaica this year !!....

OHHHHHHH !!!......The Slimline coil !!!......What a GREAT COIL !!!...... It's the best anchor I've used for my kayak in a LONG TIME !!!...... .......The Pro Coil wakes that SE right up !!!......( SE Pro ) ......The Pro Coil is still one of my favorite coils ..... I like it as much or better than I did the 10x12 SEF coil ....JIm

Yes........ the Explorers are (a bit) more sensitive with small gold..... compared to the Excal's.

Jim.... i RARELY use the slim line i use the SEF and for me i like it a bit better than the Pro in trash. I used the slim line just because it was the same size as the Xcals. On the beach.... the Pro might be better just because i do think its a tad more sensitive. Ive done some reverse disc, but my machine seems deeper in disc than PP. But.... it may be that weaker targets sound like mineral movement to me right now. Ive used the old machines that had a single tone i know you can get used to anything. I need a few more hours.

Dew

Dew,
Your really can't do badly with either coil ....The SEF or the Pro ....Both great coils ..... I remember the SEF running a liittle more quiet than the Pro ..... just a little smoother ...Jim