OVER POWERING the Xcal

I noticed something today on the beach about the Xcal. Ive hunted with the Exp SE on the beach and i have to tweak it to get the best sensitivity and depth. Well i remember Tom on his DVD talking about tweaking the Xcal while watching a heavy ring sink. My Xcal runs with little falsing at the highest setting of 10 yet everyone said they run theirs at 6. Ive always been one to get the most out of the sensitivity..... but hit a deep dime today in the wet sand and decided to do a little checking. It ended up the dime was just what you needed around 10 inches. It gave a fast but short response in 10 but when i backed it down to 6 i could still hear the dime but it seemed a little longer with a better read. I played a little more and came to the conclusion that some where around 7 was the best setting. I noticed the same thing a couple of years ago with the SE on the beach. Thou i could run it on it highest setting a lesser setting reduced the coil HALO or foot print and gave me a much better ID and tone. So for me to much sensitivity tend to OVER POWER the detector and seems to work against you even in less mineralized soil. By the way it netted me an 18k heavy ring today.

Dew

Congrats on the ring

A lot has to do with what's in the sand/soil you are hunting , and also how deep your targets are ........ If you are in a sanded in area where your targets are much deeper , and not much trash in the area, you can get better results with higher sensitivity ...... THere is no set amount of proper sensitivity ......It's all according to the soil / sand being hunted in ...... In a lot of hunts where targets are placed not very far underground , folks will run their machines with lower sensitivity as not to go too deep when looking for more shallow targets .....As I said, it's all according .....Jim

I agree Jim and ive hunted with less sensitivity hunting in trash areas many times looking for those missed targets. I had several machines but this machine NEVER has a problem hunting MAX sensitivity. So it makes me think the sensitivity ISNT working properly. Is it getting good depth on targets yes. So most people wouldnt worry about it but i dont like scratching my head about my equipment... i want to know its right. Ive dirt hunted in about every states and with every machine ive had ive learned it and could tweak it to its best performance.... BUT i could tell there was a difference in performance or chatter. Not so on my Xcal. Ill have to get with one of the gurus North of me and compare results to give me piece of mind.

Dew

high beams verses low beams!
the best thing to do is bury a desired target silver? gold? or equivalent conductivity at progressively deeper depths and then adjust your detector to find the appropriate settings and maximum "real swing speed/unknown target location" detectability depth.
chuck.

I think this is another example of why Tom has a test garden. If you havent used a certain machine you dont know how it functions at its best and worth..... or even that its functioning properly. Dont get me wrong i know it finds targets because i just got my gold check back from ARA. I just have to do more testing with a partner who has experience on this machine. Ive used that high beam low beam and found it worked well on my Explorer..... less is better or at least just as good most of the time. So off to the beach i go with a dime in hand.

Dew

Dew ,
I remember when I traded for my Excal used from a forum member in Central NJ ... We travelled to the beach and turned the machines on and I couldn't hear a PEEP out of the Excal even with the Sensitivity turned all the way up .....I thought it was broken .......Turned out the beach was so sanded in that I could not even hear a change in the threshold .......After hunting other beaches in NY that were littered from end to end with targets , I was not use to this !!...... When I FINALLY hit a target , it about took my head off ...... I take the same machine to MY beaches in NY and this bad boy comes ALIVE !!...... Try another machine in the same area where your machine is running so quietly ...Jim

Ill take the SE out with it. I did go over a section the other day that it was quiet on.... but the SE is an animal on deep coins on the beach that the Xcal dont see. You are right thou these beaches are pretty clean around me except for the pretty deep stuff. I guess i can talk about this till the cows come in.... but PROPER testing is what i need to do. Thanks Jim.

Dew

" but the SE is an animal on deep coins on the beach that the Xcal dont see"

This does not sound right to me ........ I can see your cause for concern ... ??????.........Jim

Your Explorer is deeper than your Excal?

Thats a big YES on coins. These deep coins are weak but very repeatable. Admittedly im new to the Xcal.... but not the SE. But if it churps with the Xcal i dig. I dont really see this as a concern since i use the SE on the dry/wet sand..... thats why i havent gotten rid of it. Its a very good machine.

Dew

Yes.... the FBS is slightly more sensitive/powerful than the BBS in nearly all cases/conditions/scenarios. The Explorer should (slightly) trump the Excal/Sov.