Minelab Excalibur 1000

Beach Detector Show Down

Steve in Florida -
Me and a few friends of mine all love to beach hunt. So one day we where all talking about how deep our detectors go and so we decided to see which of them was the king of deep.
We packed up our detectors and headed to Daytona beach. It was a nice sunny day and perfect for a day of fun and sun.
We decided to make it fair we would take a small ring tie a string to it and bury it, then each of us try to detect it. We got close enough to the waves that each time the waves came in it would fill our hole in and we could go alittle deeper each try.
Here is our results:
Minelab 1000 7" inches max
Fisher CZ 20 9"
White's PI pro 12"
Garrett Infinium 15"

Keep in mind this is a very small 14k baby ring. It won't even fit on my pinky finger.

Dec 24, 2006

72 Yes
4 No

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I've owned all three

Steve in Orlando, Florida -
I have been metal detecting since 1972. I have had alot of different brands and kinds of metal detectors. My 1st detector was a BFO it was a good unit and I found a ton of coins and some jewlery as well. I use to come home with so many coins in my pockets my pants would fall off. I knew right then I was hooked for life. When VLF detectors came about I bought one and went to the same areas and found alot of targets out of reach of my BFO's depth capabilities. I have owned all major brands and some foreign models as well. One thing I can say is there is no one perfect detector for all situations. Some detectors do better than others. Most of the time we expect because we paid a high price for one. That it is the best detector ever made. But the reality is. It's not what you buy it's how well you use it. I have filled many jewlery boxes with detectors that where not top of the line. I have owned a Whites 6000d for over 20 years and it still finds treasure and has never failed me.
I currently have a Minelab Excalibur. Not the 800 or 1000 but the original Excalibur with the blue sword on the side. I think Minelabs 1st Excalibur was the best one built. I have never had any loose knobs or rusting post that I often read about. Plus the head phones are way better than the 800 or 1000. I have found alot of very nice items with it. It has more than paid itself off. But with that said it has been to the repair shop more times than I would have liked. It is a good detector but not a fantastic detector. Very costly to repair and very heavy. It does have a learning curve. Mostly to get use to the threshold changing. But over all it's a decent detector.
I prefer my Garrett infinium for most situations it is lighter easily hipmounted and does a wonderful job once you learn how to use it. It has NEVER been to the repair shop and is built like a tank. My Fisher CZ 20 has also NEVER been to the repair shop and is about the easiest of the 3 to understand how to operate. Here again you must take time to learn and understand the detectors capability. Some people just say it's junk after a couple hours of use and go back to what ever brand they had before. If you are after small gold objects most VLF detectors just can't do the job PERIOD. I don't care if you rub it on the coil it will not detect it. The sensitivity of the detector isn't designed to pick up a object that small. Make sure that the detector you chose can do the job you want. I like all 3 and have learned with time all detectors even the older models can find great treasure. You just got to stay at it and be at the right place at the right time. If I had to pick only one detector for all detecting I would take the Infinium. It's not for everyone it is a PI detector and you do dig more junk than a DISC model detector but the sensitivity and versitality make it my personal favorite. I have dug thousands of pull tabs over the years. But that 3 carat diamond set in platinum I found makes me dig them all =)
When I hear some of the stories on the forums about people finding a coin 3 feet deep or a gold ring 20 inches in the gound it makes me laugh. No detector EVER made can do that. If you really want to see how deep a detector can detect a object. Dig a hole about 3 ft deep and get a yard stick. Place coins or any type of metal in the walls of the hole. This way it is in undisturbed ground. Take a measurement of how deep each object is and then fill your hole in. Now get your detector out and see if it can detect any or all of the targets you buried.
I found this a good way to see how well a detector works. Old detectors or new most don't go deeper than 10 to 12 inches deep. That is one with a large search coil and give a feint signal at best.
Now get out there and find a treasure you will enjoy the rest of your life...

Dec 09, 2006

90 Yes
3 No

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Great Machine

Bert in Hawaii -
The knobs on the Excalibur 1000 does slip but there is a way to fix this problem. Sand paper the lenght of the shaft then place knobs back and tighten. This will fix the knob from slipping.
I found that the CZ20 does produce false signals when working the shore line when the coil hits the water. I was told the SurfMaster PI does the same thing too. The Excalibur 1000 DOES NOT do that. It perfectly stable: does not produce flase signals.

Sep 18, 2006

23 Yes
1 No

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the good and the bad

mark benwell in weymouth england -
I have used the 1000 for about 4 years only on the beach and in the water its a good alround machine but there are problems with it the knobs are of poor quality and needed to be replaced after a short time i had to send it back to minelab to get the cable replaced as this fractured inside and the rechargerble batterys are hard to tell when they have been fully charged . but as i said i used this machine everyday and these are the only problems i have had (so far) its great on wet sand very deep
better than the fisher 1280x which i also have
and its over all performance is good but its not a begginers machine at all you have to take time and learn the settings or you will find nothing i know it took me a few months to get used to it

Sep 06, 2006

20 Yes
0 No

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BULKY- BUT A FRESH WATER RING KILLER

ROBERT S. in EDISON, NJ. USA -
I HAVE BEEN DETECTING FOR 44 YRS. I CONSIDER MY SELF A PRO ON LAND AND IN THE WATER..I HAVE WRITTEN 3 STORIES FOR WESTERN & EASTERN TREASURE MAG.. SO I HOPE MY EXPERIENCE HELPS, HERE GOES: I USED A GARRETT XL 200 PULSE & XL 500 FOR MANY YEARS, DUG ALOT OF IRON , BOBBIE PINS , NUTS & BOLT DIGGING, SO I BOUGHT & TRIED OUT THE EXCAL. 800..A KILLER IN FRESH WATER FOR RINGS, BUT "VERY" BULKY & HEAVY ON DRY & WET SAND!! YOUR ARM SLIPS OUT OF THE ARM REST AND THE HANDLE DESIGN IS JUST NOT GOOD, SO I TOOK OFF THE ARM REST OF MY DFX AND PUT IT ON HER- MUCH BETTER BUT STILL HEAVY--THE BATTERY CHARGER HAS NO LIGHT TO LET YOU KNOW IT'S WORKING- NOR IS THERE A VISUAL LIGHT OR METER TO LET YOU KNOW IF YOUR BATTERIES TOOK THE CHARGE OR ARE LOW- YOU ONLY HEAR A CRAZY SOUND FROM YOUR HEAD PHONES WHEN THEY ARE LOW AND UNFORTUNATELY THIS MIGHT BE WHEN YOUR OUT HUNTING AT YOUR SPOT! I WISH THE COMPANY WOULD HAVE THE HEAD PHONES SCREW OFF THE SET, MAN DO THEY GET TWISTED UP AND ALSO SHORTEN UP THE LENGTH OF THE DISC CORD.. OTHER WISE GREAT UNIT IF YOU HAVE A FRESH WATER SPOT.. THE 1000 UNIT THAT MY FRIEND BOUGHT SEEMS TO BE VERY SENSITIVE, ALOT OF NOISES COME OUT OF THAT UNIT COMPAIRED TO THE 800, MUCH MORE STABLE-- HOPE THIS HELPS YOU .. THANKS

Aug 17, 2006

20 Yes
5 No

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Excalibur spends much time in shop for repair

Ken in Currently in Hawaii -
I own 2 CZ 20's, 2 White's Surfmasters, have had a Minelabs Excalibur 800, Garrett Sea Hunter, Garrett Infinity and a Minelabs Excalibur 1000.

The Excalibur 1000 is only a fair machine. I find it to be my choice only for a first hunt in trashy areas if there is no outside radio frequency interferance. It seems to be greatly affected by the presence of outside sources of RF.

It frequently just begins making squawking noise and the only thing to do is shut it off.

I find it's ability to locate deep targets dissapointing. It is a very clumbsey unit to handle in the surf or current. The lower shaft is not durable and a spare is necessary to have on hand.

The knobs on my unit were of poor quality as the insert in them were made of common steel. One trip to the ocean left them crusted in rust. Very poor for a machine advertised as a salt water item. Minelabs did replace them with better knobs with brass inserts.

It has quit working on me a couple times and I have had to send it in for repair. Turn around time was way too long if you only have one machine and enjoy hunting.

I personally would not trust it on a travel trip without a back-up machine.

The rechargable battery only last a few months and need to be replaced. It's ability to hold a charge was poor and after only a few uses would not run for a long day of hunting. Poorest and most expensive battery I have ever found on any piece of electronic equipment. I swaped to a battery pack that uses 8 AA cells. These will only run the machine about 6 to 8 hours so have a change handy.

It will give a good indication of an iron target but goes crazy if much mineralization is in the ground. It works just OK in clean sand of Florida but performs poorly over hot rock areas unless sensitivity is reduced till it will find very little of anything.

I have owned it for over five years, used it for hours but still prefer the CZ 20 to 1 over the Excal 1000. I do find the 800 to be a little more proficient and stable. Some folks report having good faith and luck with the machine but that was not my experience. I have used metal detectors for over 26 years.

May 09, 2006

75 Yes
8 No

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Excalibur 800 & 1000 are fine for diving.

Sandman in USA -
Excal 800 an 1000 work well diving or wading a beach. I hip mount it for wading. Diving it has been stable for me and all the different tones help give target Identification and it is accurate. It is also very deep and I prefer it over any PI I have tried as they have little discrimination.

May 07, 2006

18 Yes
1 No

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Poor performance while diving

alberto@tiscali.nl in Netherlands -
I bought a excalibur 1000 last august 2005.
On land it is a super detector, but while scuba-diving
the sound run off and you can do nothing about it.
For two times I have sent it back to Ireland,
and asked for repair, but I get it back with the same problem.
You only can search in the Pin-point mode while diving,
so you will find tons of iron trash.
If I had known before I would have bought a fisher or a tigershark...

Mar 24, 2006

21 Yes
1 No

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beach sweep

beach sweep in redbank usa -
i love my excal it finds me a lot of gold i have a wot coil on it and this thing goes deeep. "tip #1" get out of auto sens i run mine at 10 o clock and i run my disc at 1. "tip #2" get a big beach scoop and be prepared to dig deep for all that gold at the beach. good luck keep m swinging.

Feb 16, 2006

19 Yes
1 No

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dont know what all the hype is about this detector!

Peter in Long Island, NY -
I've used the excal 1000 on the beach and scuba diving all over the world. the headphones are flimsy and fall off your head way too easily when used for scuba. i've heard that using a homemade strap around your chin to the phones may help. I also find this machine to be kind of noisy & unstable. the tones are mainly indescernable and whispy. I prefer to use my beachunter ID, which is more simple and has distinct seperate tones.

Feb 03, 2006

13 Yes
2 No

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