CZ21, 1280X vs Excalibur for travel Opinions?

[cabochris]

OK, the CZ21 has been out for some time now and should have bugs worked out. I would like to hear from CZ21 users on what they think about this detector. Is it any better, worse or equal to the CZ20? Are you finding any gold in the water with your CZ21 and which size coil do you like best in the salt? Have you compared CZ21 to an Excalibur? Which do you like better and why?

Lastly, lets talk a bit about the 1280X in saltwater (2 to 5 feet deep). So many seem to say the 1280X works poorly in the salt. Yet some users say they find their share of jewelry in shallow saltwater with a 1280X. Once 3 of us hunted a particular small well searched Caribbean beach. I and my partner had Excaliburs. The other fellow who lives on the Island a 1280X. After several hours the only ring found was a heavy mans 18K gold ring, found by the 1280X set at a sensitivity of only 3! He said he never sets his sensitivity higher! Now, the day before 5 of us with Excaliburs hit that same beach all day. So I was surprised when the 1280X found such a beautiful prize in the shadows of our dream machines! Plus I searched where that ring was found too! Then there was the fellow (new guy in our travel group) who got rid of his new Excalibur because he preferred his trusty 1280X in the salt!

I have tried most pulse machines, Detectorpro Diver and CZ20, but have found most gold with Excaliburs in Caribbean. But for travelling I like the Fisher Design better. They are rugged and collapse small enough to fit in my suitcases without dis-assembly. I really did not give the CZ20 a fair chance and sold it. So now I am wondering about the CZ21? But I am also thinking of trying a 1280X. The long battery life of the 1280X means I can travel with fewer batteries, or not have to remember to place rechargeable batteries on the charger each night.

With an Excalibur I hunt slowly and concentrate for tiny blips to find gold. With pulse detectors I find mostly junk and lots of it! I did not find much with CZ20 the 1 time I tired it, but I might have had sensitivity too high? I am thinking with a 1280X I might cover more ground and make more finds that way on short vacation time. Maximum depth is nice, but I discovered depth can be a problem for vacation hunting. My Infinium went super deep. So I spent up to 20 minutes digging just a pull-tab halfway to China! Digging deep holes underwater really takes time when one might be better served covering more ground? All thoughts and advice appreciated. CC.

 

[scubadetector]

I have 2 CZ-21's and wouldn't trade them for anything except maybe one for a CZ-20 again. I think the CZ-20 goes deeper. I am using one at this time since BOTH my CZ-21's are back in the shop. I could be wrong but they are just awsome machines.

I could be wrong about the CZ-20 going deeper. My favorite 21 seemed pretty deep and stable. HOWEVER it does seem like I am finding smaller targets deeper with the CZ-20. That said. I have only used a CZ-212 in salt water and only for 3 weeks. ALL my hunting is in fresh water. I also cannot compare the 20's or 21's to the Excab, Tigershark, or any other machine besides a BHID. The only reason I dislike the BHID is the threshhold noise. As a shallow water diver I like the quiet so I can hear the slimy boaters that have NO idea what the heck a dive flag is get too close to me.

Sorry I can't be anhy more help.

Bob HH

 

[Bling]

the Excal ll is deeper.iv had 3 CZ20's and 2 CZ21's and 4 Excal's .in the water i like the Excal ll 8" coil.the CZ21 i now have has the 10" coil and is a bit heavy.as far as traveling,the CZ20/21 has a good foam lined hard case that is great.but you can cut the foam to fit the Excal in same case.both are great detectors.the CZ21 is built like a tank where the Excal is a bit more prone to damage.the 1280X will NOT work in salt water or on wet salt beach's!

 

[tidewalker2]

Sorry Bling, I beg to differ with you on the 1280X. i've been using mine exclusively on wet salt beaches and in salt water for the last 19 years and I think it's an excellent beach machine. the photo is of a 3 hour nut on a wet salt beach. Some of the Quarters and dimes as deep as 12 inches. Ed

 

[akbell]

Got to agree with tidewater2, I used my 1280x in saltwater for 4 years and did very well with it. Sold it when I acquired a waterproofed Sov XS2A. Wish I still had the 1280X for a backup.

 

[cabochris]

Tidewalker2, I like hearing about your 1280X experience. Finding coins 12 inches deep- well, that is as deep as any Excalibur 800/1000 I have ever owned! The Excalibur is very good on gold in the Caribbean. But only after you learn it, slow way down and concentrate for those little gold tone blurts. While gold closer to the surface rings loud and clear, an Excalibur sort of talks to you on deep gold. On days when my concentration is lower, I find less gold. When determined I have dug gold in the midst of 5 other Excalibur users finding little! Reasons Excaliburs are my main machines. But it is sort of a Love-Hate relationship. There are several things about Excaliburs I do not like- mainly when one passes over a rejected target, Excaliburs re tune to low buzz threshold. To return to my set threshold I pass my scoop over the coil. On some beaches I have to re tune my machines every few steps and that is a real pain! I do not like hunting in that louder buzz threshold. Plus there can be lots of electrical interference with Excaliburs. Even Jet-skies/outboards passing by can make them sing!

So as much as I use Excaliburs, I'm still looking for a better travel machine and sometimes wonder if a K.I.S.S. type detector would work. Simple can be good. Where I go in the Caribbean mineralization seems to be fairly low. One of my first detectors was a Tiger Shark. I never gave it a good chance, but it did seem to handle the local conditions OK. If a 1280X would work good, then I could travel with 2 1280s (one as back-up). Then I could spend more time on finding treasure with them, rather than fiddling with dials or trying to interpret tones or re tune. OK, obviously an Excalibur or CZ20 is advanced. But what if one set and forgot it on the 1280X and made more of an effort to cover more promising ground while on limited vacation time- searching for fresh drops and leaving the deep stuff for the pulse guys?

Tidewalker2, when in salt with your 1280X, which size coil do you prefer? And where do you set your discrimination and sensitivity? Thanks, CC.

 

[therover]

As it shows the horses for course analogy very clear. I see where CaboChris is going with this, in that the 1280X with its simplicity, great battery life and compactness, can be a very good alternative for traveling. And if getting 2, then one with each coil is perfect !

If the beaches are very low in mineralization and the 1280 can work there, then I would get one (and if getting 2, then one with each coil is perfect ! ). To me, a vacation is just that....a vacation ( unless of course water detecting IS the vacation). I know when I am on vacation, I want enjoyable hunts and relaxing time.

I can get beat up in the surf, dig deep iron with my PI and take 15 Advil for my back AFTER I get back from my vacation.

 

[scubadetector]

I have had a CZ-21 which was tweaked by their top technician. I loved it. I also have been a computer tech for over 18 years. Two computers side by side, EXACT same models and EXACT same softwear will perform differently. Why?? Some electronic parts even thbough the EXACT same work better than others. ALSO a person that KNOWS their machine can tell after years of use EXACTLY what the burried target is telling them it is.

As I said I used to have a VERY HOT CZ-21. The ones I just got back I air tested and so far I am a bit dissapointed BUT I will check them in the water and MAYBE I am wrong.

So experience and the dectector itself have a lot to do with who can find what at what depth.

I only used my 1280X in fresh water the years I had it. I will tell you that I had a Whites detector an Eagle SL2 that was the deepest detector I have ever owned in my life. I knew that machine inside and out and I found some amazing coins with it.

Good luck out there to all!!!!

 

[cabochris]

Continuing down the path here... my Caribbean vacations are for treasure and we spend most of the days in the water from early morning til sunset. It can become sort of a grind until Gold Fever strikes! I get the fever when I see Caribbean gold glistening in my scoop! After I start finding gold I have a difficult time stopping. Yet it can seem like work at times, while watching all the beautiful sights and others frolicking at a palm lined beach! But even so, when there is gold to be found time passes quickly. Before one knows it another 7 day vacation is over and I have been thinking how to maximise my efforts. It's not like I can simply return next week. When we are at a beach to hunt, that is the moment to find or not find gold. Again, so far Excaliburs have become the weapon of choice for all in our group because they find gold. Minelab could do a TV commercial showing 6 treasure hunters at a Caribbean beach, all with Excaliburs! Oh, I should mention while most Excaliburs are fairly equal in capabilities, a few are substantially hotter. I borrowed such an Excalibur (a beat up blue 1000 converted to 800) and found gold at depths beyond what my machines can do! (with loud solid gold tones!) I'm not sure how to explain this and I even had Minelab convert a 1000 of mine to 800. That is not the answer. I have even tried a WOT coil. So I'm always willing to try another machine because how else would one ever know for sure?

As I had mentioned before, for some reason pulse detectors find little gold for our group. Only if an area is sanded in, might a pulse be tried- that is if someone brought one. Perhaps a seasoned pulse user might clean house because they know their machine? But we have had a few new to the group pulse guys and on their second trip we see them with Excaliburs!

With airline restrictions what they are today, it is tough packing 2 or 3 detectors and all required gear. (which is usually 2 of everything as back-ups). I travel with 2 Excaliburs (800/1000) and have preferred the blue machines with blue headphones, even over the Excal IIs. I hear better gold tones with the blue machines. Along I also bring 4 battery packs, 2 chargers, 2 power converters, spare rods and other parts... Then my detectors have to be dis-assembled to fit in a standard large suitcase (which is limited by airlines to 50lbs/airlines charging for 2nd checked bag now!) But I remember when I brought along an older CZ 20 all that had to be done was to collapse rod as when diving and machine fit nicely into my luggage! So would a 1280X. Anything that makes travel easier is worth it. Besides that and the long 60-75 1280X battery life (one could detect the entire vacation on one set of batteries!) I have been wondering about some other things.

OK, Excaliburs have DD coils and Iron Mask. So each sweep of the coil in theory covers more ground to full depth. Other vlf machines use cone-centric coils with the V search pattern- so in theory if one did not always overlap each swing, one might miss deeper targets. Yet I tend not to overlap my swings in the water anyway. I search randomly for randomly lost jewelry. So I wonder if a concentric coil is a disadvantage or not? One can pinpoint quicker with a cone-centric coil. I know a CZ 20 can be a deep detector. But when I tried in saltwater it was no deeper than my Excaliburs. The iron mask on my Excaliburs is always nulling my machines- so I wonder if any good targets are being missed during those nulls? Regarding tones, I find more gold when I dig more tones (high,low,medium). So again I wonder what would happen if I searched with a 1280X on low discrimination and dug all good targets. I could cover far more ground because 1280X can be swept faster. Would I find more "easy" gold within 6 inches that way, because more ground is covered?

Then I wonder about finding more gold chains. Would machines such as Tesoro Tiger Shark and Sand Shark do that? Excaliburs pass right over many gold chains even within inches of the coil. I once spotted a gold chain by eye/mask on the bottom and when I passed my 800 right over it there was no response at all- at the time I assumed the chain was junk metal, only to have a wonderful surprise later- an 18KT $1,000 day! Would a Tiger Shark being more sensitive to small gold hit those gold chains missed by other detectors in Caribbean saltwater? OK so the Tiger will not have the same depth, but gold chains sure add up found gold weight quickly! What about the pulse Sand Shark? It's printed spiral search coils are supposed to be more sensitive to smaller targets. Again, forget about extreme depth. I'm more interested in playing the odds by digging more potentially good targets. I often wonder how many gold chains we leave behind?

Sorry this is long but I want to better research which machines to try next. Excaliburs are prov-en and it is difficult to even try another machine on vacation, because a voice in your head thinks "you are wasting time with this new detector and your buddies are finding all the gold with their Excaliburs before you do!!!). All thoughts and advice appreciated. CC.

 

[therover]

Chirs....glad to see you cleared that up ! A 'Tresure Vacation' is something I would like to do one day. I can see how it can be a grind and become 'work' at times since you are there to get the gold and not casually hunt while the main portion of the vacation is spent relaxing.

Tell you what...the battery life on that 1280X is insane ! I love my HH PI , but if you were using that, the way you hunt 7-8 hours a day, you would have to chage the batteries every day ! Still, there are times when a PI is the only way to go.

The way you described how you hunt being partly random, do you think running a CZ20 or CZ21 in all metal mode to get the wider search area and then switch over to discrim when a target is found can be beneficial ? Not sure if you utilzed a CZ that way or not. I don't know the specs on the 1280X...does it have a true all metal mode ? I have an older CZ20 with the 10.5 inch coil and it's a really hot machine...deep, stable and running in all metal and then switching over has been a pretty cool way to hunt. Can get a be tedious though. But the thing one needs to remember when hunting that way is when you switch over the discrim mode, you have to sweep really slow. As far as concentric vs DD...I think it's more of a prefernce as to what is better and not the design. You see hunters making great finds with both kinds of coil design. I prefer concentric coils due to the better pin pointing ability.

I also have a BHID300 and hunt with it the same way, but that unit does have the lights that work during all metal mode. I don't think it's as deep as my CZ20 though. I like the BHID300 but that large coil is not for me so I am going to sell it. I can't control the coil like I want to but that machine does hit on smaller targets really well and pin points great. Wish they made a 10 inch coil with the same design.

To me this one is a tough call. I think at least one Excal should be on the trip since that is what you are used to, and it is a trip dedicated to finding the gold. Whether the 1000 or 800 goes for the ride...decisions decisions !

As for the other machine...seems like a 1280X may just be the ticket. I know the Detector Pro Wader runs on a similar platform, but I remember you stating you were wary about them and their ruggedness. I have a Wader with the hard wired 8 inch coil on it, but will be sending it off to Gary at Detector Pro for an overhaul. I want him to configure it so I can swap out 8 and 10 inch coils on it. Then I can sell a few of my other water machines. I need a more light weight machine and since I don't dive, all I really need is it to be water proof for the rain and the ability to hose it off after a salt water hunt.

If you do get a 1280X give us all your impressions. Would like to know how it made out on the Carribean trip !

As far a chains go...I think they are a crap shoot. Some chains I have found with single frequency machines in the dry sand, yet my best chain ever ( about 2.5 oz's 14k) came in the wet sand using my DFX. So ya never know. I never found a chain with my Excal though but found them with almost every other machine so you may have a point about an Excal not being very good on them...but like I said, they are a crap shoot and maybe I just never got my coil over one when using an Excal.

Good luck when you do go, have fun, be safe and get some gold.

JC

 

[diggindirt]

Sorry Bling, I beg to differ with you on the 1280X. i've been using mine exclusively on wet salt beaches and in salt water for the last 19 years and I think it's an excellent beach machine. the photo is of a 3 hour nut on a wet salt beach. Some of the Quarters and dimes as deep as 12 inches. Ed

Yes, the 1280x will work in salt as my buddy has found plenty with the machine!

While not my first pick for an all salt machine, the 1280x was designed for both salt and fresh water and has the same circuit designed board (2.4kHz quartz crystal controlled) as the Detector Pro HH Wader model.

However, from what I've read the HH Wader has been tweaked a little for more depth.

Thanks.

 

[cabochris]

Thanks for all the good thoughts and ideas. When I tried the CZ20 in the Caribbean and in 4' +/- water, I found that it would not ground balance. I did not know why and set GB on marked pre-set. Then I got false signals and could only set sensitivity on #5. At the time I thought I would get poor depth because of that, but now realize that probably would not have been the case. I did try auto tune all metal but not for long because I wanted to try tone hunting. I found the CZ20 tougher to swing underwater because of more housing resistance than Excalibur mounted on balance shaft. Since I only got some coins in an hour or so, I got my Excalibur and really did not give CZ20 a fair chance. Knowing more today about detectors (I seem to be always learning something new, even after I thought I knew better), if I had to pick just 1 detector to use for the rest of my life (for land/beach/underwater/prospecting), it would be an 8 inch CZ21. A 21 because of 2 year warranty. That does not make the CZ21 the best Caribbean travel machine, although a seasoned CZ owner could make a strong case for that! Just for fun, my second choice would either be a Tesoro Tiger Shark or Garrett Infinium.

Headphones are very important to me. In particular fit over the ears. I find that headphones that do not fit over my ears tend to pinch and hurt after several hours in the water! That is no fun and ruins my concentration! Headphones I find comfortable are those on the Excaliburs, Tiger/Sand Sharks, Infinium and CZ20/1280X. Unfortunately the headphones on the BH ID and PI Pro hurt me with long use. I have expressed this concern to Whites several years ago. But for that reason alone I will not use those machines. And while I have thought about trying aftermarket headphones on them, I have found that anytime I customize a detector, something goes wrong- or it is not as good as factory was after all.

It would seem a no-brain-er to travel with a DetectorPro PI and Diver. They would be the easiest detectors to travel with. I like them if just because of their concept- all the electronics in the headphones! Again over a few trips I gave them a try- but again not a fair try, because if I am not finding gold with them in short order, I'll switch back to an Excalibur. I liked the DP PI with 11 inch coil very much. (I did not like 8 inch PI coil). I think I would like to try a Diver again, but with new 10 inch coil to cover more ground. But as you mentioned one has to baby these detectors or they will leak water, then die! On the first DP PI I tried I must not have gotten battery O-ring in place right. Water leaked into battery side and every time I went to make an adjustment, my fingers were shocked! Only later did I find out about the leak and also that the battery connections instantly corroded beyond use. But I did find 1 gold and one platinum ring with 11 inch DP PI, more than paying for the machine. So I have not ruled DP machines out as ultimate traveling detectors. The idea of leaving my Excaliburs and related gear behind brings a smile to my face! But never at the expense of not finding gold! I will say the DP machine headphones are middle of the road for comfort on my ears. After some 4 hours with the Diver my ears started to hurt.

I have also wondered about obtaining an older chest-mounted splash proof CZ5 for shallow waters. I might gain more sensitivity on thin diamond bands by turning off the salt setting? Who knows- in the end it may turn out to be more important that one spends time hunting, than rather than which detector is used? And, that I may be more successful with Excaliburs because I have talked myself into that? (Success through using what you like and think works best?) But because I think, I will always look for an extra edge. Perhaps for a traveling water hunter, one should only consider a true water machine? One that is built solid, goes deep, has discrimination with tone ID (because while on limited vacation time, digging every signal with a pulse machine is too time consuming?), packs easy, can be hip mounted and has open center type coil for less water resistance... Uh, sort of sounds like a CZ21!? CC.

 

[grumpyolman]

I don't have anything to offer about which detector you should use but something else became obvious to me. You'll never know if one will work better than the Excal because you get worried when you don't find gold and switch back to the Excal pretty quickly. I think you need to decide what period of time is reasonable to test a different machine and then spend all that time using it. Switching prematurely only really tells you that you didn't find anything with that machine during the time you were using it. Hope that makes sense. An idea is to spend a full day with the machine you select for that day. If you have 3 machines give each one a day and then do some calculating and see which machine gets another trial day. I think that's the only way to solve your dilemma.

Opinions: I didn't like my Excal. I work freshwater. I have both a Tiger Shark and a Fisher 1280-X. I hear they don't work well in the salt water. Others on here say differently and I don't doubt them. Sometimes deep is not necessarily better. You talked about swing speed and a pretty fast determination to dig or not to dig. That could add up to a lot more area coverage deep enough to do the job. I can tell you every time I go out with the Tiger Shark I find chains. Rarely are they 14k but it does find the small stuff. Might just be, if the TS works ok in the saltwater, the faster swing speed + the faster dig not dig decision + the potential of finding chains might result in more and better finds with something like the TS rather than the excal. That battery will last forever in the TS too.

Hip mount! Why always swing the electronics? I have my TS, my 1280-X and my dual field all set up for hip mount. I just change the length of the shaft if I am diving rather than wading and Vice-versa. Be interested to hear about your trip and live it vicariously. Jim

 

[diggindirt]

It would seem a no-brain-er to travel with a DetectorPro PI and Diver. They would be the easiest detectors to travel with. I like them if just because of their concept- all the electronics in the headphones! Again over a few trips I gave them a try- but again not a fair try, because if I am not finding gold with them in short order, I'll switch back to an Excalibur. I liked the DP PI with 11 inch coil very much. (I did not like 8 inch PI coil). I think I would like to try a Diver again, but with new 10 inch coil to cover more ground. But as you mentioned one has to baby these detectors or they will leak water, then die! On the first DP PI I tried I must not have gotten battery O-ring in place right. Water leaked into battery side and every time I went to make an adjustment, my fingers were shocked! Only later did I find out about the leak and also that the battery connections instantly corroded beyond use. But I did find 1 gold and one platinum ring with 11 inch DP PI, more than paying for the machine. So I have not ruled DP machines out as ultimate traveling detectors. The idea of leaving my Excaliburs and related gear behind brings a smile to my face! But never at the expense of not finding gold! I will say the DP machine headphones are middle of the road for comfort on my ears. After some 4 hours with the Diver my ears started to hurt. CC.

I read on the DetectorPro website that the updated PI model has these new features:

Headphone Earcups: Heavy-duty polymer full ear surround; extra comfortable soft cushions, ambient noise blocking up to 24 decibels, heavy-duty ear-to-ear wiring with new seals for added strength; heavier duty sealing plates; UW connector for interchangeable searchcoils.

Cable: Straight, heavy-duty coil wire for added strength.

Isolator: Heavy-duty non-metallic with nylon wingnut & stud assembly.

CC, the improved headphone seals and sealing plates should take care of the past leaking issues.

I would think this could be the ideal travel detector and I might pick one up a just for that reason! If I do it'll be the PI model

 

[Bling]

Sorry Bling, I beg to differ with you on the 1280X. i've been using mine exclusively on wet salt beaches and in salt water for the last 19 years and I think it's an excellent beach machine. the photo is of a 3 hour nut on a wet salt beach. Some of the Quarters and dimes as deep as 12 inches. Ed

WOW,im glad they work for you.iv owned 5 1280X and none would work on the Gulf Coast.mabe you got one of those once in a lifetime detectors.id hang on to it! they are well built.

 

[cabochris]

Hi Grumpy, you have a very good point, and I should use a particular detector longer as you suggest. I may have to bite the bullet and do that. It's just that on a 7 day Caribbean Treasure hunting vacation, one has some 6 days to detect. I know what my Excaliburs can do on good and bad days. So if I do not start finding gold within a few hours testing a new machine, I start to see my vacation clock ticking down! But you are right and I may actually be splitting hairs here. It may be that good finds will eventually be made with any detector used? On many trips each member of the group can return home with several ounces of gold. (There are some trips where we get nearly skunked too) The missed gold potential is one reason I wonder about a better travel machine. Plus I am kind of at the point where I would like to enjoy the vacation more. Perhaps even at the expense of some gold? That is where a K.I.S.S. detector might help. Lets say I traveled with 2 1280s. One as back-up. Neither would require dis-assembly to fit in my luggage. With up to 75 hours of battery life each, I would not have to bring extra batteries- perhaps only one extra set? I would not be charging batteries each night- so that means I would not have to bring 2 battery chargers (2 of everything on these trips as back-up). In the water I would not have to intensely listen for gold blurbs or be constantly re-tuning my detector. With a 1280 I would set it and forget it and dig only those solid and clear beeps.

Little things like these can add up on vacation. But I would not want to do that unless the detector actually performed good. Gold is gold and while I may not find thin chains with a 1280X, I might find enough rings by covering more ground to make up for that? There really is only one way to find out and that is to do what you say- stick with a new machine for the entire day and compare your finds with the Excalibur users. Thanks for your help, CC.

 

[cabochris]

Thanks for pointing that out. I will have to look into that with Mr Bill. The new DP PI is only rated for 6 feet. Since I do not dive for treasure (yet) that should not be a problem. When I tried a DP PI I found that it loved Bobbie pins more than any other pulse I have tried. Where I was detecting the pins made a good sound and not a double blip. I guess I would need more time learning the machine. CC.

 

[therover]

Chris,

Just curious about your adventures with bobbie pins and the HH PI. When you were hitting them, were you sweeping the target from all angles ? I know that when I hit a boobie pin at one angle, it sounds great, but as I continue to move around the target, at some point I get a double hit ( mind you, I use the 8 inch coil on my HH PI). Also, there is at some point during the sweeping process as I go around the bobbie pin ( or elongated nail or shallow piece of wire) where the sound becomes intermittent and washed out...not as strong and seems to break up slightly. This target signature does not happen when I hit coins, rings, aluminum, deep sinkers or deeper, bigger iron. But at least I can start to tell the garbage, ferrous based shallow targets. I still dig lots of them, due to visions of one of them being a gold pendant on edge or a chain, but once I start hitting 3 of 4 bobbie pins or nails/bits of iron, and get that sound in my head, I then bypass them.

The only caveat with that HH PI, like I stated earlier, is the short battery life. I know the HH Wader has a much longer battery life and is similar in platform to the 1280X.

JC

 

[therover]

n/t

 

[cabochris]

JC, it was with the 11 inch coil and the pins made a good sound from all directions. But I also changed frequency (to decide to dig or not) and the pins still came in worth digging. We had cleaned this beach out with our Excaliburs and I was surprised just how many pins there were! it was frustrating because I was hoping for deep gold missed by our Excaliburs. Keep in mind that I am not an experienced pulse user and may need more time with one? CC.