Should I trade my V3i for Excal II...??

[itsaawgood]

I might have the opportunity to trade a White's Spectra V3i for a Minelab Excalibur II 1000 or 800. I have changed my primary hunting objective from seeking coins inland to more beach hunting and water hunting. I picked up an AT Pro for water hunting originally...but now might have the opportunity for a trade and a much better water machine. I do like the V3i and its a good machine...but wonder if I'd be happier with the Excal II. I live in Michigan so no saltwater and lots of iron. Sooo what would you guys think? How does the Excal do on freshwater DRY sand? I have to make the decision in a few hours.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Actually sounds like a no brainer if you know the machine is in good shape! Best of luck!

 

[itsaawgood]

Actually sounds like a no brainer if you know the machine is in good shape! Best of luck!

LOL...if it were a "no brainer" I would have already decided....I seem to be good at those brainless decisions. Others are saying keep the V3i that its always good to have a high end land machine, that the V3i is worth more $$, that the Excal warranty is NOT transferrable (this coud be the deal breaker), and that the AT Pro should be sufficient. I hear the AT Pro comment alot...but its more from NON AT Pro owners that say they heard or read this or that about the machine. Well I do have and do run an AT Pro and I'm just not that impressed with it in the water. Yesterday in the shallow breaking waves of Lake Michigan the thing was constantly falsing. I don't know if this is common in Freshwater with all machines...but it made it impossible to detect.

 

[tomcatpl]

ask for some cash

 

[itsaawgood]

ask for some cash

Its a dealer...doubt that would happen.

 

[bcoop]

I sure would not trade for a used Excalibur and no warranty. Your V3i has a transferable warranty and is worth as much as a New Excalibur.

Another option would be, keep your V3i if your wanting to keep a high end land machine. Sell the At Pro and purchase a good used Excalibur.

BCOOP

 

[Terry Soloman]

This is why we post questions like this that we already know the answer to: We are trying to either talk ourselves into - or out of a decision! LOL! "..that the Excal warranty is NOT transferrable (this coud be the deal breaker)"

I know you'll decide to do the right thing - For You! Good luck and let us know!

 

[itsaawgood]

I sure would not trade for a used Excalibur and no warranty. Your V3i has a transferable warranty and is worth as much as a New Excalibur.

Another option would be, keep your V3i if your wanting to keep a high end land machine. Sell the At Pro and purchase a good used Excalibur.

BCOOP

I have thought about selling the AT Pro...but I'm gonna take a heck of beating on it if I do. I paid nearly top dollar for it (thanks to an unnamed company that said thats the best they could do only to find out others were paying $75-$85 less), bought an extra lower shaft, and the Super Sniper coil for it...as well as purchased a 3 year accidental damage warranty for it. When I total all that up.....I'll easily lose hundreds and its only a month and a half old. I have not been paying attention...but have any idea what price range used Excaliburs are going for?

 

[Willee - Texas]

I have thought about selling the AT Pro...but I'm gonna take a heck of beating on it if I do.

You are going to take a real beating trading your V3i in for a used Excalibur II.
My recommendation is to sell your V3i outright on the forums here and then buy a new Excalibur II if that is what you really want.

You have the Garrett AT PRO and that is a decent detector for both land and water.
If I were hunting lake Michigan (and I have) my preference in the water would be the CZ-21 with an 8" coil.
But ... your AT PRO would work just about as well.
For the dry sand it aint gonna get much better than your V3i.
Use a large coil to cover a lot of sand and look mainly for the shallow, recently lost jewelry.
Save the deep beach searches for the winter time when the beaches are not so populated.

Have you found anything good yet?
I have hunted Silver Beach in Benton Harbor, South Haven Beach, and a few other lakes in Michigan and have had some very good finds.
Look for the private lake beaches inland and get permission to hunt them.

If you are still set on trading your V3i in on an Excalibur II I have one that is one year old and used very little I would trade even up.
Just so you know ... I am getting the better of this deal.

 

[bcoop]

Used Excaliburs............I have seen them go for unbelievable high prices to very reasonable. It just depends on the seller and how bad he/she wants to sell it. Check the classifieds here and e bay there are deals out there.

BCOOP

 

[itsaawgood]

I have hunted the South Haven beaches....as I live a block from the South beach. Also, some of the private owner beaches here around South Haven so far this season. I have not found anything yet but alittle clad....I know of 3 gold rings taken this season out of the South beach waters. I was headed out yesterday morning to hit the South beach as there were some nice size groups of people out there Sunday, and to my dismay they had just run the beach cleaner...I literally seen them coming off the beach with the tractor just before 9AM. That is about the 3rd time this season already that they have run that damn thing!!! I'm not sure how deep it digs but there is nothing to be found after that wretched machine is run.

 

[kirk01]

I sure would not trade for a used Excalibur and no warranty. Your V3i has a transferable warranty and is worth as much as a New Excalibur.

Another option would be, keep your V3i if your wanting to keep a high end land machine. Sell the At Pro and purchase a good used Excalibur.

BCOOP

I have thought about selling the AT Pro...but I'm gonna take a heck of beating on it if I do. I paid nearly top dollar for it (thanks to an unnamed company that said thats the best they could do only to find out others were paying $75-$85 less), bought an extra lower shaft, and the Super Sniper coil for it...as well as purchased a 3 year accidental damage warranty for it. When I total all that up.....I'll easily lose hundreds and its only a month and a half old. I have not been paying attention...but have any idea what price range used Excaliburs are going for?

"Another option would be, keep your V3i if your wanting to keep a high end land machine. Sell the At Pro and purchase a good used Excalibur."


This still sounds like the best idea to me.

Used AT-Pro's seem to go quick, maybe because of the transferable warranty and the very enthusiastic supporters of this MD.

With your extra's you should be able to get $600 plus for it.

I do own one and will probably upgrade next year.

The issues you are having are common, At-Pro owners learn to work around it.

GB in the water, use pro mode zero, iron disc. 33, iron audio on or off depending and lower sen. till it stops.

(If extreme falsing continues , you may have a bad coil.)

They normally have a little chirp at the end of a swing or if you bump something.

Or you can sell it and take a little hit now, if you wait to long the resale price will go down.

I would keep the V3i if I were you.

You like it and have taken the time to learn it.

Used Excal's seem to go for about $950.

I've been watching.

With an Excal and a V3i in your arsenal I think you would be good to go!!

Just my thoughts.

Good Hunting

Denny

 

[itsaawgood]

I am gonna keep the V3i. Not sure about the AT Pro...I will use it for the next month until I get "Classifieds" posting priviledges here. By that time I will have used it in the water alot more and decided if I want to keep it and save for an Excal or CZ-21 or just sell it. The AT Pro is a jack of all trades but master of none. I have the V3i for dry land, if I bought an Excal or CZ-21 I would have the water covered. The one advantage of the AT Pro is say using it on land while its raining....which seems to be the norm this Spring here in Michigan.

 

[mudpuppy]

You gotta get out there before the sun comes up and sweep the dry for fresh drops. Like Willee said, no time to dilly dally looking for deep pennies..Then, get in the water if you want to when the crowd shows up..
I hunt the dry with the F70 and the wet with the CZ 20.
I may, I say may be interested in your ATpro trade for the CZ20...since I travel alot and need to be able to hunt in the rain anyway..If you ever get up this way, give me a holler and we'll compare gear and talk. oh, heres what I found last summer...early and in the dark and in the dry, and shallow, any old body with a junk detector woulda got it....hope its inspirational to you.
Mud

 

[kirk01]

I am gonna keep the V3i. Not sure about the AT Pro...I will use it for the next month until I get "Classifieds" posting priviledges here. By that time I will have used it in the water alot more and decided if I want to keep it and save for an Excal or CZ-21 or just sell it. The AT Pro is a jack of all trades but master of none. I have the V3i for dry land, if I bought an Excal or CZ-21 I would have the water covered. The one advantage of the AT Pro is say using it on land while its raining....which seems to be the norm this Spring here in Michigan.

I think you made the right decision.

Excal or CZ-21, those are the two I'm looking at for next year, be curious to learn which one you go with.

As for the AT-Pro you'll have to be the judge.

Good Hunting

Denny

 

[marbien]

Just think 45 days compared to 2 weeks that's a no brainer... Get your self the whites PI

 

[Willee - Texas]

Hey Mud ... great find.
Anybody could have found that ... but ... you were the one to get out, put in the time, and do it.
Looks like your detector paid for itself with one find.

Itsaawgood ... it is very possible for you to find items that could easily finance your new detector.
What you have now is more than good enough to find goodies in and out of the water.
All you need to do is get out and do it.
You and Mud should hook up for some team effort beach hunting this summer.
It is always a lot more fun hunting with a friend.

Willee

 

[itsaawgood]

You gotta get out there before the sun comes up and sweep the dry for fresh drops. Like Willee said, no time to dilly dally looking for deep pennies..Then, get in the water if you want to when the crowd shows up..
I hunt the dry with the F70 and the wet with the CZ 20.
I may, I say may be interested in your ATpro trade for the CZ20...since I travel alot and need to be able to hunt in the rain anyway..If you ever get up this way, give me a holler and we'll compare gear and talk. oh, heres what I found last summer...early and in the dark and in the dry, and shallow, any old body with a junk detector woulda got it....hope its inspirational to you.
Mud

Hey Mud...nice find!! I jguess I was the unfortunate one to be in the wrong place at the right time and got run off the beach by the police when out there before beach open hours....lucky me. So how do you guys do it...sneek in like a Black OPS team or what...LOL?!? Mud, maybe we will have to get together...how early can you get up because I get off work at 4:30AM at the Coal Plant in West Olive. I can be in Grand Haven or Holland by around 4:50AM....and more North or South....say Muskegon to South Haven by no later then 5:20AM. So if you say early and know how to get away with it...I'm definitely up for it.

 

[mudpuppy]

Itsaawgood,
Man! I'm just a few miles north of that plant in Spring Lake! And yes, I'm up every day at that time...we could hit Grand Haven in the dark, and be gone by sun up, PM me with your digits, and lets go get some gold!
Mud

 

[Rob in (Ca)]

The V3 is Killer on small Jewelery ...... In Dry sand - Sports Field type hunting, With only 20 hours of hunt time, I already found 3 necklaces without any charm's or cross's attached.


If your not going to do much Land Hunting, Sell the V3 and buy a New Excal II


With the right setup you can successfully land hunt with the Excal, There's a Thread on this in The Excal forum


Good Luck