lidigger
Full Member
- Sep 4, 2010
- 155
- 3
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Excalibur, White's BeachHunter 300, White's Prizm IV, White's Bullseye II Pointer (x2)
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Hi All,
I've been posting lately about issues that I have been having with my Excalibur. Today it became official that I have a problem with my Excalibur. Let me give you a bit of background and then y'all can help me decide what I need to do.
I purchased my Excalibur about 2-3 weeks ago. I used it once on the beach and once in ankle-high water and finally today in waist-high water. The Excalibur that I bought was used and it was the first Excalibur made, which was serialized and has the horseshoe-shaped coil. Most everyone has told me that this is the Excalibur to have due to the horseshoe coil being able to get reel deep.
(BTW, I took the Excalibur to our monthly meeting the other day and I had quite a few members drooling over it, not only for the fact that it was an Excalibur, put also for the fact that it was in such good condition and had the original coil).
Although used, this Excalibur looks like new. From what I understand the gentleman who had it previously only used it a few times and had to retire from metal detecting - (I know, a good story for a salesman to tell an anxious buyer). Although, I have heard the story a few times at this point from people in my local club who knew the previous owner. When the store first got it they tested it out, put it under water to see if it had any leaks, cleaned it and ordered a new battery pack.
The first time I was out on the beach, I found quite a few targets - nothing amazing, but at least I was finding everything I targeted. The second time out, I was unable to control my threshold and eventually could not adjust it at all. It remained constant, was a bit loud and caused me to loose a good amount of hearing for a few days. (That was only a few days ago). Everyone, (including myself), expected that the batteries were in need of charging. I charged them for about 20 hours and went out again today.
Today I was in the water about waist-high and I found my first target within two minutes or less. (It turns out that it may be half of a gold bracelet, although that's not what I am writing about). Shortly after, my Excalibur started acting up. I was getting very warbly (?) signals. Everything was very inconsistent. Once again it was hard to adjust the threshold. Nothing seemed to work. I finally got myself out of the water and called it the day with the Excalibur. (Thankfully I had a Prizm IV that I used for beach hunting so the day was not a total loss).
Anyway, a friend of mine from the club was with me. He's been MD'ing for 17 years and he took a look at the Excalibur. He pointed out that there was condensation inside the machine. There also seems to be a small bit of sand inside as well, (although that was not from today, I had seen it). He thinks that it may have a leak, and even if it is not a major leak, condensation is getting in.
I let the Excalibur sit in the car for a few hours as I used the Prizm. Later in the day my daughter came down to the beach and I let her use the Prizm and I gave the Excalibur a shot again strictly on the beach. I found two worthless targets right off the bat, but then it started acting up again.
The times that the Excalibur has worked thrill me as it finds everything and is a no-brainer to use. I do (now) have the settings correct as recommended by nearly everyone who has the Excalibur. This is definitely a machine-related error and not user-error here.
So here are some questions for me to ponder.
1) Do I bite the bullet and put more money into this Excalibur to have it repaired, since it is the one with the horseshoe coil and I hate to lose it? (I paid $750 + tax for it and then bought a coil cover and a new set of knobs).
2) Do I go back to the store I bought it from, return it and use the money to buy a White's water detector if they do not refund my money and just give me store credit? (They are a White's dealer and not Minelab).
3) Do I get a refund and put in additional money and buy a new Excalibur? (I need a water and beach detector and plan to start diving again with whatever I have next spring).
4) What would you do? I am cash-shy these days and have put way more money into metal detecting than I ever thought I would at this stage. Of course now that I am using a better machine, I do not want to step down. If I have to get my $750 + tax back (I lose the money for the coil cover and new set of knobs), do I just put in an additional $200-300 and get something new?
Help, I am getting so frustrated with my new hobby.
Chris Jett / LI Digger
I've been posting lately about issues that I have been having with my Excalibur. Today it became official that I have a problem with my Excalibur. Let me give you a bit of background and then y'all can help me decide what I need to do.
I purchased my Excalibur about 2-3 weeks ago. I used it once on the beach and once in ankle-high water and finally today in waist-high water. The Excalibur that I bought was used and it was the first Excalibur made, which was serialized and has the horseshoe-shaped coil. Most everyone has told me that this is the Excalibur to have due to the horseshoe coil being able to get reel deep.
(BTW, I took the Excalibur to our monthly meeting the other day and I had quite a few members drooling over it, not only for the fact that it was an Excalibur, put also for the fact that it was in such good condition and had the original coil).
Although used, this Excalibur looks like new. From what I understand the gentleman who had it previously only used it a few times and had to retire from metal detecting - (I know, a good story for a salesman to tell an anxious buyer). Although, I have heard the story a few times at this point from people in my local club who knew the previous owner. When the store first got it they tested it out, put it under water to see if it had any leaks, cleaned it and ordered a new battery pack.
The first time I was out on the beach, I found quite a few targets - nothing amazing, but at least I was finding everything I targeted. The second time out, I was unable to control my threshold and eventually could not adjust it at all. It remained constant, was a bit loud and caused me to loose a good amount of hearing for a few days. (That was only a few days ago). Everyone, (including myself), expected that the batteries were in need of charging. I charged them for about 20 hours and went out again today.
Today I was in the water about waist-high and I found my first target within two minutes or less. (It turns out that it may be half of a gold bracelet, although that's not what I am writing about). Shortly after, my Excalibur started acting up. I was getting very warbly (?) signals. Everything was very inconsistent. Once again it was hard to adjust the threshold. Nothing seemed to work. I finally got myself out of the water and called it the day with the Excalibur. (Thankfully I had a Prizm IV that I used for beach hunting so the day was not a total loss).
Anyway, a friend of mine from the club was with me. He's been MD'ing for 17 years and he took a look at the Excalibur. He pointed out that there was condensation inside the machine. There also seems to be a small bit of sand inside as well, (although that was not from today, I had seen it). He thinks that it may have a leak, and even if it is not a major leak, condensation is getting in.
I let the Excalibur sit in the car for a few hours as I used the Prizm. Later in the day my daughter came down to the beach and I let her use the Prizm and I gave the Excalibur a shot again strictly on the beach. I found two worthless targets right off the bat, but then it started acting up again.
The times that the Excalibur has worked thrill me as it finds everything and is a no-brainer to use. I do (now) have the settings correct as recommended by nearly everyone who has the Excalibur. This is definitely a machine-related error and not user-error here.
So here are some questions for me to ponder.
1) Do I bite the bullet and put more money into this Excalibur to have it repaired, since it is the one with the horseshoe coil and I hate to lose it? (I paid $750 + tax for it and then bought a coil cover and a new set of knobs).
2) Do I go back to the store I bought it from, return it and use the money to buy a White's water detector if they do not refund my money and just give me store credit? (They are a White's dealer and not Minelab).
3) Do I get a refund and put in additional money and buy a new Excalibur? (I need a water and beach detector and plan to start diving again with whatever I have next spring).
4) What would you do? I am cash-shy these days and have put way more money into metal detecting than I ever thought I would at this stage. Of course now that I am using a better machine, I do not want to step down. If I have to get my $750 + tax back (I lose the money for the coil cover and new set of knobs), do I just put in an additional $200-300 and get something new?
Help, I am getting so frustrated with my new hobby.
Chris Jett / LI Digger
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