An Interesting Excalibur Question

[fsa46]

With all the Excalibur posts about problems with the Excalibur ( and most are the same type of problems ) I would like to know how many Excalibur owners never had a problem with their Excalibur and how long have you had it ?

Don't be bashful now, we want to hear from all you Excalibur owners, especially those members that never or rarely post. Your input is appreciated...."Thanks".

 

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[RustyGold]

What I find significant, is that the failure in your search oil was at the edge of the coil where it is thin and most likely brittle having been used for ten years. If you carefully inspect the bottom of the search coil it is noticeably thicker and softer, which is not surprising as I have yet to see a coil failure at/near the middle of the search coil.

If my observation is true for most reported failures, this is important as a more protective bumper and thin skid could be used which trap far less sand and still would provide adequate protection of the search coil. This more open protective cover would significantly increase performance as there would be less noise from sand even if it built up as the belly of the coil is open. Since it does not require as much protection.

Further, it would increase reliability, if what I observed is true in that many of the cable failures are induced when the cable is inadvertantly pushed against the sand while trying to remove the trapped sand, especially when using a long straight shaft such as the Anderson Tall Man.

When the control pod is mounted on an extended shaft the normal way with the headphone cable up, you can expect numerous failures with headphones.

When the control pod is mounted on an extended shaft with the head phone wires pointed down, so the head phones would not be jerked off your head when drop kneeing to scoop up a target, you can expected increased failure rates in the battery cable and the search coil cable as they will be pushed into the ground while cleaning the protective cover.

That is unless you are extremely careful or use a stand, to prevent the cables from being pushed against the ground when cleaning the coil cover.

That is why I made a PVC stand to do the maintenance and cleaning on. The stand is glued where it matters and left unglued at points I want to twist so the stand folds flat to hang on shop wall. Also, being all plastic the stand doesn't effect the detectors when air testing!

 

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[bigscoop]

I don't know guys. I have been considering the purchase of an Excal, but with all the repair issues I'm reading about lately it's got me thinking. I've also read on Tom Dankowski's forum where the Excal is really at it's best in nothing deeper than thigh deep salt water. This is supposedly due to the fact that the coil begins to read the conductivity of the salt water ABOVE the coil and actually cancels out deeper signals BELOW the coil. That being said, I wonder if I'm not better off just using my SovGT up to thigh deep salt and the Sand Shark in deeper water.

Any thoughts? Thanks

This is true, the field is both below and above the coil and the more meneralization you introduce into the filed the more unstable that field can become. But at the same time it also becomes an environmental issue, i.e., stable environments present less of a problem, such as calm water environments VS surf/currents etc. The key is that the environment within the search field needs to remain stable.

 

[bikerlawyer]

I have had mine about 6 years. Use it mostly on the beach. Cable to battery went bad, sent to Chicago to fix. They tell me the coil is bad, split and leaking, won't pass pressure test. I got it back and epoxied it where it split. Went to use it last week the rubber coating on the wire going to the coil went bad, I mean real bad, falling to pieces as though it was a chemical failure. Wire to the headphones is fine. Taped it up and not sure what to do with it now.

 

[bikerlawyer]

I forgot the knobs fell off shortly after I got it, they sent me new ones that fell off again. Overall not real happy with the ruggedness of the machine, I don't see how it would ever hold up in harsh underwater conditions.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I have had mine about 6 years. Use it mostly on the beach. Cable to battery went bad, sent to Chicago to fix. They tell me the coil is bad, split and leaking, won't pass pressure test. I got it back and epoxied it where it split. Went to use it last week the rubber coating on the wire going to the coil went bad, I mean real bad, falling to pieces as though it was a chemical failure. Wire to the headphones is fine. Taped it up and not sure what to do with it now.

Call Barry at Kellyco Minelab Repair Center...

 

[Vikingblood]

Just found out the hard walk that the alkaline pack can't be submerged. Now I can't get a steady threshold. Agghhh!!

 

[Vikingblood]

Not to mention the frayed insulation over the coil wire, hey I electrical taped it and shrunk wrapped it. Or maybe it was the day I left it in the car all day and it was over ninety degrees that day. Anyway, after i went in neck deep water for a few hours it started acting crazy. I miss it already. It's a good excuse to get the ten inch coil now.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

You can submerge the AA back I do mine, but you can't dive with it. Be sure you put silicone lube on the rubber gasket......

Check your battery case for hairline fractures, I bet that is where it leaked from...

 

[bigscoop]

I only use AA packs and I drown mine all the time with no problems.