Excaliber II problem

[Tenderfoot]

I'm hunting with an Excaliber II with a 10" coil in the salt water of st Martin. Recently the unit will not quiet down no matter what settings I've used. I've tried auto and manual discrimination. I've tried adjusting sensitivity no luck. Just swinging the coil makes it sound like there's clad under the coil. If I scrape the sand I get the same tone. If a wave comes even though I'm in waist deep water the coil reacts. I get deep tones like on pull tabs but nothing else. Any suggestions? Could it be the battery pack?

 

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[dewcon4414]

I assume you are using the rubber gasket on the battery pod? Sounds like the coil. Check the bottom to see if there is separation. What happens sometimes is as the lower rod/gasket goes bad we tend to tighten the ears.....which leads to separation on the bottom of the coil. Does it run smooth in the dry and damp sand BEFORE you get it wet? Id say put loctite marine epoxy on the bottom of the coil and teflon tap on those connectors..... BUT once water gets in its a matter of time before its toast.

 

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[Tenderfoot]

Ron how did you know the problem was in the coil? I cleaned all the battery connections thoroughly. Still didn't work. Now a day later it seems to be operating ok. Of coarse it hasn't been in the water yet. I can fedex it to Kelleyco in a day and they said they'd fix it within 2 and FedEx it back. But if the problem in intermittent they may not find it. Think I'll bring it in the water today and see what happens. The wave action on most beaches here really beat you up and make it hard to detect in the water. Still I find lots of pull tabs but no gold yet. Maybe today

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Water Cat (one of my Excal's), was giving me grief. howling and rawring when she wasn't suppose to.
I had cracks in the wiring, minute and hairline, but water was seeping in. She'd go ok for a little while, if I let her sit a few days, it got to where I couldn't stand it, and sent it in(that was up to Ill, I think, before kellyco did cert repairs).
I think it was John, was the tech/repair guy, said he has to rewire it from the coil to the main(it wasn't even 2 yrs old).
Also told me to keep it out of the sun. (It's usually underwater.... hello)

I had to laugh and tell him, this is S. Florida dude, you don't keep NOTHING, out of the sun.
They had evidently had a run of sub-standard cable wiring...... along with re-chargers (a few yrs later).......
Good luck, hope you get to hunt some......

 

[dewcon4414]

IF it starts up again..... slowly dunk you pod to rule that out. Kelleyco can test the coil. I have had a lot of chatter also when my beach moves sand and gets down to more minerals. Thats a good thing to me..... sometimes quiet isnt good mean there is to much clean sand.

Rewireing a coil is not easy, if done right, because the wire isnt something you just disconnect at that ikelite and plug another wire into. They replace and rarely have i heard of ML doing a repair on that cable....... well unless its on the headphone end, then they cut it and reconnect it. Move ive seen crack start at the coil because you have it connected to high up the shaft and you get super fast vibration when moving it thru the water.

 

[Tenderfoot]

Yes I'm using the gasket. I don't see a separation but that doesn't mean it's not there. Could the coil be damaged inside the vinyl covering and so it may not show. The vinyl looks intact. Today I'll determine if it's running ok on the dry sand and if so I'll take it into shallow water. If it still works I'll take it into deep water. Hopefully something will show up that lets me pinpoint the issue. Thanks for the help. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[cudamark]

I could be way off here but check to see if you have any cracks in your coil cable wire insulation jacket. Hard to tell from your description but almost sounds like you may have a bad coil. Hope not!

Yup, when I had those symptoms, it was a bad coil. Put on a 15" WOT and never looked back!

 

[penzfan]

Water in the coil?

That's what my SS issue was. A new coil (lifetime warranty) did the trick...

 

[wecandigit]

Mine too. Sang like a canary at both ends and the middle of a swing.

 

[Tenderfoot]

Now I'm really puzzled. The unit worked perfectly yesterday on dry sand, wet sand, shallow water and deep water. Maybe it was a battery connection that wasn't tightened properly. I'm at a loss. Hope it stays ok. Thanks for the help everyone

 

[dewcon4414]

Thats why i said slowly dunk the pods. Thats another reason i set my pods back about 4" behind my elbow. Unless im neck deep the pods stay out of the water most of the time. Things act differently once you get the equipment in the water..... adding HIGH mineralization and salt water (even the concentration changes) changes everything. If you really have a problem it WONT go away.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

It could be EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference), especially if you are detecting near resorts/military installations/hotels.
Sources of interference often are office equipment, door sensors/openers, hand held walkie talkies by security personnel.
I almost always have a problem at one on the parks that I hunt when the restroom lights are on, which is quite distant from the lagoon
that I detect.

Your sensitivity may be too high for the beach you are hunting and are being overwhelmed by noise from iron in the sand or increased conductivity of salt deposits.

Now I'm really puzzled. The unit worked perfectly yesterday on dry sand, wet sand, shallow water and deep water. Maybe it was a battery connection that wasn't tightened properly. I'm at a loss. Hope it stays ok. Thanks for the help everyone

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Glad you figured it out! Now, go get some gold!

Dewcon, mines underwater all the time, rarely above the water. All I can say, glad it's sealed real good! She gets about 3 baths, after her outings.

Sir Clad, the lightning detectors, at the parks down here, make mine go all wonky. I got one park with a volleyball court, but that stupid lighting detector, lol. I have to time my swings, stop, swing, stop...... It's hard to find stuffs there......
I got a cell tower, messes me up at another park. I still pulled out a big gold fatty, in between all the stopping.

 

[dewcon4414]

I hunt a beach where if the winds and swells are high most of my detectors are chatty near the surf. I get EMI off the power lines, more coil flip cause a loose of GB, and believe it or not SEA WEED. That stuff accumulates trash and black sand... add salt water and it can make a detector false.

 

[frogmaster-riviera]

I hunt a beach where if the winds and swells are high most of my detectors are chatty near the surf. I get EMI off the power lines, more coil flip cause a loose of GB, and believe it or not SEA WEED. That stuff accumulates trash and black sand... add salt water and it can make a detector false.

+1 Most of the time when I have falsy signals it is due to the Dark sand proximity, sensitivity toooooooo high or remaining salt between the skid plate and the coil. Weather, humidity and sand condition may also partially interacts. Clean up everything under the shower and make a simple air test!

 

[Tenderfoot]

It's been working perfectly. Lots of pull tabs. And a couple trinkets including a 925 ring without its stone

 

[Tenderfoot]

Another question- the sand on this beach comes and goes a lot within a few days. When a cut appears do you hunt the cut or the water below it? When the sand comes back do you hunt the new sand or in the water below it?

 

[jyt2017]

It depends. I usually do an s pattern and go up and down the cut and in and out of the water. You go by your results. Pulltabs, canslaw, and light items say more sand moved in. Heavier items probably mean sand was stripped from that area. You can narrow where you hunt when you start hitting heavier deeper targets. Sometimes your lucky and the first to hit a cut. :] hh gl -Joe

Another question- the sand on this beach comes and goes a lot within a few days. When a cut appears do you hunt the cut or the water below it? When the sand comes back do you hunt the new sand or in the water below it?

 

[signal]

Another question- the sand on this beach comes and goes a lot within a few days. When a cut appears do you hunt the cut or the water below it? When the sand comes back do you hunt the new sand or in the water below it?

I generally do not hunt the new sand. If an area is sanded in, then I try to find where the hard pack is, that is, where the sand came from. Many times thats in the water. I would rather hunt the dry sand, then try to hunt sanded in "wet".......