Excalibur II hip-mount setup

[Quix Ten]

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be buying an Excalibur II very soon and plan on getting the hipmount kit (and I'm assuming a straight shaft as well... people seem adamant about that being a good thing.)

My question is this: Does anyone have a photo of their complete setup? I've heard people say that they attach the rod/coil to themselves with a bungie cord or whatever and then just let it go while they are scooping, but I'd really like to see a photo of this kind of setup. I don't want to stand a chance of screwing up my coil wire or anything like that.

Thanks!

 

[Sandman]

I hang my controls from my neck and run the cable down the left side of the shaft starting at the handle and taping it every few inches down to the coil with more loop at the coil to allow some flexing. The Bungee cord that is mentioned is just fastened to the belt and the arm rest of the shaft so that when you let go of it, it doesn't pull on the wire cable.

Many like the straight shaft, but I don't for one reason. You must insert your arm in the arm cuff each time you use it and pull it out to use the scoop if you need both hands. This slows me down enough where it bothers me. Maybe I am easily bothered, but I don't like to waste time playing games with my equipment when I could be sweeping for another goodie. Also the straight has all the weight on your arm. Once you try the straight shaft you can use what ever feels right for you and change when ever you want to.

I am on another laptop now so I don't have a pic of my neck rig but it is very easy to make with a lenght of 1 inch tubing with 3 holes for the ears and attach it with bolts & wing nuts. Add a harness for your neck and your all set.

 

[gravediggermax-vabeachva]

no bungie for me

back mounted on dive belt or 90% of the time chest mounted

 

[Quix Ten]

Interesting comments and photos. Gravedigger, is your handle/coil not connected to you by anything other than the cable? Do you hold it all the time or do you let it loose in the water when trying to recover something?

Sandman, what sort of tape are you using? Also, I'm not sure I understand why having a straight shaft would necessitate the arm cuff but a bent shaft wouldn't.

Thanks so much for your help, guys. I really appreciate it.

 

[GuerillaBill]

Based on the advice given here, I built a hip mount for my Excalibur II, for less than $10.00.

I went to Lowes and bought a black nylon tool belt - $6.00. I also bought three 2.5 plastic bolts, three plastic wing nuts, 6 plastic washers.

I punched three holes in the nylon tool belt so they lined up with the Excalibur mounting holes. Then used a lighter to heat the holes so they wouldn't fray.

Then I put a washer on a bolt, pushed it through the belt and then the excalibur, added a washer and wing nut. Did that for all three holes.

Then adusted the belt to fit, and all was complete.

Took about 20 minutes.

See photo below.

I've been using this for about six weeks now, and it has worked out quite well. No problems.

Bill

 

[gravediggermax-vabeachva]

u are not done yet

U MUST NOW ADD A SAFETY GIZMO FOR YOUR COIL WIRE

u need some that will pull tight before u actually pull on the coil wire itselt - if u notice the picture with just the excal mounted on belt......................u will see this fellow used a cable wrap and made a twist and that is to take up the pull when u drop my accident your detector - SEE SAFETY CLIP

U DO NOT WANT ANYTHING TO PULL ON THE COIL WIRE WHERE IT COMES OUT OF THE EXCAL.

i use a piece of string

whatever u use or however u decide to do it - DO IT SOOOOOON

now if u plan on wooking in the big waves - they will knock u over and rip off your headphones - i even add a safety string on them - and u need to add some tape over the earmuffs, the waves will rip them off as well - minelab has flawed again on this feature - cheap deal.

good luck - u will love the hip mount deal

 

[North Florida Beach Hunter]

Good thinking. Way to go GuerillaBill! Thats a nice cheap setup. My Excalibur 1000 II will be here Tuesday!

P.S. Thanks to all of the posters on this forum who helped me decide on the Excal!!!!!

 

[-Jones-]

Good leads about the hip or chest mount

But I guess to each his own

I detect beach & surf in a speedo or running shorts & crocs. Being practically naked, I perfer to not have straps, buckles, belts, and other paraphernalia danglin from me. IMO, it's a good work out to swing a weighted shaft for hours at a time

Then again, if you don't jog miles each week and don't exercise your pectoralis, trapezius, rhomboids, posterior deltoids, real deltoids, triceps, latissimus dorsi, biceps, pectorallis major, so on and so forth, swingin a loaded shaft for hours would be hard work

 

[FloridaBill]

I am with you Jones, these are some real neat setups but I have the Anderson straight shaft and I can hunt from morning to night in the water with it no problem. I also like simple....

And I leave my arm in the cuff and have the scoop in my left hand and dig that way, the only time I have to take my hand out is if I am hunting a muddy area and the mud gets caked in the scoop and I need my other hand to swish it around.

 

[-Jones-]

I am with you Jones, these are some real neat setups but I have the Anderson straight shaft and I can hunt from morning to night in the water with it no problem. I also like simple....

And I leave my arm in the cuff and have the scoop in my left hand and dig that way, the only time I have to take my hand out is if I am hunting a muddy area and the mud gets caked in the scoop and I need my other hand to swish it around.

hey bill,

I do need to quality my response, I do wear a hip-mounted find bag. It's straped around my waist, has a strap around the leg above the knee, a holy nylon mesh on the bot, and a velcro closure at the top

I too use a straight shaft

 

[GuerillaBill]

Thanks for the reply.

I do have an anderson straight shaft, but find that the hip mounted controls with the regular shaft works better for me.

Plus I found that the extra length of the straight makes it difficult to carry the detector in my SUV. Just too long to fit anywhere unless I break the detector down first. And usually, after a day of detecting, the last thing I want to do is to spend time taking the detector apart.

With the hip mount, I just wash the detector at the beach shower station, then unbelt and place the detector wand and belt (and scoop) in the back of the SUV, and drive away.

Bill

 

[Quix Ten]

Guys, this is all GREAT info, and very helpful. It's exactly the sort of thing that I was looking for. I'm really excited to get out in the water (less than two weeks and counting). I can't wait to dig a bunch of WET pulltabs :-)

If I manage to come home with anything that resembles a keeper I'll be happy.

I may borrow a friend's pool to test out the setup before I hit the surf. It won't be the same, of course, but hopefully I can get a feel for how everything works.

 

[bocaratonmatt78]

Based on the advice given here, I built a hip mount for my Excalibur II, for less than $10.00.

I went to Lowes and bought a black nylon tool belt - $6.00. I also bought three 2.5 plastic bolts, three plastic wing nuts, 6 plastic washers.

I punched three holes in the nylon tool belt so they lined up with the Excalibur mounting holes. Then used a lighter to heat the holes so they wouldn't fray.

Then I put a washer on a bolt, pushed it through the belt and then the excalibur, added a washer and wing nut. Did that for all three holes.

Then adusted the belt to fit, and all was complete.

Took about 20 minutes.

See photo below.

I've been using this for about six weeks now, and it has worked out quite well. No problems.

Bill

Great solution to spending $60 online. Thanx for the post :-)

 

[timmysys]

Great post, from start to finish!