Headphone Conversion **** UPDATED TO SHOW DIRECTIONS ****

[TexasRT]

Did the Peltor (H7A) headphone conversion on my Excal II last night and tried it out this morning, it is a great improvement. As noted here before the ambient noise is drastically reduced, almost completely gone. The tones sound the same but more pronounced, the faint changes in the threshold tone are a lot easier to hear, and as an added bonus the fit and comfort is 100% better than the original yellows. Wore them for 4 hours and never even thought about readjusting them.

I actually came up with a way to do the conversion without cutting ANY of the wires. Looks as good or better as factory and I'm guessing since I didn't cut and splice any wiring then the warranty should not be affected.

HH

 

[TexasRT]

Thanks OBM...

 

[OD_hunt]

Great info guys, thanks Perhaps for some added noise reduction... I would also look into pumping some high density foam into the empty cavity between the shell and the speakers. Carefully though to leave a gap between the back of the speaker and the foam, to make sure the moisture can escape and to leave some room for speaker oscillation/vibration. The foam would have to be water-proof. Just a thought. Enjoy, and thanks for sharing

 

[TexasDigger1]

Good job RTR, they look good. Question, since the original headphones are not very quiet wonder what would happen if spray on insulation would help out? Would it hurt the innards? The Peltors sound like the way to go. HH John

 

[TexasRT]

John - Thanks, not sure about the foam. The other BIG advantage to the Peltors is the comfort and fit. Their extremely better.
Kind of like going from the S shaft on the Excal to the straight shaft, there's no comparison.

HH
Ron

 

[Silver Surfer]

I just ordered a pair... I wanted the H9's due to the bright yellow color, but wasnt sure if they would work due to size, depth, etc... Cant wait to get it done, this afternoon the wind was blowing pretty good, and I couldnt hear squat through the stock (crappy) Excal phones..

 

[Silver Surfer]

I got my Peltors in this mornings mail, so got right at the conversion.... Only took an hour, with the hardest part being the cutting down of the "guts".... A little bit at a time... I was able to make them fit tightly enough that I didnt need the weather stripping, actually used part of the Peltor foam and lined the bottom for some sound insulation...
I also tried something different with the wire... Instead of tie-strapping it to the original Peltor headband, I cut that off and used the aftermarket Excal headband. The velcro straps very nicely hold the wire, and I think there is more "cush" to that band than the stock peltor band... You decide..
I tried them out and man, it sure cuts down on the outside noise, to say the least. Very comfortable too, and I know they wont move around like the crappy stock phones did..
Boy, the tones on my "new" Excal are sure crappy since having it repaired... I laid down an array of items, and silver is no where near the high tone it used to be, pennies do not shriek like before, and the big gold/topaz ring I found a while back sounds exactly the same as a newer bottle cap.. I mean EXACTLY!
It's a real shame too, since before sending the unit in, I could CLEARLY tell a bottle cap.. Then, only the severely corroded (black, crusty) ones would fool me... Now, it looks like I will be digging a lot more crap than before.. I even got "bottle cap" tones yesterday on 2 bobby pins, and 3 of those "snappy" hair pin things.. I shouldnt even be hearing a tone on those, right??
Anyway, any comments or suggestions appreciated...

 

[TexasRT]

I got my Peltors in this mornings mail, so got right at the conversion.... Only took an hour, with the hardest part being the cutting down of the "guts".... A little bit at a time... I was able to make them fit tightly enough that I didnt need the weather stripping, actually used part of the Peltor foam and lined the bottom for some sound insulation...
I also tried something different with the wire... Instead of tie-strapping it to the original Peltor headband, I cut that off and used the aftermarket Excal headband. The velcro straps very nicely hold the wire, and I think there is more "cush" to that band than the stock peltor band... You decide..
I tried them out and man, it sure cuts down on the outside noise, to say the least. Very comfortable too, and I know they wont move around like the crappy stock phones did..
Boy, the tones on my "new" Excal are sure crappy since having it repaired... I laid down an array of items, and silver is no where near the high tone it used to be, pennies do not shriek like before, and the big gold/topaz ring I found a while back sounds exactly the same as a newer bottle cap.. I mean EXACTLY!
It's a real shame too, since before sending the unit in, I could CLEARLY tell a bottle cap.. Then, only the severely corroded (black, crusty) ones would fool me... Now, it looks like I will be digging a lot more crap than before.. I even got "bottle cap" tones yesterday on 2 bobby pins, and 3 of those "snappy" hair pin things.. I shouldnt even be hearing a tone on those, right??
Anyway, any comments or suggestions appreciated...

Very nice.

 

[Silver Surfer]

I got my Peltors in this mornings mail, so got right at the conversion.... Only took an hour, with the hardest part being the cutting down of the "guts".... A little bit at a time... I was able to make them fit tightly enough that I didnt need the weather stripping, actually used part of the Peltor foam and lined the bottom for some sound insulation...
I also tried something different with the wire... Instead of tie-strapping it to the original Peltor headband, I cut that off and used the aftermarket Excal headband. The velcro straps very nicely hold the wire, and I think there is more "cush" to that band than the stock peltor band... You decide..
I tried them out and man, it sure cuts down on the outside noise, to say the least. Very comfortable too, and I know they wont move around like the crappy stock phones did..
Boy, the tones on my "new" Excal are sure crappy since having it repaired... I laid down an array of items, and silver is no where near the high tone it used to be, pennies do not shriek like before, and the big gold/topaz ring I found a while back sounds exactly the same as a newer bottle cap.. I mean EXACTLY!
It's a real shame too, since before sending the unit in, I could CLEARLY tell a bottle cap.. Then, only the severely corroded (black, crusty) ones would fool me... Now, it looks like I will be digging a lot more crap than before.. I even got "bottle cap" tones yesterday on 2 bobby pins, and 3 of those "snappy" hair pin things.. I shouldnt even be hearing a tone on those, right??
Anyway, any comments or suggestions appreciated...

Very nice.

Thanks to you.....

 

[Silver Surfer]

After using these a few times, I must say that EVERYONE who owns an Excal should do this.... Very easy to do, and the sound difference is amazing.. And they are so comfortable, even after 5 hrs of detecting yesterday with sunglasses on, my head did not hurt (usually do where the temples of the sunglasses are), and MOST of all, having a pad instead of a black plastic frame on top of my head, there was absolutely no heat transfer. I have actually gotten burns on my head from the black hard plastic headphone band being on my head for hours in the hot florida sun. No more!