Minelab Excalibur II - tips and tricks

[Kamil]

Hi All,

(perhaps this will help others if it's consolidated into one thread)

I just purchased a brand new excalibur II which is my first water machine and will be used in salt water. I noticed tons of threads about various tips and tricks for this detector but it's too hard to keep track.

Can someone kindly list anything that I should be doing to this machine prior to taking it in the water?

1. I read about a special grease that you guys put on somewhere. Can you elaborate please?
2. Any modifications to the cord of the headset? I've noticed that some people are breaking the cords.
3. Any special accessories that are necessary? I only purchased the detector with the 10 inch coil but see people changing knobs.
4. Anything else that I should know about?

Thank you all.
Kamil

 

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[Smudge]

Kamil,

I am not an expert on the Excal but I have used one. I can't answer all your questions, but...

2. There are no modifications you can make to the cord of the headset without voiding your warranty. As long as your machine is covered by the warranty, if the cord breaks, Minelab with fix it. Eventually. 8)

3. The knobs of the Excal were known to break off for some odd reason and people were buying replacements. I don't know if that's still a problem or not. You cannot replace the coil on the Excal without voiding the warranty. It is hardwired to unit, as I'm sure you have noticed. Once it is out of warranty, you can put any after market coil on it you wish.

4. The accessories many people prefer are 1) an after market straight shaft, like the Anderson straight shaft; and 2) a hip mount kit to you can mount the control box on your side and get it off the shaft, thereby cutting down on the weight.

 

[Sandman]

I will try to refrain from telling you that most of us have spent years paying our dues to learn what to do and what to avoid to increase our finds.
If you were a Charter Member you could do a search on the Excal and jot down the tips. I'll give you one. The grease we talk about is Silicone Grease applied to the threads of the battery connector and the washer but not on the prongs of the plug. This silicone stops the chattering when the connector gets wet.
http://web.archive.org/web/20090406063943/http://thegoldenolde.com/ Another freebie.

 

[steve from ohio]

The very first thing to do is to get a straight shaft or a chest mount. Some really like the chest mount but I prefer a straight shaft. Just my preference. The straight shaft will improve the Excalibur more than any other modification. Do this first. The factory S shaft is just so bad that it begs to be replaced. I prefer the shaft that puts the control & battery pods behind the elbow. The balance is way better than the under the arm type straight shafts at least for me. I mount my control pod so the headphone cable is pointing towards the ground. That makes getting to the pin point / discriminate switch easier.

I also recommend getting the larger 1600 mah NIMH battery available on the Bay. I switched out the factory battery and the new battery last over twice as long. It's like having two battery pods.

Once you get used to the Excalibur, you might want to either switch out the headphones or modify the headphones with a better quality muff. I got rid of the yellow Koss phones and use waterproof ear buds inside Peltor Optime 98 ear muffs. Way better sound and I am able to concentrate on the sounds the Excalibur makes better because I can't hear anything else. Some like adding Grey Ghost or other phones but I prefer the ear buds and muffs.

You may also want to add a knob guard. Dropping the Excalibur can damage the knobs so a knob guard is cheap insurance against damage.

I am planning on doing the Mel Parker / OldBeechnut remote pin point / discriminate switch. Turning that knob back and forth is a real pain and that modification I hear, makes using the Excalibur way easier and more fun.

Changing out the coil is a modification that some do. I have a WOT on my Excalibur and I find I can really cover some large areas with it. It just suits my style of hunting. Some prefer keeping the factory coil. Some prefer the 8 inch and some prefer the 10 when it comes to factory coils.

And finally, what I am planning on adding, is Doc's treasure amp. From what I hear, it really makes the deep targets stand out and is great for dry and wet sand to knee deep hunting. Not too good for in the water but great for dry land, dry and wet sand.

After using the Excalibur, make sure you wash it off with fresh water. I just spray mine with a hose or if at a salt water beach, I carry a couple of 2 liter bottles of water with me to wash off the detector right away if a shower is not available. That salt water will corrode anything made of metal and getting it off your detector is important.

As far as using it, I recommend hunting in pin point mode if the beach is fairly clean of trash. I agree with Joe (OldBeechnut) and a few others that pin point gives a bit more depth but it does take some getting used to. Watch some of OldBeechnut's videos and you will see what I mean.

Finally, get a good long handled scoop. I like aluminum as it is light weight. I have a stainless steel lip on mine for better digging. It seems that stainless slips into the ground a bit better. There are some very light and excellent all stainless steel scoops available. Scoops are like Ford vs Chevy. You may need to try a few before you find the right one.

That's about it. Oh yeah........Have fun!

 

[extractor]

 

[Kamil]

wow, this is a good thread. You guys are awesome

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Sandman is correct, if you become a Charter Member you can use the search feature and find hundreds of pages about various mods that can be done on different detectors as well as scoops and all sorts of other accessories for detecting.. I constantly use the search feature...

I have done several mods on my Excals including replacing the coils with larger coils giving me more depth and coverage, changed the headphones to better headphones, made straight shafts for it and replaced the knobs....One of the best things you can do is change the knobs to the Anderson knobs, they are larger, easier to turn when your hands are wet and they last a lot longer than the stock knobs....

Give serious consideration to becoming a CM and help support the best Treasure website on the net...

 

[s.c.shooter]

Sandman, where can i get this grease ?

 

[maipenrai]

Just received my new Excal and here is a quote from the instruction manual.

"Taking care of your battery. As part of the manufacturing process, Minelab applies a silicone grease to the battery cable connector pins. This prevents a build-up of residual water and reduces the level of electrolysis between the two pins, which in turn prolongs the serviceability of your unit. This grease should be reapplied as part of your routine care and maintenance."

If you just purchased your Excal, didnt you read the instruction manual? Much easier to read the manual, then you will know, every time you read it, you will see something you missed. Also it mentions about doing your own "improvements", which means..... dont play around with it!

 

[OBN]

Also it mentions about doing your own "improvements", which means..... dont play around with it!

improvements? The only way to beat out the competition .......Plus a lot of the older excaliburs are getting a little ruff looking, sooo

 

[maipenrai]

The "improvements that I was referring to, is playing around with a new detector, with a one year warranty, which will be void if you start cutting headset wires, or putting grease "somewhere". That is why they give you an instruction manual.

As far as factory improvements go, I would be happy if you could see if the battery is charging or not, and is it fully charged. Big bummer to hit the beach with 5 min worth of charge, of course should have taken my spare battery pack. I'm sure it will take some time to learn all the tricks of this machine, and there are many extras that will need to be bought or made, but I think its better to use the machine for a while, before "improving" it.

 

[OBN]

Yes I do agree 100%, The excalibur II is one Amazing detector and with some research and time it will pay for itself in no time..Congrads on your new machine!!...joe

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Great tips here guys! Keep them coming!

 

[maipenrai]

Well, just finished the first hunt with my new Excal: After 4 hrs, not much to show for it, 56 Baht, ($1.50) and a junk ring. Conditions were not so good, hard wind and no low tide today, so I didnt really expect much. I guess I dug a lot less holes, for the same amount of money, but.....surprisingly how heavy the machine was, but of course that goes with being water proof, and 10" coil. It will take time to learn what all the sounds mean, but thats to be expected also.

I was very surprised with the headphones, they were terrible, either my ears are too small, or my neck is too long! The cord is too short, and pulls the phones off to the side, and the adjustment does not hold at all, so most of my time was trying to make them stay on my head. Not easy to hold the detector, scoop and trying to keep the earphones on at the same time. I hate to think what my first dive with them will be like. It will take some tape or silicon to do the fix.

Another sore point was the silly knobs. They are just too smooth and slippery. I have heard that people have changed them for better, but is it so hard to have a good knob, right from the factory? I cant see paying top dollar for a detector, then have to FIX it. I actually thought that after seeing people complaining about these two things, that the new detector would be improved, but all I can see is a different colour decal, what a shame.

These are big problems that can be fixed at the factory for hardly any money.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

The "improvements that I was referring to, is playing around with a new detector, with a one year warranty, which will be void if you start cutting headset wires, or putting grease "somewhere". That is why they give you an instruction manual.

As far as factory improvements go, I would be happy if you could see if the battery is charging or not, and is it fully charged. Big bummer to hit the beach with 5 min worth of charge, of course should have taken my spare battery pack. I'm sure it will take some time to learn all the tricks of this machine, and there are many extras that will need to be bought or made, but I think its better to use the machine for a while, before "improving" it.

If you cut the headset or coil cable it will void the warranty as will spraying the coil cover with bed liner, your NOT going to void the warranty by putting silicone grease on the rubber gasget, or threads on the connector for the battery connector cap...

 

[maipenrai]

Your right about the silicon grease, it doesnt void the warranty, but seemed he had no idea what to do with it. There are places that it doesnt go, but thats what the instruction manual is for.

After the second day of trying my Excal, I too have a lot of "improvements" I would like to make, but will take the time to see if it is the detector or me that needs the improvements. I am still reading the manual over and over, maybe its me that is "falsing"

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Your right about the silicon grease, it doesnt void the warranty, but seemed he had no idea what to do with it. There are places that it doesnt go, but thats what the instruction manual is for.

After the second day of trying my Excal, I too have a lot of "improvements" I would like to make, but will take the time to see if it is the detector or me that needs the improvements. I am still reading the manual over and over, maybe its me that is "falsing"

Not sure what you mean by falsing, a onr time signal that disappears that is not repeatable or a signal you get that is repeatable but you can't find the target.

The excal has to be tuned to each beach, composition of beach sand and and salt content varies from beach to beach. Settings that work on one beach may not work on the next beach, or the same beach a hundred yards down the beach.

Most likely what your experiencing is the falsing from the content of minerals in the salt water, or from the surf rolling in... I don't know your experience with water detecting or with Excals so hard to say with out more information and don't mean to seem like I am insulting you...... I do know many times new water hunters or owners of the excal think it is okay to run it in auto all the time or always use the same settings and expect it to be quiet and stable no matter what the soil and water conditions are and it is just not that way...

 

[maipenrai]

Thanks for your reply. No, I dont have experience with the Excal, because its only two days old. It worked well on the first day I was on the beach, but the second day, at the very same beach, same conditions, after an hour or so, it just gave random signals. I was mostly in the wet area of the beach, and of course in the surf, its going to give erratic signals, but once these signals started, it didnt help to change areas or change the dis or any other adjustments. At my test garden at home, it couldnt pick out the gold from the brass anymore, just lots of chatter.

Took the skid plate off, washed the coil, and no improvement. Only after charging the battery for 6 more hours, did it seem to work ok, but didnt take it outside to give it a real test. I will use the spare battery pod next time, to see if that works better.

Since these Excal's, that were sold in Thailand, had charging problems before, supposedly, minelab did extra test on this shipment, to make sure there were no problems. It could be other problems also, and as I mentioned, It could be ME! But im guessing, it has something to do with the battery.

 

[stevemc]

maipenrai, what might be happening is several things, the first might be a battery going dead. I leave mine plugged in all night when going out the next day. The other, is water inside the battery screw on connector. If so, clean it out real good, dry it off, and get some silicone grease-at a dive shop, or pool store. It is used for O ring lube, and you need to grease the rubber gasket and threads with the grease so it doesnt get in there. I would get a large tube of it. I have had that happen and it drove me crazy. These guys (ole Beechnut, Treasure Hunter etc) told me about that and sure enough, there was just a tiny drop of water in there. I fixed it and end of problem. All water detectors will false in the sand where the waves wash up, when the wave washes over the coil. If they dont, they arent sensitive enough to find gold. I know my PIs will do it, and I can make it stop or not so bad by slowing down the pulse rate, but then I cant find deep gold. My Excal does it too.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

maipenrai, what might be happening is several things, the first might be a battery going dead. I leave mine plugged in all night when going out the next day. The other, is water inside the battery screw on connector. If so, clean it out real good, dry it off, and get some silicone grease-at a dive shop, or pool store. It is used for O ring lube, and you need to grease the rubber gasket and threads with the grease so it doesnt get in there. I would get a large tube of it. I have had that happen and it drove me crazy. These guys (ole Beechnut, Treasure Hunter etc) told me about that and sure enough, there was just a tiny drop of water in there. I fixed it and end of problem. All water detectors will false in the sand where the waves wash up, when the wave washes over the coil. If they dont, they arent sensitive enough to find gold. I know my PIs will do it, and I can make it stop or not so bad by slowing down the pulse rate, but then I cant find deep gold. My Excal does it too.

Steve is correct about the silicone grease.....Also, how long are you charging your battery? In your reply you said "after charging it for 6 more hours"... The stock Excal II battery needs longer than 6 hours to recharge....Just like Steve I charge mine over night for at least 12 hours, my Excal with the Lithnum battery will last longer then my stock battery, but I charge them both over night.....

When the battery reaches the point where the voltage is approching the mininum required for Excal to function properly it will give you a random signal, but the signal will not be repeatable on a resweep and the frequency of this random signal increases as the battery drains more, it will quickly become unstable from that point on. This could be what you are experiencing....