Whites Dual Field Mod

[Slimpickins]

My Equinox 800 coil is not working properly so I need to find some gold to buy a new one. So I got creative and fixed the buoyant coil on my Dual Field. I cut two 13” lengths of 1 1/4” OD plastic tubing. I filled each tube with stone dust because it is heavier than sand. 1” PVC cap fits quite snug. I compacted the stone dust with a ratchet handle making sure the were no air pockets. I wrapped electrical tape to the end caps to make sure they don’t fall off. Each tube weighs 1.2 lbs. now the coil is negative buoyant. It is very easy to swing underwater with no drag. I improved that horrible S-Shaft by attaching a 4 1/2” length of 5/8” PVC on top of the shaft held in place by three 32/57mm hose clamps and a lot of black electrical tape. Wow! What a difference and when I grasp it, my fingers fit perfectly between the hose clamps on the bottom of the grip. The only thing left to do is try to find some right angle plastic to make a reinforcement for the coil ears. It could be held in place with epoxy if the coil bolt is long enough. I took someone’s advice and zip tied the control box latches together just in case. When I’m done with it for the season, I’ll remove the batteries and put some silica paks inside the battery compartment.

 

[CASPER-2]

they used to make a coil shaped weight that went on top yrs ago

 

[Slimpickins]

I think I purchased that in 2005 and I asked about the floating coil issue on the Whites Forum. The Administrator suggested that I fill a sock with sand and attach it to the coil. This mod solved that issue quite nicely. I wish I could send it somewhere to have a battery similar to the Equinox with a magnetic charging port so I wouldn’t have to open the control box. That would be awesome

 

[OBN]

I think I purchased that in 2005 and I asked about the floating coil issue on the Whites Forum. The Administrator suggested that I fill a sock with sand and attach it to the coil. This mod solved that issue quite nicely. I wish I could send it somewhere to have a battery similar to the Equinox with a magnetic charging port so I wouldn’t have to open the control box. That would be awesome

Idea for you.. Sand Swinger now has this DF

 

[WaterWalker]

I use a stainless steel rod to slide down inside the lower shaft. Worked for me!

 

[Sand Swinger]

As OBN mentioned, I now have an external Excal battery pod on my Dual Field and I'm loving it. I really don't like the idea of having to open the control box to change or remove batteries to charge, as any time you remove the lid and break the waterproof seal, that's just asking for trouble IMO with leaking due to the O ring.

Thanks to a recommendation on another forum from Surf Master, I picked up an Anderson Travel Straight Shaft on sale at 26% off from Serious Detecting for $113.00, after a discount window popped up, also got free shipping. This straight shaft is specifically for the Dual Field or Beach Hunter 300 and breaks down in 1/2 for travel. There's 2 mounting locations for the control box, one in between the arm cuff and grip, the other behind the arm cuff, as Anderson extended the shaft to allow behind cuff mounting. Both locations have push button clips that fit the mounting holes on the control box and also the Excal battery pod.

To give the detector better balance, I have the control box mounted behind the arm cuff, to provide extra weight in the rear to offset the weight of the coil. The battery pod was mounted in between the arm cuff and grip. The balance now is absolutely perfect, swinging the detector is as close to effortless as one can get, and it doesn't tire out my arm.