Big Boys Hobbies

Finaly got the Excalibur II

HEM

HEM

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Jul 12, 2006
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MAURITIUS ISLAND
Hi Everyone,

I finally got the long waiting Excalibur II, I got mine from Ireland and I recommend all foreign members living in remote location like me to deal directly with manufacturers to obtain the best deal.

I go the detector before Christmas, shipping was expensive as I thought, I paid a total of $1640 ($1480 for the detector and $165 for DHL shipping) according to a broker here I could have save much more on shipping by asking Minelab to send the detector by normal courier... I will definitely try this next time.

So I went through a thorough examination of the detector,

The detector looks nice overall, very heavy to swing, definitely need a straight shaft (under elbow type Plugger, Anderson Rod or DIY type :), with HAND straps! ).

The headphone: I was surprise to see that the headphone wire was shorter than the other detector I own, it pull form one side and I fear that it will come out easily if I jerk or drop the detector. I also disassemble the headphone to check the wire. Not a big surprise for me to find that Minelab had used ordinary "BLACK" steel screw instead of stainless steel (definitely need to change that,my next trip is the marine hardware store...).
The wire seems to have been well sealed in the headphones (check the pics and please let me know if you find any issues there). I don't know much about headphone issues and I'm still read Jame Clynick... I won't hazard to make some extreme mob on the headphone.

The Excalibur decal is PEALING off! that Really sucks for a very expensive detector :( ... again Marine hardware store, I will need marine epoxy, silicon gel for battery connector and stainless screw for the headphones.

I hope to hit the beach with this new guy soon...
 

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Whites

Good luck with the new machine. After that big pay-out I hope you hit enough gold to pay off the loan.:) Or maybe you are like me and found enough gold with your Whites Beach Hunter to pay for all your detectors.:laughing::laughing: Merry Christmas and good luck, Jim
 
Headphone cables you got to give the coils a stretch to lengthen so the headphones don't pull off your ears.Always good to run safety lanyards so no chance of cables pulling out.Beginning to think Minelab owns Koss.Junkiest headphones out there.As soon as my warranty runs out i'm getting rid of that junky headphone they use;)
 
Jim Bob said:
Good luck with the new machine. After that big pay-out I hope you hit enough gold to pay off the loan.:) Or maybe you are like me and found enough gold with your Whites Beach Hunter to pay for all your detectors.:laughing::laughing: Merry Christmas and good luck, Jim
Click to expand...

:laughing:

I don't have a single penny left after paying for this detector... and still need to mob it a little and send Beach Hunter back to USA for repair
 
itsaring! said:
Headphone cables you got to give the coils a stretch to lengthen so the headphones don't pull off your ears.Always good to run safety lanyards so no chance of cables pulling out.Beginning to think Minelab owns Koss.Junkiest headphones out there.As soon as my warranty runs out i'm getting rid of that junky headphone they use;)
Click to expand...

Same idea, have to wait for warranty to run out, change coil, and headphone etc
 
Use a zip tie to tie off your headphone cable coming out of the pod. I tied mine right to the Pod its self about 3" worth so the cable was still in a straight position coming out. You can do the same at the headphones..... and like was mentioned, stretch your cable some. I used rubber band on the headphone adjustments... to keep them in one location to fit my head, otherwise you are constantly adjusting them after they get used awhile Inside those headphones.... my problem wasnt at the connection in there. Mine was as the wire came in the headphones it takes kind of a S curve and held in place.... well right here the cable casing was cracked or cut. Make sure you have that rubber washer on male end of the battery connector. I highly recommend you keep that cover on while under warranty.... i used marine epoxy on the cover. The covers arent the best a little to brittle IMO. gives an extra 1/8" for impact.... they come off so easy no need not to for the protection. Im going to also say avoid an aluminum SS. Why... they tend to bubble and expand into the lower shaft material.... so if you dont take them a part or at least move them after every use they WILL freeze up.

Dew
 
dewcon said:
Use a zip tie to tie off your headphone cable coming out of the pod. I tied mine right to the Pod its self about 3" worth so the cable was still in a straight position coming out. You can do the same at the headphones..... and like was mentioned, stretch your cable some. I used rubber band on the headphone adjustments... to keep them in one location to fit my head, otherwise you are constantly adjusting them after they get used awhile Inside those headphones.... my problem wasnt at the connection in there. Mine was as the wire came in the headphones it takes kind of a S curve and held in place.... well right here the cable casing was cracked or cut. Make sure you have that rubber washer on male end of the battery connector. I highly recommend you keep that cover on while under warranty.... i used marine epoxy on the cover. The covers arent the best a little to brittle IMO. gives an extra 1/8" for impact.... they come off so easy no need not to for the protection. Im going to also say avoid an aluminum SS. Why... they tend to bubble and expand into the lower shaft material.... so if you dont take them a part or at least move them after every use they WILL freeze up.

Dew
Click to expand...

I'm thinking of getting rid of the yellow coil cover for a black one that fits the sov. tornado coil.That yellow is cracking likely from the chlorine or something they use in the cover.The one on my sov hasn't cracked yet.So we shall see!
 
Irons.... good :laughing: Help me convince others to do the same. Proofs in the finds.... once its paid for what the hey. For fresh water the At is a very good machine for gold.

Itsaring.... yes ive heard better things about the black one, different material i believe.
 
Irons said:
Threads like this do not make me want to run out and buy an excal. :no:
Click to expand...

Irons i agree with Dew here.Excal has flaws.But makes up for it in finds.Even if the excal has to go to the scrap yard after i'm done with it,it still finds plenty to make me not care.Only problem i have with it is the headphones.But no water machine does what it does for me.You got to appreciate the honest guys about their machines.If you don't talk about it it never gets fixed.You ought to see some of the heated discussions about tesoro's not advancing in Technology.The guy from there said terry answers all his questions for him.LMAO:lol:
 
Threads like this do not make me want to run out and buy an excal.
Click to expand...
Everything looks normal for a new excalibur..
I love the excal but it kills me to see a great detector with poor quality control................ on the headphone screws, they will be fine..one of the few area's that they did do correct, I've got a excalibur here now that has been used for about 3 years of heavy hunting in deep water...if you notice even the piezo buzzer is discolored........so...replacing the headphones.....from endcap to head set.
 

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GL with your new machine,,,you will quickly learn that even though it is one of the best machines for water hunting and could be argued to be the best overall water machine, you will also learn that there are things poorly constructed on the machine, 1, is junk headphones,,,2 is the knobs, 3, is the end caps fall off after heavy use,,,the headphone issue can be fixed by either using rubber bands or zip ties to keep the adjuster from sliding,,,the short cord does kinda suck sometimes if you are digging chin deep water, they will pull away from your ear,,,the knobs, you can upgrade them to anderson kobs,or use a knob guard, when the end caps fall off, emegency tape works wonders to fasten the back to the tube,,,heavy, you bet, (man up with it and you will get used to it) but with an under arm straight shaft, it is very comfortable to swing in the water,,,no doubt, the diving shaft has to go unless you are diving,,,,also, you can use the extended shaft that mounts the unit above your elbow,,,works outstanding for dry sand swinging but I prefer the under elbow and do not dry sand hunt much,,,,regardless of the little flaws,,,you will be extremely happy with the machines ablity to find the good stuff and pass on the unwanted bobby pins, fish hooks, and other garbage,,,,one of the beautiful things about this machine is the ability to by ear, decide to pass on stuff in the dry sand,,in the water, I dig everything,,,good things like underwater cameras, designer sun glasses, etc. are never quality sounds,,,GL HH and show us some goodies when you get them!
 
Thanks all for your advice and help, if you have to balance the Excalibur's issues with the Excalibur's finds I think that finds would be heavier than issues and I'm confident that on this forum there are many members ready to sort out some of the issues regarding the Excalibur.

Also who would be crazy enough to disassemble a newly acquired and expensive detector to check for flaws, I've been trying to find as much issues about this machine not to avoid them in the future, but be able to take decisions on my own, which was not the case with the Beach hunter.
I live in a very remote location where people have never heard of metal detecting, which also mean that there won't be anyone around to help your repair the detector, Excalibur is a very popular machine, we find lots of books, members and videos related to it. Almost 80% of my friends from Reunion Island are Excal users.

Well know I will have to wait to see the finds....
 
Congrats on your excal, great machine!
Two mods that i think made my life alot nicer were: straight shaft and peltor gels on the headphones to block out outside noise and are MUCH more comfortable than stock....
HH man!
 
oldbeechnut said:
Everything looks normal for a new excalibur..
I love the excal but it kills me to see a great detector with poor quality control................ on the headphone screws, they will be fine..one of the few area's that they did do correct, I've got a excalibur here now that has been used for about 3 years of heavy hunting in deep water...if you notice even the piezo buzzer is discolored........so...replacing the headphones.....from endcap to head set.
Click to expand...

I fell like buying one pack of aspirin...after seeing this mess
 
itsaring! said:
Irons i agree with Dew here.Excal has flaws.But makes up for it in finds.Even if the excal has to go to the scrap yard after i'm done with it,it still finds plenty to make me not care.Only problem i have with it is the headphones.But no water machine does what it does for me.You got to appreciate the honest guys about their machines.If you don't talk about it it never gets fixed.You ought to see some of the heated discussions about tesoro's not advancing in Technology.The guy from there said terry answers all his questions for him.LMAO:lol:
Click to expand...

If I was in salt water I would have one, you're right the proof is in the finds.
 
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