H E L P

[L.I.Mike]

:!:
Ok (all )I need your input. It's time I move up so here is the deal. Excalibur 800 or 1000 and how hard is it to work. IM simple so I dont want to spend a life time trying to work the unit.
Thanks L.I. Mike

[Cladius]

I'm in the same boat as you Mike. I am doing the same. Cladius.

[Cfmct]

I think the only difference Mike is the size of the coils... 800 being an 8 inch coil and the 1000 being a 10 inch coil... But you will need to upgrade the S shaft to a straight shaft and hip-mount the controls because the Excal is a heavy beast... Too heavy for us old guys to swing anyway

Max in the Beach section can help you out with info.

[TonyinCT]

Go with the 1000. Its the best there is for overall beachhunting and I know you do a lot of salt water. You can hip mount the electonics but it's really the coil that's heavy. In the water you should have no problem. As a matter of fact , it will actually stay on bottom better because of the weight. I wouldn't go with the 800. The 10 inch coil is better. I consider the Excalibur the best beach hunter going. As far as ease of use , it's very user freindly with simple controls and concise settings. the oring problems are all gone so there doesn't seem to be any more of those problems either.

[WThesing]

For what research I've done, It was either the Surf P.I. or the Excal 1000. I was recently informed that the Jersey beaches are not kindly to the Surf P.I. due to the heavy iron content that is present, so what was going to be my choice has been changed to the Excal 1000. i am also considering modifying my Explorer II to a waterproof mod. We'll see.

[L.I.Mike]

Thanks all for your input. Im sure mid Feb I will order the 1000 unit. I guess will get the extra shaft as well and get the hip mount also. This one of many reasons why this forum is so good. HH to all. :duh: :duh: :duh: :duh: :duh: :duh:
L.I.Mike

[Gabe]

Originally Posted by TonyinCT

Go with the 1000. Its the best there is for overall beachhunting and I know you do a lot of salt water. You can hip mount the electonics but it's really the coil that's heavy. In the water you should have no problem. As a matter of fact , it will actually stay on bottom better because of the weight. I wouldn't go with the 800. The 10 inch coil is better. I consider the Excalibur the best beach hunter going. As far as ease of use , it's very user freindly with simple controls and concise settings. the oring problems are all gone so there doesn't seem to be any more of those problems either.

I just had to make sure I was reading you right. You say "the original problems are all gone so there doesn't seem to be any more of those problems either", are you referring to the loose knobs and wiring problems when hip mounted? Amongst others I may not know about.

Those two reasons alone made me scratch it from my list to consider purchasing. If these problems have been fixed though, I may take another look at this machine.

If you would, please explain the "problems" you say have been fixed, I personally only know of the ones I've read in reviews.

Were the problems brought to Minelabs attention finally and they recently fixed it in the newer models?

Thanx and sorry for all the questions, I'm just curious.

[TonyinCT]

They are using a better o-ring for the knobs. I think most of the hip mount problems were caused by the owners. Once you get that cord swinging anything can happen.

[Gabe]

Oh ok, shows how little I know.

I thought it was just faulty wiring by minelab, so users are just getting it hung on stuff and ripping them out, that sort of thing?

[TonyinCT]

I think that in a sense was part ot it but also the cords were not as quality as they are now also. I just don't think yo can go wrong with an Excalibur.

[Gabe]

I'm beginning to realize that!

Since you own your own shop and seem to know your stuff, what are your thoughts on the Excalibur using a battery pack for power as opposed to just using your standard AA's which will give you on most machines 30-40 hours rather than 10-15 before needing to be recharged.

True, you can buy a couple of packs and interchange when needed, but what will happen when they discontinue the model and your battery packs are failing and you can't find them anywhere? This is probably unlikely to happen but still possible no?

Thanx.

[L.I.Mike]

OK whats the deal AA rather than the Pack. AA are so cheap and dont like the pack thing ,can I use the AA with the EX 1000?
Thanks

[Cladius]

is there a big diff. in the wieght from the EX II to the Excal?

[Gabe]

Originally Posted by L.I.Mike

OK whats the deal AA rather than the Pack. AA are so cheap and dont like the pack thing ,can I use the AA with the EX 1000?
Thanks

Now, don't take my word for it, I've no personal use with the machine, I'm just going by what I've read and seen on the minelab website.

Looks like it only takes a certain battery pack that minelab makes. I think I'd rather use just your standard batteries opposed to a pack, but I guess it makes up for it in how good a machine it is.

Please someone correct me if I 'm wrong. Thanx.

[Gabe]

I stand to correct myself and apologize.

By further research on the Minelab website under Excalibur Accessories if I'm understanding this correctly there is a "Battery Pack that will hold 8 AA Alkaline batteries (batteries not included)".

So that goes on further to answer my question and maybe a few of you others interested in this machine.

It appears you actually CAN use AA batteries to run this machine. Now running time I'm unsure of. I would think you would get a considerable longer running time off of the AA's, but hey, what do I know?

http://206.188.2.79/products/accesso...alkbattery.htm

Notice no running time is listed, it's simply stated this would be ideal to have around for back-up to the NiCad pack. Price? Anyone?

Hope this helps, sorry for any confusion, just eager to learn as much as possible!

[WThesing]

Gabe,
For what it's worth, I posted several long posts on batteries on the old forum. I will do an all inclusive one here when I get the time. I use Eveready 2500 Mah NIMH AA cells in my Explorer II. I get about 14/15 hours with intermittant backlight use. Before changing to another set of the same cells. I have never run to the low battery alarm. I carry my spare fully charged cells in my toolbelt just in case. NIMH cells can be topped off anytime without any "memory effect", and should be stored fully charged. After a hunt, I switch cells and recharge the ones I have just used, thus giving balanced use to both groups. The difference of "in use time" is dependant upon the capacity of the cells in Mah. The increasing capacity of the rechargeables is now surpassing the alkylines. The rechargeables will drop off quickly at the end of their charge, the disposables will slow down a little more gradually. I don't know of too many people who detect for more than 8 hours at a time, and I'm one of them.

Bill

[Brian]

I had the older version Excaliber and they didn't have a alkaline holder/pod at that time. They do now but the U.K. price is over £50 delivered ($90). You do normaly get a better deal in the U.S. though.
No drawbacks and better detecting time with alkalines but if your tempted to use rechagables (NiCad or NiMi) in the alkaline pod then you must run into the same problem as with the Sovereign, not enough power. Capacity is running time, not voltage.

[TonyinCT]

With any specialized detector like the Excalibur you will find that they take specialized battery packs.There is an alkaline pack available for around 45.00. Whites used to have a 4 C cell pack but now use 8 AA slimline packs. I still sell the old packs as well as the old rechargeables because there are a lot of detectors still out there. Minelab would be no different as there are a lot of Excals out there and they still sell well. I don't think you'll be left ina lurch.

[BillV]

I have an Excal 1000 and have been very pleased with it. I had a friend make a hip mount kit for it and that cost less that $10.00. Once the unit was hip mounted I felt that another shaft was unnecessary. I have supported the wires by wrapping them at the connections with electrical tape and it seems to work fine. I will post a pic of the hip mount kit once I get my camera working again.

[WThesing]

Brian,
The Minelabs all use a step down transformer within their circuitry. They operate well below the 12 or 9.6 volts from the cells. Capacity and run time is no longer an issue with the newer NIMH cells.