A
Anonymous
Guest
Those of you who have experienced cracking and breaking of your armcups on your Explorers, here's a little tip to keep them whole. At least until Minelab develops a meatier armrest cup. The diagram below shows how you can take some good quality clear 5-minute epoxy and fill in along the vulnerable areas of the cup to add mass and strenghten it. The reason the breakages occur at those points is because the flaps of the arm cup will flex slightly as your forearm shifts side-to-side from sweeping the detector. Over time, this will eventually weaken the plastic and cause cracking and breakage. Adding the epoxy reinforcement at these points increases rigidity and allows the flexing to be absorbed along the sides of the cup flap and not at the vulnerable joint. Be sure you get an epoxy that is recommended for plastics, and measure it carefully and mix it thoroughly. The repair will be proper if the epoxy dries rock hard... if after 24 hours it is still soft, to where you can dent it with the edge of your fingernail, it will not hold and you need to do it again. It is also very important that you treat the plastic surfaces properly, by thorough cleaning with alcohol and scuffing it with fine sandpaper to roughen the surface.
I have found that this repair will make the arm cup last much longer.
Another note..... to help prevent over-stressing the arm cup, don't make sharp or sudden swings of the detector.
Also.... if your arm cup splits down the middle, through the hole for the mounting screw, that screw was most likely overtightened. When tightening the screw, only do it enough to secure the arm rest to the detector, if you look at the end of the cup and see that the center of the cup is "warped" by tightening the screw, it is too tight.... loosen a bit.
These are just my suggestions to help you get the best servicable life of your Explorer, and are not meant to represent Minelab's official policies on care, operation, or maintenance of their products. HH, Mike.
I have found that this repair will make the arm cup last much longer.
Another note..... to help prevent over-stressing the arm cup, don't make sharp or sudden swings of the detector.
Also.... if your arm cup splits down the middle, through the hole for the mounting screw, that screw was most likely overtightened. When tightening the screw, only do it enough to secure the arm rest to the detector, if you look at the end of the cup and see that the center of the cup is "warped" by tightening the screw, it is too tight.... loosen a bit.
These are just my suggestions to help you get the best servicable life of your Explorer, and are not meant to represent Minelab's official policies on care, operation, or maintenance of their products. HH, Mike.