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Digisearch meter on excalibur?
- Thread starter dan93
- Start date
The meter is connected between the coil and control box on the Sovereigns, but on the Excalibur the coil is hard wired to the control box to make it waterproof. Even if you could connect the meter between the coil and control box I don't believe the circuitry is there to do it in the control box.
Critterhunter
New member
If the chip used to process the conductivity of the target and output the proper tone alert for the audio is also generated a 2V scale voltage to output to the meter on the Sovereign, then I bet the same chip is found in the Excal as it would be more expensive to build a different IC chip just to eliminate the ID function. If there are various external components on the Sovereign's control board that are responsibile for generated the 2V ID voltage scale based on conductivity, then I doubt the Excal would have those parts on board as it's unneeded expense. Then again, might be that Minelab threw those parts on the Excal's board with the intention of down the road perhaps offering an IDing Excalibur (stranger things have happened). But my money is on that the target's conductivity processing to generate the proper tone and VDI are handled by the same IC chip. If that's the case then I bet the Excal has the same exact chip on board with this already existing built in function that is just waiting to be tapped as an ID source.
Next time I have my GT apart I'm going to trace back the ID pin output to the coil connector and see where it goes on the board. Also waiting for somebody like OBN to beat me to it and see if a Sovereign and Excal's circuit boards are identical in components from say the ID output pin on the Sovereign back to where it goes on the board that generates it. If that pans out to be the case then I could see somebody making a small fortune building custom Excals with waterproof meter, remote PP switch, waterproof coil and headphone connectors, and thus making the dream land/water machine many have been hoping for much in the style of the AT Pro but with Minelab performance in the $1000+ range. I think that would be a hot seller myself. Buying used Excals and turning them into the Excal L/W Ultimate (Land/Water)....Great way to make some side cash kicking around in your spare time in the garage. Stick it on a straight shaft and mount that heavy pod well back on the shaft behind the elbow for better balance and to eliminate water drag and there you go...
Next time I have my GT apart I'm going to trace back the ID pin output to the coil connector and see where it goes on the board. Also waiting for somebody like OBN to beat me to it and see if a Sovereign and Excal's circuit boards are identical in components from say the ID output pin on the Sovereign back to where it goes on the board that generates it. If that pans out to be the case then I could see somebody making a small fortune building custom Excals with waterproof meter, remote PP switch, waterproof coil and headphone connectors, and thus making the dream land/water machine many have been hoping for much in the style of the AT Pro but with Minelab performance in the $1000+ range. I think that would be a hot seller myself. Buying used Excals and turning them into the Excal L/W Ultimate (Land/Water)....Great way to make some side cash kicking around in your spare time in the garage. Stick it on a straight shaft and mount that heavy pod well back on the shaft behind the elbow for better balance and to eliminate water drag and there you go...
OldBeechnut
Well-known member
Crossed my mind at one time but seems you really don't need it unless you are hunting land. If you know your beach's target history and are able to understand what the detector is telling you thur it's tones in Discriminate and the info from PP there is not much need for it.
bootyhoundpa
Well-known member
just when i thought ive seen it all.....lol lol....
Dan,my suggestion if you are going to search land or dry beach purchase a Sovereign the 180 or 550 meter will make life a lot easier.Beachnut made an excellent point a meter isn't needed for the Excal if used in the water or intended use.Not sure if a meter would work on the Excal.Like Rick said you would hurt the integrity of a great water detector and it may not have the capacity.Critter makes a good point the circuit may be the same and not removed because cost or extra work would be a factor.I'm sure with the Sovereign no longer in production someone will try to customize(maybe Minelab Excal land model) a Excal for land use that includes the use of a meter.At this point in time don't fix it if it ant broken get the Excalibur for the water or a Sovereign for land.Good Luck Ron
deepdiger60
New member
First and most important is there such a thing as a WATERPROOF !! target meter ?? i have never seen one for a Sovereign GT or any Minelab machine . Just a thought Jim
dewcon4414
Well-known member
Well now define target meter when talking about ANY ML machine..... the CTX does use TID and has digital readings as well as the smartscreen. I like it when Joe get technical.... hes got the guts to take it apart and make those sweet looking machines.
Dew
Dew
Critterhunter
New member
OBN, yep...not much use for a meter in the water and it's just an extra thing to create drag. That's one of the great things about the Excal. Round pod so it's not slugging you away drag wise like a big bulky box and such. But if you could put a meter on it then the point is it'd make it the perfect one/two punch for water hunting and also land hunting for old coins at "dead" public sites. Lot of power behind BBS. Waterproofing a meter wouldn't be a big issue. Simply throw it in a small clear waterproof enclosure.
On the other hand, how about just adding a waterproof connector to change coils, which would then mean you could also plug in the meter between the coil and POD for land use, and take the meter off for water use so there's no need to waterproof it or have a drag issue. That would seem the most logical approach I would think.
Then again there is the other route- waterproofing a Sovereign, which there are tons of ways from the easy and cheap to the complex you can do. I should be picking up the $20 waterproof Plano box Kbron2000 is using for his GT when water hunting pretty soon here for a winter time project. Really not much of a project at all. I just plan to mount the Plano box on the back shaft extension I made to snap onto my water shaft to keep it out of the water for drag/leak issues.
Not sure yet if I'm going to go the wireless headphone route Kbron is using or just commit a pair of headphones to the Plano box and waterproof the headphone cable like I'll do the coil cable. I'm probably not going to use the $20 clamshell cable waterproofing job and just will use Shoe Goo, since my 10" Tornado ain't coming off my water shaft.
On the other hand, how about just adding a waterproof connector to change coils, which would then mean you could also plug in the meter between the coil and POD for land use, and take the meter off for water use so there's no need to waterproof it or have a drag issue. That would seem the most logical approach I would think.
Then again there is the other route- waterproofing a Sovereign, which there are tons of ways from the easy and cheap to the complex you can do. I should be picking up the $20 waterproof Plano box Kbron2000 is using for his GT when water hunting pretty soon here for a winter time project. Really not much of a project at all. I just plan to mount the Plano box on the back shaft extension I made to snap onto my water shaft to keep it out of the water for drag/leak issues.
Not sure yet if I'm going to go the wireless headphone route Kbron is using or just commit a pair of headphones to the Plano box and waterproof the headphone cable like I'll do the coil cable. I'm probably not going to use the $20 clamshell cable waterproofing job and just will use Shoe Goo, since my 10" Tornado ain't coming off my water shaft.