Got this unit used about a week ago. Was an older blue headphone Excal 800. Always wanted a bigger coil and better headphones. Well this one has it all. Have to give a big thanks to Joe Beechnut. Without his help on this I would have never even attempted it. Wasn't that hard but I do have a rather technical back ground. The coil is a 12x10sef that is hard wired. The headphone conversion makes a huge difference, alot better sound quality and less outside noise. The over sized knobs are alot better than the originals. This is my first over and under straight shaft. Have a Pluggers behind the elbow shaft on my other Excal. This setup seems really well balanced. Will be out on the beach tomorrow night with it to see how everything works. What do you guys think? Thanks for looking, Joe.
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Excal Project Complete
- Thread starter surfman
- Start date
Neil
Well-known member
Wow you guys are really doing a great job modding those excals, they all look sweet
Those headphones would be good for alot of detectors. They are a bit more comfortable than the black widows but block the sound as good or better. Ive got a set for when we do generator tests at work, just for sound reduction, but they are really comfortable and kill the noise of those big diesels very well.
Real nice job Joe. Best of luck with it!
Those headphones would be good for alot of detectors. They are a bit more comfortable than the black widows but block the sound as good or better. Ive got a set for when we do generator tests at work, just for sound reduction, but they are really comfortable and kill the noise of those big diesels very well.
Real nice job Joe. Best of luck with it!
Joe,very nice.HH Ron
OldBeechnut
Well-known member
There goes all the Gold in OC...
Nice Job Joe she looks really clean, keep us informed on adventures........
And Thank You, we will have to hang this summer...I need tips on where to park for free.
Nice Job Joe she looks really clean, keep us informed on adventures........
And Thank You, we will have to hang this summer...I need tips on where to park for free.
Critterhunter
New member
Fantastic looking unit! I think you are going to love that SEF 12x10. Let me know if you do, and also tell us how the drag is for you. I've used the 15x12 I had and now my 12x10 in the water, but the drag was just too much for my tastes over the stock 10" Tornado. I prefer the 12x10 over stock for all land use, so the stock 10" Tornado stays on the stock GT shaft as my water rig. I've been using a loaner S-12 on land but don't prefer it for various reasons over my 12x10, but I may pick up a S-12 for my water rig. I suspect the round shape will make it not much more drag than the 10" Tornado for better coverage, but before doing that I want to test it's depth a bit more against the 10" Tornado to see if there is any advantage there *in my soils and sands*.
Be careful with those oversized knobs. Easier to force the control pots past their stopping points which could ruin them for good and need replacement. The feelers in a pot turned past it's stopping point can get bent badly and then it's pretty much game over at salvaging the pot. Some guys for that reason will not torque down the knob set screw or nut so that the knob will slip rather than force the POT past it's stopping point. I had always thought if I modded me up an Excal I'd use bigger knobs, but I'd glue a "finger" to the knob that would bump against a stop point I glued to the control POD, so that that would stop the knob before the internal stopping point ever had to risk doing it. Measurements would have to be precise though to get full turn control of the knob.
Again, fantastic looking unit! Please tell us how the 12x10 does for you in depth and such compared to other coils. Stability too. If you are like many others on both the FBS and BBS units, you'll be amazed at what it does performance wise in all these aspects, including unmasking (left/right separation of the DD line)...
Be careful with those oversized knobs. Easier to force the control pots past their stopping points which could ruin them for good and need replacement. The feelers in a pot turned past it's stopping point can get bent badly and then it's pretty much game over at salvaging the pot. Some guys for that reason will not torque down the knob set screw or nut so that the knob will slip rather than force the POT past it's stopping point. I had always thought if I modded me up an Excal I'd use bigger knobs, but I'd glue a "finger" to the knob that would bump against a stop point I glued to the control POD, so that that would stop the knob before the internal stopping point ever had to risk doing it. Measurements would have to be precise though to get full turn control of the knob.
Again, fantastic looking unit! Please tell us how the 12x10 does for you in depth and such compared to other coils. Stability too. If you are like many others on both the FBS and BBS units, you'll be amazed at what it does performance wise in all these aspects, including unmasking (left/right separation of the DD line)...
All I can say is this thing is awesome!!! Took it out tonite and last night down on 118th St. in Ocean City Maryland for the low tide. Dug some real deep targets. Three scoops on a couple. Even dug two wheat pennys in the dry. 1917 and a 1948, both deep with plenty of signal to spare. Running my sens. at 10 oclock and it's very stable and smooth. Absolutly love the 12x10 on this set-up. Easy pinpointing which I was worried about. As far as the knobs, no issues, very easy to turn. I've had an Excal for a couple years now so I know what not to do with them. As far as drag in the water, not sure I can tell that much difference. There is a small difference but I'm not to concerned about it. I was planning on using this one for the dry more than in the water anyway. The behind the elbow set-up on my other one is more suited for in the water use. All I can say is I'm so glad I put this one together. I'm calling it my hot-rod set-up. This thing rocks! Thanks for all the comments on it, I'm really proud of it. Thanks, Joe.
Critterhunter
New member
If you plan to get one, better jump on it quick. Kellyco just ordered a second batch from Detech since the GT was canned, and this is all on a probationary testing period. Kellyco said it's their policy not to carry coils for discontinued machines, but that they were willing to continue ordering more so long as they sold fast enough for them to make it worth their while to do so. If this second batch don't sell fast like the first after the GT was canned, then Kellyco might not order any more.
Being that they are the exclusive US dealer of Detech coils, if they ever do stop ordering them might be very hard to get your hands on one. Last count roughly a week or so ago they had 14 left of this second batch. If I had the cash to burn I'd buy me a second as a backup kept new in the box (after I tested it to be sure it was equal in depth to my current one), just in case the one I use ever goes south on me.
Lacking a backup, if my current one ever fails internally on me, and if Kellyco stops carrying them down the road due to the GT being canned and I can't find one used (which is very hard to do and should tell people something about how people like it), then I'll swim to the UK to buy another if I have to...
And if this one fails and it's not in the cable to where I can easily fix it, then you can bet I'm going to use an angle grinder on it and take it apart. I want to build a extreme 4x3 sniper coil based on the SEF layout, and it would help to be able to see exactly how those windings are laid out inside, although I have a pretty good idea based on the shape how they are overlapping in the center in a somewhat unique way I think, as well as the obvious unique angles of the outer coil casing of the windings.
This coil is so stable to EMI and minerals, and has such a sharp DD line, that even though depth is not primary to me in the sniper coil I want to build, I hope to perhaps gleam the stability and even perhaps a shaper DD line then the scapel the 12x10 already has going for it. Don't know though if a DD line can get any sharper than this one already is, in a coil big or small...
Being that they are the exclusive US dealer of Detech coils, if they ever do stop ordering them might be very hard to get your hands on one. Last count roughly a week or so ago they had 14 left of this second batch. If I had the cash to burn I'd buy me a second as a backup kept new in the box (after I tested it to be sure it was equal in depth to my current one), just in case the one I use ever goes south on me.
Lacking a backup, if my current one ever fails internally on me, and if Kellyco stops carrying them down the road due to the GT being canned and I can't find one used (which is very hard to do and should tell people something about how people like it), then I'll swim to the UK to buy another if I have to...
And if this one fails and it's not in the cable to where I can easily fix it, then you can bet I'm going to use an angle grinder on it and take it apart. I want to build a extreme 4x3 sniper coil based on the SEF layout, and it would help to be able to see exactly how those windings are laid out inside, although I have a pretty good idea based on the shape how they are overlapping in the center in a somewhat unique way I think, as well as the obvious unique angles of the outer coil casing of the windings.
This coil is so stable to EMI and minerals, and has such a sharp DD line, that even though depth is not primary to me in the sniper coil I want to build, I hope to perhaps gleam the stability and even perhaps a shaper DD line then the scapel the 12x10 already has going for it. Don't know though if a DD line can get any sharper than this one already is, in a coil big or small...