Excal Question??

[Ron from Michigan]

Has anyone made a leak proof coil connector that would allow coils with the standard six pin connectors to be switched back and fourth for beach use. Example after a Joey coil could be used with the standard connector for land,the stock coil could be reconnected for water use without a compromise.Thanks Ron

 

[jamesg]

I have looked for that very thing for years but have never found them. If you find some, please let us know. thanks James

 

[Todd Pickens]

Maybe this will work. Scroll down all the wayto the bottom on the left hand tool bar to Waterproof connectors.
http://www.sunraydetector.com/

 

[Critterhunter]

Ron, I never looked heavy into it, but I thought some of the waterproof connectors you could get are indeed some kind of rubber waterproof grommet sleeve that you pull over the two connectors and it would keep out any moisture for at least wading depths? If something like that doesn't exist then it's high time somebody invents it, because it would be a real PITA to have to convert all your coils to a waterproof special plug and then not be able to use them on your land machine too.

No threads on that in all the ones I dug up and threw in the coil sticky for Excalibur guys who go the waterproof plug route? I didn't look threw the specifics on many of those threads, but rather just did a quick skim over them for content and also to see if they had good modification pics or videos for the waterproof plugs they were doing, but I didn't pay close enough attention to see what the nature of the waterproof plugs were. I'd assume some of those threads have to be covering this very issue of being able to use a standard coil plug from your land rig and somehow it becomes waterproof when used on your water rig without having to modify the plug or the cable?

Somebody needs to ask OldBeachNut or one of the other heavy hitter Excalibur water guys about this, as I'm sure they'd know the skinny on the whole topic.

Hey Ron, if somebody comes up with a thread on that (if one isn't already linked to in the coil sticky threads for waterproof plugs on the Excal), then how about opening that coil sticky back up just to stick a thread link or two in there on the topic, because I would figure that this type of setup would be among the most popular so people could use coils water hunting without having to mod the plugs on them, and also be able to use them on land. I just assumed one of those thread links I dug up probably covered the issue?

 

[Critterhunter]

Todd, I just looked at that link. Those plugs require changing the standard plug on the coil. Maybe I'm wrong (?) but I think Ron's asking about not having to mod the stock coil plug and somehow it is waterproofed when thrown on your water rig. I'd figure there would be a way to go about doing that.

Or, if there is no way to waterproof a stock plug, maybe what Ron (?) is asking is if there are waterproof standard mating 6 pin plugs, so that it could be plugged in say the Sovereign control box when you use that coil on your land rig, but then that plug would also mate with another waterproof connector on say your Excal which would make it completely waterproof when used in the water? Come to think of it that's probably what Ron is asking? If that's the case, good idea...Then you'd mod your coils with a new plug, but that plug could still plug right into the Sovereign with no issues, but becomes waterproof when mated to the other half of that plug that's on your Excal or something.

Good thing about that is if you sold off a coil it wouldn't hurt it's re-sale value since the waterproof plug on it still works fine with land rigs.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Todd,checked the Sunray connector out, which is headed in the right direction,but not what I had in mind.Thanks Ron

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Critter,yelp looking for a easy way to use the standard six pin connector with a Excal without a compromise,or excessive mods.Thanks Ron

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Critter,thanks for the information,surprised a simple aftermarket connector conversion isn't available.HH Ron

 

[Critterhunter]

Ron, I don't have time to look at this in great detail at the moment, but from a quick glance it looks like Doc's waterproof connector he offers for those wishing to use his WOT coil on their Excalibur does just what you are asking for. I just skimmed over it quickly and it says "still use the WOT with your Sovereign on land", so I'm guessing it's a standard 6 pin plug that will still mate with the Sovereign control box, yet when this plug is mated with it's other half on the Excal it becomes a waterproof connection.

http://www.docsdetecting.com/coiltek/connect.html

I'm hoping that link is in one of the threads the coil sticky links to. I suspect it is somewhere. Maybe tomorrow I'll sort through those links and see if any of them cover this connector, or any other connectors doing what you are looking for. If I find anything I'll let you know.

From my quick glace at his connector, it appears you change the standard plug on the WOT to one of these, and then the other half goes on the Excal. But then you can still plug the new coil plug into the Sovereign as well. I think that's the deal.

But what I'm wondering is if anybody makes some type of waterproof dongle that will make a standard coil plug waterproof without having to replace the plug on the coil with something else? That way no need to replace the stock plug on all your coils for water use on say an Excal. Don't think that's what Doc's is about, but rather you have to change the plug, but just the same he says you can tell plug that plug into your Sovereign's control box.

 

[Critterhunter]

Ron, starting to sort through the thread links in the coil sticky for waterproof plugs to see what the particulars of those are, so I'll let you know what I find out.

One idea though, that waterproof plug from Doc looks to still plug into your coil connector on your land rig so that's probably what you are looking for, but it's pricey. So here's another idea...You could get one of the cheaper waterproof plug setups Excal guys use for swapping coils that don't mate with the standard connector on your control box on your Sovereign, but then wire up a male/female patch for that plug to a short length of coil cable, with a standard coil plug on the other end of it. That way you could plug your modified coil plugs into that cable and then the other end into the control box on the Sovereign.

That would save money over Doc's, but then again you are back to the old problem of now having all your coil plugs changed over to something new that can't plug directly into the control box on your land rig, so not only do you have to change all the plugs on your coils over to that, but you'd also have to change any coil back to a standard plug if you ever re-sold it, unless of course you supplied the buyer with the mini conversion cable to adapt the coil to a standard control box plug. For that reason Doc's is still more attractive even at the much higher price than other waterproof plugs that won't mate with the control box without making an adaptor cable.

I'm still digging through those threads and on the net to see what is out there. Two things I'm trying to dig up- Some kind of waterproofing grommet that will just slide over a standard plug and make it waterproof, and also a setup like Doc's where the waterproof plug will still mate with the standard control box connector, yet becomes waterproof when mated to it's other half on your water rig. Some kind of grommet deal though that just slides over stock plugs would seem to me to be the most attractive solution, because it wouldn't require changing plugs on coils, even though a plug like doc's will still mate with the control box you still have to change the plug on the coil with that setup.

 

[Critterhunter]

Nope Ron, none of the thread links in the Coil Sticky are about waterproof plugs that will still mate with your Sovereign. Only one that appears to do that is Doc's (which a thread link in the coil sticky goes over), but from a quick glance over it you are still cutting off the old coil plug to do this mod, but can re-use the plug again. You just have to cut it off so you can slide an O-ring and such onto the coil cable, and then re-attach the plug back on the cable. So it appears it'll work with your land rig as well as your Excal.

I posted the question in the modifications forum to see if there are other wateproof plugs that will still mate with the Sovereign, and also asked if there is just a waterproofing device that slides over the stock plug on a coil without having to change the plug. Also going to search the net for this stuff. If I come up with anything I'll let you know...

 

[otlew]

I have experimented with various approaches. I used clear heat shrink since leak detection is immediate, which of course is a one use method, but it did work in my limited testing. I coupled two short pieces of cable, sealed the cut ends, coupled and performed the heat shrink, then sank it to the bottom of 5 gallon bucket for 24 hours without leakage.

I abandoned this approach as being impractical, since changing the coil in the field would be cumbersome and time consuming.

If you are willing to put up with the hassle, or think your coil changes will be minimal then this approach, in my testing, is viable and not costly. After purchase of the additional connector(s), it should cost about 10 cents a coil change to replace the heat shrink. I may just take another look at the connectors.

 

[Critterhunter]

That's a great idea there. I think they even sell heat shrink tubing that is meant for waterproofing. Remember some guys talking about that on the forum a while back for doing coil cable splice repairs on their Excals.

 

[otlew]

They do sell what is called double wall also known as adhesive wall. OBN and some others brought it to light in a post. I did not use the adhesive type in my testing and it still held up. I would think that the standard heat shrink would work, and if you included a dab of flowable silicone at the critical points the seal might even be maintained to much deeper than any wading detectorist would need.