Excalibur " Click " ?

[synthnut]

I recently made a trade where I got an older Excal 1000 ..... I had a nice Sovereign GT and the controls "clicked " into place nicely, and there was a very evident "click" on the on/off volume control , and there was a very defined "click " on the Sensitivity control when going into "Auto " ...... Not knowing how the Excals react, I was fiddling with it and the Threshold knob has a very slight click to it , but not very defined ......I also went to the Sensitivity control , which I thought should also have a defined click to it , as the manual states, and it just turns smoothly and DOESN'T click when going into "AUTO " and I'm not really sure yet if it really goes into "AUTO " or not ....I will investigate further ..... Are these UN defined clicks normal , or am I experiencing a problem ? ....Again, I'm not use to the way an Excal is suppose to react .....The controls are stiffer since the shafts are probably pressed against rubber seals to keep the water out , but shouldn't I have a pretty good, defined , "Click " on the Sensitivity, the Threshold, and the Pinpoint / Disc switch ? .....Thanks, Jim

 

[Buried Crap NJ]

This was true of my Excalibur II also. There wasn't a true click on anything but the threshold. But once my threshold broke and spun around and around, I sent it back in and they replaced several of the switches.Now I have a click for all but the volume and Discriminate which aren't on/off switches. Each of the others have a nice smooth snug turn with a very noticeable click. There were quite a few noticeable other changes to the unit then when I used it from new. Most notable was a smooth threshold that I could never achieve before repairs. The All/metal switch never clicked in or out. the Threshold returns to a smooth tone after a null ( most of the time ) on its own.
The volume really does change the target sound.(never did it before repairs) I was never able to use All metal as there was never a way to bring up the sound. Once it was fixed I hunt in nothing but all metal and Reverse discriminate. I never got a answer to why these things were wrong to start. I am thinking my detector never when through final inspections before going in the box. While I did find lots of items for the first six months I have found far more gold items since repairs! It took too long for repairs but Minelab made good on my lost of time with the detector.

 

[ToniSteve]

Hi Synth,
If you did it with the headphones on you may not have heard the physical "click". I have both my Sov GT and Excal side by side and the Excal click is not as pronounced as the Sov GT "click". If you pull the control body (pod) off the rod you can actually see the switches in action. Also you should be able to feel the click with your fingers, but it is not very pronounced. But maybe yours is more stiff than mine. Mine is the Excal 1000 with the blue headphones. Again the "click" is much less distinct on Excal as opposed to the GT.

Also on mine the threshold and sensitivity switches are more distinct then the Pinpoint/Disc switch.

Hopes this helps.

Best Regards,
Steve

 

[Neil]

I have had several of these and all were the same as Steve says, less pronounced. maybe its just muffled because its in a waterproof casing?

 

[ToniSteve]

Hello again Jim,
Maybe I should have been a bit more concise on "seeing" the switches in action. If you remove the control pod from the shaft, you can then see the switches in action through the transparent plastic pod between the ears of the pod where the shaft goes through. Maybe if you do the on/off switching while watching the actual switch move you will get a feel for it or may even hear it. I am half deaf so I just barely hear it in a quiet room. So if you are hard of hearing find a quiet space and maybe do the switching with the pod closer to the ear. When I got my Excal 1000 I had the same worries! It just took a while to get used to! I hope everything is right with it for you!

Kind Regards,
Steve

 

[synthnut]

Thanks a lot for the info guys ...... Me ? Hard of hearing ? ....What did you say ? ......I'm deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other !!!...... Jim

 

[w6pea]

n/t

 

[hershey1]

Your machine sounds like mine and others I've been around and used. Most people don't dive 200 feet with their Excal but the seals and Orings have to be really tight to stand that kind of pressure. Set that baby on 1 Disc. Sens. around 11 to 1 o'clock Vol. loud as you can stand it Threshold barely audible and get a big scoop. HH

 

[synthnut]

I"m so use to the beach by me where you can't walk 2 steps without hearing targets all over the place ( garbage mostly ) .... I went to look at this Excal and we hit the beach where I went to see the Excal , and NOTHING !!!....It was DEAD QUIET !!....Not even a pull tab !!...... I looked at the guy I was buying the machine from and shrugged my shoulders ....We took our phones off and neither of us got as much as a peep !!.........My buddy who I brought down there took his phones off and looked at us and said " I'm not hearing a THING " ....We all laughed ...... I'll bet I walked 100 ft before I found a pull tab .... I never thought that I would appreciate the sound of a pull tab !!........ Jim

 

[Tony in FL]

I can't save for sure on the original Excalibur but I have an Excalibur 2 and there is definitely a click for sensitivity 'AUTO', threshold 'OFF', and pinpoint/discriminate.

 

[kered]

On my older Excalibur 1000 you could hear and feel the click(probably because the seals were less tight) on my new Excalibur ll the controls are very tight and you have to turn very very slowly to get the click and only then you feel it rather than hear it, my pinpoint/disc switch is slightly more pronounced as it gets used more and is slackening of as it gets run in.

 

[synthnut]

I"m guessing that it's just a matter of WHEN the switches fail as oposed to IF the switches fail ..... They are used just as much on a Sovereign as they are on an Excal ....I wonder why they wear out so quickly on the Excals , but seem to last forever on the Sovereign ? ........ I really think it's a matter of worn switches ....They sound GREAT when they're new , but from what I'm hearing and reading , the actual "Click " doesn't hang around very long !!...... That to me sounds like a wear issue ....On defense of the swtich , I DID see that everything was working when you get into the range of the switch where things are suppose to happen ....."AUTO " Sens works fine as does the Pinpoint/Disc switch , as does the Threshold /On switch ..... I'm somewhat surprised that after looking at all the parts on this machine, and seeing a new Excal , that Minelab didn't at a minimum add a Tornado coil to the Excal ....I guess it's like the old addage , if it ain't broke , don't fix it !!...... Too bad !!.....The prices go up as the features stay the same , and we stand in line for them !!..... Looks like I answered my own question ......Another problem is that there is nothing WATERPROOF coming around the Pike that will even come close to performing as well as the Excal does and discriminate while doing it ..... A lot of folks are keeping their fingers, legs, arms, and eyes, crossed hoping that the AT Pro will be the answer to their detecting prayers ..... At the frequency it's running and being a Single frequency machine , I have my doubts , but stranger things have happened ...... I wish Garret well with their endeavor .......Where is my Minelab E- RAT ? (ETrac REAL ALL TERRAIN ) ......... Jim

 

[Tony in FL]

I'm somewhat surprised that after looking at all the parts on this machine, and seeing a new Excal , that Minelab didn't at a minimum add a Tornado coil to the Excal ....I guess it's like the old addage , if it ain't broke , don't fix it !!...... Too bad !!.....The prices go up as the features stay the same , and we stand in line for them !!..... Looks like I answered my own question ......Another problem is that there is nothing WATERPROOF coming around the Pike that will even come close to performing as well as the Excal does and discriminate while doing it ..... A lot of folks are keeping their fingers, legs, arms, and eyes, crossed hoping that the AT Pro will be the answer to their detecting prayers ..... At the frequency it's running and being a Single frequency machine , I have my doubts , but stranger things have happened ...... I wish Garret well with their endeavor .......Where is my Minelab E- RAT ? (ETrac REAL ALL TERRAIN ) ......... Jim

I also had my fingers crossed on the AT PRO as a backup for Excalibur until I saw on Garrett's downloadable catalog that it was not recommended for salt water surf hunting. Seems even they acknowledge that it won't be a serious contender in that area. You had mentioned the Excalibur did not having the Tornado coil. I believe this was introduced as the standard coil with the Excalibur 2.

 

[Rick(ND)]

n/t

 

[synthnut]

OOOP'S !!!.........My mistake !!..... I know the 1.000 mah battery was an upgrade over the 700 , but wasn't sure on the Tornado coil .....That's good to know ..... The Tornado is a nice improvement over the standard BBS coil ....Jim

 

[hershey1]

Wish they would put a light weight pro-coil with size options. But you can just do so much to an already great machine that has no real competition. JMHO. HH

 

[synthnut]

JW at KellyCo told me that the SEFS are waterproof !!...... I'll let you know how I make out when I install a 10 x 12 on my Excal !!....... That should be a match made in detector heaven !!.... Jim

 

[kered]

Jim, they are waterproof but make sure the nut is tight at the coil before first use, on 2 new ones i bought they were both slack(hardly finger tight)

 

[synthnut]

Kered,
Thanks for the heads up .... Jim