Steve from Ohio
New member
do a few things that will allow you to do it. This post may belong in the modification section but there have been so many questions as to how and if I should on this section, so here goes.
What am I talking about?
Putting a waterproof connector on the control pod of an Excalibur and converting to Gray Ghost underwater headphones of course!
The other day was the last straw. I was out with the Excalibur doing some land hunting and it was windy. The stock blue headphones were so noisy and they kept falling off and were hurting from not being very comfortable. I was cold out and the stock phones just made me miserable. I wanted to get some time in on the Excalibur but I was so miserable that I went to my E-trac with my Gray Ghost headphones. What a difference. That was it.
So today I decided to make it better. I took the old battery pod and took the rubber edge cap off with a bent paperclip. It came off easily after breaking the bond of whatever they used under it. I then took the allen wrench and removed the two set screws. Did the same thing to the factory control pod end cap with the headphone wires. The factory cap for the factory headphones was kind of stuck in the control pod but a little strap wrench allowed me to remove the cap easily.
The factory headphone end cap is plugged into to the circuit board with a two prong female plug. It can go on only one way and it comes off very easily.
I then had to cut the two wires close to the end cap in order to wire in the 2 prong female plug to the new battery end cap. I cut the battery connector off and soldered the two wires to the prong but making sure I had the shrink tubes on first! Taped them and then shrink wrapped them.
The battery end cap fits the control pod perfectly but there is one problem. The battery pod cap with the female end is solid. The factory control pod headphone end cap is not. So you have to cut a slot in the battery end cap in order for the end cap to fit into the control pod. The circuit board fits into the slot that you must cut otherwise the circuit board will prevent the end cap from going on properly. Dremmel time! The slot goes all the way across the end cap.
A little bit of plumbers silicon grease on the O ring and then tighten down the set screws. Put the plastic edge cap back on sealing it up with plumbers clear silicon caulk and it was done.
I then put on the Gray Ghost underwater headphones and turned it on.
Man what a difference. The sound is so much better. My ability to differentiate between dimes and pennies is now so much better. I can really hear the differences of gold rings, pull tabs and coins so much better. And they are sooooo comfortable. Much better than stock Blues.
Went to a neighbors indoor pool and tried it underwater. Nice. Much better than stock. Pool is 12 feet deep and no leaks at all. I left the detector in the water for a few hours just to check to make sure. Not a leak.
I would highly recommend getting the Gray Ghosts for the Excalibur. Don't suffer with the factory Blues. I would only do this at home if your Excalibur is out of warranty, the installation is fairly easy and anyone with any mechanical ability could do it. Just make sure you lube it up and seal it good. If your Excalibur is new and under warranty, I would send it in to Minelab to have it done to preserve the warranty.
What am I talking about?
Putting a waterproof connector on the control pod of an Excalibur and converting to Gray Ghost underwater headphones of course!
The other day was the last straw. I was out with the Excalibur doing some land hunting and it was windy. The stock blue headphones were so noisy and they kept falling off and were hurting from not being very comfortable. I was cold out and the stock phones just made me miserable. I wanted to get some time in on the Excalibur but I was so miserable that I went to my E-trac with my Gray Ghost headphones. What a difference. That was it.
So today I decided to make it better. I took the old battery pod and took the rubber edge cap off with a bent paperclip. It came off easily after breaking the bond of whatever they used under it. I then took the allen wrench and removed the two set screws. Did the same thing to the factory control pod end cap with the headphone wires. The factory cap for the factory headphones was kind of stuck in the control pod but a little strap wrench allowed me to remove the cap easily.
The factory headphone end cap is plugged into to the circuit board with a two prong female plug. It can go on only one way and it comes off very easily.
I then had to cut the two wires close to the end cap in order to wire in the 2 prong female plug to the new battery end cap. I cut the battery connector off and soldered the two wires to the prong but making sure I had the shrink tubes on first! Taped them and then shrink wrapped them.
The battery end cap fits the control pod perfectly but there is one problem. The battery pod cap with the female end is solid. The factory control pod headphone end cap is not. So you have to cut a slot in the battery end cap in order for the end cap to fit into the control pod. The circuit board fits into the slot that you must cut otherwise the circuit board will prevent the end cap from going on properly. Dremmel time! The slot goes all the way across the end cap.
A little bit of plumbers silicon grease on the O ring and then tighten down the set screws. Put the plastic edge cap back on sealing it up with plumbers clear silicon caulk and it was done.
I then put on the Gray Ghost underwater headphones and turned it on.
Man what a difference. The sound is so much better. My ability to differentiate between dimes and pennies is now so much better. I can really hear the differences of gold rings, pull tabs and coins so much better. And they are sooooo comfortable. Much better than stock Blues.
Went to a neighbors indoor pool and tried it underwater. Nice. Much better than stock. Pool is 12 feet deep and no leaks at all. I left the detector in the water for a few hours just to check to make sure. Not a leak.
I would highly recommend getting the Gray Ghosts for the Excalibur. Don't suffer with the factory Blues. I would only do this at home if your Excalibur is out of warranty, the installation is fairly easy and anyone with any mechanical ability could do it. Just make sure you lube it up and seal it good. If your Excalibur is new and under warranty, I would send it in to Minelab to have it done to preserve the warranty.
