Excalibur - what are some of the problems they have that require service

[aztec]

n/t

 

[kered]

I think the 2 main problems are the knobs going wrong be it the stops or spinning and not actuating the pot, and the coil going bad(probably water ingress)

 

[erikk]

The 2 that I have had problems with was an unstable threshold which have since been repaired and so far are working correctly (still being tested to make sure)

 

[ML]

Mine was repaired a year ago because the threshold was going haywire. It wouldn't stop screaming. They replaced the coil and control pod. I just sent it back again because it would false on every swing, regardless of sensitivity setting. I also replaced my knobs with Andersons because the Minelab ones kept spinning loose. The nylon bolts w/wing nuts that attach the coil to the lower shaft strip easily. They should be thicker like the ones on my Whites detectors. The stock shaft isn't balanced well. Let's see,..... did I leave anything out? Hopefully the Excal III is in the works, without the kinks. I'm sure I'll be in line to get one. My two Sov GT's are gonna get alot of work for the next few months.....

 

[SwingBlade]

I just sent mine back for the second time due to threshold problems. It sounds like you are trying to tune in a short wave radio. After the first repair, it worked for about three hunts, then it went haywire. WAiting to hear back from MInlab on the status.

SwingBlade

 

[hershey1]

Sounds like a batch of bad switchs. Most of the problems seem to have something to do with the threshold. Hope you guys and gals get your machines fixed where you can depend on them. Erikk uses his often so hopefully they are back on track. HH

 

[Crispy Critter]

I just sent mine back with an intermittent, Disc/Pinpoint switch problem. When I actuated the switch, it sometimes felt like the board inside of the pod was moving back and forth. Minelab is taking care of it though.

 

[mtpockets]

Sent mine in 4 times for Threshold problems..

they changed the board 3 X, changed they Coil all Pots, seals, etc..

Finally we decided to swap it out for an Excal II..

 

[Buried Crap NJ]

Mine had a switch spin around on the Threshold the threshold was unstable, before this happened. Its been away at Minelab for 52 days now. 32 Business days.Mr kozel told me 30 days now the VP of Minelab is saying 40 Business days. A very poor preformance on such a costly machine.

 

[John(Tx)]

I've had mine for 8 months, use it regularly and haven't had any problems, knock on wood. Hope I've got one of the good ones. HH John

 

[signalseeker]

Having owned one of the first 400 Excals with the Seasearch coil first introduced in 1994 I was fortunate never to have any problems with this unit in the first 9 years. Then the headphones went bad & I sent this Excal out to Las Vegas for repair. They in turn installed a new set of yellow headphones for free.Well as it turns out the old 1994 unit & the new headphones were not compatible & I was told that the electronics were fried. So then Minelab gives me all new electronics,a new 10"Tornado coil + the new headphones all for free. As I only use the Excal with scuba gear I thought this was a pretty good deal. However when when I tried the "new" unit in the water the threshold went haywire & was uncontollably erratic in the disc. mode. This meant I had to hunt in pinpoint & then try to disc the target. If I was in an area with lots of ferrous junk the Excal would go nuts on all the targets. I called Minelab and related the issues I was having & they suggested I send the unit back out & have a 10" BBS coil installed.I was told that this was a much more stable coil & should eliminate all the threshold noise. Well guess what the Excal with the new BBS coil worked no better than the Tornado coil. Thinking that it was just the detector acting up I bought a 2nd new & improved modern version of the Excal with the 10" BBS coil & took that scuba diving .... Yep !! It reacted with the same waverly threshold tone.
To solve this problem & eliminate & the shipping costs to & from Las Vegas I sold both of these Excals on Ebay. I then kept my eye out for the older 90's model Excal with the Seasearch coil to show up on Ebay. I ended up buying 2 of them & they work perfectly on disc or pinpoint with no threshold problem when scuba diving in salt or fresh water.
I have never tried an Excal II but was told all Minelab did was change the decal on the control pod to some form of material that is supposedly going make it easier to manitain good stable threshold. I'm sticking with my oldies.... if it's not broken don't fix it !!

 

[ML]

Steve - A very poor performance is an understatement. In your case, Minelab should be beyond embarrassed at their level of support (or lack there of). It would have been to their advantage to just replace it by now. Ewout told me that not that many Excals are actually being sent back for repair in comparision to the number that are out there. That's comforting to know, but for the few that are having continuing issues while still under warranty you'd expect way better support.

 

[Crispy Critter]

Having owned one of the first 400 Excals with the Seasearch coil first introduced in 1994 I was fortunate never to have any problems with this unit in the first 9 years. Then the headphones went bad & I sent this Excal out to Las Vegas for repair. They in turn installed a new set of yellow headphones for free.Well as it turns out the old 1994 unit & the new headphones were not compatible & I was told that the electronics were fried. So then Minelab gives me all new electronics,a new 10"Tornado coil + the new headphones all for free. As I only use the Excal with scuba gear I thought this was a pretty good deal. However when when I tried the "new" unit in the water the threshold went haywire & was uncontollably erratic in the disc. mode. This meant I had to hunt in pinpoint & then try to disc the target. If I was in an area with lots of ferrous junk the Excal would go nuts on all the targets. I called Minelab and related the issues I was having & they suggested I send the unit back out & have a 10" BBS coil installed.I was told that this was a much more stable coil & should eliminate all the threshold noise. Well guess what the Excal with the new BBS coil worked no better than the Tornado coil. Thinking that it was just the detector acting up I bought a 2nd new & improved modern version of the Excal with the 10" BBS coil & took that scuba diving .... Yep !! It reacted with the same waverly threshold tone.
To solve this problem & eliminate & the shipping costs to & from Las Vegas I sold both of these Excals on Ebay. I then kept my eye out for the older 90's model Excal with the Seasearch coil to show up on Ebay. I ended up buying 2 of them & they work perfectly on disc or pinpoint with no threshold problem when scuba diving in salt or fresh water.
I have never tried an Excal II but was told all Minelab did was change the decal on the control pod to some form of material that is supposedly going make it easier to manitain good stable threshold. I'm sticking with my oldies.... if it's not broken don't fix it !!

I really miss the old Excalibur. I wish they would bring it back.....same specs and of course, it would have to come with that wonderful, Seasearch coil.

 

[Neil]

Having owned one of the first 400 Excals with the Seasearch coil first introduced in 1994 I was fortunate never to have any problems with this unit in the first 9 years. Then the headphones went bad & I sent this Excal out to Las Vegas for repair. They in turn installed a new set of yellow headphones for free.Well as it turns out the old 1994 unit & the new headphones were not compatible & I was told that the electronics were fried. So then Minelab gives me all new electronics,a new 10"Tornado coil + the new headphones all for free. As I only use the Excal with scuba gear I thought this was a pretty good deal. However when when I tried the "new" unit in the water the threshold went haywire & was uncontollably erratic in the disc. mode. This meant I had to hunt in pinpoint & then try to disc the target. If I was in an area with lots of ferrous junk the Excal would go nuts on all the targets. I called Minelab and related the issues I was having & they suggested I send the unit back out & have a 10" BBS coil installed.I was told that this was a much more stable coil & should eliminate all the threshold noise. Well guess what the Excal with the new BBS coil worked no better than the Tornado coil. Thinking that it was just the detector acting up I bought a 2nd new & improved modern version of the Excal with the 10" BBS coil & took that scuba diving .... Yep !! It reacted with the same waverly threshold tone.
To solve this problem & eliminate & the shipping costs to & from Las Vegas I sold both of these Excals on Ebay. I then kept my eye out for the older 90's model Excal with the Seasearch coil to show up on Ebay. I ended up buying 2 of them & they work perfectly on disc or pinpoint with no threshold problem when scuba diving in salt or fresh water.
I have never tried an Excal II but was told all Minelab did was change the decal on the control pod to some form of material that is supposedly going make it easier to manitain good stable threshold. I'm sticking with my oldies.... if it's not broken don't fix it !!

The seasearch coil is an 8" coil, why didnt you have them install an 8" coil?

 

[ML]

One of my regular hunting partners had one of those oldies with the seasearch coil. She beat the hell out of it for about 12 or 13 years and never had a problem until it stopped holding a charge. Even a new battery wouldn't help. She replaced it with a unit that was produced prior to the Excal II with an 8" coil and has had no issues to date.

 

[dbsmokey]

I have an older excal 800. I am not sure what year it was manufactured, but I know it was made in Ireland...the box said so. I use it almost daily and have had zero problems with it. It is a really wonderful detector. I am saddened the newer excals have so many problems. I hope minelab is soon able to remedy this, because I have found the excal to be an excellent machine.

 

[Dirt Poor]

I have an old one(first model) that I recently got. It works fine, but leaks. I hip-mounted it and will use it for dry hunting. I also have one that's about 10 years old, and no problems as of yet.

 

[bootybay]

question on the xcal 2, what does a bad coil sound like or do?

 

[Crenman]

I have a new excal from Malaysia. I have had it for 5 months and its been awesome no problems.
My only complaint is its deeper in disc1 than AM/PP. I don't understand it but hey i have found stuff 12" down several times now.
Good enough for me! I have found 38 rings fresh water hunting and that's with a lot of competition.
I went to the ocean once this year and wow that surf sure buries stuff deep. I even dug a few 3 scoop items and i have a 11"scoop.
I love the machine no problems here. I did think the volume was broke once but it turned out the be a loose knob.

 

[ML]

My Excal II is also deeper in Disc then AM/PP. The tones are much stronger. Some folks swear that the opposite is true for their units. Go figure.