Minelab Excal repair

[erikk]

You have to remember that when people are happy with things they rarely spout off about how well things are going. On the other hand, when there is a problem people love to tell the world about it. What I mean is that I'm sure Excalibur break downs are the very rare exception and not the rule, so any newbies out there who are considering one shouldn't be scared off. Same deal with the GT. I've heard it said before by a few people who have owned many Sovereigns over the years- that they've never had a problem with any of them.

On the flip side, even if you are concerned about a break down you have to ask yourself where the heck you are going to go instead of Minelab? Most other brands don't even come close in performance or depth. If you are that worried about it then I'd look into an F75LTD or T2LTD, which many say get near Minelab depth at least in lower minerals.

All the above being said, let's try to remember that Minelab is in the transistion from one factory to another and also has moved the repair facility (I think) in the US. That's why there are going to be issues with the time it takes to get one fixed or for new units to be delivered. Sooner or later that will all sort it's self out once they get settled, I'm sure. I'm not sticking up for Minelab because it sounds like they've done a poor job of moving locations and all that, not to mention a poor job of keeping customers informed of the delay problems and why they exist right now due to the move, but I am saying it should get better once all the dust settles.

Beyond all that remember that it's up to you, the user, to do regular checks on your machine, in particular a water unit. Make sure any connections are snug. Clean the rubber gaskets and lube them with a rubber/silicon safe grease, and so on. In the world of RC planes this is what we call a flight check. You want to find any problem before that plane goes into the air, and the same thinking process should apply to your detector. When it comes to the Sovereign you should install those rubber boots on the switches and try to keep dirt or stand from falling onto the face plate and thus down into the machine. 9 times out of 10 I bet a problem with a Sovereign is either due to a dirty switch or pot, not some internal electronic part failure.

First of all Excalibur breakdowns are NOT rare. I own 3 of them and have been hunting them for many years. On the whole you can expect your excal with heavy hunting (I hunt 5-6 days a week 365) they will break down in about a year +-
I am very tired of hearing about Minelabs transition period. A company that size should not be thrown into a turmoil because they are moving some parts of the operation. The problem is they are trying to do the repairs on a shoestring with two few repairmen to do the job. When you are told it takes 40 + working days just to look at your unit there is a BIG problem. Then they finally get to your machine and it comes back all screwed up after being repaired. (MT for example and I know of several more people that have had the same thing happen.
Also I really don't need to hear any tips on taking care of my equipment since I have been swinging them for almost 50 years . To date I have along with my 3 excals, an Infinium, Sea Hunter MK2 and a BH300. The Infinium had problems in the beginning but Garrett bent over backwards to make things right and turn around was under 2 weeks all 3 times! No problems with the BH or the SH and they all get washed down after every hunt with fresh water
For land units at this time I have 2 F-75's, an Explorer 2 and a Fisher 1235X
No one is saying that the Excal is a crappy unit, it is among one of the best out there but what good does that do if the customer service is in the toilet
I will hunt my excals until it becomes cost prohibitive to repair them and when they are done they will not be replaced. I have been pulling gold rings out of the water before there was a Minelab and will continue to do so with or without an excal .02

 

[Crispy Critter]

It's good that you mentioned the switch boots CH. I too think that every Sovereign should have them. Having used them on my other Sovereigns, I ordered and received the boots even before receiving my new GT.

If there's anyone here that would like to get these boots but your dealer doesn't have them, I bought mine from Mouser Electronics

Mouser #608-N5032B
Mfr. #N5032B
Desc.: (Toggle switch boots .25x.752 GRAY)

For your Sovereign, it is money well spent and easy to install with a couple of 1/4 in. drive deep-well sockets.

HH, Crispy

 

[Critterhunter]

I realize you are very angry with Minelab and I feel for you, but just remember where you should be directing that anger. It's not my fault that you are having issues with your machines or Minelab's service. As I think I said above I'm not defending them. All I'm saying is that problems should be expected when any company is in a transition phase from one plant to another and such. The problem of logistics in such a move isn't unique to Minelab. Now, could they have handled it better? I'm sure they could have. Somebody for sure didn't do a very good job of planning things out. Things will get better though, but if you've had it up to here with them then sell your machines and move on. Obviously at least to this point you have been willing to put up with the service problems. More than likely that's because you know there is nothing better out there. You have to decide for yourself the pros and cons and if it's worth it to try to stay with them. Nobody else can make that decision for you.

Another factor to consider is the fact that it's mid summer and at the peak of detecting season. That, combined with the price of gold these days, means there are more people than usual buying machines, getting machines fixed, and so on. Minelab's performance reputation has been a curse in a way for them. Anybody who knows anything about detectors knows Minelab is where it's at so everybody wants one. In a sense they are a victim of their achievements in detector technology. I don't see Bounty Hunter having people beat down the door to own one of their machines or to get one fixed ASAP so they can get back into the field.

No reason to take offense with me suggesting people take the time to pre-check their machines for preventable problems. I'm sure you are great about doing that and I wasn't even directing that point at you. Just a friendly reminder for people because most people don't do the little things to make sure everything is OK. Then the machine leaks or breaks due to their oversite and rather than blame themselves their first instinct is to lash out at the world, or Minelab in this case.

I still stand by my statement- Most people who are happy and never have a problem don't run around telling the world about it. You tend to only hear from people who are cheesed off about something, and for that reason I'll remind newbies considering a Minelab to keep that in mind. They are quality machines and are built like tanks. In fact, my complaint is that they build them too good, making them heavier than they have to be. That's why I built a light weight custom shaft for my GT. I've owned a lot of brands over the years and none of them are built as strong as a Minelab.

Let's also remember that no brand is perfect. I know somebody who went through two DFX units until he gave up on them due to malfunctions and went to an Explorer SE. He wasn't exactly happy with at least part of the treatment he got from Whites if memory serves. I also hear a certain Garrett water unit has a reputation for the coil mount snapping. All machines have some sort of weak point and over time they are going to fail at that spot. That's just a fact of life when it comes to anything from cars to detectors.

I've got a friend who has beat his Excalibur to death water hunting for probably the last six or seven years and he's never had a problem with it. The only issue he had was that the coil cover wouldn't stay on or kept filling up with sand. As a result he hunted without a cover on it for a long time and the coil developed splits in it because he is a scrubber, so I re-covered it with about 8 to 10 coats of spray on bed liner. While I was at it I decided to give the machine a check up. One or two of the plastic cable connectors for the headphone and such were loose, the rubber gasket at the battery connector had sand trapped between it, and so on. Point being that machine wasn't long for this world unless those things were taken care of. So far this summer I'm happy to say the unit is still working perfectly, and I'd expect him to get another 7 years out of it so long as he takes precautions and doesn't abuse the machine. Forcing POT dials past their stops, not checking for loose connections, letting sand get trapped in the wrong place, etc...Any of those things can cause a unit to fail and then guess who's fault it's going to be? Minelabs. I'm not saying any of your issues are due to neglect, but I am saying that many of the failures you hear about from others probably are. Then there are people who are just having a run of bad luck and it sounds like you're having that. I'm sorry it's been going that way for you. Some times that just happens to people. I have friends who swear by Chevys Every Chevy I've ever owned gave me fits with break downs, and I'm real particular about preventative maintenance. Fords have been great to me. Does that mean it's that way for everybody? No, I just have better luck with Fords, so I don't go around telling people never to buy a Chevy. It's a roll of the dice for any product.

 

[mtpockets]

CritterHunter

I'm not sure if you've been skipping over all of the Members Posts in the Beach/ Shallow water section who use Excals and show all of their finds,

swear by there machines... To me, That would be praising them when They are doing good.. Right?

and when the Mess up... well.. we post that as well..

Now, Minelabs Customer Service & Quality Control Issues Really have Nothing to do with their Move to their new location....

It really stems from their Merge..

and Only having 1 Tech.....

Maybe you can help me here... and Minelab for that matter too....

When I sent my machine in for repairs... and they sent it back.. "Repaired" along with stating everything works good.. Then I go to turn it on and it doesn't work properly still...

or the Board wasn't soldered correctly..... Of course, I had to send it back to them.

What's your take on this?

Ok....
Now...
They tried to repair it again... I waited 3mts for it's return....

Turned it on... and the machine is BAD Once again..

Help me out here... Should I send a Pair of Bifocals in with my Excal this time?

is this because of the Move to IL?

It's pretty bad that Us Surf hunters have to buy an additional Excal to have for a Spare. Cause One of em is Going to break down..

going to the beach with 4-6 Excals in your truck, sure takes up some precious room.

 

[ML]

I'd have to side with those that are NOT happy with Minelab's support. My Excal failed after 6 months of use last year (totally unstable) and I sent it to Minelab. After a month of not hearing from them I placed several calls and was finally told by a manager that they only had 2 repair techs on their entire staff. When I did get my unit back 2 weeks later they basically had to replace the entire unit because they could not duplicate the problem. A friend on mine's Excal that was only 4 months old starting have the same issues and he sent it in and waited about 45 days to get his back. Neither of our units had ever even been submerged. Soon after I got mine back, Minelab contacted me and asked a few questions as part of a survey. I told them that when the detector is working, the Excals are great, but that they appear to be of poor quality and when there is a problem, Minelab support is not even close to acceptable in turnaround time. FYI - my Excal continues to act up every other time I take it out now (falsing on every sweep regardless of what I do), but I'm not sending it back quite yet. I now take several other detectors with me each trip to the beach because I have zero confidence that my Excal will make it through the day. Not what you'd expect from a top notch company.

 

[otlew]

I've had my Excal II 1000 for 6 months and haven't had any problems (knock on wood). It's a good machine but if I had known I there would be these type of problems getting a broken unit repaired I would of gotten a Garretts' or Whites' instead, I had been thinking about getting a used Excal as a backup but I won't do that now, hoping to find a used CZ6a instead as I hunt mostly wet salt sand or maybe just to my knees in the water. I rarely go any deeper than that, I stepped on a stingray when I was about 14 years old and never forgot that experience, that is my only fear of wading in salt water when I can't see the bottom. HH

For those who may not know, slide your feet along the bottom in salt water, if the toe of your wading shoes/boots touches a stingray it will swim off. If you take steps like normal, you may step on a stingray and it will flip around and put its barb into you, and you do not want that barb in you.

As John(Tx) said you will never forget the pain, the trip to the hospital or the bills later.

 

[Crispy Critter]

sure does make me nervous thinking about my Excal breaking down......

I think we just have to keep telling ourselves that there are a lot of them out there that aren't broke............I think.

Sure but why should U have to own 3 excals just to be able to hunt ONE while the others are being constantly repaired.................maybe

I had an Excalibur II and never had a problem with it. Anyways, I just canceled my order for the Excalibur and have instead ordered an E-Trac. Still a little nervous though.

HH, Crispy

Well, I changed my mind again and my new Excalibur II is on it's way. Please wish me luck everyone.
HH, Crispy

 

[mtpockets]

Crispy.. You got it.... I wish you the best...

I haven't had any "Electronic" issues with my Excal II.... However, The Headphones just stripped out on them like on my Other Excal 1000 "Yellow" Headphones..

This is a Very Common.. BS Problem... and Minelab is Fully aware of the Faulty Headphones.... They say.. Send it in and they'll replace em, fix em, or whatever..


I just sent my Excal 1000 back into minelab.. after waiting so long for it to be repaired.. OH-Well... It's better than getting hit by Lightning I guess..


This will be my First time Experience with the New IL, shop...

I think I have a bit More Confidence now... Especially, after talking to Kevin Hoagland, and Ewout.... My Machine is Being sent into him "Directly" and from our conversation
I feel as if he's really going to get to the bottom of it..

I'm going to Clear my Mind from the Vegas crew.. and Be positive .. That "Ewout" is going to be the Man.. to see this repair Through and Through.....

Excalibur's.. are AWESOME Machines.... When their working properly......

Yes, Not everyone has problems with theirs..... But, think about it like this.....

What about all the people who don't Know about the on line forums or who don't post on the Forums.. and are having the same issues......

Anyways,

Best of Luck with your New Excal..... HH

 

[Crispy Critter]

Thanks MT. The fact that I'm still going to waterproof my Sovereign, should tell you something........lol!

I really do hope that they get you taken care of once and for all.

HH, Crispy

 

[mtpockets]

Your welcome Buddy,

you know even though a Sov is basically a Waterproof Excal..

I'd have more Faith in a waterproof Sov than an Excal any-day.

I'd do it myself.. If I only had the time to Configure a waterproof slimline box for it... You don't need the outer "Blue" casing for it.. all you need is the Innards.. and a waterproof box...

you can eliminate a lot of Bulk that way... why have a case within a case? Ya know...

Their isn't much to a GT.. especially if your going to WP it..

Thanks MT. The fact that I'm still going to waterproof my Sovereign, should tell you something........lol!

I really do hope that they get you taken care of once and for all.

HH, Crispy

 

[Crispy Critter]

Your welcome Buddy,

you know even though a Sov is basically a Waterproof Excal..

I'd have more Faith in a waterproof Sov than an Excal any-day.

I'd do it myself.. If I only had the time to Configure a waterproof slimline box for it... You don't need the outer "Blue" casing for it.. all you need is the Innards.. and a waterproof box...

you can eliminate a lot of Bulk that way... why have a case within a case? Ya know...

Their isn't much to a GT.. especially if your going to WP it..

Thanks MT. The fact that I'm still going to waterproof my Sovereign, should tell you something........lol!

I really do hope that they get you taken care of once and for all.

HH, Crispy

I agree with what you said about the case inside of a case business. That's why I'm going to go with a bag instead of the box. Like you said though, a custom case with just the Sovereign innards, would be ideal.

Crispy

 

[Critterhunter]

The reason why some want to keep the Sovereign's case intact is because they can then take the unit out of the water proof box, snap it back onto their land rig, and hit parks and such. That's why I won't take my GT apart. If I end up buying an older Sovereign control box I'll probably do that (strip the case off) because you're right- there is a lot of unneeded bulk to a control box. In fact, when I had my GT apart to install a remote PP switch I noticed the darn thing had just a small/flat square control board. The rest of the box is just open air. You could literally slide that control board into the pocket of a folder if you wanted to, it's that small. The only reason why I can think Minelab did this was so that the face plate could be the size it is for an easy dial layout. Still, they should have just stuck the dials and switches on top of the box and got rid of all that dead air space inside. The thing would probably be no thicker than a pack of smokes and even shorter than the current control box by about 2 or 3".

On the service/loyalty debate. Let's face it, nothing beats a Minelab. So I'll again say that if you can't wait for the service issues to get better as they finalize the move and all then the answer is simple- Move on to another machine. And yes, I do see the great finds people find with their Excals in the beach forum. My point is that you don't hear people everyday tell the world "Hey, my machine worked fine today with no issues." You only hear about people having problems with a machine. That's a fact of life in every respect, be it politics, customer service, or any other facet of life. Point being that I'm sure the majority of Excalibers work perfectly fine and for a long time. Otherwise you wouldn't see the finds people are making with them and there would be a lot more negative threads about how they all break down. If you want to talk quality I could mention a few other detector brands that will break if you just look at them the right way. Talk about junk, and from companies that used to have a solid reputation twenty years ago.

So far with my GT I"ve hunted in the rain about ten times, fell down a hill in the woods and landed on the control box, forgot I had it in my truck when it was near 100 degrees outside, and done a few other things with it that weren't exactly bright ideas. Still works and looks like new, so I'm one happy camper myself. I'd encourage anybody else who owns a Minelab and is happy with it to post that fact on here so people don't get the idea that they are all destined for destruction.

Now, as far as the quality of service they've had lately, I'll be the first to sign a petition to tell them they need more service techs since that kind of wait is outrageous. It is the busy season, though, so I'd expect that to an extent.

 

[Crispy Critter]

I'll be the first to say that after owning other brands, I've owned a Sovereign XS, two Sovereign GT's and an Excalibur II, All eventually sold and not because I wanted to sell them.....just had to. I never had any of them for more than a couple of years each but in that time, they got used regularly and I never had a problem with any of them. Plus, they always performed great.....better than anything else I have had. That's why I'm not letting any problems that the company is having right now, sway me from having the best. I'm sure they will eventually get things worked out. I couldn't even imagine a world without a Minelab.

I'm currently on my third new GT while waiting for UPS to deliver my second Excalibur II and I'm keeping these no matter what. I just can't wait to hit the beach

The reason why some want to keep the Sovereign's case intact is because they can then take the unit out of the water proof box, snap it back onto their land rig, and hit parks and such. That's why I won't take my GT apart. If I end up buying an older Sovereign control box I'll probably do that (strip the case off) because you're right- there is a lot of unneeded bulk to a control box. In fact, when I had my GT apart to install a remote PP switch I noticed the darn thing had just a small/flat square control board. The rest of the box is just open air. You could literally slide that control board into the pocket of a folder if you wanted to, it's that small. The only reason why I can think Minelab did this was so that the face plate could be the size it is for an easy dial layout. Still, they should have just stuck the dials and switches on top of the box and got rid of all that dead air space inside. The thing would probably be no thicker than a pack of smokes and even shorter than the current control box by about 2 or 3".

On the service/loyalty debate. Let's face it, nothing beats a Minelab. So I'll again say that if you can't wait for the service issues to get better as they finalize the move and all then the answer is simple- Move on to another machine. And yes, I do see the great finds people find with their Excals in the beach forum. My point is that you don't hear people everyday tell the world "Hey, my machine worked fine today with no issues." You only hear about people having problems with a machine. That's a fact of life in every respect, be it politics, customer service, or any other facet of life. Point being that I'm sure the majority of Excalibers work perfectly fine and for a long time. Otherwise you wouldn't see the finds people are making with them and there would be a lot more negative threads about how they all break down. If you want to talk quality I could mention a few other detector brands that will break if you just look at them the right way. Talk about junk, and from companies that used to have a solid reputation twenty years ago.

So far with my GT I"ve hunted in the rain about ten times, fell down a hill in the woods and landed on the control box, forgot I had it in my truck when it was near 100 degrees outside, and done a few other things with it that weren't exactly bright ideas. Still works and looks like new, so I'm one happy camper myself. I'd encourage anybody else who owns a Minelab and is happy with it to post that fact on here so people don't get the idea that they are all destined for destruction.

Now, as far as the quality of service they've had lately, I'll be the first to sign a petition to tell them they need more service techs since that kind of wait is outrageous. It is the busy season, though, so I'd expect that to an extent.

 

[mtpockets]

Another Forum Member put me intouch with "Gary Schafer" VP for North & South America Operations..

I had left him an email and a Message on his phone.. and he Got back to me Immediately..
Via "Email"

I'm feeling pretty Confident now..

He's totally aware of the situation.

we'll see how it goes from here...

 

[Critterhunter]

Yea, that would be one of my hunting partners named Fern. Glad to hear he was able to help you out. I told him to say "Hi" for me on the phone with you.

 

[mtpockets]

Well,

Thanks Guy's, I truly appreciate it..

I didn't wanna post any names..

He's a Good man.. had a good conversation with him..

 

[I Dig Ya Dig]

Yes, it

 

[BigDan]

Well Erik, my Exal hit NV the same day as yours and it is keeping yours company over the summer. Why don't a bunch of us get together and demand warranty extensions for the length of time they are sitting in the queue?

I got a totally different story from them and don't believe anything I hear.

I personally believe there is a flaw with the motherboards and they are sitting there waiting for a design fix. Only then will the motherboards even be produced. I was an IT Mgr for 35 yrs. Maintenance of this type of gizmo usually entails swapping out a bad board. Should go quickly...if the board exists.

 

[Buried Crap NJ]

Well Erik, my Exal hit NV the same day as yours and it is keeping yours company over the summer. Why don't a bunch of us get together and demand warranty extensions for the length of time they are sitting in the queue?

I got a totally different story from them and don't believe anything I hear.

I personally believe there is a flaw with the motherboards and they are sitting there waiting for a design fix. Only then will the motherboards even be produced. I was an IT Mgr for 35 yrs. Maintenance of this type of gizmo usually entails swapping out a bad board. Should go quickly...if the board exists.

I like the idea of asking for an extension. Two months on the one year warranty is a lot! The motherboard deal I not sure everyone has the same problem. Mine is a switch, others are just needing headsets rewired, but it takes the same time frame?