Minelab had quality control problems when they first moved their assembly to Malaysia from Ireland. Hopefully these problems have been resolved and build quality has improved as the workers gained experience and Minelab placed more emphasis on quality control. Given that there have been relatively few posts recently would seem to indicate the problems have been addressed and resolved.
Regardless of which version Excal you have, I recommend supplementing the stock strain relief at both the housing and headphone cable penetrations to ensure the cable is not pulled from the unit or broken internally due to stress. Ideally, you want the molded coils in the cable absorb 100% of the strain when the cable is stretched for whatever reason (i.e. unexpected wave pulls the headphones off, you drop the headphones inadvertantly, etc.). Stock strain reliefs do not offer enough relief for water hunting. A simple supplemental strain relief can be assembled using a few zip ties purchased at your local hardware store. Concur with the recommendation for spraying equipment with silicon spray (dive quality) which can be purchased at any dive shop. Lastly, cover your detector with a towel to prevent continued UV exposure when you are not using it.
