Menu
What's new
Find's Treasure Forums

Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!

You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.

Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.

Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.

Click here to register!

Need Support Help?

Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you

CALLING ALL EXCALIBUR OWNERS!:detecting:

B

bdahunter

New member
For those of you who own the BEST underwater metal detector as well as one of the most plagued with flaws detectors - take note.
I have just finished sending a corporate e-mail to MineLab explaining the pros and cons of their Excalibur product and suggesting to them that they read the posts on this forum and others and make changes to their product in order to keep their customer base.

A lot of us love our Excal's and at the same time we hate the short comings of what could be a much better machine with just a little attention to detail and by listening to the feedback from the end users. US!!!

In fairness to MineLab, we as consumers have a responsibility to inform a manufacturer of flaws in their product or be prepared to settle for substandard goods. This is basic capitalism folks.

So I say let's give Minelab a chance and take the time to left click on their banner and send them a note to make them aware of our concerns. It doesn't have to be a rant just a reasonable expression of your concerns as a consumer who put over $1,000 of hard cash on the table and expect a little better than they are getting in return.

It's like the old saying goes " If you didn't Vote, You gave up the Right to Beatch!

It's up to you,

BDA:cool:

Just left click the MineLab banner and follow the post to consumer products, then click contact us, it's that easy.

[attachment 31634 sword_15436.jpg]
 
The problem with the Excal is that it has quality control issues galore, just read some of the older posts and indeed some of the more recent ones as well.
When it works the Excal is argueably the best water unit on the market; when it is working. The most common complaints are:
1) batteries that fail after a few months of use ($90/cell to replace)
2) shaft is poorly designed and tiring to use as a result
3) the cam lock fails quickly which makes the shaft wobbly
4) the connection to the coil develops a wobble that can only be cured by shimming constantly or drilling and replacing connection
5) headphones are inferior and make tone differentiation very difficult for many users, a serious problem for an audio ID unit
6) knobs break off regularly and need replacing

All of these are minor gripes singularly but collectively they are a blight on an otherwise remarkable detector. The sad part is that it would be so easy to correct these deficiencies if the manufacturer would listen to the feedback of the customers. The unit hasn't been updated in many years and these would be good updates to a tried and true machine.
It just seems odd to pay $1,100 for a machine that needs another $200 worth of aftermarket modifications. Check the Beach and Water forum pics and see how many TH'ers run an unmodified Excal, virtually none.

Still Love My Excal,

BDA:cool:
 
Some of the reasons you listed are why I got the less expesive White's BeachHunter ID. It is basically the same technology for half the price (from what I understand White's purchased the technology from Minelab and the DFX was born from the BHID). The biggest drawbacks are: 1. No volume control (which I hate) 2. Pre-set disc.(which I can live with). Other than that I think it has a lot to offer. Don't misunderstand, I'm not advocating one brand over another, it is a question of economics and performance. I haven't had the oportunity to use an excal but I do look forward to it. The water market for metal detector manufacturers is a niche market anyway and not a lot of effort is put into research and development. That's why I feel that no matter what machine you buy you are gonna have to modify or "customize" it to meet your specific requirements. O.K. enough Blah, blah, blah. I have read alot about the excal and its success stories and I do hope that they can get some of these issues resolved because I too have the potential to become an excal user. Thanks once again.
 
Hey Bdahunter, IN ALL FAIRNESS to MINELAB, I have to say that you appear to be OFFLY HARD ON YOUR EQUIPMENT!! Some of your gripes have MERIT, and I PERSONALLY FEEL THAT SOME DON'T.
1. Batteries that Fail After a Few Months; I don't know if you know how to properly recharge a Ni-Cad Battery Pod, but they DO HAVE A MEMORY. My first pod, just FAILED AFTER (5)yrs. OF HEAVY USE!

2. S-SHAFT IS POOR DESIGN. I'll AGREE WITH YOU THERE!!

3.CAMLOCK FAILURE. I have not experienced that problem personally, but I have had a lower rod FREEZE UP inside the UPPER SHAFT, and the ONLY CURE FOR THAT IN A SALTWATER ENVIRONMENT is PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE!!

4.COIL CONNECTION PROBLEMS: I have personally never experienced that problem, and I have (3) EXCALS'.
 
Hey Bdahunter, I ran out of time while replying to your above post,
and I will finish here!
5. HEADPHONE ARE POOR QUALITY AND SOUND DIFFERENTIATION IS DIFFICULT;
I'll partially AGREE WITH YOU ON THE HEADPHONES, because I PERSONALLY LIKE THE OLDER MODEL HEADPHONES(red ones) MUCH BETTER!!

6. CONTROL KNOBS OFTEN BREAK OFF AND NEED REPLACING; I personally HAVE HAD THEM COME LOOSE, BUT IN (6)YRS., I HAVE NEVER HAD ONE BREAK OFF!! BUT I DO THINK THEY ARE POORLY DESIGNED CONTROL KNOBS, and I WISH THEY WOULD GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS KNOBS, like the Older EXCALS'
HAVE!

CONCLUSION: Like I said EARLIER, I'M NOT TRYING TO INSULT YOU, but I PERSONALLY FELT that you were EXAGGERATING THE BLAME on MINELAB!!
HH, NamVetLesTreasureSeeker
 
Allow me to explain my position more clearly.

1) I REALLY LIKE my Excal but I do have a few gripes about some QC issues on a $1,100 detector

2) The items I addressed were based on my own and other Excal owners experience as noted on other posting from this forum

3) Do I think that Minelab is doing a terrible job - NO I DON'T

4) Do I think that Minelab could do a whole lot better - ABSOLUTELY

5) Do I think we have an obligation to Minelab and the TH'ing community to give honest feedback so that Minelab can improve their products and we can improve our hobby - DEFINITELY

6) Do I expect Minelab to figure out what is right and wrong with their product on their own initiative - NO I DON"T AND THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF MY ORIGINAL POST

Cheers,

BDA:cool:
Proud owner of the Excal 1000
 
I am new to the EXCALABUR and I want to thank ALL who contributed to the pro's and cons...I have read about the bugs ( mostly mechanical)so I know what to look forward to, but it was the micro-processor that influenced my decision to buy minelab's EXCALABUR..And I do believe the EXCALABUR is going through an EVOLUTIONARILY PERIOD. ( FROM DEEP SEA TO BEACH-COMBING AND WADING ). Therefore, any and all input on this forum is important...I for one,am happy to be a part of this EVOLUTION and this forum..NOW if I can convince my wife to move to NAPLES FLORIDA , I will have a chance to use it at the beach instead of the SOUTHERN UTAH DESERT...
 
Hi Bdahunter, Like I said in my opinion, I was not trying to be INSULTING! But, in your initial post, I INTERPRETTED that you were being a BIT HARSH on MINELAB!! I have been a MINELAB EXCAL owner for nearly (6)yrs., and I can PERSONALLY ATTEST to the FACT, that MINELAB
USA has DONE SOME MAJOR OVERHAULING since DICK SHULTZ took over Customer Service. The first time, that I talked to Dick Shultz I was
REALLY DISGUSTED with MINELAB'S CRAFTMANSHIP, especially their PREVIOUS Coils, which I PERSONALLY HAD ALOT OF PROBLEMS WITH!! But, after conveying my complaints to DICK SHULTZ, he TOOK CARE OF MY PROBLEMS, and then they came out with the Newer Coil "TORNADO SLIMLINE
COILS", which "I THINK ARE VERY GOOD COILS"!! I have personally read where other EXCAL OWNERS had problems with their EXCALS', and I had read where DICK SHULTZ had PROMPTLY ADDRESSED THEM! Even a CANADIAN
Citizen EXCAL Owner. So, you see why I responded the way I did.
NO HARD FEELINGS, HH, Les Robinson
 
Are the new Koss yellow headphones an improvement to the blue ones, I have had my xcal 1000 for two months now, first change was to hip mount it, next im gonna try to stright shaft it, so we know they need to come up with a better shaft system. Also I wish it came with a removable headphone plug and some sort of led battery indicator. All the above items are easy for a large company to engineer and change. Heck, look at how many of us made our own stright shafts and hip mounts, They will put a headphone plug in for you for 70.00. Both of my sons and I have RC helicopters, a nice led battery indicator with 7 leds is about 6 bucks and about 1/2 inch by 1 inch. Just my opinion as far as upgrades I would want from the factory. Maby they are starting with the headphones and are going to expand, I know they must read this information. BDAHUNTER, after all this, e-mail all this info on these threads to them and see if they would like to reply. We are all big fans of MINELAB. Norm
 
I just sent Minelab an e-mail with my wish list for improvements. It
cant hurt a bit and if I had a company I would want my consumers to inform me about needed changes. Lets see if they respond back to me. It only takes a few seconds to give them your opinion. Norm
 
The Quality of the phones is better, they stay on your head, don't spin around on the slip shaft, the earmuffs are softer and you don't have the outside noise you get with the blue pieces of junk. Now if they can fix the rest of the grips people have like the battery system, bad knobs and a set high quality headphones with good tone seperation. A $1000 metal detector should have all these things. They know what the problem's are, as everybody has been telling them for years. Look at the improvements on the Sov. The GT is one hell of a machine too bad it ain't water proof. It would put the Excall right off the market. All you do is add a good set of quality headphones to the GT and you are ready to go. I was so mad about the blue headphones and the problems with them, I sent the whole machine back and got the Excal 1000 with the Yellow headphones, no questions asked. If I pay a $1000 for a machine you can bet I am going to get what I pay for. I have a excellent dealer and I always come first, just like it is supposed to be. Later Jerry aka Tinfoil
 
I agree with you bda, I think a total reengineereing of the excal would be perfect, I believe if they made a dive model and a surf model it would be great. The vast majority of people use the excal for surf and beach not diving, and a straight shaft square box model with waterproof connectors for the coil and headphones and a NIMH rechargable battery pack with a waterproof digital meter woul be the best thing going.
 
MANY THANKS for the updated INFO Tinfoil! I PERSONALLY DON'T LIKE the Blue Headphones EITHER!! HH, Les Robinson
 
My son now wants one instead of his HH PI, tired of digging wire, will probably get a used one for him, I hope all our info helps ML get in gear to make a superior product even better. We are not asking too much, Mainly the battery situation for most of us, mine died last nite on the beach. Also check out the water forum, some guys are having NIMA battery pods made up and replacing the NICDs. I used Batterys Plus to build batterys for our underwater communication gear and also an old Fisher underwater machine, they did a great job.
 
We all have to give your son credit for putting in the time and effort. So many of the video game generation want instant success and drop a hobby like a hot potato if it doesn't provide that instant gratification.
Of course we know that life's just not like that.
I hope it works out for you.

Cheers,

BDA:cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top