Cleaning the inside of the Etrac?

[dr_maddog]

Has anyone every opened up their Etrac in order to clean it out? I have searched and haven't found much.

I am specfically concerned about the speaker hole and perhaps the build up of dust over a period of time. I was considering opening it up and blowing out the insides with a can of air. I now have a dust cover but prior to that I didn't cover it with anything. Recently I covered the speaker hole with tape but was planning to remove the tape with the purchase of the dust cover. I think the tape should have done well however I am wondering if the case needs cleaned out.

 

[D&P-OR]

I have always used a control box cover on mine.---I have never opened my Etrac or Explorers up for cleaning & have never heard of anyone that has (not to say it hasn't ever been done).-----The thing is, you go opening the machine up and if it's under warranty, you've voided the warranty.-----Better leave "good enough alone", unless (1) It's out of warranty----(2) You REALLY know what you're doing and (3) You just can't live without doing it! -------Bottom line, If it's working fine-leave it alone------If it's not performing right, send it in to Minelab.--------Del

 

[dr_maddog]

Yeah, I am thinking that is probably best to leave it alone. Just curious if anyone else had attempted before. If for some reason I decide to proceed I'll make sure to document and take some pictures of the process to share with others.

Thanks,
Josh

 

[sugar]

ME THINKS SCAREY THINK HARD ABOUT IT

 

[NebTrac]

Hi Josh,

There is another guy off another forum that runs an E-Trac. He's had his open to repair it....long story, but if you're serious I could probably get you in contact with him to just see what you can expect when you crack it open and blow it out. I guess my personal preference is to leave it alone unless something is going awry. I understand your side, as I like to maintain my own stuff too. I can't remember it being in the manual, so I've probably never thought about it too much.

NebTrac

 

[leslie]

If its not broken then don,t fix it.

 

[Nick A]

Sounds like you have cabin fever pretty bad. Put the detector away before you do something crazy with it! I think you might be a little too concerned about keeping it clean. The speaker will accumulate dust, just put the hose of a shop vac up to it and that should remove most debris. The speaker should be sealed to the body so dust won't get any farther than that. Most of us don't even use the speaker anyway... I've owned a lot of detectors and never have I even considered opening them up to clean them out... nor do I do that with any other electronics. The E-Trac (and most other electronics) will be obsolete before dust inside becomes a problem.

 

[D&P-OR]

GET THOSE "TECTORS CLEANED UP BOYS (except the speakers)!! ---Springs ah comin!!!----HEY, is cabin fever contagious??????

 

[jbow]

I never use a cover on mine. I put a screen pretector on the screen and use it. I am pretty sure the speaker is sealed off from the innards... I've never even thought about cleaning out a detector. You'll probably void the warranty if you open it too, I know you will if you break the seal on the Sovereign... I haven't looked at the ET because it has never crossed my mind to open it...

I think you should put this completely out of your mind.

J

 

[Idaho PRB]

Sounds like you have cabin fever pretty bad. Put the detector away before you do something crazy with it! .

 

[david.di]

Yeah, easy to open. It's actually the very first thing I did when I got my Etrac. Wasn't to clean it , was just curious

No need to open at all though, it if you are concerned with removing dirt that may have been getting in through the speaker vents. I to have taped the speaker vent over with a piece of duct tape. Apart from that , it's highly unlikely of any chance that there is any dirt inside the control box getting in from that point.

Remove the upper shaft and turn the speaker vent facing down ward and use a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush attachment and give it a vigorous brushing with the vacuum cleaner on of course . Don't place the vacuum hose directly to this area. The sucking,if to intense may distort the speaker diaphragm and maybe tear the diaphragm.

The speaker diaphragm, in actual fact is preventing dirt from travelling any further into the control box. It's made of a thin plastic and the whole speaker is glued in rather firmly in place causing, basically,a seal.


david di

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Just my opinion but ... the Tech's at Minelab are the only people I'd let open up the control box on my machine.

I've never ran my E-Trac with out a Rain & Dust Cover - put it on when the machine was first taken out of the factory box to be assembled.
Usually get a new cover about every six months because the clear plastic over the screen gets scratched - have the third cover that I bought on now.
Don't you think It would be pretty goofy to spend $1500.00 on a metal detector and not spend an extra $15.00 to protect it from damage ?

HH --- Mark

 

[D&P-OR]

E-TRAC-OHIO------You're ABSOLUTELY RIGHT on all counts (IMHO).------The only thing I do different than you is that I don't see the need to replace the rain covers every 6 mos.----But I have ALWAYS used them & when I trade or sell the detector, that control box looks just like new.--------Del

 

[mblemmy]

dont fix it before it breaks..............


HH


mikeB

 

[Terra1959]

This is as I have heard it and how I understand things to be with the newer Minelab machines -
as far as I know ....Minelab service techs will know that the unit was cracked open by someone other than themselves - there is a way they can tell

T59

 

[david.di]

They might use a set torsion on all 4 screws or look for the little burs that occur on the Philips head of the screws....... so what?

If you tamper with anything inside or if you break a visible seal on the outside that says "you are in breach of a warranty condition if this seal is tampered with or broken", then that's possibly a reason to deny the warranty.

I'm not suggesting you do, but simply unscrewing those four screws on the control box to look inside and to maybe clean it , is NOT going to be justifiable cause to deny warranty UNLESS one is careless in doing this and break something. The Etrac is far more resilient than that with it's very high quality plastic build. The pcb,s are not susceptible to popping out of place and the design of the control box head lends itself to be viewed without the fear of causing a problem. If the Etrac ever broke down for a reason it would be one other than it being opened carefully for viewing the inside of itself control box.

IF any dirt , like sand or fine dust was to get into the speaker vent, it's most likely going to be stopped at the point of the high quality speaker diaphragm. If it isn't then, the speaker diaphragm is broken or someone has not put in a speaker. That's highly unlikely to happen with the production of the Etrac,but if it ever does and you suspect it has then you should be allowed to know and that involves opening it up to simply have a look what might be the cause of the lack of sound though if you look carefully from the outside with a good light, you'll see the plastic and the metal of that speaker...if it's there .....

Now if water, not under any pressure, was to go into the speaker vent, then I am willing to put my neck out and say that it to will be stopped from going in beyond the speaker diaphragm and would simply run out........ The only way I know this , is because I have seen inside of the Etrac and the only way I could that was to remove the four screws and open it and that's again only because it's has been designed so it can be done that way repeatedly if needed.......

david di

 

[mikeeatsbugs]

yah .... ive had mine open a couple of times. i was surprised to see how much dust was inside . but i will say this...the speaker is sealed up pretty tight with hot glue so the dirt dont get in there. i used canned air to clean it but i really dot think the dust is that big of a problem. it seems to me most of the dust enters thru the seam where the case halves come together and around the grip. i seal the seam with electrical tape (and the USB port). this helps rain proof it too. i electric tape all the seams on the handle and sometimes ill tape up my headphone jack if its raining hard. either way, i agree with the rest that say you are best off leaving it alone if it aint broke. but if your really want to open 'er up, just take the screws out and look inside. be careful not to pull the wires out of the plugs and dont finger up the circuit boards too much.