Diving with an Ikelite Connector on the headphones? :shrug:

[ZOFCHAK]

I have a fully stock hardwired Excalibur that is just out of warranty and it will rarely if ever be going deeper than 30ft. I am considering adding an aftermarket set of headphones and I know I could hardwire them, but the option to be able to run non waterproof phones when wading would be nice, and the Ikelite plug would allow that. I'm just concerned that the Ikelite may not as reliable on the headphone end cap as it is on the battrery cap, and obviously the results of a failed seal at that location are a much bigger deal.

Has anyone had any luck or equipment failures using the Ikelite connector on the headphones?

 

[deepdiger60]

Seeing i have nothing better to do while i get over this killer stomack problems never eat 5 corn dogs from fast food place eewwww ! lol , i found this link looks like what your looking for . Jim

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?22,1673549

 

[Hopster]

Never had a water leakage failure on that style of connector (at the female end).
Its only weak point is if there is a bit of saltwter between the positive and negative electrodes it can induce rapid corrosion.
This applies to battery pod use mainly.
With low amperages used for audio this should not be an issue.
The male end is most prone to failure at the wire seal, caused by side-loads pulling on the wires to often.
Open the male end and pack enough silicone in the void to just fill it up, will keep water out.
FYI my commercial dive mask has brass posts on the outside for the audio to hook up to.
Immersed in seawater the audio still comes through cleanly, even tough the wire ends are bare and exposed to seawater all the time.
Point there is that if you get a seawater short between audio leads it will probably keep on working. (dive mask uses a 16 ohm set of speakers and electret microphone ).
I would not hesitate to dive beyond 30 feet with my Ikelite modded excalibur 1000.
Just keep a nice layer of silicone grease on the pins and seal, enough to fill any voids where water can creep in.
You may be able to get by with vaseline but I don't know how it interacts with the rubber gasket, so I trust silicone.
If you are going to do the mod, use a new battery pod end cap which is cast acrylic, unlike the older style which uses a screwed in Ikelite female socket.

As long as you make the headphone connection before you enter the water and use a good strain relief setup, you should be fine.
I hope this is helpful.
DC

 

[ZOFCHAK]

Thanks for the reassuring words on the Ikelite connectors! I've never had a problem with them on my batteries, but the headphones see a lot more stress, so I was not sure if they would handle it. Looks like it won't be an issue as long as I am careful.

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

Is there anyone out there that does the mod for the Goldmaster headphones? I'm not the do it yourself kind of guy and would be concerned about leakage and destroying my Excal. I've read pros and cons about replacing the stock headphones with these if the machine is still under warranty. Some say that the Goldmasters are so much better that you are missing targets that would pay for a new Excal if something happened and others wait until the warranty expires. Decisions, decisions....