Help with a XL500 headset

[mynahman]

I haven't been hunting for a while and recently got the bug back especially since I lost my job (more time to hunt). Any way, I was hope I could get some help on a headset repair for the XL. Trading in for a new unit is not an option for my wife at this time because of the job. I have a loose wire on of the ear cups of the headset where I am getting intermittent sound. If I shake the wire were it enters the cup, it works. Has anyone ever taken the headset apart? I was hoping to get some ideas before I blindly start dismantling the thing. Thanks for any input, I also asked the question in the Garrett forums site with some feedback. I thought I'd try here.

Thanks again, Mynah

 

[Cupajo]

Hi Mynahman,

I have tried to excavate into the material in one of my sets and found it impossible to do so without destroying the set. If you have use of one side (usually the side where the cable feeds from the control unit, you may be forced to use it one eared. They usually break too close to where the wire disappears into the ear-cup for you to splice the wire. After destroying one set I did a lot of experimenting with the two remaining sets I have. I found that they both had a break where the crossover cable exits from the primary ear-cup and feeds the 2nd ear-cup. I shaved the cable off close to the primary ear-cup body and sealed the hole.(I only use it for wading at the beach and wouldn't try this for diving.) I then spliced into the feed cable before it entered the primary ear-cup about 2" below where it enters the cup. With both earphone sets I was able to get sound in both earphones, but the primary cup was louder than the secondary.

A continuity check was OK thru the primary unit, but I got no continuity in either of the secondary units. I found this puzzling as I could get reduced sound in both secondary ear-cups while the primary ear-cups sound normal. I then pulled the good primary cup from the second earphone and installed it with the good primary of the other unit and spliced the cables and used heat shrink tubing to seal the splices. I made sure to leave extra cable so as not to stress the splices and now I have a normally functioning set of XL earphones. My next project will be to unit the reduced sound cups into one unit to see if I can use them too.

When securing the cables care must be taken to relieve any stress on the dangling coiled cable and the splices by wrapping with a few turns of plastic electrical tape.

Constant flexing of the cables where they enter the ear cups is responsible for their breaking and could be reduced while the units are new if one is aware of the potential damage by re-enforcing those weak points Thickened "Shoe Goop" built up in a tapered slender cone with a 1/2" base where the cable enters the cup and extending up (or down) the cable for 1 1/2" will spread the forces over a longer area reducing the shear forces.

My only concern is that by uniting what appears to be a good set of ear-cups I may be somehow overloading the detector control unit. I don't know enough about the circuitry to predict damage. (I know just enough to be DANGEROUS!!!). The 11/2 hours I used the headphones yesterday seemed not to cause any problem however my battery pack didn't seem to hold it's charge as long as usual.

If you can get sound by flexing the cable, you might try securing the cable in the flexed position to be able to use it.

I don't know if these earphones are availible any longer. I would prefer a new set which I would protect against damage than have to jerk around with these old ones.

I hope you are able to make sense of my rambling and can use the information to get back in the water.

Let me know how you make out.

GL&HH. Friend,

Cupajo

(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)