A few months ago I purchased a used Excalibur 1000 from the forum classifieds. I was looking to for a unit that I could do some modifications too because I already had a excal II, 10" that was still under warranty so I didn't won't to do any mods to it. I found an Excalibur 1000 in the classifieds that had mods already done to it that I was thinking of doing, like the S-12 coil with and the ikelite connectors with gray ghost headphones. So I was excited to have found a unit with the mods already done to it so I could save some money and time... boy was I wrong!!!
After receiving the unit in great working condition I comparing the depth and sensitivity with the excal 1000 with the S-12 coil and my excal II with the stock 10" coil. I used a 12gram platinum ring and a gold stud ear ring (tested at the beach in the dry sand) and I was surprised with the results. I got equal depth but less sensitivity with the S-12 coil. I wasn't disappointed with the results though because I could cover more area with the bigger coil and I didn't lose any depth to big rings.
Here is where things get messed up, although I didn't pick up any small goodies, I did find a few gold rings with the S-12 coil while the unit lasted. After 1 month of usage, the excal 1000 leaked. I hurried home and took everything apart to dry it out and prayed that the unit was not a lost cause and that I was going to be out all of the money that I spent on it. Well the great news was that after I let it dry out it still worked, so I decided that since I had the unit apart then I would overhaul the unit and make a few more mods to the unit.
I believe the the unit leaked because of old and cracked pot o-rings so I replaced all 5 pot o-rings (I recommend having this done to any older excals), replaced the S-12 with a 15" wot, and removed the ikelite connector and replaced it with the stock end cap and hard wired Garrett underwater headphones.
I could not be happier with the new modes that I made. When comparing the wot with the 10" coil using the same ring and ear ring at the beach, I was stoked with the results. The wot was less sensitive to the stud but picked up the ring about 2"-3" deeper than the 10"coil. The Garrett headphones are awesome on the unit with crisper sound and so much easier to distinguish between the different tones and it is much louder than the gray ghost, It maybe because I hard wired the Garrett's so there is less resistance. The main reason for going with the Garrett headphones is because I have a small head and I have a problem with headphones floating up when I submerse my head under water. The Garrett headphones sounds great and fits my my tiny head.
After receiving the unit in great working condition I comparing the depth and sensitivity with the excal 1000 with the S-12 coil and my excal II with the stock 10" coil. I used a 12gram platinum ring and a gold stud ear ring (tested at the beach in the dry sand) and I was surprised with the results. I got equal depth but less sensitivity with the S-12 coil. I wasn't disappointed with the results though because I could cover more area with the bigger coil and I didn't lose any depth to big rings.
Here is where things get messed up, although I didn't pick up any small goodies, I did find a few gold rings with the S-12 coil while the unit lasted. After 1 month of usage, the excal 1000 leaked. I hurried home and took everything apart to dry it out and prayed that the unit was not a lost cause and that I was going to be out all of the money that I spent on it. Well the great news was that after I let it dry out it still worked, so I decided that since I had the unit apart then I would overhaul the unit and make a few more mods to the unit.
I believe the the unit leaked because of old and cracked pot o-rings so I replaced all 5 pot o-rings (I recommend having this done to any older excals), replaced the S-12 with a 15" wot, and removed the ikelite connector and replaced it with the stock end cap and hard wired Garrett underwater headphones.
I could not be happier with the new modes that I made. When comparing the wot with the 10" coil using the same ring and ear ring at the beach, I was stoked with the results. The wot was less sensitive to the stud but picked up the ring about 2"-3" deeper than the 10"coil. The Garrett headphones are awesome on the unit with crisper sound and so much easier to distinguish between the different tones and it is much louder than the gray ghost, It maybe because I hard wired the Garrett's so there is less resistance. The main reason for going with the Garrett headphones is because I have a small head and I have a problem with headphones floating up when I submerse my head under water. The Garrett headphones sounds great and fits my my tiny head.