my other than min lab service experience...:wink:..

[JOHNMARKHAM]

OK here goes after being asked by many to post this warning to others
this is my own experience and my own only
i was having a sensitivity problem with my Excalibur 2 1000 targets were just way to soft, Had Mel Parker put his mod on for the hand grip which switches between disc and am and it does work great, after using my Excalibur 2 1000 i noticed a sensitivity problem creeping up, so i thought id get it serviced,i checked on this forum as who i could send it to, min lab said they would work on it but they might have to take the mod out that Mel put in,i didn't want that to happen only cause i like the mod that Mel did, so i found out about bill branin in las Vegas who used to work for min lab when they was there, i thought OK this should be OK cause who would know these machines best? so i called him up and we chatted about my machine, he said i was in luck cause that very week he was working on several other excals and if i could get it to him then he could work on it and return it to me when i needed it so i could use it on my honeymoon in myrtle beach, so the next morning i overnight ed it to him at a cost of 150.00 dollars plus as he requested a check for 75.00 dollars to cover the repair costs which i thought was a fair price to get my machine serviced and back in time for my trip, so off it goes..i called him after he received my package, he then tells me he wont be able to repair mine until following week even after he said he could get it back to me before my trip.
so now I'm getting concerned,I'm going to the beach and no water machine, just great i said, i called my friends and Buddy's about this in a panic, i got a call from Mel Parker as he heard of my troubles and he offered to send to our hotel his Excalibur to use, i said thank you so so much,i told him id reimburse him for all expenses,so off we went,i ran into goodmoore from this site along with his wife hunting as he also offered the use of his machine to use also, thanks Brett i did appreciate the offer too..
after lots of excuses and over a month later i did get a detector back, when i opened the box i noticed right away something wasn't right,this machine wasn't mine,it was all scratched up battery connector was all chewed up like some one used a set of pliars on it to tighten and loosen up and the battery pack wasn't even mine cause i had over charged my pack one day and the shrink wrapping on mine i needed to remove to inspect pack,this pack was a stock pack,then i checked the serial number with my warranty card that i got when unit was new i had wrote down all numbers to this unit on my warranty card, i then noticed this wasn't the same number and then i noticed that the PC board was a different one.
so i tried for a few days to call bill as it is he only picks up his phone when he wants to, i asked him what did he do when he serviced this machine, at first before i got my machine back he said he had to figure out Mel's mod, he felt that the mod was not allowing the proper voltage to get to the coil, now I'm a electronic tech so some of this made sense, but since i don't or have never worked on any of these units i trusted his word on this,while he was servicing my machine i heard several excuses as to why he wasn't done with it, like he saw a cap that was soldered onto main PC board,he thought there wasn't enough current from battery pack,to he needed to shorten the coil cable cause it was too long and min lab knew this cause the FCC made them put a longer cable on to calm the machine down, all of which i know nothing about i asked him about this machine asking did he return the correct machine to me he said oh yes i did, i said are you sure he said yep no problem,i then asked him did he take my machine out of tube and check it out completely? he said he did,i then asked him why was this battery connector all chewed up? he said he didn't know about it, i then asked him about the tube could he have gotten it mixed up with another? he said he didn't think so, i then asked him about serial numbers? he was at aw on this,he never could explain,only to say he working on several other machines at the same time,he was tired and had all kinds of work and he didn't know how this happened? now remember i had Mel's mod done to my machine, he had to completely take my machine apart; coil,headphones and Mel's mod, so he switched boards and tube and battery pack,as he had to know he was doing this, as i work on radios and i work on several at a time sometime but Ive not switched radio chassis with another?? i just dint like his answers he was giving me so after great regret I'm writing this to warn all of my own experience i had, I'm sure hes done well for others but as i said this was my own experience...,bottom line is i didn't get back my own machine and to this date hes not answered my phone calls or emails,so its with great displeasure I'm posting this to warn anyone else of my own bad experience.
hopefully he will work this out with me and if and when he does ill post all...
i hope this helps out as its not meant to harm anyone but i feel i got took here..

 

[cginn]

Wow! Sorry to hear that you had a such bad experience with your machine. I'll be watching this thread closely to see if this situation is resolved to your satisfaction.

 

[biglry]

Bill Branin in las Vegas.
I'm writing this to warn all of my own experience i had, bottom line is i didn't get back my own machine and to this date hes not answered my phone calls or emails,so its with great displeasure I'm posting this to warn anyone else of my own bad experience.
i hope this helps out as its not meant to harm anyone but i feel i got took here..

Sure sounds like you did John :veryangry: thanks for the warning and I do hope anyone else who may have had dealings with this person will post up their experiences.

 

[otlew]

Now I understand why you are so displeased, to put it mildly. So apparently now someone thinks he is great because they got back a nice clean machine, that didn't have all the damage they sent in with. Not cool.

 

[synthnut]

John,
Thanks for the heads up .....Yeah, this is surely nothing to be happy about at all !!....... Thank God we have some good forum members that came to your aid , but that doesn't let this guy off the hook ..... I'm trying to think if there is anything we as forum members can do to help you out .....Would it help you to let this guy know that WE KNOW who he is and the shady operation he's running ? ..... Sounds to me like there's probably a good reason why he doesn't work for Minelab anymore ...... Did you report him to BBB ? .....Is he even a legit operation ? ........Maybe someone from the area can pay him a visit ? ...... Like they say ..."" What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas " .....Jim

 

[ToniSteve]

Hi John,

Man I feel for you! Minelab does not sell any parts, so I would be wary of anyone who says they can do all the repairs on the Excalibur. Now mods that is a different story. I hope you can recoup your loss.

Best Regards,
Steve

 

[dfxone]

John, thank you very much for naming who it was that did not send the same detector back to you after being repaired. I hope Bill will do right with you. Good hunting, Don

 

[OldBeechnut]

John, thank you very much for naming who it was that did not send the same detector back to you after being repaired. I hope Bill will do right with you. Good hunting, Don

I second that DfXone
Sorry, Otlew..only had heard good till this...Glad we all know now.....thanks John.................................joe

 

[otlew]

No problem Joe, you were trying to help and I thank you for that. As always Caveat Emptor is the rule of the day.

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

Here

 

[vfr800]

John,
I sent you my phone number i wanted to speak to you about this. I got the same attitude from Bill Branin when i called him to send it he was nice and talked about how he wants to start a business doing work and mods for minelab's. But after he got my detector then he didn't return calls then gave me crap when i emailed asking if he was going to sent it after he told me he was. When i got it back he lost a knob cap but that's not a big deal glue on the machine chewed up battery connector, silicon pack missing from battery pak and when i asked the attitude started again and was told he don't give a crap and don't come back to him for any service. I tried to keep my cool at the time since he did have my detector but anyway i kept all the emails so i can prove what was said.
It's to bad that he is this way but i don't know him nor do i owe him anything but he may have been able to start a good business if he knew how to respond to people.
So bottom line is don't use him deal with the delay and go to Minelab for your work.

 

[synthnut]

Again, this is one more time that we need a sticky to post something of importance ..........

 

[jbow]

I don't mean you are a jerk... he is a jerk. It makes one wonder if he sold a "like new" Excalibur II recently?

J

 

[erikk]

Here

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

heres another update to my post....ive contacted our attorney here about said matter, hes advised me to come by and to bring all emails to and from, he said i do have a case under ohio consumer protection laws along with a suit from the state attorneys office might want to look at too...so ill look at my options, they did say i can ould collect up to 3 times the cost of my detector and it doesnt matter that hes in las vegas either,??humm all i want is my original excalibur 2 1000 not this chewed up one i got back...ill update as i know more...
im wondering how many others are in the same boat as i am with this guy???
thanks
john

 

[synthnut]

John,
I hope it all works out for you ......It will be interesting to see how this plays out .....It would be interesting to see if he is even paying tax on his business .... Does he have a tax ID number ? ........ These should be questions you should ask ......Good Luck , Jim

 

[seeker41]

hey john, thanks for posting all this! yes, this should be a sticky!!! sounds like this guy bit off more than he could chew and he certainly doesnt understand how to run a business or customer service!! there is another guy in michigan? that is repairing minelabs and i have heard good reports on him.
well, hopefully by may(when we can start hunting again) you will have an even better machine with another mel parker mod and a few backups to start the year with, if your lawer can get you a little something!.........yep, depression(seriously!!) is setting in for me....cold, cant hunt, grey skys, really really stinks!!!!!!
chuck.

 

[Critterhunter]

I didn't read your entire post (yet) but I did catch a blurb about the PP switch mod not allowing full power to the coil. As far as I know that sounds like something made up to me, because the TX coil circuit isn't tied to the PP switch in any way. It's a mode thing that causes the detector's IC chip to go into a different mode, and should be fairly well isolated from what the machine is doing with the TX transmit circuit. Anybody with more knowledge of the inner workings of the Sovereign or Excal care to expound on this or set me straight, because in no way have I looked that extensively at the inner workings of these machines. I have designed my own PP circuit for a remote PP on the GT but beyond that I'm not saying I've back engineered the circuit board or anything. To me that would be like saying putting a headlight switch on your car in another location causes the alternator to put out less power. Completely unrelated components.

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

yes critterhunter, i knew it was a crock when i heard all he was trying to sell me, i just wanted my machine back and working so i gave him the benefit..now Ive found out hes on eBay selling all types of machines as quantum bill...i just wonder how many others have fallen in the same trap as i did? i wonder how many guys haven't even noticed that there machine or parts of there machine was switched?? I'm sure hes thinking there's nothing i can do about all this but according to the state of Ohio attorney generals office there's plenty that can be done,so I'm pursuing all my options now...hope your reading bill???
ill keep everyone posted..
thanks
john

 

[Harold in NC]

[size=medium][size=large]Well it's like this, John i know you got your problems with Bill, But i have sent my detector to him many times and always got back the same detector, and if it wasn't right i would call him and he would say send it back and I'll fix it, witch he did, other people my of had other problems with him but he's always treated me with respect and took care of the problem, everybody has their own opinion on a matter like this, maybe things will all work out for all of you. Harold[/size][/size]