R.I.P. my XS

[Don in SJ]

Hi all, been awhile since I posted, no, finds in this post, but did get a neat old lock this week I am currently zapping to hopefully make it presentable as a display relic. Anyway, while I was deployed to Saudi Arabia back in the days before the 2nd Iraq War where we did flyovers in the Southern part of Iraq, I ordered my first Minelab Explorer and upon my return in December 2000. My first find within one hour of hunting was a Draped Bust Half Cent and that began a ten year love affair with my XS!

Hundreds of Colonials and early Federation era coins and relics later my XS finally decided to do a hissy fit and it was time to move on to a new SE Pro. I just want to say the XS was the best detector I ever owned, had mostly Garrett's for the first 16-18 years of detecting and they went back to the factory more than once, but my XS never, ever broke electronically, that is until November 2010, almost a full ten years of hard use in the woods, snow, rain and nice weather. So hats off to the Explorer and sure would be happy if I get ten years maintenance free use of my new SE Pro............

Just in case you are interested, the XS problem was it turned itself on after sitting here in my computer room for about a week, don't know why, but what caught my attention was the low battery warning tone going off. It took awhile till I figured out it was my detector making that faint noise (headphones were plugged in). The detector would not shut off!. I pulled the battery pack, put fresh pack in and it would not turn on.... After talking to a few people, trying this and that, I gave up and started searching for a used XSII or SE. In the meantime, the next day I put a battery pack back in and it started up and worked great. Tried it outside and it was normal. But, after bringing it back in and letting it sit, and again, while sitting here, I heard the detector turn on by itself!. Again, it would not shutoff, and tried another battery pack, and again it would not start. So now I convinced the boss, time to get one and ended up getting a new one instead of a used one, feel better about having the warranty......

I still have no idea what is ailing the XS, but that is OK, it was time to replace, now I have spare parts. :>)

OK, changed my mind, here is a photo of the lock I found two days ago, hope it cleans up some. It is a big one for sure, much thicker than my other similar style lock. The lock found yesterday is the one on the left.

Don

 

[Brian(upstateNY)]

n/t

 

[Don in SJ]

cash in my silver dimes and quarters as promised to help offset the cost.

Don

 

[Brian(upstateNY)]

n/t

 

[christopher-ohio]

to see what you think about the SE Pro-I definitely think it's a different animal. I'm sure no matter which Explorer model you use, you will be uber successful..JMHO...HH and Thanksgiving to all!

 

[Eddie in Poulsbo]

Sorry to hear about your XS Don. I had that same problem awhile back and so did my buddy with his XS. He just got his back a couple of months ago and it's like brand new now. They put a new face on it and replaced the keypads and it was a little over $100 for repairs. Might want to think about getting it fixed and still have a backup for your SE. Seems like when they get about ten years old they start to wear out some and I know of three XS's now that had the same problem. I also just bought the SE Pro myself, but it's nice to know I still have my XS just in case. Good luck on whatever you decide to do and even better luck with your SE. HH.

Eddie

 

[Don in SJ]

I gave it some thought about getting it repaired and maybe once the dust settles, I might do just that, but for now, it is a nice wall piece with lots of memories..........

Don

 

[GOLDDIGGER]

Well worth the fix!
Send it off it takes a few weeks to get it done BUT that's a lot better And CHEAPER than buying a "NEW" unit!
H.H(GOLDDIGGER) J.W.

 

[Ron NY]

I just had practically the same thing happen to my XS. It turned out it was the front control panel, cost of repair was about $125.

 

[Don in SJ]

Thanks for the inputs on repairs, I think mine might run a tad higher, new headphone jack needed, I modified mine externally couple years ago, new grip, new camloc assy, faceplate and whatever else, but either way, if I send it in or not, it gave me ten years of the best performance one could ask for in a detector. So far, the new SE Pro is very nice, I feel like I am still using the XS, except new, of course now I can have a good low threshold with max setttings, I like the newer pinpoint capabilities, the digital screen,well, I might look at it once and awhile, but I am a Smart Sceen guy all the way, have been for the ten years, can't see changing now.

Don

 

[Brian(upstateNY)]

n/t

 

[Aaron]

Thanks for the cool post Don, sounds like that XS paid for itself many times over in finds and memories.
Your lock looks very similar to one that I found at a garage sale. It turned out to be a railroad car lock, and sold it for many times more than I paid for it.
HH! Aaron

 

[Marc in Va]

I hate to say it but you will be sorry you didnt spend the small amount of money to get it fixed instead of spending the big bucks for an SE. Nothing will ever compare to the XS!

 

[Don in SJ]

I see no difference to the negative with the new SE Pro, replacing a heavily used XS that has seen better days, remember I said it never broke electronically in 10 years, but the detector itself shows the wear and tear. Believe me, it was time to replace, regardless if it was broken or not. I still may get it fixed for having an emerg backup, but not right now.

It is not like going to a new detector, gads, the SE and the XS are so similar to make statements about being sorry, doe not compute with me and will not compute. They both have the same coil (Pro on my XS) I will still be using the Smart Screen, the detectors is new and under 3 year warranty, Improvements to the software were to the positive, not the negative! Afterall, I did not get an E-trac
I have already used the SE Pro several times and I have noticed no negatives at all, only improvements and feel like I am still hunting with the XS, still gets deep small targets, worked great in iron, pinpoint is an improvement, overall, the right decsision for me. I needed a new toy.

Don

 

[pinebarrens1]

my XS is at that point now don . 10yrs old but its still kicking butt . on a scale of 1-10 its a 4 ... but it one of the best detectors i ever used . I'm trying the mine lab xterra 505 now , but its not the explorer . the xs handles the sand and dirt of the pinebarrens better than anything new out there .

 

[Big Fang Coin Biter]

You know how in conductive tones you get a high tone false off deep iron, then turn 90 deg. and it will go away if iron... that did not work on my SE. Small difference but a huge impact. It became very frustrating digging every deep square nail that sounded like a deep coin! My EII would only do that if the nail was bent and then it would sound mighty iffy. My SE would just say Deep Coin for any deep iron - It sucked majorly! ML acted like they had never heard of such a problem when I sent it in for repair (I know numerous guys that sent theirs in for the same thing). They did "put new guts" in the machine, but by then I had lost confidence in the SE. My EII still works great and the SE is a $1000+ paperweight backup machine that was advertised as "Handles Iron Better". My advise - send the XS in for repair; you will go back to it if your experience is anything like mine.
HH - BF

 

[Don in SJ]

I never use Conductive, do not like it, tried it many times, but prefer Ferrous sounds, so no problem.(Isolated cellar hole in the woods hunter for the most part) You are comparing a XSII with the SE , I had a ten year old XS. I will be doing my fourth hunt this afternoon with my new SE Pro and I am sure I will notice no noticeable difference, just like I did not on my first three hunts. If you had the same detector for ten years, of brush beating, stump hitting use, and not swinging freely in an open field, you would also be glad to finally replace the machine.

Believe me, If I find a negative, in my opinion of the new SE I will say so here, but again, when it is time for a new detector , it is time. At least I stayed with Explorer.

Don

 

[Big Fang Coin Biter]

I don't think you will have any problems running ferrous tones on the SE. That is how I ended up using mine, and it worked ok. Unfortunately, I like the conductive tones for hunting home sites, parks etc. I like listening to the tones for an ID rather than looking at the screen. I do use ferrous tones with little or no discrimination in the iron infested sites.

You said the XSII in your response - I was comparing the Explorer II and the Explorer SE. I had an Explorer XS too, which I loved. My Explorer II must be around nine years old now. It has a few button problems but works fine for now. Sounds like your XS is pooped!

HH - Robin

 

[Don in SJ]

LOL, XSII is an Explorer II, much easier to type! Yes, the XS has been through the mill for sure, have been using an homemade PVC arm cuff since year 3, and worked better than any stock one or even same shaped metal one made, but looked like hell. I got tired of the original headphone jack, and modified to accept the normal jack externally using a plastice film canister to hold the new receptacle.(on moficiation forum) the hand grip has been all taped heavily for years with electricians tape, which has worked well, especially in repelling dirt and water and a nice solid grip feeling. Holes in the cover plate screen, down to my last battery pack, the charger burned up, the rechargeable packs (2ea) would no longer hold a charge for more than 3 hours, but when the charger went that was that, so was down to the standard battery holder and used rechargeables in there, so no big deal but no spare pack, had to carry 8 batteries with me as backup. Then there is the camloc system, you can only do so much when the system wears out, the shafts are worn down shiny from years of wobble, wear, in and out. (Yes I used tape) My oriignal stock coil from 2000 was still working but would false in wet grass, so been using the Pro coil since they first became available. That helped extend my use of the XS despite its declining physical shape. Once the electronic failure happened, that was my signal to finally replace it, and I was going to buy a used one, but after the wife (the real boss) gave the statement that she would feel better me spending the money on a new one with warranty over spending say 60% or so of that amount on a used one with unknown properties and no warranty. So, with that I was on the computer ordering a new one.

Don

 

[Big Fang Coin Biter]

What is up with holes in the cover plate? Not sure what you mean - buttons worn through?

I think it was last year my hunting buddy was shoving a pull tab into the camloc of his XS, to make it tight. He usually whips me when we hunt together so his machine is still working fine!

You will be running a Cadillac now in comparison! Good luck this afternoon!
BF