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Equinox Coil Ears


mn90403

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19 minutes ago, Againstmywill said:

Here is the ear that broke off. There is a groove worn in a circular pattern where there is contact, but obviously, that is not where it broke.

This is the biggest design failure I have ever seen in detectors. 

For an extra 50 cents of plastic.

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That ear wear shown by 'againstmywill' is exactly the wear I was describing in my post on another 'broken ear' thread:
 



People really should check their ears regularly for this, and take precautionary measures, such as using the shims I described ( cheap ), or possibly replacement of the rubber washers with new ones ( more expensive )

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8 hours ago, midalake said:

This is the biggest design failure I have ever seen in detectors. 

For an extra 50 cents of plastic.

I don't think it's as much of a design failure as it is a failure of Minelab's management.

Engineers are probably asked to push the envelope when it comes to reducing weight of coils. However, once it became known the original design was insufficient, why didn't a redesign take place? That was probably management's call, not the engineers'.

Personally, I think that the engineers knew all along the original design wasn't ideal, but management told them to shut their mouths and do as told. Maybe Minelab/Codan has a few executives that used to work at Boeing? But even if I'm wrong and Minelab's design team screwed things up, it was still management's call when it came to how to deal with this coil ear issue.

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The problem is, if they release a new model of the coil with stronger thicker ears the previous model owners will be demanding the new model coil as a replacement for their possibly weak coil.  With the Equinox likely their biggest selling detector ever this is an issue.  As a business would you rather swap out the occasional coil that hardcore users are breaking and the occasional weekend warrior breaks by very bad luck or would you rather adjust the design and have a massive PR disaster with many requests for new replacement better coils even without them being broken and with people even breaking their ears on purpose to get the new model? That also means admitting there is a problem that needs fixed? 🙂

Minelab have clearly taken the first option, with replacing coils quickly and easily for everyone who breaks one.  They've made it a simple process to keep people happy and say how good their warranty was.   It's a shame for them the problem was unable to be fixed with a better plastic formula that looks the same but is stronger but this doesn't seem to be the case with some users breaking the replacement coils also.

I've got coil ear strengtheners on my coils and I'd imagine my 11" and 6" are out of warranty by now, my 15x12" likely still has warranty although I haven't checked.  I like the idea of people using epoxy to glue the strengtheners onto the coils but I don't like the idea of epoxy to make a permanent change, to get around this I've used some hot glue on mine, I can completely reverse the process as hot glue can be removed with rubbing alcohol.  I could make my coils look like I'd never glued the strengtheners on if I wanted to and it should serve the same purpose as epoxy by binding the strengthener to the original ears, so far so good.

As someone that's very fussy about cosmetics I used black coloured hot glue sticks too, and when using hot glue you can make it very neat by wetting your finger and shaping and adjusting it as it cools so you really can make it a nice tidy professional looking job.

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Simon,

    You've said exactly what I, others, and probably you, have said before!👍

   ML is a business, and is doing the "right" thing for their shareholders; like it or not!! The warranty is "saving" their bacon; and ours, for now!! But they had better address the problem, (if not already, with recent detector releases) or it may end up affecting sales on future models! Not unlike the huge shift to Coiltek coils by users!!

   But then again, maybe that was a genius move on their part, and it's actually more profitable to just sell their coil "chips" to Coiltek, and not have to continue infinitely with their "problem" design/material issues for their own coils!? Time will tell!!

   But a word of caution, to those new to the problem! As we have said before, It's a crapshoot, if you permanently attach anything to an "under warranty" coil,(or Pod) that cannot be removed, if it still breaks!

   ML has given me several warranty replacements of various parts on two different Noxes! One was a tab l had too repair, just before a trip! Luckily, they replaced that coil, when I got back! But I called, and explained first, to get an OK! But they could have very well said no, due to it being altered! 👍👍

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On 10/16/2021 at 12:40 PM, phrunt said:

As a business would you rather swap out the occasional coil that hardcore users are breaking and the occasional weekend warrior breaks by very bad luck or would you rather adjust the design and have a massive PR disaster with many requests for new replacement better coils even without them being broken and with people even breaking their ears on purpose to get the new model? That also means admitting there is a problem that needs fixed? 🙂

But this issue (in my eyes) isn't how Minelab should handle the coil ear problem. The issue is why it became a problem in the first place.

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On 10/15/2021 at 11:34 PM, Againstmywill said:

There is a groove worn in a circular pattern where there is contact,...

 

On 10/16/2021 at 8:47 AM, PimentoUK said:

People really should check their ears regularly for this, and take precautionary measures, such as using the shims I described ( cheap ), or possibly replacement of the rubber washers with new ones ( more expensive )

After 3 years of posts on this subject we finally get some objective evidence!  ("Picture's worth a thousand words.")  We don't know if this illustration is common to all of the breakage, but it might be a smoking gun.  Absolutely this should not happen.

However, does it happen because of flaws in dimensional tolerances (possibly), flaws in the washer's durometer (hardness) tolerance or selection (possibly) or from overtightening of the coil bolt (possibly)?  And answering that is the first part although maybe the most important.  For example, are people overtightening the bolt because otherwise the coil moves too easily?  That would indicate a mechanical design shortcoming more so than user error.

I'm not much of horn tooter when it comes to Minelab attitudes and policies, in case you haven't noticed.  However, convicting them of the coil breakage doesn't strike me as right, yet (and that's after 3+ years of problem reports).

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  My three broken stock 11" coils had barely a wear mark on them! And I keep up on washers, and overtightening, as recommended! And no, I don't use the detector like a crutch either!! That's what my crutches are for!!😁

  None of the three broke like the pictures posted! Mine all split on, or near, one of the bolt holes, more or less along the mold line! 

  And while I've always given cudos👌👌 to ML's warranty service, I waited for the Coiltek's to come out, before buying any more coils!👍👍

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Got my coil back today (25th) after sending it out last Saturday (16th). I asked for some new washers, and they sent them along with a new bolt and skid plate. The skid plate is not as tight as my original, but it makes it easier to remove! The service was excellent and communication impeccable. It cost me $13.55 for shipping to the facility via priority USPS. 

IMG_20211025_204939.jpg

IMG_20211025_205001.jpg

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