Joe Beechnut OBN

14 minutes ago, Rick N. MI said:

Nice to find gold. Is that one find a cross?

I was in a freshwater lake this morning and it was windy. A lot different than an ocean I would guess. The waves were pushing and pulling me. One wave hit me in the chest and water went up my nose. I quit after 45 min. Didn't find anything either.

Yes, chunky design with a bird on it? I'll get a better picture later. 

Those surprise waves can be a disaster. I've lost one gold ring with one a few years ago. And almost lost this one too.

If it cracked in one spot just a matter of time for the full cable to has issues. Patching is just buying time and could possibly cost you the coil or machine if you do not catch the next crack/leak in time, since you submerge your machine. 

Saltwater loves to leach into the coil or control pod............ thru the cable and destroy. 

Good Luck, and that is a cool fitting. 

Love the Plat! And nice haul on the silver!

That looks Great!! My first couple times looked ruff! 

On the length, I would go with a little extra, I have one that goes straight down the shaft, no wrap. My latest I went with a foot extra... 

The machine pictured I've had out once, semi rough water. Silent, no falsing with water hitting the coil wire / pod and swing fast..... Taking it out Tuesday in Very Rougher waters, see if my idea works. The board is isolated from the outside surroundings.

Sorry to see the issues Cuda and good to see your back in business. I do think those that wait for the New "AQ" version will be much happier since there is no external battery wires and battery. The New version will have 4 drop in 18650 Li-ion cells. Very clean design.

7 hours ago, stevejhgla said:

Hey obn,

Does this twist out? 

 

The cable came today 😁

Edit: never mind, leaving it in. 

 

It stays in, you need to cut the top off of the heyco pigtail (you took off) and screw it back on so when the epoxy is poured in, the heyco acts as a anchor to hold all in place. That make sense? 

On 6/23/2021 at 9:55 PM, stevejhgla said:

Great job on treasure talk the other night!

Thanks You! Replacing is not to hard, they don't look bad (O-ring) but maybe in the near future? 

AQ...I know it is close... everything has been silent of late other then what Phil , owner of Myers, said the other night.

When Jeff mentioned the mumbles, that is a Virginia Beach, Grave digger max "Phrase", He uses it a lot when he comes off the beach ... Mumbling to himself about,... not finding gold.

Max, named Kenny (Corrected Denny), the Mumbles Man, for Denny found so many gold chains a few years ago.. He gives everyone else the mumble because they can't find any... I guess you might say, "Mumbles" is Virginia Beach Pirate talk.. And these are from Max's youtube video's, which he no longer does many on beach hunting.

On 6/16/2021 at 9:20 PM, stevejhgla said:

Hey I'm looking for some advice from excalibur owners on how to proceed here. 

I picked this up for $150, the knobs and lower shaft were broken. I ordered and installed anderson knobs which seem like they are going to work great.  The dive shaft is on it right now but I'll get a new shaft here soon.

The most obvious fix I need help with is the wires. 

The battery seems to be working fine for now, we will see once I get out on the beach. 

All of the connections look in good shape too.  

Let me know what yall think I should do to get this puppy back up to par.

 

 

 

 

Checking in to see your progress...

Me...... Building a excalibur since I am unable to get out. 

Something I have talked about for some time, changing the pod around and eliminating most of the controls. Also made a couple 3s Li-ion batteries for it..12.6 volts.

That's a Very nice one! 

3 hours ago, tvr said:

In 2016 I found a 1899 dime, high up in the dry sand just before turning the detector off as I was leaving the beach, about a block south of where this dollar was found. Both coins are in good condition, not black and crusty like I normally find with silver that has been in salt water for a while.

I don't know if the club down there does seeded beach hunts and left some in the sand or not ... not sure why old silver in good condition would be there ... but not complaining!

Years ago when I use to make the 2.5 hour trip to OC MD to find gold, two different trips I got silvers (2). Both were clean as if they were just dropped. Both after different storms... One was a 1963 Rosy and the other a very worn 192? Peace dollar. I got the peace dollar find on video. My theory is, the ruff surf tumbles them around so much it's like being in a tumbler. These were found on the lower part of the beach, but when Sandy hit there were coins in close that got pushed near the boardwalk. So any place is possible.

Head phones you can buy some Grey Ghost or Tony E's and wire up.. Much easier then splicing a coiled cable in.. but just incase.. I listed what you need.

1 hour ago, Flydog said:

OK, my turn for a stupid question.  Why did you choose un-shielded vs shielded? No option to ground the shield at the control box end?

That's a fair question . Simple, stock is not shielded so I went with as close as I could to it .. 0.25 dia was important also. The Excalibur is very stable in saltwater so not much need, unless the water is rough as Bricks....but I am older and do choice the calmer days so no problems.  EMI,... for all of my hunting the machine is submerged, never a issue. 

One could go with a shielded cable if they wanted, just run the shielding thru the heyco to endcap, thru the epoxy and ground it to the board. Also the heyco fitting that is used, 3240? is limited to the size of 0.26. 

Something I have talked about, the excalibur has SS knob shafts (Pictured) , I was thinking of changing them out using some type of plastic, which I can make since I have a lathe.  I've tried different shielding over the years, even to the control pod.. No benefit as far as I could see.

Forgot this, Now for a super silent hunting in rough waters.... Years ago I ran the control pod in my drysuit. Removing the pod from the saltwater... Crystal Clear audio

...

Thats a great save! Those are Hot tickets to sell also. 

Heck of a find for MB! I have to show my relic hunting friend who always complains about the beach there.. 

Never a stupid question when it comes to trying. Years ago, I used the super seal shrink tubing but all it got me was a few months of hunting then it caused other issues. And funny, I got the same question you asked when the minelab detector center opened in PA. They were just getting set up and would ask different questions on things like this, can we just cover the wires? 

It is possible to seal the wires at both leak point, the coil and the endcap, but in time water will slowly weep thru the epoxy..... so what is needed is a Heyco fitting, (Pigtail -strain relief) then the epoxy. Plus the extra (sealed) protection of the wires not being exposed to water. You can take short cuts but in the end it will cost you the machine, saltwater is deadly to electronics, fresh you can get away with some leakage but you can't let it continue for it will do the same. 

That battery Ikelite fitting is a perfect example.. you can get away with it for a while but you start submerging it and in a few months water will work its way into the battery. There are no short cuts.

Might be a good Idea to make this the "How to repair a Excalibur" Post on Steve's forum. So I can refer all who ask in the future, since I no longer do this, other then my own machines. I will be adding to it for sometime.

Coil Cable and repair

Cable is from McMaster Carr.. #9204K12    4 lead.. 20/4..continuous flex.. .25 dia.

A coil I just fixed.. Something  you will have to do also for those excalibur coils are impossible to obtain for they no longer sell them. Only way you can get one is maybe used or send your machine in for Minelab to install.

Not to be negative...........I would say it needs a complete over haul. 

What is your skill level?

If you send it into the service center your looking at 650.oo plus to fix.

Fixing it yourself, 

........ if you have never had one apart, will be a challenge. Me setting here thinking about

making you a parts list is over whelming. 😬  The reason I say that is because it is a water machine 

And   "All"   has to be perfect for its longevity. So what kind of hunting do you have planned?

On 5/23/2021 at 1:54 AM, Tony said:

Well I decided the TDIBH was too much of a handful in the water so I decided to move it on to a new owner.

Hopefully I’ll not regret the decision but I got what I paid for it so can’t complain too much. One of Whites best for dry and wet sand hunting but never got much market penetration....I guess most want VLFs these days ?

Time to change my profile.......just five machines now 😳

 

I think you did the right thing. I used one here for a while and I liked the Fisher AQ Much better.. If your hunting rough waters the Nox is not the right machine and even the AQ, I doubt can take the banging surf.

Like you, I love my Excalibur's and I just came across a great deal. Cost me 170.oo for 3 Excalibur's. Rough shape but I salvaged many good parts. The main thing, 3 working excal hearts. 

Love the Color of Gold! 🏴‍☠️

Thank you.. I was setting here for a hour looking this thing over...I knew there would have to be something to keep the batteries balanced. This was my other picture but I was confused that the two far right negatives went thru diodes to a positive out. Then the two far left positive went to a Negative out. I see now I had the batteries backwards. Crazy but I love puzzles like this.

On 6/1/2021 at 3:09 PM, PimentoUK said:

"That is expensive. Hoping to just find a writing diagram from someone"

It seems you're trying to make one of these devices, yet have no knowledge or skills to do so ?

There's already been enough tech info given on here for you to come up with a homebrew solution, even if it is a bit of a 'bodge/kluge/improvised' solution.
 
So to help us out here, what know-how etc do you have? Can you solder ? Can you obtain electronics parts? Do you understand electrical wiring diagrams ? Do you have mechanical engineering skills like sawing/filing/drilling?

Are you actually trying to make a faithful close equivalent to the original Fisher part, or do you just want to get the machine working with very minimal financial outlay?

On 5/31/2021 at 8:56 AM, DB1000 said:

That is expensive. Hoping to just find a writing diagram from someone. Thanks. 

Being it is a expensive water machine and the battery compartment is not Big and the factor of you doing it yourself, then with limited knowledge of how to...I would try and purchase one from Fisher, or someone equal. 

Pulled diagram, Pimento will add the correct

On 6/2/2021 at 9:34 AM, PPP said:

Yes Joe,but those you've got are perhaps the limited edition? I'm concern about the final edition unit

Yes two Limited. Which I am Very Happy with. As far as I know on the New one, the gears are still turning.

Confirmed now.