Search the Community

Hey all, I just found my coil connection sheared off at the control housing. (oops, and bad timing as I was just headed out!) Luckily no damage to the control housing connection but the other end was bent and broken right off... I sent some photos to minelab to asses if they will fix it or not but still waiting. I was wondering if anyone knows if its possible to buy this connector anywhere? If minelab wont fix it then I will end up splicing one on myself and hope for the best (minus the water tightness of course) . Any help would be so appreciated!

After 49 years of detecting with various machines, starting with the White's coin master in 1976, then to the White's surf master and down the line to the Minelab Excalibur800, then the Excalibur 1000 and now I have two Minelab Excalibur two's that I dive with. Well, in order to keep up with the trends, I bought the Equinox 800 three years ago. Was excited to get it wet so I simply waded into waist high water and that was the end of that machine, instantly. Of course, they sent me a new control pod since it was in warranty. Installed the new pod and tested it in my test area and it worked. Took it to Hawaii with me on vacation and it wouldn't turn on, at all. Fully charged of course. The folks at Minelab told me that it was the battery, so they sent me a good used battery. You read that right, a used battery. That was not the problem. The on/off switch is the problem. Note that I never got this new pod wet at all. Afraid to. Called Minelab and they said that they do NOT warranty replacement control pods. That's insane. It never worked. Now I'm on vacation with a dead machine and the "friendly customer care department" says that there is nothing that they can do, at all. They did offer to sell me the Nox 900 at a discount which I refused. I can beat what they wanted for the 900 at Serious Detecting co with my military discount. Called Dan at the detector center and he said that Minelab will no longer send them new pods, so basically, I am stuck with a $800 machine that has about 20 hours total on it because of all the down time, and they won't help me. At all. The group of detectorists that I hang around with all have had their Nox's get swamped and my friend in Hawaii who is a ring finder had his Nox 800 swamp right away also. Remember, Minelab says they are good to 3 meters. Many of my friends have gone to machines like the Nokta etc. We are evaluating them. Good thing is that I still have my three Excalibur's which I dive with. They are a great machine, so far except that Minelab uses very crappy wires which fall apart. I have rewired three Excaliburs for other folks so far. with better wires. My newest Excalibur is 10 years old and in perfect condition. Be sure to spray your wires with Trident food grade silicone and your wires will last forever. I have to be honest, I have had such a bad experience with the Minelab's, so called, Customer care department that I will never buy another Minelab and will never recommend them to anyone, unless he or she is my enemy. LOL My bad experience with "customer care" is ongoing. I'm asking them to make things right which so far they refuse to do. There are laws against selling machines or instruments that do not live up to what they are advertised to be. Implied warranty etc. Similar to the lemon laws for cars. In my humble opinion, the so called "customer care" department is really a Triage department, designed to just blow you off. Get rid of you. Customer complaints are a bother to them. What is my experience? Four decades as a chief mechanical/electrical engineer engineer for companies like Dryer's ice cream, Nordstrom and Sears as well as a decade of operating a very successful electronic repair business in the SF Bay area for years. I truly hope that some of you have had better luck with Minelab. Take care and Scoop em up.

Hello. This is for anyone who is interested in designing and printing their own things such as spare parts or accessories and has no experience with it. For my part, I wanted to have a second Whites battery compartment for Li-ion batteries and I quickly created it with free software and gave the created STL-file to a friend of my daughter to print, and the printing worked straight away. There are some software manufacturers that advertise free 3D CAD software, but I have only found one that can really be used without restrictions. and that is freecad. freecad is also available across platforms for Linux, MAC and Windows. There are also countless tutorials on the Internet that will teach you how to use freecad, in writing and as videos. People who have experience with 3D printing know that the printer requires slicer software, usually already included with the printer. But there are free alternatives here too. The next goal on my agenda is a budget 3D printer. I hope this post helps some people solve their problems and realize their ideas. All The Best

Yesterday, we were at the end of a king tide cycle in S. Carolina. I went to the beach at dead low tide to work in the water say maybe up to a foot deep. Since this area isn't frequently exposed, I wanted to do weak signal work. Now, mind you this is a trashy, USA beach... where they do beach bonfires. There is tons of aluminum slag, pull tabs, etc. I had the sensitivity jacked up in the 22-25 region. EMI is a big problem here, since I hunt along "hotel row". Get the machine all settled down... As I would swing across an area I'd get a little response. Turn 90 degrees to narrow the area, and get a little response. Readings from 11-55, chirpy and faint, erratic. Dig down 1-3 scoops and the signal(s) disappear completely. If I hadn't got signal in both X and Y planes, I'd have moved along, thinking the machine is giving a false reading. What is going on here? Is it me, the machine, external factors or a combination of all the above? Working in beach mode, wet. Ground balance fixed on (0) zero.

I want to address this discussion without attacking any person at all, but take this opportunity to technically discuss my experience of research adopting the Deus2 on the seabed. That being said, I have had a rare case of misleading target ID happen to me, and although I read everywhere among you detailed tests of gold pieces falling in the high end up to about 85 points, I want to explain my drawback. The ring you observe in the photo, is an ordinary wedding ring that probably because of its thickness, responds with a solid 80. Forgive my assertion, but this is damning, considering the multitude of coins and leads that fall within those figures. While this is a rare case, which I might estimate on a scale of 1 to 10 as a 2, it means a significant loss of effectiveness in selecting signals worthy of excavation. I am ready to receive any comment from those who dig any repeatable signal, but I want to remember my own difficulty during a dive session, when with zero visibility, freezing water and time running down for the air termination, this is a detriment. My point is a subtle one that the so-called Pros will probably understand better, and by that I am not calling anyone stupid. (Life has brought me to the condition of having to live more and more frequently with only the gold production I derive). That said, the incredibly large scale where gold responds in the ID scale makes for an unproductive session, digging up too many potential high gold IDs. I hope and wish that Xp would consider a future change in the distribution of low conductors on the ID scale and as much as I may be technically wrong, there are tools that prove otherwise although they may operate with different algorithms. Feel free to say your thoughts on it, but that's the harsh truth.

Steve Have you ever heard of this problem and tell me if you think you know what it is... I have a Equinox 600 and I got vdi issues where I will be swinging the Detector hit a signal and then not want to dig that and keep swinging and it will show another vdi and then freezes up while I'm still swinging and then -- will show and then after six seconds or so 00 and then go again and same thing and I have turned sensitivity to 20, recovery speed 3 iron bias 2 and ground balance on auto tracking.... I also will swing over a vdi and it will jump and lower and jump and lower. And on pinpointer mode it sometimes won't have audio but I back out and try again it does. This is for sure a bug. Right?

So some of you know that my 6000 arrived defective right out of the box and that I sent it back to be replaced the morning after I got it. Well the new replacement arrived yesterday and the detector works as I assume it should. Well, at least it will sound off on a nugget, so I assume it is working properly. I have the 14" DD on to test that out. When I picked up the 11" to pull it out of it's plastic bag, I noticed something odd on the top of the coil. There was a crescent shaped crack in the coil. What in the world is going on with Minelab and their quality control.?!! People spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on their detectors, you would think they would be more strict and precise with their quality control procedures. I sent the 11" coil back to be replaced, this morning at 9 am. It is possible it could have happened in shipping, however the inner box and shipping box were in great condition. No smashed areas anywhere on the boxes. Anyone else want to chime in about their particular Minelab detector defect. If Minelab is reading this, you have alot of people out there spending alot of money on your detectors because they are the best-Hands down, but it seems like since the sdc2300 came out the quality control is going down hill. I understand some defects can get by or crop up over a little bit of use, but this is not good.

I turn on or a at least try to turn on My fisher f44 and then when i do it goes crazy like its on pinpoint mode and i cant even change through the diffrent modes can anyone help me ?

There has been a bit of debate about how widespread GPX 6000 faults are, so what better way than to do a poll and see. I didn't bother including accessory faults like headphones into the mix as they don't really matter as much but would likely increase the number of people with issues. It would be interesting to see how widespread the problems are so a poll seems the best way to work it out. Please be honest with your answers or there is no point to the poll. If you haven't had a fault don't say you have just because you're disappointed about the build quality overall. If your shaft twists but it doesn't bother you you should say yes it twists, this sort of thing helps Minelab be aware problems that they may offer us a solution for, so why hide it? They replaced everyone's Equinox shaft when they had wobbly ones. I've changed the poll to anonymous as some people prefer that they don't reveal who they are in this case.

I thought the coil would already be paired- No idea what I’m doing wrong. Tried entering serial number process, still not pairing. Coil is fully charged, but because it’s not linking up it shows empty battery on the screen. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

My first 6000 was faulty out of the box which they replaced with a new one. I've had the new one for 21 days and probably used it 8 days before it went bad. When i was boxing it up to ship back i heard something rattling inside of it, not good. In researching i found that they've known them to have major issues since March or April, yet they have refused to address the issue with a production stop or at least look at the different production runs and recall those units. I think when it's all said and done there will be a substantial number of them that are faulty worldwide. As it stands now, Detector Center states that there is a" temporary" 10- 14 day time frame for repairing them. My bet is that it's not going to be temporary. If this failure rate continues there may be grounds for a worldwide class action lawsuit, who knows. Oh, and i owned a business for 40 years. Not a very smart way to run a business. JMO.

Love my Xp Deus 2, but like a few other people, mine died after updating the firmware. After the firmware update, it showed “SUCCESSFUL” on screen, then shut down, and would not turn back on. Contacted the seller who gave me a direct email address to contact XP, which I did immediately. After a week of not hearing anything from XP I decided to repair it myself. Not happy that it came to this for such an expensive machine. If you attempt this, ONLY use a plastic pry tool or plastic guitar pick. Go slow and be careful as O-ring is coated in grease and can get on the inside of display screen! Make sure the O-ring remains in place and lubricated during reassembly, otherwise the remote could leak if submerged. Remove 4 screws on speaker cover and then remove speaker first, pay attention to speaker spring contact orientation for re-assembly. Remove two screws on bottom front, remove single screw under serial # sticker. Bottom piece slides out easy enough with minimal prying. Gently slide board out, no need to remove data port nut as there is just enough slack in the wires to access the battery plug. Unplug the two-wire jack from battery on the board (see green circle on attached picture). I waited 10 seconds then plugged back in and remote immediately booted up. Everything works fine, shuts down and turns on and operates normally. This method will also work if you have the reverse problem when the screen locks up and you do not want to wait for battery to run down.

Due to Strychnine poisoning for dingo control in West Australia you have to watch out for your pet. Strychnine poisoning in animals occurs usually from ingestion of baits designed for use against rodents (especially gophers and moles) and coyotes. Rodent baits are commonly available over-the-counter, but coyote baits are illegal in the United States. However, since 1990 in the United States most baits containing strychnine have been replaced with zinc phosphide baits.[8] The most common domestic animal to be affected is the dog, either through accidental ingestion or intentional poisoning. The onset of symptoms is 10 to 120 minutes after ingestion.[9] Symptoms include seizures, a "sawhorse" stance, and opisthotonus (rigid extension of all four limbs). Death is usually secondary to respiratory paralysis. Treatment is by detoxification using activated charcoal, pentobarbital for the symptoms, and artificial respiration for apnea. This is one way to keep your pet safe. ..... Edit this is not my dog, but he is a beautiful model for this post.

It did not happen to me but to a friend of mine, he searches a lot in the sea, lately it has turned off in the water, he tried to turn on but nothing happened, he put it in the car and on the way home the nox suddenly turned on alone. I had him check the battery, it measured 4.1 volts, there is no humidity in the battery compartment, when he tries to turn it on you hear a click but it does not start, I made him change the coil but nothing happened, I think the only solution is to send it in for repair. What do you think about it? Has such a thing ever happened?

I've had a Gold Bug for 5 or 6 months now. Intermittently when I press the "+" button to increase discrimination it switches into pinpoint mode, will stay there until I release the button and re-press and will then work fine (usually). I've ensured my fat little finger is no where near the pin point button. Been telling myself its likely just some software glitch, annoying, but I can live with it vs. sending it in for repair. Part of me says "get it fixed before the warranty expires stupid". Well cooler weather is here and I will be sending it in. Just curious if any of you have had the same problem?

I sold an essentially new 9” hf coil to a guy who tells me after first use that it won’t stay connected to the remote. Does anyone know what the problem could be? He also says it should have come with a charger but I’ve bought several XP coils and they don’t come with a charger. I’m going to suggest he re-enter the coil serial number and give the coil a full charge. Coil was perfect for me.

We do like Steve, wife sold her nox 800 just before 3 years and ordered her new one. Showed up today and she was all excited ,put it together, charged up ready to try it out. Well the on/off switch wouldn't work! She was a little disappointed but Minelab said send it in, so off it went !

Again the tarsacci finds the deep brass today in a colonial site. Love the machine. Old stuff including a thimble at about 15 inches down. Having an issue with the pinpoint button sticking though. Anyone else have this issue??

Man Damages Stonehenge While Treasure Hunting, Posts Finds Online https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/man-damages-stonehenge-while-treasure-hunting-posts-finds-online-police/ar-AAPwmti?ocid=msedgntp

Just got a XP ORX with the 9x5 HF coil and the coil battery won't charge. The control battery charged up fine but when i try to charge the coil battery the light on the coil blinks every three seconds like it is charged when it is only 30 % charged. The light never stayed on continually like it says in the manual when i first hooked it up and yes i have it hooked up the right way. Thanks, Jim

I have a White's Spectrum XLT. Several years ago a rogue wave washed over it at the beach and then it quit. The LED screen is still good but I get no action out of box, so, is there a place that I can purchase a mother board for it? Thanks Thomas

The battery for the coil is fully charged. I entered the coil number that's on top of the coil in slot 1. I validated it and no connection on the controller. No frequencies. I went thru the process several times and no connection. Any help with this? Thanks, Rick

Got in the water today for about 3 hours, did okay with a couple of James Avery medallion and a fancy silver ring. I was wading chest deep, so the Nox may have went down 4' max. Got home and unloaded everything and noticed my screen was foggy, upon closer inspection I could see water behind the screen. I bought this machine because my first 800's warranty expired, this one is a little over a year old. This makes #4 that I've had problems with, 1st was a power button problem, 2nd was a battery(charging issue), 3rd machine took on water and now another leaker. I'm headed for a vacation this coming week and will be staying on the water for a few days. I'm glad I bought a Simplex as a backup, looks like I'm gonna need it. I'll run it til it dies and then contact Minelab

Hello all! I own an Excal 1000 for almost a decade, and every couple years the cable of either the coil or headphones gets cracked. Nothing out of the ordinary I assume, since I only use it under saltwater for long periods of time, but I am done with Minelab ripping me off for a "simple" repair. As a quick and dirty fix (I'll eventually replace the cable), I thought on cutting out the cracked cable section and putting an IP68 cable joint to get it running. I dont know if anyone has done something similar before, and if so I would like to know if it's a terrible idea or it might do the trick. Thanks in advance.

Sorry, I can't seem to find my previous thread on this subject. To recap, my AQ wouldn't power up, so, it was sent in to Fisher for repair. They claimed that it was the battery. I had my doubts, as I had tried a second battery with the same results. Anyway, they claimed it was only the battery and sent it back to me with a new one. On a side note, I had just sent the electronics back to them, and kept all the rods, cuff, and charger to save on shipping costs. Well, it seems they want EVERYTHING sent back when they do a repair. That's a first for me. They even told me that you shouldn't remove the arm cuff at all! It's something that they have to do, and not something the customer is capable of as it might damage the cable inside the rod. Good grief, what a design. Anyway, when I got it back, I noticed that the cable from the battery to the pod had been changed. Hmmm, I wonder if that was really the problem and not the battery. Otherwise, why change it? Oh, you think they might have sent a new and improved one? Think again. I didn't think they could make that design any worse, but, they managed. It's even longer that the original, and wimpier IMO. And what is the problem with using 90 degree connectors to reduce the risk of cable damage? Well, it works now, so, I guess I can't complain too much, in fact, the new battery is a lot better than the original. The last hunt, I got over 3 1/2 hours on it and still had a green light! That's definitely an improvement. Now, if I can just find something good that my other detectors couldn't find!