Minelab Excalibur series tips, settings, questions

[the duck]

i found a shipwreck about 6kms from where you dive but it is now listed and you know what that means got a perspex trophy and certificate for finding it

Research around the bay is imperative im posting a picture you can do the rest

 

[Robert Le Mal]

Hey Duck,

hadn't seen a foto of the baths from that angle (first foto).
Can't find much where the baths stood.

Anyway I'm waiting to hear back from Minelab as to what they're going to do about their failed repair on the Excalibur.
I took it out today and just had to use it in pin point mode because the threshold in discrimination mode is so jumpy you wouldn't know if a Japanese midget sub was only 15 cm underneath the coil. I still found a few things, but wish it was working properly.

[video=480,360]http://youtu.be/vzG7eENiHYs[/video]

 

[AngerManagement]

Robert Le Mal

 

[Goldpick]

Hey Duck,

hadn't seen a foto of the baths from that angle (first foto).
Can't find much where the baths stood.

Anyway I'm waiting to hear back from Minelab as to what they're going to do about their failed repair on the Excalibur.
I took it out today and just had to use it in pin point mode because the threshold in discrimination mode is so jumpy you wouldn't know if a Japanese midget sub was only 15 cm underneath the coil. I still found a few things, but wish it was working properly.

[video=480,360]http://youtu.be/vzG7eENiHYs[/video]

Robert, I noticed on another forum someone had a very similar experience to yours re getting their Excalibur fixed by Minelab. Their detector spent weeks sitting around without any repairs being done, and when it was sent back, it still had issues. The technician's reply was that they had no way of testing it unless they physically went to the beach to try it out.???

Fortunately for him, his Excalibur was still under warranty, so they just replaced it vs repairing it. Doesn't give me too much confidence on repairs to my detector once warranty runs out.

 

[Paulmarr]

I had a similar issue with my Sovereign ... Of course I have the luxury of driving it to them and being able to replicate the issue right in front of them ... Ended up needing a resistor replacement.

Question - have they admitted they can replicate the issue or does it only happen when submursed?

 

[Robert Le Mal]

gentleman,

I don't want to preempt the outcome as I've been on the telephone with Minelab people yesterday & this morning. Everyone is being civil, to their credit now that I've moved up the food chain they're saying they want a good result (so do I).

History.
First they couldn't replicate the problem. It was doing it in my backyard (which is above water) and doing it at 3 meters below sea level. Not confidence building.

I have had private advice by a forum member about what he thinks the repair should be - this is completely at odds with what Minelab proposed and I ok'd them to do. But they build the machines and they fix them right? This fault is commonly reported on Youtube with the Excal so I'm thinking they must have done a similar repair.

I'm asking questions about warranty on parts & repairs - have to wait a few days for response and then have to restate questions because they weren't answered. I will pay for repair work from an Australian company but I need to know the details before I hand over credit card details.

We pay for the repair which is completed, over the fone, on Friday. I ring the following Thursday just to ask when they posted it back to us.... uh oh it's ready to go but has been sitting there on the bench since Friday. Other technician is very helpful and sends the detector off asap and I get it next day (why couldn't they do that in the first place...) Glad I rang otherwise it might have been sitting there a lot longer.

So basically I'm not happy. I'm not really sure I want to send it back to Minelab if they can't replicate the problem... how can they fix it? I'm also worried that they'll do more repairs to a different part of the machine, I will be asked for more money and then I'm hoping....hoping it will fix the problem because last time they tested it as "ok" and it wasn't. If the machine was under warranty at this point I'd say - send me a new one please or just refund my money.

The Excalibur is a good machine... I'm finding stuff even with it not functioning correctly. If you have an Excal that works then I reckon you have a really good tool in your hands.

Anyway I'm keeping myself civil in the hope Minelab can fix the machine at no further cost or just refund my money. I have owned 3 Minelab machines... I bought Australian because I think that's a good thing to do if you can.

Rant over.

 

[Robert Le Mal]

ok machine is going back to Minelab after a long chat with service manager & both technicians.

They're paying for the cost of return.
I will be without the machine for a while but I'll just have to suck that up.

I think Minelab genuinely want the customer (being me) to be happy with their work. They copped my polite frustration and listened (I appreciate that).
My main concern is that if they cannot replicate the problem then how can the Excal be fixed?
Won't know anything until technicians get the machine back.

I am being optimistic, we'll see if that's well placed or not.

Just wish my CTX was dive capable....

 

[Paulmarr]

Warranty is six months on repairs (what they told me)

Happy to attend Minelab and assist in issue replication if you think it will help.

Cheers

 

[Robert Le Mal]

hey thanks man - that's very kind. Though in all seriousness if they can't switch it on, put sensitivity on "auto" and hear the problem - then there really is a problem, and not with the detector. I have a short video where I put the headphones over the gopro so you can actually here the machine singing its mental song in both discrimination mode and to a lesser extent in pinpoint... I will send that if they can't reproduce the issue.

And yes warranty on repairs and parts is 6 months, I did ask before they went ahead with the repairs (was one of the reasons I didn't mind paying).

Fingers crossed it gets fixed or there is a resolution I'm happy with, just gagging to get out under water and go detecting again. Might have to wade with the CTX just to make the withdrawal symptoms easier to handle

 

[Paulmarr]

Why aren't you diving w/CTX? Headphones?

 

[the duck]

the second photo is williamstown

 

[Robert Le Mal]

@ Duck yes, sorry if I wasn't clear... already have a copy of the second foto. Once I found that one I searched and found more stuff -
thank you for putting the first foto up which I'd be guessing would be looking roughly west from where the rotunda still stands.

there's a lot of wood and some visible iron pieces on the bottom - which is explained by the baths and presumably the diving board getting wiped out in 1934.

I also found reference to more sea baths at Williamstown on an old map - and google maps shows where it was but I haven't found any old fotos of it yet.

 

[Robert Le Mal]

@Paul,

the CTX is supposedly waterproof to 3 meters. The battery compartment has a large rubber ring and I am worried that doing more than just wading with it might result in me having 2 Minelab detectors that dont work :-(
I got the Excalibur specifically so I could totally submerge it without freaking out every time. The Excal is nothing compared to the CTX but the Excal is designed to handle pressure that the CTX cant.

 

[Robert Le Mal]

Hi People,

haven't been posting much as I have been busy with work and am still waiting on the repair of my Excalibur from Minelab. Have been itching to use it while diving but been badly disappointed so far and I've reached the end of my tolerance.

Very unhappy with the service - happy to post details here if people want (I have records of phone calls & emails which I am preparing in a document for Consumer Affairs). Normally I wouldn't offer to post details like this publicly but if I'd known how bad their service is I wouldn't have bought their product. Someone else might benefit from my frustration and frankly Minelab should know poor service will come out publicly sooner or later.

I have finally contacted them today at close of business asking for refund of failed repair and return of my detector (they received it on 20 Jan 2015 for repair.... way too long). I have stated that I will follow up with consumer affairs if either of the above fails to happen... hence going through email & telephone logs to generate a file for consumer affairs to work with.

I have been very patient. I have reached the end of my patience and am very disappointed with an Australian company whose product I want to support.

Has anyone else had to go through Consumer Affairs in regards to service or products purchased from Minelab?
I live in Victoria but am not sure if I should contact VIC or SA consumer affairs (given that Minelab repair stuff in Adelaide).

I am not interested in Minelab bashing. I would however appreciate anyone else's experience in so much as it helps me get my money back and my detector.

Best regards

Robert

 

[rocketaroo]

I think its the fair trading ombudsman.

 

[Swinging & digging]

Copy and paste a link to your post, then email direct to Minelab, that will get it sorted in no time if they care about their reputation?

 

[Robert Le Mal]

thanks Rocketaroo, "if" I don't get the correct response from Minelab then I will approach either fair trading or consumer affairs with the details.
Swinging & Digging - yep will be letting the manager know tomorrow the issue is already out in the public domain - their response will be known to quite a few people in this community.

 

[Ramjet]

Not a good situation Robert. Sorry you are having such drama. Not good PR for them either.

 

[Robert Le Mal]

Update.
Service manager returned my call today - they are keen to make good the repair failure.
They are happy to refund the repair cost & return my detector (which is what I wanted).
However they have also offered me a new Excalibur 2 at a large discount, which is tempting although the difference in cash is still a lot for me at the moment.

Just to make things more interesting I have a friend selling his Garrett Sea Hunter Mk2 .... and I have dived this very detector so I know it works.
Hmmm... so I have to say this is a favourable outcome. Of course having the detector repaired in the first instance would have been preferred but now
I can....
A just get my money back and the non-functional detector. Maybe sell it for parts or repair?
B get a new Excal 2 at a good price (still an expensive option - actually too expensive for me right now)
C buy a second hand Sea Hunter that I know works with the refunded repair money.

So in the end I am happy with the way Minelab have handled their customer service, "if" I purchased another Minelab detector I would feel confident that I would get looked after as a customer (doesn't everyone want that?). The offer of the same product in new condition with a big discount is very cool.
I am also a very patient man and have tried to be civil throughout the frustration and I hope the good outcome partly reflects this.
I am not impressed that they can't service/repair some of their own machinery for reasons I just can't understand, however that won't be my problem anymore nor will I have to deal with one particular technician who shouldn't be allowed near a telephone.

On another note - can any Garrett owners tell me if warranty on Garrett detectors purchased in Australia is transferable if the detector is purchased second hand?

 

[Ramjet]

Happy that you are happy with the response. Still it would have been preferable to fix the thing in the first place. Shame you had to go to these lengths to get what you should have had all along.