Fisher F5

[TorontoDigger]

Hey Guys,
I'm very very new to metal detecting. I searched and read lots of sites and decided to purchase Fisher F5 mainly for land and beach.... Is there any place that I can purchase used MD? Any Suggestion greatly appreciated.
thank.s

 

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[foiled_again]

Hey Guys, I'm very very new to metal detecting. I searched and read lots of sites and decided to purchase Fisher F5 mainly for land and beach.... Is there any place that I can purchase used MD? Any Suggestion greatly appreciated. thank.s

Marketplace on this website/online vendors...eBay...pawnshops...Craigslist...in order of increasing risk. Finding any particular model though is hit and miss. As a current model that's been out a few years it will be available if you look around.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Check our classifieds under "Market Place"....






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Hello TorontoDigger... there are a number of local dealerships located in south / central Ontario that sometimes carry used detectors at reasonable prices. I can't post them here, but you may wish to google search for them or for clubs in the area that will provide additional leads.

Jim.

 

[TorontoDigger]

Thanks for reply to everybody.
Jim I did search Google but couldn't find any dealer with used items... I'm total newbie with zero experience... Do you think F5 is good choice to start? mainly I want a all propose detector that cover beach and parks.
Saeed.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Saeed... the F5 looks to be a good choice at a reasonable price from what I have read about it. But... I have not used this unit and therefore can't recommend it. From scanning manufacturer websites it seems to me that the Omega 8000 offers the same or similar feature sets, coil selection, and operating frequency as the F5 at a slightly higher price ($50 or so). Whether either unit has any significant performance advantage is unknown to me.

With the above in mind, I have just posted the question to the Dankowski coin and relic forum, whose members tend to be reliably knowledgeable IMO. Let's give it a few days for them to reply, at which time I will report back here. Meanwhile... possibly others seeing your post here will give you an opinion.

Jim.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Saeed... a few updates...

(a) this from NASA Tom Dankowski… “I have been busy testing/evaluating the new Omega. Mid-priced, mid-line unit. Very solid and stable. K.I.S.S (which means it is kept simple and straightforward). Uses one battery.

Omega will detect a clad dime at 10.25" max in Florida soil. Fast microprocessor. Unit is very similar/virtually identical in depth capabilities and performance characteristics to F5 (and quite similar to F70). The Omega is more so a digital touch pad vs. the F5's analog dials.

Feature set is also very similar with a couple of minor tools/differences. The coil is the elliptical 9.75" non-DD as found on the F5 & F70. With a 9.75" elliptical coil installed on the F75, it too will ascertain the same max 10.25" depth on a clad dime. Good bang-for-the-buck.”

(b) #2 responder… "I had both, loved the F5 just too dang unbalanced, lots of wasted space inside the control housing. Has somewhat slow recovery between targets, wasn't that great in trashy areas.

The Omega, same platform as the F5, seemed to have faster recovery, never saw the depth or performance claimed by others on the forums. Was no better than the F5 in that regard. Main difference is one is mostly menu touch pad driven , the other has knobs".

(c) #3 responder… “the F5 allows the user more manual control over the operation of the detector. The Omega is been trimmed down on the manual adjustments, and users find it friendlier to operate. You will discover performance is about the same.”

(d) #4 responder… “the Omega works better for newbies since it is fairly idiot proof. No offence meant. The F5 gives the user more control for site conditions, has a better audio and a tighter ground balance. Takes a bit longer to get proficient with it as the Gain and Threshold controls creates setting combination options that takes a little while to learn.

I prefer the F5 over the Omega because I like the audio better and the extra control helps me respond to the varying site conditions with a better setup than I could get with the Omega.”

Saeed… the above responses indicate that these units seem to be almost identical in performance. The Omega 8000 is newer on the market, and apparently a bit easier / simpler to use.

Jim.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Saeed... a couple more updates...

(a) Responder #5… “F5 has slow recovery between targets? First time I have ever heard that. I haven't ever experienced that either. Maybe it is relative to something else?”

(b) Responder #6… “Seems like this aspect was lost judging by the posts...F5 is just a more solid built unit and with knobs and buttons offers more changeability while I felt the Omega was going to fall apart by swinging it but probably more user friendly for the average hunter. Most prefer the Omega but the F5 is just a more solid built unit and pretty darn close in abilities.”

(c) Responder #6 again... " I'm still stuck on the "F5 has slow recovery between targets" comment. The F5 is only slightly slower than the F75, and far faster than most other makes, such as all Xterra's and all Tesoro's and all Garretts, and most Whites.

sputtering, mumbling to myself, "slow recovery?" what in the world,....muttering...sputtering

I guess it has slow recovery if you compare it to a F75."

Should any more information surface, I'll report back here... Jim.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Saeed… a few updates…


(a) responder #7… “Omega loves silver. Easily as deep as my CTX.


I hear some complain about depth on the f5. Dave J has put some mojo in the Omega that's for sure.”


(b) responder #8… “Yeah, the Omega is a refined F5. Both in hardware and programming.


Different Shaft
1 9v instead of 2
single linear sens/threshold dial vs seperate controls
Omega locks onto round objects better and gives more solid TID at depth. It will be tight and solid all the way to edge of detection.”

That's it for now Saeed, good luck with your selection.

Jim.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Saeed… more updates from two well-qualified detectorists…


(a) “I prefer the Omega over the F5....


The omega actullay uses the Sens/gain control as a dual purpose control....it reaches maximum sens at 70 then as you go above you are adding threshold...sort of like on the F5 having separate controls for sens and thresh...


you could on a F5 have an advantage of say running a high thresh and lower sens maybe for some sort of specialized type targets say in an area where theres emi and cant get the sens high you could still stay stable and run high thresh..but to be honest Ithink the Omega dial it in just right...


usually adding alot of thresh at low sens for one will loose separation ability..and make the audio splattery...


I also favor the Omega feel over the F5...


I had one of the first F5s though that had that push on connector and it was actually too noisy to run...


But at the end of the day they both are about equal...And I could not have either as my only machine for working iron...but maybe for coin hunting”


(b) “Omega 8000, what a GREAT detector. For the money, just AMAZING. So simple, and such a great coin monster.
Was just behind my E-Trac in depth, I think. I hunted one spot to no end with the Omega, went back there later with an E-Trac and barely
pulled but a few more coins.


The Omega was my second ID detector (T2 my first) and I preferred the Omega over the T2 on coins every day of the week.
I remember hunting the park by my house that I hit hard with the T2. It was like a new spot with the Omega. Just a great coin machine.


I can imagine how some would like the F5 (never used one) due to more control, but if you like turn and (mostly) go, the Omega was enough.
Nice big screen, super light, pretty good balance though it felt like it was going to break at any moment. I never had problems with the build
though it felt like it would give, but I did have to send it back 2X for repairs, then it was ok.


Oh, very nice VDI - nice again for the coin shooter.”


Saeed… I’ll abandon this thread with the comment that were it me I’d go to a local dealership and try each of these two units before making a decision. It seems the Omega 8000 is more streamlined with respect to its electronics and physical balance. All the very best…


Jim.

 

[TorontoDigger]

Sorry for late reply Jim,
Thanks for all wonderful info that you provide me, I ended up getting Fisher F75. I got a good deal… I know its more advance and lots to learn and lots reading. So far very cold and windy outside to test it (it's been two days since I pick it up) but can't wait to get out and try to see how it perform. do you have any experience on F75?
Saeed.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Saeed… yes… I have the original F75 that does not have the “Boost Process” possessed by newer F75 models. I have not done much coin hunting with it, but have used it extensively for silver prospecting. Below is a link to a report describing the F75 in that application. Get past the introductory prospecting discussion, and there is quite a bit about operating the F75.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/c...5-metal-detector-revised-february-2011-a.html

The F75 is a high gain unit that can be sensitive to high magnetic susceptible ground minerals, and quite vulnerable to electromagnetic interference (EMI) particularly in urban areas. The motion all-metal mode is much less vulnerable to both ground minerals and to EMI.

The first line of defense to EMI is too set the frequency adjustment to obtain the least noisy operation.

When using a discrimination mode, the second line of defense is to adjust the level of iron discrimination up to max iron level if necessary to help attenuate or eliminate EMI. The third line of defense is to decrease the sensitivity level as necessary to obtain stable operation.

Keep in mind that the F75 may still be unstable (chattery) when the coil is held in the air, but it will be much more stable when the coil is down and moving over the ground.

Coil Selection… using smaller coils can reduce ground mineral issues significantly and dramatically reduce EMI vulnerability. Small coils see less of each type of interference than do larger coils. DD coils see even less ground mineral than do same size concentrics, which improves stability and depth over tough ground minerals. However… DDs are more susceptible to EMI compared to same size concentrics.

Small coils are very lightweight, provide surprisingly good depth for their size, have less target masking issues… that is to say better target separation, are more sensitive to small targets, and certainly enhance target pinpointing. I recommend you acquire the 5” round DD coil for your unit, it is a pleasure to use in trashy park areas and will improve stability to EMI compared to the stock 11” DD coil.

Other considerations to keep in mind:

(a) If you bury coins and other targets in a testplot to determine how your unit performs, the F75’s target ID and discrimination results will dismay you. Similar to urban renewal projects, and cultivated fields, these are disturbed ground targets. Target ID and discrimination will not work properly on anything other than very shallow surface coins in disturbed ground.

Any use of discrimination on my original F75 will tend to break-up disturbed ground target signals beyond several inches depth. To acquire the best possible indication of what can be expected depthwise, use zero discrimination over disturbed ground. Any coins buried beyond roughly five or six inches in my ground will always read either as iron or will jump erratically all over the target ID screen.

Remember that disturbed ground targets will not give you the depth that can be had on targets that have naturally settled into normal undisturbed ground such as in parks and schoolyards etc.

(b) Read the manual carefully and pay attention to the “notch” section. Enabling the first level of iron discrimination effectively takes the unit out of higher gain in the commonly used DE and PF modes = better stability. Any iron discrimination dialed in under “discrimination” will also appear when viewing the “notch” feature. But if the first level of iron discrimination has been inadvertently dialed-in under the notch feature, it will not show up under the "discrimination” feature.

So it is possible to not to notice that the first level has been selected under the “notch” feature. If you then proceed to select the first level of iron discrimination under the “discrimination” feature you are effectively eliminating that iron discrimination and placing the unit back into a high gain condition.

The above scenario is one of the most common reasons that operators complain about the F75’s instability and seemingly cannot resolve it. I see little or no reason to use the notch feature since any undesirable targets can be seen on the target ID meter and ignored.

Jim.

 

[TorontoDigger]

great article Jim, Thanks for sharing it. My F75 is like yours with out BP. I read the manual few times so far and getting my self familiar with the setting on the machine. Soon I'm gonna test it on near by park and play around the setting a little bit to see how it perform. Have you used yours on beach and dry sand? how does it perform on dry sand?
Saeed.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Saeed... no... I've not used it at a beach. I don't see any issue with operating over freshwater or saltwater dry sand, nor operating over wet freshwater beaches. For wet sand saltwater beaches you should post any questions under the "Brands" forum then select the "Fisher Research" subsection.

Speculation only... I think that wet saltwater sand hunting may require setting the discrimination sufficiently high to reject wet salt or a ground balance manually adjusted to the wet salt sand. In either case small gold would be lost, but at least you could hunt in those conditions. Of course wet saltwater sand could be hunted in the motion all-metal mode and pretty much dig everything except shallow targets consistently reading as iron.

*************************************​

I wouldn't mind getting out for a bit of coin hunting when things warm up a bit. Most places I know about have been hunted by many detectorists, but old silver coins can still be found in addition to ever-replenished gold and silver jewelry. In any case it is fun just to get out in the morning or evening for a bit of detecting. I'm up the road from you just north of Newmarket, so feel free to get in touch anytime by PM.

Jim.

 

[TorontoDigger]

Sounds good jim as soon as weather warms up and all this white stuff is gone lets get to gather for hunt and perhaps learning lots from you.

Saeed.