Coin Digger
Sr. Member
- Jul 13, 2008
- 328
- 47
- Detector(s) used
-
Whites Classic 3 SL
Fisher F2
Bounty Hunter Platinum
Whites XLT
Nokta Legend
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
First a disclaimer: I’m just someone that enjoys metal detecting and I’ve been doing it for about 8 or so years. I have owned a verity of metal detectors over the years some cheap some high dollar. I feel a detector has to fit the owner for the owner to be happy and successful. I think that’s one of the big reasons why people buy and sell so much.
I think an honest review can go a long ways towards helping people decide what fits their needs.
The biggest reason I decided on buying the F5 was because I own the F2 and it is a gem of a machine and so simple to use. (Read my review of the F2 http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,172319.0.html)
For starters the F5 uses the same body parts as the F2 and F4 and the cam lock on the F5 just like my F2 won’t hold the lower shaft still, and I find the plastic control box ugly and cheap. That’s just my opinion.
What a shame because the software engineers did a superb job on the electronics on both machines.
I also found the manual lacking in any solid information on how to use the threshold and gain controls, plus I think it was misleading in how to ground balance and it babbled on about stuff that only an engineer would find of interest, again just my opinion.
I can understand why some people bash the F series detectors because of their quality control weather it be the electronics or the body it’s something Fisher needs to get a handle on.
I posted a lot questions on other forums trying to get information that would clarify parts of the machine that the manual didn’t help with.
So I’ll start with ground balancing.
Turn the discriminator knob all the way to the left until you click into auto tune. (all metal) This is the only time you will hear a threshold hum. Turn the threshold up or down until you just get that hum, for me it was +2. It’s very important you ground balance over target free ground, so sweep until you find a quiet piece of ground.
Next push the phase lock button and you will hear a beep, pump the coil no more than 6” above the ground until you hear several more beeps and the phase reading matches the ground balance and release. Check your ground balance by pumping a few more times, it should sound neutral now turn the ground balance up until it’s just a hair positive, and you’re done.
Watch your Fe3O4 meter and if it starts to change a lot from norm you may need to reground balance.
Now turn it to disc mode and select what you want disc out.
Now turn the gain up until it starts making chirps and beeps as you sweep when there’s nothing there, that’s where you back the threshold down until it’s silent.(+1 to -1) You’re all setup at that point.
As you get into a trashy area you’ll want to turn the threshold down even more. I will go as low as -4 before I start turning the gain down 10 at a time. As you get into cleaner areas you can test by turning up the gain then threshold. (Watch your phase readout the closer it reads to ground balance the cleaner the ground)
As you sweep over targets the phase readout will read lower numbers, it’s the same as having a threshold hum null out over iron and discriminated objects. ( There is no threshold hum in disc mode)
One of the things I really like about the detector is the control knobs are but a thumbs reach away allowing you to make on the fly adjustments. You also have 4 different sound settings with d2 being the turn on default. Also this detector reminds me of My Classic 3 in the way it makes sounds. It’s not some digital beep but rather it makes very distinctive sounds with shapes. Aluminum targets tend to make a shrill sound verses coins that sound duller. (Pick the sound setting you like and learn it's distinctiveness)
I have read on other forums about people getting overloads and thinking something is wrong. Nothings wrong from what I can tell because I get a lot of overloads with screw caps and chunks of soda cans close to the surface. It’s a very sensitive machine that can run hot if set up right.
I really like the elliptical coil; it’s like having 2 coils in one. It gives OK target separation while allowing you to cover more ground in less time. I think a different coil would be needed if you hunt trashy areas all the time.
So far I’ve hunted most everyday with it for the past week and a half and I can’t report any deep finds. 4” maybe 5” is the deepest I’ve found a dime and that seemed easily within its reach.
Coins this past month have been hard to come by because it’s been very dry since July.
To sum it up I feel the F5 is going to be a keeper for me, I still have a lot of learning to go but it should prove to be a powerful and versatile machine.
I think an honest review can go a long ways towards helping people decide what fits their needs.
The biggest reason I decided on buying the F5 was because I own the F2 and it is a gem of a machine and so simple to use. (Read my review of the F2 http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,172319.0.html)
For starters the F5 uses the same body parts as the F2 and F4 and the cam lock on the F5 just like my F2 won’t hold the lower shaft still, and I find the plastic control box ugly and cheap. That’s just my opinion.
What a shame because the software engineers did a superb job on the electronics on both machines.
I also found the manual lacking in any solid information on how to use the threshold and gain controls, plus I think it was misleading in how to ground balance and it babbled on about stuff that only an engineer would find of interest, again just my opinion.
I can understand why some people bash the F series detectors because of their quality control weather it be the electronics or the body it’s something Fisher needs to get a handle on.
I posted a lot questions on other forums trying to get information that would clarify parts of the machine that the manual didn’t help with.
So I’ll start with ground balancing.
Turn the discriminator knob all the way to the left until you click into auto tune. (all metal) This is the only time you will hear a threshold hum. Turn the threshold up or down until you just get that hum, for me it was +2. It’s very important you ground balance over target free ground, so sweep until you find a quiet piece of ground.
Next push the phase lock button and you will hear a beep, pump the coil no more than 6” above the ground until you hear several more beeps and the phase reading matches the ground balance and release. Check your ground balance by pumping a few more times, it should sound neutral now turn the ground balance up until it’s just a hair positive, and you’re done.
Watch your Fe3O4 meter and if it starts to change a lot from norm you may need to reground balance.
Now turn it to disc mode and select what you want disc out.
Now turn the gain up until it starts making chirps and beeps as you sweep when there’s nothing there, that’s where you back the threshold down until it’s silent.(+1 to -1) You’re all setup at that point.
As you get into a trashy area you’ll want to turn the threshold down even more. I will go as low as -4 before I start turning the gain down 10 at a time. As you get into cleaner areas you can test by turning up the gain then threshold. (Watch your phase readout the closer it reads to ground balance the cleaner the ground)
As you sweep over targets the phase readout will read lower numbers, it’s the same as having a threshold hum null out over iron and discriminated objects. ( There is no threshold hum in disc mode)
One of the things I really like about the detector is the control knobs are but a thumbs reach away allowing you to make on the fly adjustments. You also have 4 different sound settings with d2 being the turn on default. Also this detector reminds me of My Classic 3 in the way it makes sounds. It’s not some digital beep but rather it makes very distinctive sounds with shapes. Aluminum targets tend to make a shrill sound verses coins that sound duller. (Pick the sound setting you like and learn it's distinctiveness)
I have read on other forums about people getting overloads and thinking something is wrong. Nothings wrong from what I can tell because I get a lot of overloads with screw caps and chunks of soda cans close to the surface. It’s a very sensitive machine that can run hot if set up right.
I really like the elliptical coil; it’s like having 2 coils in one. It gives OK target separation while allowing you to cover more ground in less time. I think a different coil would be needed if you hunt trashy areas all the time.
So far I’ve hunted most everyday with it for the past week and a half and I can’t report any deep finds. 4” maybe 5” is the deepest I’ve found a dime and that seemed easily within its reach.
Coins this past month have been hard to come by because it’s been very dry since July.
To sum it up I feel the F5 is going to be a keeper for me, I still have a lot of learning to go but it should prove to be a powerful and versatile machine.
