Final Opinion On the F-2

Michigan Badger

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Oct 12, 2005
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It's a "fun" machine and that's the key word..."fun." ;)

In our mild sandy soil here in northern Michigan the best I could get on a dug wheat penny (used as a test coin) was 4 inches deep. This was in maximum sensitivity and zero discrimination using the stock 8-inch coil.

In air tests it was most impressive with the meter accurately IDing each target nearly perfectly.

In ground all targets were off. A wheat penny at 4 inches reads 06 "IRON."

I traded my F-2 for another brand detector.

HH,

Badger
 

The-Bone

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Nov 13, 2007
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Thanks Badger,
i have been following the F2/250 saga for awhile now (mostly because i am in the market for a low cost land unit). From what i have read, most of the opinions,save one, have been pretty much what you have come to conclude. In fact, most of the reviews i have read said the F2 had to be returned to the factory for a whole array of problems: coil dead, vdi drastically off, depth issues,etc. I really liked the VDI offering on the machine but i think i will be going with the other brand. Maybe in 6 months when some of the production issues are taken care of i will revisit the F2...after all, detectors are like guns, you can never have too many!!
Merry Xmas
 

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Michigan Badger

Michigan Badger

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The-Bone said:
Thanks Badger,
i have been following the F2/250 saga for awhile now (mostly because i am in the market for a low cost land unit). From what i have read, most of the opinions,save one, have been pretty much what you have come to conclude. In fact, most of the reviews i have read said the F2 had to be returned to the factory for a whole array of problems: coil dead, vdi drastically off, depth issues,etc. I really liked the VDI offering on the machine but i think i will be going with the other brand. Maybe in 6 months when some of the production issues are taken care of i will revisit the F2...after all, detectors are like guns, you can never have too many!!
Merry Xmas

Thanks. My own opinion is that the machine is not defective. If the meter readings just needed to be adjusted they'd be off in the air test too.

The F-2 is what it is.
 

hsjrev

Full Member
Jul 27, 2007
104
1
W. TN
Well, yesterday my F2 with the small coil indicated a clad dime at 3" as a dime. I've only used it a very short time but so far the VDI in dirt seems OK to me. It did indicate a crushed vienna sausage can at about 6" as a quarter but those things can fool my other detectors too.
 

Jeffro

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Dec 6, 2005
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Hmm, thats odd. When I went up to Nashoba's place his Ace kicked butt in the wet sandy areas in the park there. We didn't get anything off the beach, but the Ace kept up with my CZ 5 all the way. That guy finds scads of jewelry all over up there with it. The wet beach doesn't seem to bother him much at all. But I have heard it does bother some others on this forum.

Thanks for the info Badger! I was thinking about trying the F-2 myself, but I think I'll hold off for a while also. As a general rule, I don't buy many other products in their first year out either. Always bugs and kinks to work out-
 

Willy

Hero Member
hey EasyMoney, I wonder if you might have a misadjusted (GB and such) or defective Ace250? Up here in places where the black sand was streaking and some detectors were overloading, the Ace I had worked. Didn't get tremendous depth (no GB), but it DID work. ..Willy.
 

Keppy

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I never had any problem at a salt water beach wet or dry sand with my Ace 250 i read all these post and wonder if there is a problem with some Ace 250's. But i never had any..........==Jim==
 

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Michigan Badger

Michigan Badger

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roachnjim said:
I never had any problem at a salt water beach wet or dry sand with my Ace 250 i read all these post and wonder if there is a problem with some Ace 250's. But i never had any..........==Jim==

Did you ever get the F-2 Jim? Just wondering what you thought.
 

Larsmed

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Jan 10, 2007
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As long as you dont max out the sens on beaches it is stable. I found many o pennies and toys..lol..However this model to me is not a beach machine, better in dirt.

dang i need a fisher model thats better suited for the beach that wont break my wallaet :-\

Larry
 

Keppy

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Michigan Badger said:
roachnjim said:
I never had any problem at a salt water beach wet or dry sand with my Ace 250 i read all these post and wonder if there is a problem with some Ace 250's. But i never had any..........==Jim==

Did you ever get the F-2 Jim? Just wondering what you thought.
Badger no the dealer did not have them in yet and after all the bad reports...I was Lucky... i called he did not get them in yet so i canceled the order.I will just have to put that$200.00 on my Infinium.......==Jim==
 

bavarianminister

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Dec 9, 2007
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Very interesting thread to say the least! I was considering purchasing an F2. Not so sure now. I have heard so much about how the NEW F2 was going to be an Ace killer. Ha - Ha - seems the old saying is true. If it sounds like it is too good to be true - then it probably is. As far as I'm concerned - Garrett still has the market with low end detectors.

Bavarian
 

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Michigan Badger

Michigan Badger

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roachnjim said:
Michigan Badger said:
roachnjim said:
I never had any problem at a salt water beach wet or dry sand with my Ace 250 i read all these post and wonder if there is a problem with some Ace 250's. But i never had any..........==Jim==

Did you ever get the F-2 Jim? Just wondering what you thought.
Badger no the dealer did not have them in yet and after all the bad reports...I was Lucky... i called he did not get them in yet so i canceled the order.I will just have to put that$200.00 on my Infinium.......==Jim==

Smart move.

Badger
 

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Michigan Badger

Michigan Badger

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bavarianminister said:
Very interesting thread to say the least! I was considering purchasing an F2. Not so sure now. I have heard so much about how the NEW F2 was going to be an Ace killer. Ha - Ha - seems the old saying is true. If it sounds like it is too good to be true - then it probably is. As far as I'm concerned - Garrett still has the market with low end detectors.

Bavarian

Garrett made it very difficult to put down the Ace.

My guess is the F series will have a short lived success but Garrett will win this round.

Expect to see a lot of "like new" F detectors for sale on ebay in the future.
 

R

robert roy

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Happy Holidays All.
Hope Santa was good to you all, And Happy
Hoggfathers Day too all who may have seen the movie! ;D

I suspected the F2 would have some issues to work out when it first hit the market.
Didn't see many negative post for the F2 when it first came out. Then after a ew days when people got to useing it, things started happening.
And here we were all hopeing for hotter machine than the Ace 250 :'(

I wonder if the ACE 250 had as many problems as the F2 when IT first came out????

Well, I think I'll stick to getting the F4 rather than the F2. It looks like Fishers was too much in a hurry and maybe even tried to cut too many corners.

Regards
Robert R
 

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Michigan Badger

Michigan Badger

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robert roy said:
Happy Holidays All.
Hope Santa was good to you all, And Happy
Hoggfathers Day too all who may have seen the movie! ;D

I suspected the F2 would have some issues to work out when it first hit the market.
Didn't see many negative post for the F2 when it first came out. Then after a ew days when people got to useing it, things started happening.
And here we were all hopeing for hotter machine than the Ace 250 :'(

I wonder if the ACE 250 had as many problems as the F2 when IT first came out????

Well, I think I'll stick to getting the F4 rather than the F2. It looks like Fishers was too much in a hurry and maybe even tried to cut too many corners.

Regards
Robert R

As I recall the Ace 250 was a winner form the beginning. But of course it is an entry level machine and as that it's a good value.

As for the F-2 I still believe it is...what it is. I really doubt we're looking at a giant factory goof up.

It will be lots of fun for kids hunting TOT LOTS where targets are about an inch or two deep. It will find coins/rings down to 4 inches but one will have to dig everything to reach them.

I've heard in discrimination mode the F-4 is the exact same depth as the F-2.

The F-75 is said to be an entirely different machine from the F-2 and F-4. The word I have is the F-75 is about the same depth as the Whites DFX.
 

Keppy

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That has always been what i have been saying all VLF detectors no matter what brand or what you you pay for it will get the same depth. The only way to go deeper is to put a larger coil on your detector..........==Jim==
 

teverly

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Here we go again..
Before you go calling me a liar about my minelab spend 6 or 7 yrs using one....
Maybe you are lying about the depth you get with your machine????
I used a fisher 6a and 7a before i went to the minelab and in MY experience with these machines the minelab is a deeper machine.
I am sick and tired of people accusing someone of lying about there detector when you dont even know me or have the same experience as i do with that detector.
 

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Michigan Badger

Michigan Badger

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The bottom line is, we all know what our machines can and can not do.

Be it 6 inches or 12, if that's what you're getting...then that's what you're getting.

Badger
 

Keppy

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EasyMoney said:
Exactly Jim.

The truth prevails in the end product. That's why the larger coils were put on the newer detectors.

Well said.

EasyMoney
Easymoney ,"That's right"..........................................==Jim==
 

Keppy

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Michigan Badger said:
The bottom line is, we all know what our machines can and can not do.

Be it 6 inches or 12, if that's what you're getting...then that's what you're getting.

Badger
BADGER.......With you all the way there......................................==Jim==
 

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