Newbie needs help with fisher f2

[goldhunter22]

Hey guys, first off I just wanted to say hello to the community as this is my first post on this forum. I am from Kearney, Nebraska and just recently got interested in MD. I just bought and recieved my first MD on tuesday this week and I chose the fisher F2 because it seemed a good priced MD to learn on.

Well I must say that I'm not very impressed and I'm sure it's me more than the machine but this thing really has me scratching my head. It always seems to detect something no matter where I swing it and the indicator just goes crazy bouncing through all the numbers. I have tried turning the sensitivity all the way down and everywhere in between but to no avail. I have also discriminated out the iron and pull tabs but it still isn't helping either. Maybe the places I'm hunting just have a massive hoard of coins buried down there Idk lol. I have read that mineralized ground will really mess with a metal detector but I have no idea if the ground here is mineralized. I was also wondering if the f2 has a ground balance feature that i'm just not finding in the manual. At this rate I'm really considering either sending my detector to the factory to have them look at it or just plain sending it back for a refund and saving my money for a better detector. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

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[elijahhenry10]

Have you tried digging any signals? It sounds like their might be something wrong with it, most people that buy the f2 really like it.

 

[goldhunter22]

Oh ya, Ive tried digging at least 25 different holes. So far I found an old iron spoon and a pull tab. Some of those holes were before I started using the discrimination mode but still. I just find it weird that it always reads a number no matter where it is being swung at. There's just no way theres that much metal in the ground i'm searching unless the minerals in the ground are whats throwing it off. The reason I bought it was because it had overall really decent reviews and was supposed to be really good for beginners. I really had my heart set on an etrac but I can't justify spending that kind of money on a MD as of now. If I really get into MD then I will definitely be getting one though.

 

[robgwv]

My f2 goes stupid when my cell goes off. Also check the coil plug it's easy to cross thread and not hold the conection tight. Oh, watch out for hight emf's and don't get to close to big metal objects like cars pipes, a/c units

 

[bluescruise]

Fisher F Series metal detectors, are notorious for picking up EMI, electromagnetic interference. power lines, cell phones, thunderstorms, are just a few of the sources of EMI. Try lifting the coil of the ground about 2 feet. If the detector continues to chatter, it's most likely EMI. If it just does it on the ground, it more than likely heavy mineral content in the ground, which, unfortunately, the Fisher F2 won't deal with very well. It, like my White's Prizm II, have a factory preset ground balance, which are generally speaking set for average mineralization.

Another thought, are you holding the coil still over the ground when this is happening? If so, see if it quiets down as you make sweeps with the coil. In discrimination mode, your F2 depends on coil motion to work correctly. My F5 will chatter when holding the coil still in Disc mode, especially if I have it cranked up at all.
Hope this helps, and good luck!

Happy Hunting!
BC

 

[olfacere]

The F2 has a fixed ground balance. The F4 (a bit more expensive) is the cheapest detector I know that has a manual ground balance control. Whether you want manual ground balance or not, for the price range you're in, I'd suggest Tesoro. The MicroMax Silver for fixed ground balance or the Vaquero for manual ground balance (a bit more expensive). Bluescruise made a good suggestion about paying attention to the detector response depending on where the coil is. If it only gives lots of chatter on the ground, then it's probably mineralisation. If it gives chatter while off the ground, you're either in an huge EM field (which can come from huge objects, like re-bar in concrete) or it's human-created EMI. Either way, it's difficult for the cheaper detectors to deal with such situations. If I were you, I'd figure out whether it's mineralisation or EMI and then research which detectors deal the best with your conditions.

 

[Vizzio]

My F2 has actually done what you are talking about too. I had to re-run the coil cable and put in new batteries, not sure which fixed it. I had an issue the other day where it wouldn't turn off. I replaced the batteries and it fixed it.

Just some things to try.

-Randy

 

[MrC]

So you did notch out iron right?Sounds like that's why it's chattering.Thats only time my F2 does it is when in all metal mode.Or not conneted good

 

[Rawhide]

I run a Fisher and it is just one noisy beast. Bottle Caps and pull tabs for instance have a very recognizable sound. I don't know if you can change the frequency on the F2 to deal with EMI or electrical interference. Where are you hunting your machine is getting chatter? Also you may want to just dig solid repeatable signals. Battery's, and a loose coil connection can cause you trouble. Without being there it is hard to say what you should do.

 

[peebia]

MD purchase

My grandsons want me to start metal detecting with them. They have some metal detectors under $100 that really do not do well. I will be purchasing an MD and want a decent one for a beginner and can upgrade if MDing catches on. Could you help me out on a good choice.

 

[Rawhide]

Hi Peeba, your gonna want to start your own thread to get the correct responses. Metal detectors get better as the price goes up, and the learning curve gets harder too. While some of can get a full return on our investment. Most do not. Peebia, buy what you can afford, and get as much machine as you can. Have you decided what type of hunts you will do? Meteorite, coin shoot, gold nugget, relics, cache.....the list goes on. If your thread doesn't get moved, try posting your own thread and see what recommendations you get. Good Luck.

 

[SusanMN]

One more thing to check is that you have your coil wire wrapped tightly around your pole, since if it is flapping around it gets detected by the coil. You can sometimes need to use a Velcro fastener at the bottom to attach the wire tighter to your pole. Also, make sure it's not detecting something on your shoes or your digger (I have had this happen a few times).

 

[peebia]

Whoops! Sorry and Thank you. I am still learning.

 

[Rs25subaru]

When you said it always reads a number wherever being swung is it beeping or is the screen just holding the number of the last thing picked up? It sounds like you need to learn your machine a little more in my opinion.

 

[ClodChopper]

Fischers are a class of their own. You can do more with your F2, than you can with an ACE 250/350. You have a powerful machine, learn to use it.....don't be afraid.

DETECT.......DIG......RECOVER......REPEAT