F44

[Captain Caveman]

I wanted to start a thread about my experience with the F44. When the F44 came out, I was using the F2 and I started saving to get an F44. However, an opportunity arose for me to get an F75se at a price I could afford, so I did. That pretty much ended my plans to get an F44.

Fast forward through the summer drought. My hunting buddy and I are making plans for a Saturday hunt at a great permission site. I check the forecast and it says rain, literally all day. So, I hunt through my stuff and find the rain jacket for my F75. Phew. We go hunting that Saturday and my buddy, using his AT Pro, doesn't seem to have a care in the world. I, on the other hand, am worried to death about my machine. I take numerous breaks, finding shelter in a barn, to dry my machine with a towel. Also, the inside of the jacket kept fogging up making it hard to read the VDI. I decided this was not going to be an option for me in the future.

When I got home, I started exploring what machines on the market were weatherproof. It seemed to be a short list: Garrett AT Pro, Fisher F44 and White's Coinmaster GT. As I did my research, I crossed the White's off of my list for a few reasons that I won't discuss. The decision to go with the F44 over the AT Pro came down to a few reasons including price, my familiarity with Fisher, a back light and battery life. I ordered it.

The next weekend, it rained both days. On Saturday, I wrapped my F2 with ziplock bags and electric tape. While this wasn't ideal, it did work. When i got home that day, my F44 had arrived. I put it together and took it out on Sunday. I found my first skeleton key and a few wheats. However, the controls stopped working. On Monday, I sent it back to Kellyco to be replaced, but it was on back order.

The next weekend, it only rained on Saturday. I decided to forego taking the ziplock wrapped F2 out and opted for my CZ20 instead. Now, don't get me wrong, the CZ20 is a beast on land. However, I have to hip mount it due to it's weight and that means the machine is always attached to me which is a problem when I'm digging. I had a good day with it including some silver.

My replacement F44 came in Wednesday afternoon. I put it together and called in sick yesterday. I headed out to a park and hit a tot lot (filled with mulch), a back parking lot, and a old soccer field to give it a try. I ended up with 7 quarters, 4 dimes, 4 nickels, 27 pennies, 2 tiny keys and a lapel pin of some sort. Not a day to post about, but it was certainly a good test of the machine.

My summary -> I expected to get a weather proof machine that was a little better than the F2. After running it for about 3.5 hours, I feel that the F44 is a big upgrade over the F2. I will definitely feel comfortable on raining days using this machine. It was much deeper that I expected it to be. I had to lower the sensitivity because it was identifying targets deeper than I felt comfortable digging in this park(deeper than 6"). The recovery speed is way better than the F2, though I wouldn't say as good as the F75. It felt good and balanced on the swing. The pin pointing feature was dead on. It was pretty quiet compared to both the F2 and the F75. It rarely falsed and never repeated a false. The numbers on the VDI are considerably different from the F2 and F75, though, and will take some getting used to. Overall, so far, I'm very pleased with the F44.

I will update this thread if I have any more info that I feel needs to be shared. Also, if I find any really cool stuff with it, I will post here as well. If I can answer any questions about the F44, let me know!

 

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[Loco-Digger]

Thanks for taking the time and posting about the F44. Seems like it might be time to thin the herd. I am not a fearful as you when it comes to taking my flagship detector out in the rain. Everyone has their own comfort level though. GL & HH

 

[Sandman]

"Your problems with the falsing when using the baggie was due to moisture in the baggie. They work well if not taped an allow air to circulate.

 

[Captain Caveman]

"Your problems with the falsing when using the baggie was due to moisture in the baggie. They work well if not taped an allow air to circulate.

I bagged the F2, not the F44. I said that the F44 "rarely falsed and never repeated a false." Sorry if I was confusing.

 

[masterjedi]

I have the F75SE and a F44 too for the exact same reasons. I used the F44 a few times in the pouring rain with no worries. The F75 goes out though if it is only slightly raining... It rocks... Great choices...

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

Great input!

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[Captain Caveman]

I just wanted to update this post in case anyone ever read it to help making a decision on buying an F44.

I sent my F75 to Fisher to be upgraded around Thanksgiving. With the holidays, it was gone for over 2 weeks. In that time, I hunted a lot, maybe 10 times. I used my Tejon one time, but the rest of the time I used my F44. It was a great backup. As a matter of fact, I liked it so much in modern parks, that I may use it in the future in modern parks over the F75, just for a change because there doesn't seem to be any fall off for shallow coins and jewelry. Anyway, in those hunts, I found over $25 in clad, 4 wheat pennies, a 1915 Netherlands penny, a Heads I Win Tails You Lose token, 2 gold plated rings (both marked 18k HGE) and a few smaller pieces of jewelry (ie earrings, pendants). Some of the hunts were in parks, some were permissions.

 

[JoeB_OH]

I just got an F44, Cant wait to give it a run! Lots of features I was looking for + its lightweight.
HH,

Joe.

 

[GA_Boy]

Can you get a DD coil for the F44? I didn't see one on the Kellyco Fisher site.

 

[atomicscott]

Can you get a DD coil for the F44? I didn't see one on the Kellyco Fisher site.

Any DD coils that work for the Teknetics greek series will work on the F44. I would suggest a NEL Sharpshooter. I have one on my Omega & it never comes off! Very accurate ID, great depth and great separation. I still plan on picking up an F44 in the spring, it will be nice to be able to swap coils with my Omega.

 

[BluffHunter]

I want to chime in here. I am a newbie, been detecting for about a month now with a demo F44 I got from Kellyco with an 11 inch coil at an amazing price. I am quickly learning the machine by detecting in my backyard. Yesterday I found a spot that was showing a lot of different signals bouncing around but there was one tone that kept popping up around 68, if memory serves, so I thought there was a coin there and started digging. I kept finding nails and re checking the spot for the 68 tone which kept popping up. After 7 nails I found a 1914 wheatie. All of this was in a single hole. I realize this may not be typical but did instill a ton of confidence in the F44. If anyone needs a used detector at a good price check the demo models from Kellyco.

 

[Captain Caveman]

I meant to post this here, but forgot. Here is the 3Ringer I found with it the week of Christmas.
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/486094-3-ringer.html

 

[hammer0419]

Any problems with excessive CHATTER from the F44? Was looking at reviews and found several people saying regardless if you reground balance its still noisy?? Any truth or??

 

[Captain Caveman]

Not in my opinion. Fishers are a little chatty compared to other brands. I don't even notice anymore truthfully, considering I run the F75 most of the time. So, it may seem a little chatty compared to say, an ATP, but it is no more chatty than any other Fisher, imo.

 

[Garrett424]

Thanks for taking the time and posting about the F44. Seems like it might be time to thin the herd. I am not a fearful as you when it comes to taking my flagship detector out in the rain. Everyone has their own comfort level though. GL & HH

I'm guilty of that as well. I usually carry a big Ziploc and a few rubber bands with me. It works like a charm.
I try to never let a little rain keep me from my treasures. Although, I have been caught in a few torrential downpours. So far, the Ziploc has protected my machine very well with zero problems.

The way I see it, the less I put out for equipment (like fancy schmancy rain covers and what not) the more my treasure is worth.
It's not that I'm cheap 'cause I'm not but I do love to improvise. I actually get a kick out of it.

 

[hammer0419]

Ty Capt.

 

[Captain Caveman]

So, just a finds update. Yesterday I hit a modern park and found my first Ike http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/499662-f44-finds-ike.html

Today I hit another modern park and dug a lot of clad, 20q, 8d, 1n, 20p and a 1946 Wheat. I also dug a dog tag, an aluminum token and my first silver ring of the year. It only weighs 1.25g.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Another update. I went to Memphis this weekend and hunted with tabman. After finding a couple of silvers with the E-TRAC, I switched to the F44. Here are the 4 silver coins that I found with it.

 

[DaytonaRacer]

CC,

I have a F22 and was wondering about the sensitivity settings on yours. What did you have it set at on these last few successful hunts and were all of the coins solid numbers, or did they bounce around more than a single digit or two at that setting?

Also, does a drop in sensitivity rating affect depth on our machines or is it just the width of the signal range?

Thanks!

 

[Captain Caveman]

My sensitivity setting depends on where I'm hunting. On my last permission hunt, I ran at 16. When I use it at parks, I run at 8. Sensitivity absolutely affects depth on the F22/44. Coins come in solid sometimes, but sometimes they will bounce some, no more than a few numbers. Pennies seem to bounce the most for me for whatever reason.