Fix For Loose Battery Springs In F70/75

[Sky Pilot]

Hello, all! Just thought I'd post a solution to the loose batteries in the F70/75 series that has worked for me. When I purchased my new F75, I also bought the sniper coil for it, so when I assembled it I put on the small coil instead of the standard one. The unit was really sensitive with the small coil, so I installed the coil that came with it. To my dismay, when I turned up the sensitivity, it wouldn't come close to the performance of the sniper coil! So, to eliminate the machine as a possible problem, I switched back to the small coil. It worked perfectly! I figured my large coil was defective, as the battery display read full charge. (Of course the batteries were new, so they should have been good!) However, I decided to replace the batteries to be 100 percent sure the coil was bad. (When I turned up the volume with the large coil, I lost sens. accordingly.) As I started to replace the batteries, I found that the outside one one the right side was not seated at the top! Yet the meter read full charge! There was simply too much room length ways to keep them seated. My fix: Went to the hardware store and bought nylon washers that fit over the spring at the bottom, (it required two washers per bat.) and guess what? They now fit supremely well and haven't came loose since! BTW, nearly finished with my F75 mods and will post results for those intrested. Hope this helps! Good luck and great hunting! Regards, skypilot02.

 

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[ziphius]

skypilot, thanks for posting that solution. That's been the one thing that has bugged me since I bought my F75. The electronics on this machine are outstanding, but the little manufacturing flaws are annoying.

 

[Sky Pilot]

Ziphius, Glad to be able to help! My batteries were so loose that they would unseat when I sat my machine down! Maybe the holder is bigger for re chargables?! I simply bought those nylon washers that fit over the spring, pulled a little slack on the spring and no more troubles. Good to hear it was a help to someone, I was beginning to think that no one was taking this post seriously!! LOL!! Great hunting and good luck!! Regards, Richard.

 

[ziphius]

Richard,

Same here, my machine will shut off if I lay it down. I did the 'stretch the spring' thing, but your solution is more elegant.

Jim

 

[Sky Pilot]

Jim, Great to hear from you again! Thanks for the kind words. I really had no choice but to add the washers! Wish I could say it was a well devised plan, but truthfully it was all I could think of! LOL!! Great hunting and Good luck! Regards, Richard.

 

[SaginawIan]

richard - if you don't mind, could you give specific instructions on how to add the washers? I put little disks in there, but they slide around and it really didn't solve the problem. Do you actually put them over the springs? How do you get to the back springs, I can't get my fingers back there.

ian

 

[Sky Pilot]

Ian, Sorry to reply so late, I didn't see the post!? I wasn't on my computer much yesterday, maybe that was it. Sure, I'll be glad to tell you how I put the washers in! First, I used nylon washers. I believe your post said you used rubber, I'm not sure it would matter, although rubber would be better for compression! I wanted mine fairly tight though, so I used nylon. The outside diameter is one half an inch, with a quarter inch hole in the middle. I actually used two washers per spring, one washer is one eighth an inch thick, the other one sixteenth. ( 1/2"x1/8", 1/2"x1/16". ) This was because 1/8" was not enough to take out the slack on my particular machine. First, I pulled my springs up gently, to be sure there was enough pressure for a good contact. Naturally, I put the inside washers on first, and, like yourself, my hands wouldn't fit back there, so I place the 1/8" washer in the box and maneuvered it into place with a small jeweler's screwdriver, (Which, incidentally, I also used to stretch my springs), then did likewise with the 1/16" washer. To be straight up with you, mine fit a little too tight, so I used some fine sand paper on the thick one 'till it fit to suit me. Yes, I placed the washers directly over the spring, so the spring came up through the middle hole in the washers. I then proceeded to do the same with the other side's back spring, following with the outside springs. You may need thicker or thinner spacers, but probably not. The hardware store I went to didn't have a size in between 1/16" and 1/8" thick, so I had to make do with what I had. If there is a large store, like a Lowe's or Home Depot close by, they may have metric washers and maybe you can find a washer just right in thickness, so you could use only one. Anyway, that is what I did, and it IS a hassle on those back springs, to be sure!! LOL!!! Let me know if this helps! (Or not!) Great hunting and Good luck, Regards, Richard.