Help with f2

[treasurehunter101]

Hey guys I just got my f2 like two days ago. And I was wondering how should I set up the detector? I was setting it up to just pick up pennies nickels and dimes but what do gold and silver fall under? Thanks byeee

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[digger27]

Hey guys I just got my f2 like two days ago. And I was wondering how should I set up the detector? I was setting it up to just pick up pennies nickels and dimes but what do gold and silver fall under? Thanks byeee

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From day one the most I ever notched out was iron.
Great stuff can come in anywhere so I just couldn't take the chance of missing jewelry.
If you just want coins notch out iron, foil and tabs...looking for just coins is easier when you are just starting out.


Where do jewelry targets come in...
Gold...from iron up to zinc and even into dimes or quarters if it is large/thick and/or pure like 22-24k.
Silver...larger rings the same numbers as dimes up to silver dollar size...70's-low 90's on the big ones.
Smaller rings could come in at zinc or lower...smaller pieces like earrings and pendants could come in below the dime area too.
Chains, no matter what they are made of they can come in anywhere from iron to the dime quarter area depending on size, thickness and whether you hit a clasp and the size of that clasp.
Silver chains in the pic below.
I have never yet come across a silver chain that came in any higher than zinc.

Some examples below.
All targets were found at these numbers with the F2 or air tested with the F2 later.

 

[fella]

As for set up…I run it one of two ways. If just coin shooting, I notch out Iron, Foil & Tab and the sens as high as I can and still maintain stability.

If I feel like including jewelry and/or relics in my hunt, I ONLY notch out Iron. Gold & silver pieces will fall in the whole range of the detector depending on the size of the item.

If I were to advise on it, I'd opt for ONLY notching out Iron and digging everything that has consistent even tone and VDI. Sure you'll dig more junk, but you'll also get a better idea quicker of what the machine is trying to tell you.

Good luck!

 

[digger27]

Digging everything is usually recommended by most to get a feel for targets when you are new.
I fully agree.
Lots of iron out there so hit the plus button to get rid of it and go if you want to do that.

Notching when skipping over sections confuses many, the manual isn't really clear on this so I made this vid.
The F2 will not keep settings in memory, when you turn it off it will lose them.
Some say this is a handicap...I say bull.
I can take 5 seconds out of my busy day at the start of a hunt to set this thing up anyway I want it.
95 different combinations possible when using the notch system.
As you advance you can use the notch system to eliminate special targets but this is something I myself have rarely done.
I feel this is a volume business...he who digs the most gathers the most booty.

 

[Phantasman]

I agree with Digger. I only notch iron. Segments aren't magic. A coin can still come in on other segments (depending on how it's laying and what lies with it). The concentric gives a bit better info than the DD, IMO. Especially if you use the X method. Notching out tabs/zinc might be what others do, and miss good targets. The numbers are more accurate than segments. A segment saying zinc and a flux of 85 on the numeric display is worth digging. Notch it, and you miss it. Depending on segments is NOT learning the detector. There is a lot going on with tones and numbers as well. Learning the detector is beyond expecting it to say "here is a dime" or "here is a ring". Most times the best it can say is "this acts like a ring, so let's check it out".

Even long timers dig plenty of junk. And even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in awhile.

 

[treasurehunter101]

I agree with Digger. I only notch iron. Segments aren't magic. A coin can still come in on other segments (depending on how it's laying and what lies with it). The concentric gives a bit better info than the DD, IMO. Especially if you use the X method. Notching out tabs/zinc might be what others do, and miss good targets. The numbers are more accurate than segments. A segment saying zinc and a flux of 85 on the numeric display is worth digging. Notch it, and you miss it. Depending on segments is NOT learning the detector. There is a lot going on with tones and numbers as well. Learning the detector is beyond expecting it to say "here is a dime" or "here is a ring". Most times the best it can say is "this acts like a ring, so let's check it out". Even long timers dig plenty of junk. And even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in awhile.

Alright I'll try to just notch out the iron today on my hunt... See what happens I'll let you guys know

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[mikeraydj]

Listen to Digger27 he won't steer you wrong. He has helped me lots. He mentored me on the F2 and he has helped me with my F5. Because of the people here, I have found 7 rings in the last 4 days. Lots of clad and a S**t load of fun. I have only been detecting just over 4 months.

 

[treasurehunter101]

Ice been detecting for like a year and oh found clad coins and junk pretty much!

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[Phantasman]

On my hunt today (about an hour) with the F2 and stock 8" concentric, I pulled this up at a local ball field.

The ring has 14K on the inside and hit as a nickel 3" down. It was 2" down inside a plug you dig with the Lesche.

 

[treasurehunter101]

On my hunt today (about an hour) with the F2 and stock 8" concentric, I pulled this up at a local ball field.<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1030342"/> The ring has 14K on the inside and hit as a nickel 3" down. It was 2" down inside a plug you dig with the Lesche.

So the 8 is better?

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[Phantasman]

Better? Than what? The 10" may go deeper, but you start to lose good ID on stuff closer to the surface (according to D Johnson). The 4" isn't as deep, and takes more swings to cover an area, but utilizes the process to quickly ID in between more trash surrounding a target. The 8" is more of the best of both worlds, IMO.

I am not a believer that the best stuff is deep. The advantage of deep is to find targets more shallow detectors miss. By comparison, there are many many more targets at between 0 to 8" than there are 8" and below. If you go to sites that are usually dug by others, and you like to dig dirt, by all means, go deep. If you are relic hunting in areas that had people living on it 1000 years ago, deep is good as well. But there is plenty of good targets waiting to be found that lie no more than 2" to 6" down. Part of detecting is planning the hunt. And that involves the "where" as well as the "what" (to hunt). Even the 8" concentric can find a descent sized cache at 12" deep. Just not a single coin at that depth. My F5 in AM can probably find a cache at 2 feet with the 10" concentric.

My advice is to "master" the stock coil first. Learn the detector. Forget going deeper than 6-7". Let it show you how good it is at that depth first. Then move towards greater depths and bigger coils later. Above all, don't get discouraged. That is what most new detectorists do, and start trading units and trying different coils, thinking that is what makes one find good targets.

My opinion.

 

[treasurehunter101]

Better? Than what? The 10" may go deeper, but you start to lose good ID on stuff closer to the surface (according to D Johnson). The 4" isn't as deep, and takes more swings to cover an area, but utilizes the process to quickly ID in between more trash surrounding a target. The 8" is more of the best of both worlds, IMO. I am not a believer that the best stuff is deep. The advantage of deep is to find targets more shallow detectors miss. By comparison, there are many many more targets at between 0 to 8" than there are 8" and below. If you go to sites that are usually dug by others, and you like to dig dirt, by all means, go deep. If you are relic hunting in areas that had people living on it 1000 years ago, deep is good as well. But there is plenty of good targets waiting to be found that lie no more than 2" to 6" down. Part of detecting is planning the hunt. And that involves the "where" as well as the "what" (to hunt). Even the 8" concentric can find a descent sized cache at 12" deep. Just not a single coin at that depth. My F5 in AM can probably find a cache at 2 feet with the 10" concentric. My advice is to "master" the stock coil first. Learn the detector. Forget going deeper than 6-7". Let it show you how good it is at that depth first. Then move towards greater depths and bigger coils later. Above all, don't get discouraged. That is what most new detectorists do, and start trading units and trying different coils, thinking that is what makes one find good targets. My opinion.

So the 8"?

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[digger27]

What coils do you have?
I usually recommend that new users start with the 4"sniper and learn the machine on that one.
Less chance of having more than one target under the coil, easier to learn to swing that coil and get the center of the coil over targets, something you want to try to do and not so much over the heel or toe.
Mine seems a little less affected by EMI also, as does my 10"...my 8" is the most sensitive to this for some reason.
Target separation is great on all coils but it is the best on the sniper due to its small size.
Not a big deal on many sites but it makes a big difference in trashy areas which is where this coil shines.
Depth is very good depending on your soil, of course.
In my good soil I can easily pick up targets at 6", usually the area of the bulk of my deeper targets around here, but I can and have gone further especially with the sense maxed out.
Turning down the sense you actually don't lose much depth, I once picked up a small piece of chain and a coin or two once at about the 5-6" level with the sense set low as you can get it.

The 8" is a good all around, some prefer the lighter weight vs the 10", I don't have any issues with the bigger coil.
The 8" also has good target separation abilities and can pick up some pretty small targets, too.
Depth on mine in good soil...especially in damp conditions, on coins sized targets I am in the 7-8" range.

The 10" coil will go a bit deeper under the same conditions as the 8", by at least 2" for me, and deeper targets in the normal deeper level for me at 5-6" seem to give clearer signals also.
I don't have many issues seeing smaller targets with this coil, seems to pick up most of what the others will pretty good.
Then again I don't have a huge amount of time with it compared to the other two.
When I finally got the 10" I all but retired my 8" coil when I used bigger coils on the F2, for wide open areas or when I needed to go the deepest I mounted the 10" and when I got that one I never used the 8" again.
Most times, however, I have the sniper mounted because I usually aim for trashy sites more often than not.
I have never had experienced using the DD coil on the F2, but most users report good depth comparable to the 10" concentric, sometimes further, and is a better coil for use in heavy mineralization.
Many say that long scanning field has excellent target separation and is very good at sneaking between trash, but I believe the sniper is still much better at both of those tasks.

If you gave me a choice of only owning one coil the sniper would be my pick hunting the amount and type of trashy sites that I do, and many other owners have posted that the sniper is also their main coil and usually leave it mounted most of the time and have ever since they first put it on and saw what it could do.
Not all but many.