1266 and F-75 LTD

[HistoryBuff]

Hi again,

I posted a question about the F-75 LTD and relic hunting yesterday and wanted to follow up with this. I've used the 1266 for years and know it pretty well. How big is the learning curve when jumping to the F-75 LTD with the boost? From the picturs I've seen of the controls, I'm guessing it's going to be like starting over and learning a new machine. And it is a new machine, just wondered how similar it is to the tried and true 1266.

DS

 

[HistoryBuff]

I just joined yesterday and am still learning my way around. I believe this was posted on the wrong forum. Maybe someone can move it.

Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience.

DS

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I can tell that the F75 is way more advanced than the great old 1200 series machines.Way more complicated but well worth learning and I believe you can take it back to your old hunted out sites and find several good targets your 1266 was unable to locate for various reasons.Welcome aboard,Ray.
.

 

[Wisconsin]

Ray I use the 1266X exclusively for relic hunting and have hunted with the F75, there is not much depth improvement. If you relic hunt in bad ground and cover a lot of ground like I do at sometimes up to three miles in a day you will not like the F75 "No ground tracking"

The other thing is the F75 DD coil is large and hard to hunt around brush due to the narrow detecting area you have to swing the coil side to side and not back and forth so hunting in tight spots like up next to a tree with scrub brush around is a bummer.

If you do get one you may also want to consider a concentric coil for the machine, I have never tried the concentric on the F75 due to the lack of ground tracking I sold the machine.
Just my opinion!

 

[HistoryBuff]

Thanks X-Terra for the feedback. Are you using the F-75 or the F-75 Limited Edition? The product info says the LTD has improved features and naturally I wanted to make sure which one you are using. The main difference I read about is the "Boost" which gives that extra depth. Also, the LTD is supposed to have two coils, one smaller for close areas.

Thanks for the information. Just wanted to be sure which machine you were referring to. Love the forum here.

HistoryBuff

 

[Ray-Mo.]

All very valid points and I always try to have several different coils for all of my machines to best match the chore at hand.I am not into relic hunting very much but do know a lot of very serious relic diggers prefer the F75s.It only takes a few seconds to check or re-ground ballance .As far as covering a lot of ground the f75 is the fastest machine I have ever tried out of many.But like I said I do not hunt relics very often .However I do hunt a lot for older deep coins and for that I prefer the E-Trac hands down with The Explorers being my second choice.My F75 would be my third choice for my type of hunting here in SW Missouri,Ray.

 

[HistoryBuff]

Thanks Ray. Good info. Objective and straight to the point. I'm seeing a pattern now of the F75 for relics, the Etrack for coins.

DS

 

[morelic55]

I had a F-75 LTD. I gave it my best and I have had other F Series Fishers in the past. It just did not work for me in my ground here in SW Missouri. I did'nt want to have to turn the sens down into the 30's & 40's in BP and CL Modes just to hunt. To me, the new modes are just a "Super Tune" like on a popular non-metered machine. It just boosts the audio. I am strictly a relic hunter and have found the X-terra series with the 10.5 DD coils far more stable for me. I'ts been too damn cold for me to get out with the Minelab that I traded my F-75 for. I hope that it is just as good as my XTerra is..........Let's go on SAFARI.............

 

[HistoryBuff]

And you already traded it!

DS

 

[Wisconsin]

I had the regular F75 and not the LTD, sorry didn't catch that part.

I hope they fixed the F75 LTD as the regular F75 will detect deeper than it will ID and you must run the sensitivity down to keep it smooth especially in a plowed field or disturbed soil.

I use the E-Trac now and it is hands down a better machine for my type of hunting over the F75 or the T2.

With that said I would not trade my 1266X for a new anything!

 

[go-rebels]

I had a F-75 LTD. I gave it my best and I have had other F Series Fishers in the past. It just did not work for me in my ground here in SW Missouri. I did'nt want to have to turn the sens down into the 30's & 40's in BP and CL Modes just to hunt. To me, the new modes are just a "Super Tune" like on a popular non-metered machine. It just boosts the audio. I am strictly a relic hunter and have found the X-terra series with the 10.5 DD coils far more stable for me. I'ts been too damn cold for me to get out with the Minelab that I traded my F-75 for. I hope that it is just as good as my XTerra is..........Let's go on SAFARI.............

Just some clarification on the performance of the LTD using low sensitivities... I live in the upstate of SC where the ground is mainly red clay, running about 0.1 to 0.3 on the FeO meter. I am able to consistently audibly pick up (with decent VID) using my LTD a 8" buried silver dime at sensitivities between 25 and 35 in BP mode. In this ground my old Explorer II, running the Pro coil, had difficulty picking it up. My old F75 performed slightly worse than that Explorer II. After years, in my soil, I found a machine that trumped the Explorer! I don't believe that the numerical value of the sensitivity means much when you can easily get that kind of performance with a near quiet threshold. In my dirt, the potential improvement running higher, noisier sensitivities is minimal.

The new BP and CL modes are far more than just boosted audio. There is significant signal processing going on within their new, fast processer that draws out the signal longer over time, thus making it easier for the brain to process. Plus, using the BP mode, you don't need to slow the swing speed down at all. In the end, I can cover significantly more ground over the same period of time compared to my old Explorer.

I had an Etrac for a short time but got frustrated digging square nails that sounded like silver chirps. Consequently I sold the Etrac and went back to my trusty Explorer II that did not experience that problem.

To each his own...