First let me say that this isn't a scientific test.
Remember this test was done on MY soil.
I got my detector and it was packaged in a professional brown box.
Let's start with the coil. The 8 inch coil is lightweight. I prefer a solid coil to glide across the grass and for scrubbing the ground when pinpointing. But not many companies supply such a coil any more. The 4 inch solid coil looked great. It was as deep as any I've used. They both are two piece coils that are glued together like most. The shaft was 3 piece, strong and with cam locks. Solid feel. The lower shaft is stronger than most. The control head is about 1 inch larger all the way around than the Ace 150/250. The arm cuff is stronger and heavier built than most. No arm strap was included but it's not needed. But the slots are there for one. The balance, weight and feel of the swing is great. Fit and finish for the complete detector was top notch. I pried around on it and all was tight and strong. The battery cover looks like it should hinge up after you release the lock - DON'T DO IT! It pulls strait back. The 2 -9 volt batteries fit very tight so they will not jar loose. The F2 powers up in about 1/2 second. It starts out in the all metal mode. Not in the all metal mode it will pick up a small and large nail in any direction you pass the nail. This is good if you looking for small gold. The notch system takes some getting used to. I had to then read the manual for some help. Basically you push the notch button then + or - to find the notch you want in or out then hit the notch button again to set it. After about 1 hour of hunting you'll be able to notch out iron,foil and tabs in about 5 seconds. But the first time it will take you a minute. There are 8 target segments plenty large enough for my older eyes. The 0-99 numbers are huge and can be seen at about 3/4 of a mile. Great features. But since it has 99 target numbers they like to jump a bit as to be expected. Of course the beep is you #1 tool then the target segments, then tone ID and lastly the numbers. This would be true for any detector. I will say that this detector has the fastest target response of any I have used. I dug my last 20 or so targets without using the PP button. You can move the coil very slow about 3/4 inch and get a solid beep. Here is what I found in air tests and field testing. Targets 4 inches or less register very accurately. Then as the target is gets deeper the segments and numbers go up expotentially. Meaning a #35 tab at 4 inches will read a high coin and #80 at 8 inches. Then maybe read #99 at 10 inches. That's right it goes deep in the air and ground. At first thought this to be a problem. In the field I would get say a solid high tone and number 85. I would think that I had a nice quarter or better. Only to dig 8 inches to a tab. Crap I thought. Then after calming down I realized that this can be a good thing. How? Well we should be digging deep tabs anyway. Really we should be digging all tabs to find the jewelry. So this detector really makes me dig deep tabs. This should be good for my gold find? On average the air tests on coins with full sensitivity was 9 to 10 inches. I dug one aluminum can that was 4 inches deep. I had raised the coil 1.5 feet above the ground and still got a beep - but I dug it to verify a can. There is no large target or overload tone. I found that usually the large targets showed a 99 on the scale. Pinpointing was dead center. It has a large soft foam grip. This detector has non motion pinpointing. This is good. You can trace your target better. Also at first I thought the detector couldn't detune a target. But then found some tricks. If you detune your target you must either release and wait 1 second to repush the button or raise the coil about 1/2 inch and repush. Then it will detune. Speaking of pinpointing. The PP tone sounds like what you would think the electric chair should sound like. Most non motion PP machines have their own flavors usually a growl or something. About the buttons. They are just barely in the reach of your thumb. But they are so easy to depress. I have a set of 32 ohm headphones and the tones sound much better than the on board speaker. The coil plug has no nut to hold it to the control head but fits tight. I would say if your in the woods you would have to install a zip tie in it to be sure it doesn't pull out. 4 tones are a plus and there is a good range between them to easily tell the difference. The headphone jack in on the left side and is 1/4 inch. This detector sounds and acts different than my other detectors and you will have to run it for 2 hours to be comfortable with it's adjustments and sounds. After 4 hours it's a snap! Some things that could be better is 1. Last setting memory. I think this could be just a software reprogram. 2. The notch system could be simpler. You can't wave an object over the coil and notch it out by pushing the button. That's about it. All detector are not perfect and these issues are overcome by the 199.00 price with the additional coil and lower shaft. This detector in my soil is as deep or deeper than any I have used. I probably won't be able to hunt until next weekend. Maybe I'll find out more of what the detector will or will not do. I'm sorry this all ran together and I skipped around some.
Remember this test was done on MY soil.
I got my detector and it was packaged in a professional brown box.
Let's start with the coil. The 8 inch coil is lightweight. I prefer a solid coil to glide across the grass and for scrubbing the ground when pinpointing. But not many companies supply such a coil any more. The 4 inch solid coil looked great. It was as deep as any I've used. They both are two piece coils that are glued together like most. The shaft was 3 piece, strong and with cam locks. Solid feel. The lower shaft is stronger than most. The control head is about 1 inch larger all the way around than the Ace 150/250. The arm cuff is stronger and heavier built than most. No arm strap was included but it's not needed. But the slots are there for one. The balance, weight and feel of the swing is great. Fit and finish for the complete detector was top notch. I pried around on it and all was tight and strong. The battery cover looks like it should hinge up after you release the lock - DON'T DO IT! It pulls strait back. The 2 -9 volt batteries fit very tight so they will not jar loose. The F2 powers up in about 1/2 second. It starts out in the all metal mode. Not in the all metal mode it will pick up a small and large nail in any direction you pass the nail. This is good if you looking for small gold. The notch system takes some getting used to. I had to then read the manual for some help. Basically you push the notch button then + or - to find the notch you want in or out then hit the notch button again to set it. After about 1 hour of hunting you'll be able to notch out iron,foil and tabs in about 5 seconds. But the first time it will take you a minute. There are 8 target segments plenty large enough for my older eyes. The 0-99 numbers are huge and can be seen at about 3/4 of a mile. Great features. But since it has 99 target numbers they like to jump a bit as to be expected. Of course the beep is you #1 tool then the target segments, then tone ID and lastly the numbers. This would be true for any detector. I will say that this detector has the fastest target response of any I have used. I dug my last 20 or so targets without using the PP button. You can move the coil very slow about 3/4 inch and get a solid beep. Here is what I found in air tests and field testing. Targets 4 inches or less register very accurately. Then as the target is gets deeper the segments and numbers go up expotentially. Meaning a #35 tab at 4 inches will read a high coin and #80 at 8 inches. Then maybe read #99 at 10 inches. That's right it goes deep in the air and ground. At first thought this to be a problem. In the field I would get say a solid high tone and number 85. I would think that I had a nice quarter or better. Only to dig 8 inches to a tab. Crap I thought. Then after calming down I realized that this can be a good thing. How? Well we should be digging deep tabs anyway. Really we should be digging all tabs to find the jewelry. So this detector really makes me dig deep tabs. This should be good for my gold find? On average the air tests on coins with full sensitivity was 9 to 10 inches. I dug one aluminum can that was 4 inches deep. I had raised the coil 1.5 feet above the ground and still got a beep - but I dug it to verify a can. There is no large target or overload tone. I found that usually the large targets showed a 99 on the scale. Pinpointing was dead center. It has a large soft foam grip. This detector has non motion pinpointing. This is good. You can trace your target better. Also at first I thought the detector couldn't detune a target. But then found some tricks. If you detune your target you must either release and wait 1 second to repush the button or raise the coil about 1/2 inch and repush. Then it will detune. Speaking of pinpointing. The PP tone sounds like what you would think the electric chair should sound like. Most non motion PP machines have their own flavors usually a growl or something. About the buttons. They are just barely in the reach of your thumb. But they are so easy to depress. I have a set of 32 ohm headphones and the tones sound much better than the on board speaker. The coil plug has no nut to hold it to the control head but fits tight. I would say if your in the woods you would have to install a zip tie in it to be sure it doesn't pull out. 4 tones are a plus and there is a good range between them to easily tell the difference. The headphone jack in on the left side and is 1/4 inch. This detector sounds and acts different than my other detectors and you will have to run it for 2 hours to be comfortable with it's adjustments and sounds. After 4 hours it's a snap! Some things that could be better is 1. Last setting memory. I think this could be just a software reprogram. 2. The notch system could be simpler. You can't wave an object over the coil and notch it out by pushing the button. That's about it. All detector are not perfect and these issues are overcome by the 199.00 price with the additional coil and lower shaft. This detector in my soil is as deep or deeper than any I have used. I probably won't be able to hunt until next weekend. Maybe I'll find out more of what the detector will or will not do. I'm sorry this all ran together and I skipped around some.
