F2 F5 questions

[Mick in Dubbo]

Hi all.
I've just been watching some U-Tube type videos on these 2 machines to see how well they operate. The F5 was being used in an area of the Californian gold rush and the F2 seemed to be tested on a lawn. The F2 locked into specific numbers for coins very consistently which impressed me, but the F5 seemed to jump around a lot more. As I mentioned, the ground it was being used on may well have been a major factor in this. My question is, do they (F5) lock onto coins with tight number spreads ie within one or two numbers, or does it normally bounce around and vary by over 10 numbers as in the video?
Also, does the pinpoint feature of each of these machines give give any further target info that normal discrimination mode doesn't?
Thanks.
Mick Evans.

 

[Justin Case]

Mick, these are two different animals, the F2 is like watching public television only, and the F5 is more liken to the upscale cable/satellite package. The F2 is setup for average conditions and if you get into crummy areas with lots of trash and what have you, you can switch to the smaller coil to help it out. The F5 on the other hand has a lot going on under the hood and provides a lot of information about the conditions you are hunting in. If I'm on fairly clean ground my ID numbers are pretty tight and the depth reading in the pin point mode is within reason to about 6 inches. If I'm in crappy ground, the F5 tells me in black and white, and then I've got to start making adjustments to dial things back until the ID numbers tighten up again. I catch hell every time I say this, the F5 is not for the newbie in my opinion, there is a lot of pertinent information going on with it, and it takes awhile to learn how to get it dialed in for your hunting situations.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Thanks for the insight Justin.
It sounds like the F2 performs in a similar way to a Tracker 4. It sounds like the F5 has it's place. I like the idea of the elliptical coil. That was one of the stand out features of the Ace. The F5 hasn't been released in Australia just as yet, but the importer does have some info on it, up on his website.
I'd love to be able to met someone who has got one. that way I could get a good feel for what they are like. I'll see if I can locate some more video footage of the F5 on the web. It's not as good, but better than nothing.
Mick Evans.

 

[marcomo]

Justin said it very well, the F5 does have a lot going on "under the hood." Fisher claims it's an easy to use detector, but to use it optimally there is definitely a learning curve.

I absolutely love the F5, but with just under a year's experience detecting I kind of feel like a 16 year old with a Corvette.

The power and sensitivity of this detector overall is a plus, but it is also a negative. Any type of large or moderately large shallow targets under the surface (or any size on the surface) will send the detector into overload. Not a problem on the surface because I'm going to pick up and discard any trash I find anyway. But the under the surface overloads are annoying. You can ignore them and move on, but then you risk missing good targets that are being masked.

It doesn't help that the manual is full of errors.

Ground balancing the F5 is simple and intuitive, but to read the manual you sure wouldn't think so. They give you the totally wrong way to do it!

The all metal mode is definitely a less relaxing way to detect, but very rewarding. It goes significantly deeper than with discrimination and the F5 gives you all the VID info in all metal, although unfortunately not multiple tones.

My deep silver numbers have jumped around but stayed in the coin range, from the upper 50's and up. Not that I've found a ton of deep silver with it yet - a Rosie at 6" and a Mercury at 8". My depth readings in pinpoint have been very accurate, within 1".

The stock 5X10 coil with the F5 is an excellent all around coil, but I'm disappointed they haven't come up with any accessory coils for the F5 yet. In heavy trash I would like to have a smaller coil.

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

I was one of the guys that made the video of the F5 and F75. At parks they both lock on most of the time but I don't hunt that way I hunt in two tones and listen to the tone and then look at the numbers. I have on the F5 pulled out old coins where the numbers varied but that is not a weakness but a strength. So if you want an easy machine I would think the F2 would be your machine. If you want the little brother to the F75 then the F5 is your boy....and as I have said before give it a DD and hold on to your pants.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Thanks for the input and posting the videos. although it is not possible to get the whole picture even with the video, it gives a good idea on how it behaves.
The reason that I was asking about the jumping numbers, is because I have an XLT and it jumps around chronically (10 to 12 numbers) on a test coin and when I saw it on the video, I groaned a bit. apart from the lack of depth of the XLT, it's the unreliable visual information, that I'm getting rid of it. I hear you on the reason the numbers can jump around. That happens with most detectors for the same reasons. If there is corrosion on a coin, the the numbers tend to drop, if a coin is on edge, then you get a narrower signal and a slightly higher number eta.
I was thinking of getting an X-Terra 70, as it was the only light weight machine on the market that I was aware of that performs well. It appears that the F5 may well be a better solution. I talked to the local dealer today, but will need to talk to him again on Monday when he has more info available.
Just wondering. What is it about the DD coil that you recommend it? I tend to be a bit of a fan of the concentric coils, usually.
Thanks.
Mick Evans.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Thanks for the input Marco.
As I haven't seen the F5 to know anything about it's sensitivity and overload signal, it may be possible to harness them in concert to help in IDing targets. It would depend on how subtle you can get around the point of overload. (Just a thought.)
I hear you on the instruction manual. Fisher has some good company in that regard. The pinpointing instructions on the Ace are in the same boat.
The F5 has definitely piqued my interest at the moment. I just sold the Ace so I can upgrade to a high quality light weight unit. I've got too many detectors. I really only want 1 light weight and 1 heavy unit as that is what I do most of my hunting with. I'll keep a third one, but it will mostly be a back up and occasional hunt use detector.
Mick Evans.