F5 Quick Question:

[cyclerider]

Hey guys,
I have looked and can't find an answer for this one. I am sure someone can answer this. While hunting Saturday, on several occasions in I believe AM and I think disc. mode, I got some tones on a find and narrowed it to a certain area and then used the pinpoint mode to find the depth. As soon as hit the pinpoint button the detectors tones went off and the entire screen started blinking with just dashes in the areas the numbers go. I would take my finger off the button and it came back to normal. Do it again and there it happened again. This happened on several occasions. Can anyone tell me what happened? Thanks

 

[marcomo]

Target overload. Chances are it's a big shallow or relatively shallow target. Or a smaller target on the surface or right under it.

 

[cyclerider]

Thanks Marcomo,
Is this normal? Anything you can do to avoid this? Thanks again.

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

low batt or bad unit time to send it in.

 

[cyclerider]

The unit is just a week old. Got it last week. The batteries show full charge. Got it at Kellyco. Any ideas? Thanks

 

[marcomo]

Cyclerider - Yes, it's by design. Next time you get that overload sound, raise your coil to pinpoint and at a certain height the pinpoint tone comes back.

When the circuitry is being overloaded like that it means you have something big that's shallow or something really big that's not too deep. Shallow aluminum cans will do it. Bottlecaps on the surface or barely under do it too.

I never really noticed, but I assume turning the threshold down would reduce the point at which the circuitry will become overloaded. But to me that overload signal is the detector giving me solid information even though the VID might not be.

When you get that overload signal look down and if there's nothing laying on top of the ground, assuming the soil hasn't been plowed or otherwise disturbed, it's a pretty good bet that it's big trash not far underneath.

It's almost always junk but it's still a good idea to dig (especially in an area with good deep targets) because it's shallow and easy to remove and sometimes masking a good target.

If this hasn't been suggested already, look up all of Mike Hillis' archived posts about the F5 and you'll really shorten your learning curve.

Good luck with the F5, it's an excellent detector!

 

[cyclerider]

Marcomo,
I have been going through Mike's posts quite a bit. I remember him saying the overload but not what actually happens to the detector when an overload occurs. So, I can assume that overload is normal? Do you think that is a design flaw or is that common with metal detectors? Thanks again for your input.

 

[autopilot42]

Cyclerider, what you are experiencing is normal. It usually happens over aluminum or large iron close to surface. I would think it is part of the design and I believe I the F70 and possibly others due the same. Lift the coil when experiencing the overload a few inches and it should stop and give you a reading. It happened to me last night while out for a short hunt.

Take care
Bob

 

[marcomo]

Yes, it's normal and not a design flaw.

 

[woodwizard]

its suppose to do it- mine does it over shallow stuff-the noise does get your attention especially when using head phones