I just received my F70 yesterday and I don't know what all the fuss is about build quality. The only thing I saw that made me scratch my head, was the battery compartment and the fact that it has foam inserts in the bottom, designed to take up space and snug up the batteries. And, there is no build diagram in the manual or even a parts list with sketches. Its like they assume you already know how to put together a metal detector. Fisher might want to put some thought into what they need for the new to detecting segment that might buy their machines.
Otherwise, everything locks smoothly and surely on the unit I received. I started playing with it in the backyard and its real promising. The small buckle I have buried as a test at 11" in my moderate/borderline bad ground is hard for my MXT to detect and would probably fool me under normal field conditions. With this machine if you switch over into the slow mode it picks it up and you're sure there is something there. So, if you're trying to locate a CW or Colonial site it would be fine to start in the de mode and once you start locating stuff, switch over to the SL (slow) mode and slow down your search. I'm really excited about using this machine in areas that have been deemed as hunted out.
Otherwise, everything locks smoothly and surely on the unit I received. I started playing with it in the backyard and its real promising. The small buckle I have buried as a test at 11" in my moderate/borderline bad ground is hard for my MXT to detect and would probably fool me under normal field conditions. With this machine if you switch over into the slow mode it picks it up and you're sure there is something there. So, if you're trying to locate a CW or Colonial site it would be fine to start in the de mode and once you start locating stuff, switch over to the SL (slow) mode and slow down your search. I'm really excited about using this machine in areas that have been deemed as hunted out.