First Post--Thanks due on F5 Info

[IdigMT]

Thought it time to express appreciation for the great help on this forum. I really benefited from reading about the F5 here and decided to buy one perhaps as my last coinshooter (just turning 75 -- been detecting since 1975). Also want to Thank Mike Hillis,Marcomo,Bill Ladd, and Low Boy for their shared expertisen on the F5 (and of course those who asked good questions).
Thought also I would share how one bit of info I picked up on one of the F5 videos ( I think it was Bill Ladd's), kept me from sending back this perfectly good new detector -- as being faulty. And perhaps it will help someone else not make the mistake I did. After assembling the unit and going thru the setup procedure I found I could not get any tones except the iron(all metal) tone, regardless of target. And only one low sound when advancing the discrimination setting. After repeating the tests in air and over ground, and getting the same results I reviewed the Manual and some of the F5 posts and videos. Then it hit me that in one of those videos (again I think Bill Ladd's) mention was made of the intentional slack in the upper coil cable, so as to not put sideways pressure on the cable connection to the detector. I turned the detector back on and when I pushed firmly to reseat the connector, it made a bunch of different noises and momentarily brought to life the ground phase reading which had not been active before. As soon as I relaxed pressure on the connection, the phase reading would go blank. So I undid the connection,eliminated the last couple wraps of the coil cable around the stem, and firmly reseated the connection. When I turned it on then, everything came to life and all controls,displays, and target responses were as advertised. Can hardly wait for the 2-3 months til ground thaws enough here to get out! I think I'll really like this detector. Again, thanks so much for all the info and help!

 

[Hightone]

Good story and info. I love my F5 and am sure you will enjoy yours, also. Welcome.

 

[woodwizard]

that F5 will continue surprising you on each hunt -but hopefully in a good way.definitely read and reread the post by the people on your list as they are knowledgeable. especially M.Hillis-he is a walking/talking F5 genius-hes help me solve problems in the past.

 

[marcomo]

I'm glad to be of help, nice of you to even mention me in the same sentence with heavyweights like Hillis, Ladd and Low-boy.

Believe me, I gain a lot of knowledge from the experts who post here.

My knowledge is a fraction next to those gurus, but I try to give back when I can and I appreciate your acknowledgement.

I'm glad you got the F5 working, but I'm not sure from your description that there isn't a problem at the detector connection. If you got it to work properly by loosening the coil cable, I'm inclined to think there might be a wire or something loose causing an intermittent problem that might resurface down the road. If you've got 2-3 months until your ground thaws and you're not using the unit anyway, you might want to consider shipping the unit in for Fisher to check out.

If you do decide to send it in to Fisher, ask for Felix at (915)225-0333 to get instructions for shipping and a repair #.

The F5 is an excellent detector, I hope you enjoy it - and if it is your last machine, I hope you have a good 20 years with it!

 

[Barry Ugolini]

I was told that the F5 does not do good around salt water. Has anyone had that problem?

 

[IdigMT]

Thank you Marcomo, for your kind wishes for 20 more years of detecting for me. Very much appreciated by this blessed man who has been declared free of lymphoma cancer for over two years now! Your suggestion that there still might be a problem in the cable connection to the control box leads me to give that connection some further testing. I should mention that, after relaxing the last couple coils of the cable, I aligned the cable with the connection port, pushed and held it in very firmly, and wrapped it securely with electricians tape-- so as to minimize any the torquing action of the cable coils. Those velcro wraps provided with the detector don't handle that torgue, but the vinyl tape does. Also, I think Fisher should use the screw-in-type cable connectors instead of the friction-fit concept used on the F5. What do you think? At any rate, I'll follow your suggestion to make sure I don't have a recurring problem-- while I have time before our detecting season opens. I'll report on what I find.

 

[marcomo]

First you say kind words, then I find out we had similar cancers. If you're trying to bond with me you're doing a good job!

I had Hodgkins Disease (a form of lymphoma) in 1979 and I've been cancer-free ever since. The radiation and chemo came with side-effects, but I've been blessed and I'm sure not complaining.

And I was surely blessed not to be born 10 years or so earlier, when the treatment I had was not yet available. And you are likewise blessed in that if you had to have cancer, you got a very treatable form.

As far as your F5 goes, I'm almost 100% sure that if you have to tape the connection to keep it in place and get a good connection then there's something wrong. This is just an uneducated guess, but to me it sounds like you have a soldered wire at the connection that is somewhat (but not all the way) loose. By holding it rigidly in one spot, you would then get a good connection. But that wouldn't be fixing the problem, just putting a band-aid on it.

I've never had to do anything like you've described to get a good connection, I'm guessing other F5 users haven't either. I'm sure some other experienced F5 users will chime in with their opinions on your issue. I know Mike Scott from FT also checks in on this forum occasionally, I'm curious to know what he thinks.

When I first got my F5, I was wary of the push-in connector as opposed to the normal screw-on type. But I've never had any problems with it, I don't recall having read anybody else that has either.

Since you're not going to be detecting for some time anyway, and it won't cost you anything but postage and insurance to mail it in assuming you bought it new, I'd be inclined to send it to FT to check out.

Good luck!

 

[IdigMT]

Thanks for your further input, Marcomo. I sure appreciate your modesty, but I for one am greatly impressed with your consistently helpful inputs to this forum going back for the more than 1 year that I've reviewed. In regards to the problem I mentioned above, I have tested my F5 (bought new) several times, disconnecting and reconnecting and it seems to be fine (although, I didn't undo the tape that keeps the cable in alignment with the receptacle and prevents the torgue I mentioned) -- so its possible I still have a connection problem that I've put a band-aid on, as you suggest. I won't forget your precaution to send it to Fisher for checking, but for now I'm enjoying playing with it a lot, particularly in regards to the many posts going back to Nov.2008. I was wondering where you are located, how many bars you have on the FE2O4 reading of your F5, and what types of detecting you do. That would help assess some of your gain/threshold settings with whatever conditions I find.

Isn't it interesting how we have had such similar cancer challenges. It's great that you've been free of the Hodgkins disease since 1979. It certainly seems that we have more than a casual reason for bonding in addition to our common interest in detecting. I believe we are indeed blessed of the Lord!

 

[IdigMT]

That garbled word in the post of a moment ago was supposed to be "evaluate".

 

[marcomo]

I've spent about a year and a half on this forum learning from people with way more experience than me, now it's been long enough that there are some who are starting to learn a little from me and that's gratifying to be able to give back.

My FE3O4 is almost always 2 bars in my area. I hunt a lot of different areas, but most are urban, and the majority but not all are private property (old houses) where I've gotten permission from the owner. My gain and threshold usually varies between 50 and +5 to 90 and 0. Those are the settings that, according to Mike Hillis, the detector is at full capability. Of course, there are occasions where I have to go lower because of EMI. But in most area I can use settings between those mentioned.