- - I got this in trade with Mike in KY. Attaboy, Mike! He's known as digginbullits around here and you wont go wrong with him.
I was impressed with the build work of the F70. Some have said it is chintzy and cheap, a mere toy. I didn't get that impression. Now, it isn't a battle tank by any means - more like a cavalry steed. And I would caution anyone against using it as a crutch or to break a fall down a steep slope. But, I'd say that about any detector.
What you get is a lightweight detector that is going to be an all-day swinger. This is the New Fisher getting on the micro-electronics bandwagon in a big way. The rest of the makers have tried to get there, now and then, most notably the Whites Prizm and of course the Tesoro Umax line.
The first has turned out to be a disappointment and the Tesoro's - well, we know how well they've turned out. Smaller aint bad, folks!
Now, I've gotta say that the F70 is not an intuitive detector right out of the box. You turn it on (once you find the on-off knob) and it sorta sits there and does, well... nothing. The audio gives a tiny little "bip," the screen shows a brief logo-esque image and then goes blank. Then it just sits there. There is a line across the word "IRON" in the upper left and you don't know if it is meant to be there or something is wrong. There is no audio threshold and you look at it there in your hand - and wonder.
You have to get in and play with the buttons a bit before anything is apparent. Speaking of buttons, it has the typical tactile membrane pads, all the rage these days. They don't get dirt in them and are safe from damage and I'm okay with them - except when it comes to pinpointing. For pinpoint functions I want a trigger, dangit! The F70 has none. Too bad, too, as I think every detector made should have a trigger pinpoint. This should have been brought over from the F75. When are detector makers going to get this message?
But, once you start monkeying with the controls, you realize there is a lot going on. I see elements of the old CZ7a Pro in there and plenty that is just plain new for Fisher. The lineage from the T-2 is apparent and I'd call it a "T-2 Lite," for lack of anything else. There is a logical progression through the various controls, from DISC through SENS and THRESH and NOTCH and so on. All controlled by the menu button. Shades of Garrett GT series, there. Good - I like that.
I really like the audio response suite, too. No on-off bonging over targets or tinny little tones. It gives a nice clear audio that rises from silence to signal and then drops off again. It has multiple tone choices, to which I say, "HOORAY!" As our good friend Mike Hillis says, "Tones Rule!"
I discovered it has VCO pinpoint, which I like, and it functions like a well behaved, non-motion all metal mode should. Non of that too-fast, retune-into-the-target stuff here. And, lo and behold, it offers audio modulation in response to depth... the deeper the target, the softer the response.
Oh, and did I mention it seems fast over the target? There isn't any processing delay or lagtime with this one. Thank you, Fisher.
Oh, be still my beating heart!!
The coil is very cool. It is small but large at the same time, being an elliptical. It pinpoints in the middle when at depth and off the ends when the target is shallow, as all good concentric ellipticals should. It should cover ground well enough and it looks pretty solid, too. The coil cable has a tough, seemingly indestructible PVC shell and is not too long. Very nice, very nice. Once the coils is on, it stays in position solidly and balances the instrument well. Even with the coil on, the balance is right on the hand grip and feather light.
I did note the fragile nature of the faceplate. Some have mentioned it and I wanted to see if they were right... they were. It seriously needs a face shield of self adhesive vinyl and a rain/dust cover. I'll work something out along those lines to take care of that problem. Fisher needs to develop a retro fit kit for this, to include a face shield and cover for a reasonable cost. Did you catch that, good Fisher folk?
It seems a little tippy with it's narrow stance, and that will be seen tomorrow when I take it out in the real world. I reckon I better cover the speaker with some electrical tape, too, to keep sharp grass and twigs from poking through the grill. Thanks to Tony (FL) for that idea.
First impressions are said to mean a lot. If that is so, I see a lot of potential in this F70. I'm looking forward to exploring that potential. In a word, I like it.
I was impressed with the build work of the F70. Some have said it is chintzy and cheap, a mere toy. I didn't get that impression. Now, it isn't a battle tank by any means - more like a cavalry steed. And I would caution anyone against using it as a crutch or to break a fall down a steep slope. But, I'd say that about any detector.
What you get is a lightweight detector that is going to be an all-day swinger. This is the New Fisher getting on the micro-electronics bandwagon in a big way. The rest of the makers have tried to get there, now and then, most notably the Whites Prizm and of course the Tesoro Umax line.
The first has turned out to be a disappointment and the Tesoro's - well, we know how well they've turned out. Smaller aint bad, folks!
Now, I've gotta say that the F70 is not an intuitive detector right out of the box. You turn it on (once you find the on-off knob) and it sorta sits there and does, well... nothing. The audio gives a tiny little "bip," the screen shows a brief logo-esque image and then goes blank. Then it just sits there. There is a line across the word "IRON" in the upper left and you don't know if it is meant to be there or something is wrong. There is no audio threshold and you look at it there in your hand - and wonder.
You have to get in and play with the buttons a bit before anything is apparent. Speaking of buttons, it has the typical tactile membrane pads, all the rage these days. They don't get dirt in them and are safe from damage and I'm okay with them - except when it comes to pinpointing. For pinpoint functions I want a trigger, dangit! The F70 has none. Too bad, too, as I think every detector made should have a trigger pinpoint. This should have been brought over from the F75. When are detector makers going to get this message?
But, once you start monkeying with the controls, you realize there is a lot going on. I see elements of the old CZ7a Pro in there and plenty that is just plain new for Fisher. The lineage from the T-2 is apparent and I'd call it a "T-2 Lite," for lack of anything else. There is a logical progression through the various controls, from DISC through SENS and THRESH and NOTCH and so on. All controlled by the menu button. Shades of Garrett GT series, there. Good - I like that.
I really like the audio response suite, too. No on-off bonging over targets or tinny little tones. It gives a nice clear audio that rises from silence to signal and then drops off again. It has multiple tone choices, to which I say, "HOORAY!" As our good friend Mike Hillis says, "Tones Rule!"
I discovered it has VCO pinpoint, which I like, and it functions like a well behaved, non-motion all metal mode should. Non of that too-fast, retune-into-the-target stuff here. And, lo and behold, it offers audio modulation in response to depth... the deeper the target, the softer the response.
Oh, and did I mention it seems fast over the target? There isn't any processing delay or lagtime with this one. Thank you, Fisher.
Oh, be still my beating heart!!
The coil is very cool. It is small but large at the same time, being an elliptical. It pinpoints in the middle when at depth and off the ends when the target is shallow, as all good concentric ellipticals should. It should cover ground well enough and it looks pretty solid, too. The coil cable has a tough, seemingly indestructible PVC shell and is not too long. Very nice, very nice. Once the coils is on, it stays in position solidly and balances the instrument well. Even with the coil on, the balance is right on the hand grip and feather light.
I did note the fragile nature of the faceplate. Some have mentioned it and I wanted to see if they were right... they were. It seriously needs a face shield of self adhesive vinyl and a rain/dust cover. I'll work something out along those lines to take care of that problem. Fisher needs to develop a retro fit kit for this, to include a face shield and cover for a reasonable cost. Did you catch that, good Fisher folk?
It seems a little tippy with it's narrow stance, and that will be seen tomorrow when I take it out in the real world. I reckon I better cover the speaker with some electrical tape, too, to keep sharp grass and twigs from poking through the grill. Thanks to Tony (FL) for that idea.
First impressions are said to mean a lot. If that is so, I see a lot of potential in this F70. I'm looking forward to exploring that potential. In a word, I like it.
