Question for the Fisher experts

[ramairnut]

I am looking at the F5 or possibly an F70. I don't really do much relic hunting , more coin and jewelry. Would the F5 be the better machine for me? I see that the F5 and F70 hunt in totally different frequency ranges. I had a teknetics Gamma at one time and got rid of it quick due to struggling with EMI. Does the frequency shift make a big enough difference in those situations? I currently swing a DFX but am getting tired of all the "adjustments". Any help/advice would be appreciated.

 

[Elton]

I would suggest the F-70 . EMI will be an issue in some areas. Seems to be a trait with the F series detectors.

F5 will also have some EMI issues in certain areas. Both are decent detectors. The 70 has the edge on depth.. IMO !!

 

[mudpuppy]

This topic should get some traffic!

Theres some powerfully successful coin/jewelry hunters here that use either one or the other...I have the 70 with the 11"dd...never had the chance to try the F5...From what I've read here, I dont think you could go wrong with either rig though, your decision may come down to something as simple as features and batteries?...I sure love using AA's, and the DP tones on the 70...I pretty much only hunt clad coins/ jewelry, with a few instances in the year when I find available old dirt...never much trouble with EMI here..the Freq shift helps a few times out of the year for me..solar flares? Most times I'm in F3...but on certain days/areas a guy has to play with it...to lose the chatter..

I like how I can turn on the 70, and just get to hunting, without GBing, or adjusting anything since all the parameters are saved when a guy powers it off...it seems very forgiving and deadly accurate on coins/jewelry..light and fast and well balanced....you can look up Mike Hillis' posts for some great info on the F5...and I sure aint gonna argue with him regarding which one is 'best' for inland coins/jewelry...
Mud

 

[berryman]

If EMI is a concern, why use an F-series machine? You may want to go to another brand for a more stable coin/jewelry machine.

 

[ramairnut]

If EMI is a concern, why use an F-series machine? You may want to go to another brand for a more stable coin/jewelry machine.

I thought EMI was a concern for most. So you are saying that EMI is a problem for the F-series machines and to look at another brand?

 

[tvr]

If EMI is a concern, why use an F-series machine? You may want to go to another brand for a more stable coin/jewelry machine.

Have not used a F70 or F5, but I can make my F75-LTD plenty chatty if I choose. I can also hunt it very quiet in nearly all places, although that requires very low sensitivity settings when near a strong source of EMI. Even at low sensitivity levels, I recover targets at good depth. I can turn the sensitivity way up on my CZ's and make them unusable too; but that is not how I hunt with them.

I think the ability to set high enough gain levels to cause issues brings on a lot of the bad EMI rap.

Learn the machine and set it up appropriately.

Now hoping to read a lot of good info from F5 and F70 users!
Cheers,
tvr

 

[basstrackerman]

I have a video on friendly forum showing the f70 on sensitivity level 1 and still picking up an 8 inch quarter. The f series machines do not not hi settings to go deep. Trust me. No emi issues at all with my f70 anywhere. Unless i try and max it out. But it isnt needed to go deep. Super machine one of the best ive used and ive used almost all of them out there.

 

[master_cat]

u should grab a f75 ltd great all around machine its not to chatty unless u unleash the beast i use mine for all hunting

 

[Hightone]

Out of the 2, the F70 is slightly deeper than the F5, but from what I have seen, it is a little more chattery. I would attribute this to the fact that it is more sensitive in depth. But you have to figure if chatter is a bad thing to get more depth.

The 7.8 freq may not be the best for relic hunting over the higher freqs of other. Though yesterday a found a small button the size of a pea at 3" down and was surprised to find it. My XPoinet had a heck of a time locating it in dug up dirt. I had the gain at 90 and threshold at +5, so I was in an area where emi didn't affect the F5. I think emiis more an issue when your in bigger cities that produce it than my country setting.

Both units will relic hunt. The F70 deeper, the display of the F5 more real time info that's easier to see (with weak eyes). You can't go wrong seeking out a used F75se as that would be more the Cadillac unit. But don't let emi be the big decision breaker. I've had many detectors and they all detect it, though some slightly less. You can buy coils that are less suseptable to it (like a NEL) and allows for cranking up the controls a little more.

 

[Mark in NC]

The F70 is hard to beat for flexibility and power. If noise is an issue, the threshold can hush it up nicely without much loss of "depth" on coin sized stuff. The frequency also gives you good resolution on lower conductors for nickels and jewelry.

 

[Mark in NC]

It has two memory "banks" where you can save custom settings and then quickly switch back and forth between them on the fly. I have my 2nd one set for SL mode and stuff really "cranked up" for deep target analysis when I hit something iffy on my normal hunting mode. The settings also stay put even when the battery dies.

 

[Digger 45]

I have some spots where the F5 is bothered with EMI so bad that i can't use it but thats when i bring out he Xterra 705 and it handles it with no problem. A must is to have a couple of detectors to cover some of the hard areas and to keep hunting.

 

[Wishful-thinker]

A couple of timtes under power lines i thought about wrapping mine in lead foil but just turned down the Threshold,and Sens to minimize chatter instead.