Some F5 ground phase questions

[Mike Hillis]

1. Does the ground phase readout work when you are in pinpoint mode?

2. What happens with the ground phase number when you pump it over a metal target?

3. Can metal targets be identified by the ground phase readout?

4. Can I phase lock over metal?

5. What effect does high gain and high threshold settings have on the ground phase readout?

Thanks in advance for the answers.

HH

Mike

 

[Mike Hillis]

When I look at the ground phase readings of other units, like the DFX, they can do more than just give you a ground reading. They can also help id metal objects. I'm wondering if the F5's ground phase readings can be used the same way. From the posts that I've read, folks report the ground phase numbers changing rapidly as they sweep the coil over the ground. This could be a result of metal objects affecting the phase reading as the coil passes over it. Thats a good thing in my mind. Especially when you get into the moderate to extreme mineralization and highly magnetic soil that I deal with locally. I haven't seen much posted about this and so I'm asking. In fact it was the first thing I thought about when reading about this feature as I used it often on my DFX's.

My fingers are crossed that it does.

HH

Mike

 

[Mark in NC]

Hi Mike,

I'll check some of this out over the weekend and let you know.

 

[Mike Hillis]

n/t

 

[Cal_Cobra]

1. Does the ground phase readout work when you are in pinpoint mode?

2. What happens with the ground phase number when you pump it over a metal target?

If it's iron it goes up, if it's a good target it stays locked.

3. Can metal targets be identified by the ground phase readout?

Not to my knowledge.

4. Can I phase lock over metal?

It's not recommended as per the manual (GB). Why would you want to ?

5. What effect does high gain and high threshold settings have on the ground phase readout?

In one area I hunt I can run the gain and thresh at max or near max due to tame ground, and I've never noticed any effects on the ground phase readout.

Thanks in advance for the answers.

HH

Mike

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

You would hope Fisher could get you an answer they made it but it seems they don't know?

 

[AndyNM]

1. Does the ground phase readout work when you are in pinpoint mode?

Ground phase reading is locked once you press pinpoint.

2. What happens with the ground phase number when you pump it over a metal target?

The ground phase number changes, because it sees the metal as ground. No worries here because the internal ground balance setting (Phase lock) does not change.

3. Can metal targets be identified by the ground phase readout?

To some degree yes...any target changes the ground phase readout. That may be good info in combination with target ID and depth.

4. Can I phase lock over metal?

Yes. If you can't find a clean spot to Gb, just don't press Phase lock and leave the detector at the setting of 82 after you turn it on.

5. What effect does high gain and high threshold settings have on the ground phase readout?

The value of ground phase did not change with high threshold or gain.

Andy,NM

 

[Mark in NC]

1. Does the ground phase readout work when you are in pinpoint mode?

2. What happens with the ground phase number when you pump it over a metal target?

This one is pretty interesting....The phase reading seems to vary by target.(while pumping the coil directly over them)..ie: Quarters had a higher phase reading than dimes, which were higher than zinc's.... It would be interesting to see how much depth also affects this.

3. Can metal targets be identified by the ground phase readout?

Somewhat... phase seems to reflect conductivity to a degree...it would be cool to follow up on it some more...may be an additional ID tool to use.

4. Can I phase lock over metal?

5. What effect does high gain and high threshold settings have on the ground phase readout?

Phase is consistent regardless of gain and thresh. I think you'll appreciate that the Threshold/gain relationship on the F5 feels sorta "coinstrikish" to me... except that when you go into the positives, there's no audible thresh. "hum". There is a very cool dynamic between the gain and threshold that is easy to play with due to the use of good ol' knobs. It seems to make the F5 very "tweakable" on the fly. My favorite way to hunt with the F5 is 2 tones...zero disc. Anything above iron jumps out at you...yet you still hear when you're in a thick iron patch.

I tend to hunt by maxing out the gain, and tweaking the threshold for stability. I've tried the opposite, (High threshold, low gain) and could see where it would be interesting to explore the possibilities...seems hotter on smaller conductors. It also totally changes the nuances of the audio... it's really hard to explain that part until you hear it!

Thanks in advance for the answers.

HH

Mike

 

[Mike Hillis]

n/t