Tone detectors !

[Joel-Winnipeg]

Im thinking of buying a tone detector the Golden or the F5 !
Which would be the one that would be the best in the depth area.?
Anybody out there have used either one or both at one time or another ?

 

[amcjavelin]

as much as i hate to say it the f-5, had the golden and at at least in my ground in maine i would get about 7" max and the 12 x 10" coil changed my tones too but found more coins with the golden then just about any other its definitly lighter than the f-5 and you want to listen to all the tones its that solid tone that you want to dig, rolling tones could be a bolt or something mishaped in the ground or foil, notch feature just below nine o clock would hold in nickels and got rid of most tabs unless aluminum

 

[jabbo]

Are you saying go for the F5 or the Golden? Can't figure out what you are saying.

 

[Mike Hillis]

I have no time to compare them right now but I'll get back tonight and give you some information.

HH
Mike.

 

[Joel-Winnipeg]

Are you saying go for the F5 or the Golden? Can't figure out what you are saying.

The question was, which of the two detectors both being tonal machine woul be the best in the depth department ?
Thinking of investing in either one !
Pros and cons ?

 

[JB(MS)]

My main hunting buddy uses an F5 and it's deeper than my Golden in the mild ground here, at least one to two inches on inground dimes and quarters, but for the type hunting I do with it I prefer the Golden because of the accuracy of the tones and lighter weight.. I can separate nickels from the newer two hole style tabs, and zinc cents from bottle caps, better than he can with the tones and digital meter on the F5, and while we are usually pretty close on the number of coins found my coins to trash ratio is better with the Golden than his when using the F5. The Golden also pinpoints a lot better than the F5 with the oval coil that's standard on it.

 

[amcjavelin]

well i can't give much insight on the f-5 since i've not owned one but have owned the teknetics gamma and omega which are very simalar, and far as tone i would give to the golden because its a truer signal to me or my ears "if you will" compared to the digital machines unless you run just 2 tones then i had better experience with them now on the golden, why i say run all the tones or very little disc becuase if you get that rolling tone only the high will break in and falsify the target especially foil and also on the golden i had better results using the 8" brown donut coil then the 9 x 8" stock coil i tried a 12 x 10 coil changed the tones and hardley noticed or if anymore depth coverage i'm not trying discourage anything here but just my experience with it and had bought mine brand new and on big iron sometimes would break has a high tone so make sure you size it up as well to better give on judgement to dig or not personally i loved mine but on depth did'nt get that deep could have been my ground being the golden is preset on ground bal and never sent it back for adjustment the only real advice i can give you is try both to see whats suits your tastes if you can, there are a few goldens out there with the ground bal mods on them i'd like to try, but any ways i hope some of this helps

 

[slingshot]

Well, I don't have one yet but I would prefer the Golden because the tones can be adjusted by the notch?control (or one of the knobs) to change the break-up points on the detected targets. As far as the g/b, it can also be power-balanced for the GENERAL ground conditions in your area. Also, as JB points out, I have read where the notch switch can be used to change modes back and forth to help eliminate some of the items. One thing to remember about all Tesoroes w/out g/b adjustment is that a slower sweep speed can add depth in some grounds, although it is a fast detector. Of course one has to be careful to use a plastic tv service screwdriver to change the g/b. Fooling with the tone adjustments INSIDE the detector will usually mess up the shooting works if you're not careful. I prefer multi-check detectors to depth.

 

[amcjavelin]

thats one thing i don't do is touch the the insides period! if it were c.b. radio i 'd have no prob with with those, metal detectors is a little to much for me plus much smaller space in side

 

[Ken in NC]

Joel

I have owned both machines and hunted with both. Regarding depth, the F5 will do a little better in depth provided the area that you are hunting does not have much EMI. Unfortunately, the only way to really find out is to have an F5 in your hands and at the sites you hunt. If there is a lot of EMI, you will have to reduce the gain on the F5, and there goes the depth advantage.

At my local soccer fields, I could only run the F5 at 35-40% gain. It still gets good depth at that setting. Anything above that would start the machine's ID dancing/hunting around.

For whatever reason, the Golden uMax does not have this problem. It does not have the fancy display of the F5, but works very well as a successful hunter just the same. It is a joy to use and to swing

The F5 provides much more information on the screen, while the Golden just provides an audio signal. Either machine will accurately ID coins. Since a pulltab or foil target could also be a ring, it is still a guessing game with the rest of the display's information, so you have to be wise in how you interpret the F5's target ID.

 

[marcomo]

Joel - I don't have Mike Hillis-like knowledge of dthe F5, but I have had mine since the fall of 2008. So I can give you some insight on that detector.

I purchased the machine from a dealer in Arkansas who quit carrying FT detectors and therefore could sell it for less than MAP.

I also had a 10% off electronics coupon from Paypal (or ebay, I can't remember which) so I wound up getting the detector new with the 5 year warranty for just under $350 which was a fine deal until I ponied up big $ for the optional 11" and 5" DD coils.

I liked the detector a lot from the get-go, but one thing that was annoying was the way it would chatter even at low sens/thresh unless the coil was moving. When the coil was moving it was very stable.

This chatter was the biggest negative about the F5 for me but I figured this was just the way the detector was.

Then I happened to take it to an abandoned ghost town area. No noise. The detector was quiet even when the coil was not moving.

It was such a pleasant hunt that after reading Dave Johnson's essay about EMI and the F-series detectors, I realized that my F5 should not be acting the way it did in urban areas.

I contacted Mr. Johnson, and he was extremely helpful. When I sent the unit in, he said it exhibited EMI noise in the FT testing office that he had never seen before in the F5.

He was also kind enough to instruct the technician to basically replace the entire electronics of the unit.

When I got the unit back it was like a whole new unit interference-wise. In almost all urban areas I've hunted with it since I can run high or fairly high settings settings with the big 11" coil and have no EMI issues.

My F5 now has the "66" software which is said to be significantly more stable than the "65" software that was in the earlier production units. If I remember correctly, you test this by pressing the pinpoint when you turn the unit on and the number 65 or 66 will flash briefly on the screen.

The basics of the F5 are all positive for me - excellent depth, target separation and recovery speed. GB info right there in front of you all the time. Target readout and phase # there for you before you dig.

The negatives are smaller things - a little bottom-heavy with the 11" coil, and the knobs are just slightly too close together. I swing with my left hand, and several times I 've accidentally lowered the gain without realizing it.

My other complaint is the faceplate is flimsy and prone to scratching if you don't use some type of covering to protect it.

The original manual back when I bought my unit was a mistake-filled mess, but I understand that's been corrected.

I never had the Golden, but I've had Tesoros and still have the Compadre. Tesoro makes good non-metered detectors and they have a great warranty. Great people too.

 

[D&P-OR]

marcomo----Excellent report on the pros & cons of the F5.---I didn't know that about the 66 upgrade.----When you got yours back--do you get any (or now very little) chatter when the coil isn't in motion?-----How about when you lay it down to dig--do you get chatter then (with your upgraded machine)?---I believe that was/is a common problem that's experienced with both the F5's & Omegas. (or at least some of them).---Just curious if you still get that "chatter" (in those cases) after you got your F5 back?--------Thanks, Del

 

[D&P-OR]

Maybe I shouldn't be asking that question on a Tesoro forum!

 

[Joel-Winnipeg]

Many thanks for the information on the detectors guys much appreciated !!

 

[marcomo]

Del - I'll answer that question on the Fisher F forum where it's more appropriate as you stated.