Hey everyone, I am a greenhorn to metal detecting so I am sorry in advance. I live in one of civil war Meccas in the US and i have been to three different areas, and I am having a lot of trouble with figuring out what is trash and what is worth going after. I have tried just listening to the tones and going off the numbers but it tends to jump around a lot and I am just digging everything. I have tried adjusting the sensitivity down but doesn't help. any suggestions will help me a ton. Thanks in advance
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
F2 help please
- Thread starter deano003
- Start date
Big Boys Hobbies
Well-known member
First go to a fairly clean spot where there aren't allot of targets in the ground to confuse you.
Then try to concentrate on repeatable signals as they are usually the good targets. Trash is usually erratic.
Third keep digging everything. Only way to learn the good from the bad.
HH
Then try to concentrate on repeatable signals as they are usually the good targets. Trash is usually erratic.
Third keep digging everything. Only way to learn the good from the bad.
HH
sgoss66
Well-known member
Yes, deano003. A learning curve. I just got a new machine, too (F70) and it's totally different than my prior one. So I am on the same learning curve as you are.
Try to focus and pay real close attention when you find, and then dig, a target. You are trying to make mental relationships between what the machine is saying, and what the target actually ended up being. This takes LOTS of repetition. Sort of like hitting a ton of balls at the driving range to build muscle memory, your brain will begin to relate "sounds" and IDs and other subtleties coming from the machine, to "targets," BUT it can only do so if you DIG those targets (the targets are obviously the "verifying" information). If you hear a particular tone, and then dig it, repeatedly, you will begin to learn that that type of tone often means "x"-type target. On the other hand, you will also begin to recognize sounds that, after digging a million pieces of trash, you will learn to relate to being generally "junk" targets. Learning to separate the "good" sounds from the "bad" is what you are trying to do; I am NOWHERE NEAR there yet, but this is what those who are really good can do without even thinking about it. It's second nature to them. Not that they aren't fooled sometimes, but their "trash to treasure" ratio has improved to the point where it is much, much better than those of us with low hours on our machines.
Usually (though FAR from always), a signal that is repeatable from four directions (a back and forth swing from left to right, and then turning your body 90 degrees, a back and forth swing from left to right PERPENDICULAR to the original swing), and also is of an ID range that suggests a "good" target, will usually reward you. On the other hand, choppy, jumpy, non-repeatable tones that "jump around" in location are often junk, and also tones that may be repeatable but are ALL OVER THE PLACE from an ID perspective are most often junk as well.
Here's what I might suggest. Go on a hunt of, say, two hours (whatever time you have), and spend the first 1/2 of the time (an hour in my example) and use VERY VERY LOW discrimination, and just dig everything. Learn to remember everything the machine is telling you about a target, and then when you dig it, relate what the target ACTUALLY WAS with what the machine gave you in terms of info. You will soon be able to "guess" the target type in the ground from what the machine tells you, before you dig (and then you can further refine your learning once you see if you were "right" or "wrong.") THEN, for the last 1/2 of the time, turn up disc, or even use a notch mode, and cut out everything except the "good" stuff. Yes, you will miss most gold jewelry doing this, but that's OK. The thing you want to do is after digging all that trash (and only "some" good stuff -- but getting yourself a nice "education,"), you end the hunt just "cherry-picking" the good stuff, to build confidence, have fun, and end each hunt on a high note.
Just my thoughts,
Steve
Try to focus and pay real close attention when you find, and then dig, a target. You are trying to make mental relationships between what the machine is saying, and what the target actually ended up being. This takes LOTS of repetition. Sort of like hitting a ton of balls at the driving range to build muscle memory, your brain will begin to relate "sounds" and IDs and other subtleties coming from the machine, to "targets," BUT it can only do so if you DIG those targets (the targets are obviously the "verifying" information). If you hear a particular tone, and then dig it, repeatedly, you will begin to learn that that type of tone often means "x"-type target. On the other hand, you will also begin to recognize sounds that, after digging a million pieces of trash, you will learn to relate to being generally "junk" targets. Learning to separate the "good" sounds from the "bad" is what you are trying to do; I am NOWHERE NEAR there yet, but this is what those who are really good can do without even thinking about it. It's second nature to them. Not that they aren't fooled sometimes, but their "trash to treasure" ratio has improved to the point where it is much, much better than those of us with low hours on our machines.
Usually (though FAR from always), a signal that is repeatable from four directions (a back and forth swing from left to right, and then turning your body 90 degrees, a back and forth swing from left to right PERPENDICULAR to the original swing), and also is of an ID range that suggests a "good" target, will usually reward you. On the other hand, choppy, jumpy, non-repeatable tones that "jump around" in location are often junk, and also tones that may be repeatable but are ALL OVER THE PLACE from an ID perspective are most often junk as well.
Here's what I might suggest. Go on a hunt of, say, two hours (whatever time you have), and spend the first 1/2 of the time (an hour in my example) and use VERY VERY LOW discrimination, and just dig everything. Learn to remember everything the machine is telling you about a target, and then when you dig it, relate what the target ACTUALLY WAS with what the machine gave you in terms of info. You will soon be able to "guess" the target type in the ground from what the machine tells you, before you dig (and then you can further refine your learning once you see if you were "right" or "wrong.") THEN, for the last 1/2 of the time, turn up disc, or even use a notch mode, and cut out everything except the "good" stuff. Yes, you will miss most gold jewelry doing this, but that's OK. The thing you want to do is after digging all that trash (and only "some" good stuff -- but getting yourself a nice "education,"), you end the hunt just "cherry-picking" the good stuff, to build confidence, have fun, and end each hunt on a high note.
Just my thoughts,
Steve
do some air tests an learn the numbers of all your American coins
then do some air tests on common pieces of trash and learn those numbers
then run sone silver rings over your coil
then run some gold rings over your coil
when I am in a trashy area I switch to the 4 inch coil
If there are many targets under a coil at any one time the computer in the machine gets confused.
and trash does often give a jumpy signal
Try hunting with the first two zones notched out IRON AND FOIL
it will run much quieter
then do some air tests on common pieces of trash and learn those numbers
then run sone silver rings over your coil
then run some gold rings over your coil
when I am in a trashy area I switch to the 4 inch coil
If there are many targets under a coil at any one time the computer in the machine gets confused.
and trash does often give a jumpy signal
Try hunting with the first two zones notched out IRON AND FOIL
it will run much quieter
Some things I have learned about the F2 after using it for the last few months.
Part of a review from another forum...
I see several people now have just purchased the mighty F2 and are already staring to find and post some great first hunts.
I just replied to another post but there is some good info here that kind of sums up my experience with this unit so far, so I am going to re post it here and add a little more info as I think of it.
Digger27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One, I live in Alabama and the F2 seems to fit the territory around here just fine.
My Bounty Hunter was almost useless in this soil, but the F2 handles it really well.
I have dug clear signal dimes at 8" and I think it will go deeper than that with very little falsing.
I will actually probably be doing some searching in Florida as well. So how does the F2 hold up in sandy areas, especially wet sandy areas?
I used it on a little beach on a freshwater lake in Michigan last summer and it was fine.
The water edge at the beach at Oak Mountain State Park gives it fits, but I think there is some kind of metal under the sand all along the edge of the entire beach and up into the dry sand a little bit.
Saltwater will give most VLF detectors some problems and this one is probably not going to be an exception.
Turn down the sense and it probably will work well enough to find some not too deep targets.
How does it hold up against water in general? Not gonna be swimming, but how about against rain and maybe small puddles?
Coil, shaft, coil wire and connection to the coil is fine for water.
Get the electronics in the control box wet and you are gonna end up with a nice doorstop.
I wrap a gallon plastic zip bag around mine and staple or tape it shut on the bottom on soggy days and you can still use the buttons on the control panel and see the display pretty good.
Last question, I noticed in the demonstration that you can choose to eliminate certain metals in the options (such as steel etc) which is important because a lot of the areas I will be looking will be trash infested. My question is, and this is kind of a dumb one, silver and gold were not options of things to eliminate from the options. I know I would never want to do that, but it made me wonder what does gold and silver read as if they are not on the screen?
You can't knock out silver or larger coins or copper pennies, (dime signal),on this no matter how much notching you do.
Repeatable solid signals are all very dig able and usually good targets
All objects can get bouncy if you are at or near the depth limit.
Iffy bouncy signals are sometimes good, but usually means one of three things...
Something deep and coin or ring size near the depth limit, or you are on the outside edge of a very large and deeper object like a can, or you found a stay-tab or something else with holes, or some weird shaped small foil.(see stay-tabs below).
I have gotten high tone bouncy signals a foot or more away from the large can type of trash,even large iron, especially in moist ground, but as I have learned the language of this fine unit I can usually tell now if it is a legitimate target.
Dug enough huge foxhole size holes at the beginning to figure this out.
The same thing will happen if you swing near big tot-lot metal posts with almost any sensitivity setting and the large coil.
That's what the smaller sniper coil is for.
Every silver ring I have and all other silver items no matter what shape up to a ring size always and consistently comes up in the low 70's as a dime with very good depth, unless it is larger like a quarter and then it will be in the 80-82 range and will always say quarter.
Half dollar and dollar coins will be in the 90's, and I expect that big silver bracelet I am destined to find will show up there, too
More than one object in a hole next to each other will be different.
I had a kinda solid signal once but it did bounce from 82 to the 90's and it was 2 quarters laying 1/2 way on top of each other.
Nickels will usually be between 29 and 33 and solid and show nickel.
34 and up and pull tab on the display will usually be a pull tab...but not every time, some will be nickels.
Full beaver tails or the beaver tails themselves are usually solid and above 33 but they can also be bouncy and up into the 50's, especially partial pieces of these.
Stay tabs, (hate these!), are always bouncy unless they are right on the surface and could range from the 20's to the 40's.
As a matter of fact, the thinner the object, especially if it has holes and is not solid, like stay-tabs, charms, and chains, the bouncier the signal no matter what it is made of.
Nails are usually in the 20's and mostly solid.
Gold...well, that's another story.
I have 2, small, 10k rings, a little bigger but still thin 14k ring and an old gold filling as test objects.
I don't know about larger items, but on these 4 I do not get great depth on any of them in air tests.
4-5 inches max...sometimes 6 but intermittent on 75% start up power, a little more on 100% power, (sensitivity).
Smaller gold objects usually come in as foil in air test right next to the coil, a little larger object will come in as nickel.
However when you start to move the object away from the coil just an inch or two, the signal will get bouncy from foil to nickel.
I suspect some gold objects, depending on gold content, shape, depth, size, position in the soil and other factors, can and will come up anywhere from nickel on down...and that includes iron!
I dug a zillion targets last year that were bouncy and iffy foil to nickel signals with my F2, and cut out at foil or just below nickel with my Vaquero.
They were always foil or pull tabs or parts of pull tabs...always...except 3 times.
Those 3 signals were small gold rings.
After the first one, I vowed to always dig any signal on any machine that I ever will use that said foil or above when not in all metal and I am hunting in disc, and I was rewarded with 2 more gold rings.
Unless I am just coin shooting, which this is excellent at doing, or relic hunting, every time I go out with this I usually just turn the sense to max, knock out iron and dig everything else...and I mean everything.
I also use a Pro pointer, so between the great pinpointing capabilities of the F2 and the Pro pointer, it takes very little time to recover most targets no matter how deep.
This is a volume business people...the more you dig the more really good stuff you will find.
Once in awhile you might dig a foil or pull tab signal and get surprised with something golden and shiny instead.
It happened to me, and that is the kind of surprise we live for in this hobby.
I found lots of great stuff from the get-go with this wonderful detector, and even more and better treasure as I continue to learn it's quirks and language.
HH
Part of a review from another forum...
I see several people now have just purchased the mighty F2 and are already staring to find and post some great first hunts.
I just replied to another post but there is some good info here that kind of sums up my experience with this unit so far, so I am going to re post it here and add a little more info as I think of it.
Digger27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One, I live in Alabama and the F2 seems to fit the territory around here just fine.
My Bounty Hunter was almost useless in this soil, but the F2 handles it really well.
I have dug clear signal dimes at 8" and I think it will go deeper than that with very little falsing.
I will actually probably be doing some searching in Florida as well. So how does the F2 hold up in sandy areas, especially wet sandy areas?
I used it on a little beach on a freshwater lake in Michigan last summer and it was fine.
The water edge at the beach at Oak Mountain State Park gives it fits, but I think there is some kind of metal under the sand all along the edge of the entire beach and up into the dry sand a little bit.
Saltwater will give most VLF detectors some problems and this one is probably not going to be an exception.
Turn down the sense and it probably will work well enough to find some not too deep targets.
How does it hold up against water in general? Not gonna be swimming, but how about against rain and maybe small puddles?
Coil, shaft, coil wire and connection to the coil is fine for water.
Get the electronics in the control box wet and you are gonna end up with a nice doorstop.
I wrap a gallon plastic zip bag around mine and staple or tape it shut on the bottom on soggy days and you can still use the buttons on the control panel and see the display pretty good.
Last question, I noticed in the demonstration that you can choose to eliminate certain metals in the options (such as steel etc) which is important because a lot of the areas I will be looking will be trash infested. My question is, and this is kind of a dumb one, silver and gold were not options of things to eliminate from the options. I know I would never want to do that, but it made me wonder what does gold and silver read as if they are not on the screen?
You can't knock out silver or larger coins or copper pennies, (dime signal),on this no matter how much notching you do.
Repeatable solid signals are all very dig able and usually good targets
All objects can get bouncy if you are at or near the depth limit.
Iffy bouncy signals are sometimes good, but usually means one of three things...
Something deep and coin or ring size near the depth limit, or you are on the outside edge of a very large and deeper object like a can, or you found a stay-tab or something else with holes, or some weird shaped small foil.(see stay-tabs below).
I have gotten high tone bouncy signals a foot or more away from the large can type of trash,even large iron, especially in moist ground, but as I have learned the language of this fine unit I can usually tell now if it is a legitimate target.
Dug enough huge foxhole size holes at the beginning to figure this out.
The same thing will happen if you swing near big tot-lot metal posts with almost any sensitivity setting and the large coil.
That's what the smaller sniper coil is for.
Every silver ring I have and all other silver items no matter what shape up to a ring size always and consistently comes up in the low 70's as a dime with very good depth, unless it is larger like a quarter and then it will be in the 80-82 range and will always say quarter.
Half dollar and dollar coins will be in the 90's, and I expect that big silver bracelet I am destined to find will show up there, too
More than one object in a hole next to each other will be different.
I had a kinda solid signal once but it did bounce from 82 to the 90's and it was 2 quarters laying 1/2 way on top of each other.
Nickels will usually be between 29 and 33 and solid and show nickel.
34 and up and pull tab on the display will usually be a pull tab...but not every time, some will be nickels.
Full beaver tails or the beaver tails themselves are usually solid and above 33 but they can also be bouncy and up into the 50's, especially partial pieces of these.
Stay tabs, (hate these!), are always bouncy unless they are right on the surface and could range from the 20's to the 40's.
As a matter of fact, the thinner the object, especially if it has holes and is not solid, like stay-tabs, charms, and chains, the bouncier the signal no matter what it is made of.
Nails are usually in the 20's and mostly solid.
Gold...well, that's another story.
I have 2, small, 10k rings, a little bigger but still thin 14k ring and an old gold filling as test objects.
I don't know about larger items, but on these 4 I do not get great depth on any of them in air tests.
4-5 inches max...sometimes 6 but intermittent on 75% start up power, a little more on 100% power, (sensitivity).
Smaller gold objects usually come in as foil in air test right next to the coil, a little larger object will come in as nickel.
However when you start to move the object away from the coil just an inch or two, the signal will get bouncy from foil to nickel.
I suspect some gold objects, depending on gold content, shape, depth, size, position in the soil and other factors, can and will come up anywhere from nickel on down...and that includes iron!
I dug a zillion targets last year that were bouncy and iffy foil to nickel signals with my F2, and cut out at foil or just below nickel with my Vaquero.
They were always foil or pull tabs or parts of pull tabs...always...except 3 times.
Those 3 signals were small gold rings.
After the first one, I vowed to always dig any signal on any machine that I ever will use that said foil or above when not in all metal and I am hunting in disc, and I was rewarded with 2 more gold rings.
Unless I am just coin shooting, which this is excellent at doing, or relic hunting, every time I go out with this I usually just turn the sense to max, knock out iron and dig everything else...and I mean everything.
I also use a Pro pointer, so between the great pinpointing capabilities of the F2 and the Pro pointer, it takes very little time to recover most targets no matter how deep.
This is a volume business people...the more you dig the more really good stuff you will find.
Once in awhile you might dig a foil or pull tab signal and get surprised with something golden and shiny instead.
It happened to me, and that is the kind of surprise we live for in this hobby.
I found lots of great stuff from the get-go with this wonderful detector, and even more and better treasure as I continue to learn it's quirks and language.
HH
Hey guys great info!!!! I live in Springfield Mo.. All of these tips makes me want to go right now! This hobby really gets me excited, and it kinda gets to me when I all I find is junk... I know I know I will dig a hundred trash before I find a gem, But I have hunted 100 yards from one of the biggest civil war battles and has got been picked over ever...I think I had so much trash at first and so i skipped over a lot thinking i knew what I was doing. I am for sure trying all of your tips to get a lot better at this. I have even thought about trading up for a F4 but I probably should figure out what I'm doing wrong first.thanks agian!!!
Worker Bee
New member
I agree that the tips are very helpful. I've got a new F2 and after starting off in all metal in a park and digging up trash and coins decided to go for the "low hanging fruit" and dig just higher signals after discriminating out the lower ones. Found lots of new coins, but nothing old or valuable. May have to go back to the dig all from foil on up and continue to clean the park up. I have discovered that lot's of what I get a signal on is shallow and I can just fan my Garrett Pro Pointer over the area and pick up the signal and do a very shallow dig with my Lesche digger/knife.
I really want to find some gold with this guy and realize that there are no shortcuts.
I hope to show a successful picture of Gold from Georgia in 2011.
Thanks again for the encouragement and tips!
I really want to find some gold with this guy and realize that there are no shortcuts.
I hope to show a successful picture of Gold from Georgia in 2011.
Thanks again for the encouragement and tips!
My faith is renewed! At a new area with alot less trash I was able to retrieve 10 clad pennies in about a hour in half. I finaly was able to use all of your tips to good use without all the trash throwing me off. I now have a slightly better ear, but I have a long way to go. Thanks so much to everyone who welcomed me in and are helping me along the way!
Mike
Mike
sgoss66
Well-known member
AWESOME deano!
Nothing like having a good hunt to gather some confidence. Let me tell you, when I first started hunting, I went quite awhile before I found even my first penny. I remember it to this day. With just a little time, it became easier and easier. I remember the first day I found multiple coins, in a gravel parking lot. From there forward, the confidence in the machine was there, and I started doing much, much better. That was a long time ago, but I remember thinking "wow, I can actually find coins!" Now, while I still learn new things every time I hunt (especially now that I have a brand new machine I'm trying to learn), I now EXPECT to find coins. It's all about becoming confident with your machine and your ability.
My personal opinion is, save your money for now and don't "upgrade;" learn to hunt, for now. Much of what you learn would be transferrable from your F2 to an F4 anyway, so you are not "wasting" your time. A new machine is NOT "magic;" there are lots of folks using lower-end machines finding a TON of good stuff. Keep at it, and you'll be filling up your coin jar in no time!
Steve
Nothing like having a good hunt to gather some confidence. Let me tell you, when I first started hunting, I went quite awhile before I found even my first penny. I remember it to this day. With just a little time, it became easier and easier. I remember the first day I found multiple coins, in a gravel parking lot. From there forward, the confidence in the machine was there, and I started doing much, much better. That was a long time ago, but I remember thinking "wow, I can actually find coins!" Now, while I still learn new things every time I hunt (especially now that I have a brand new machine I'm trying to learn), I now EXPECT to find coins. It's all about becoming confident with your machine and your ability.
My personal opinion is, save your money for now and don't "upgrade;" learn to hunt, for now. Much of what you learn would be transferrable from your F2 to an F4 anyway, so you are not "wasting" your time. A new machine is NOT "magic;" there are lots of folks using lower-end machines finding a TON of good stuff. Keep at it, and you'll be filling up your coin jar in no time!
Steve
Great response . Im new with an F4, and have about 70 hours. I agree, you have to keep digging and trying to guess what you pull up. Play the game of guessing and even when you pull the Old Bottle Cap 20 times at least you do not get frustrated.hahahah. I need one question that I can not understand.
Question 1: F4 as I swing on Discrimination Iron----I will get 1 high tone at the end of my swing sometime...but when I run over it again it will not repeat itself. Im just trying to figure out why a high pitch sound can be there one moment and not on another swing.
Question 1: F4 as I swing on Discrimination Iron----I will get 1 high tone at the end of my swing sometime...but when I run over it again it will not repeat itself. Im just trying to figure out why a high pitch sound can be there one moment and not on another swing.
TerraDigger
New member
I agree with Alimo. Do alot, and I mean alot, of bench (air) testing with coins and junk targets. Learning target identification when in the field is counter-productive. Now some things can only be learned by digging in the dirt....but the bulk of learning what you are asking, can be done at home.
Remember, the more time you spend in the field fooling with basic target identification issues, the less exposure you will have to good targets. Its a matter of conservation of time/effort to produce effective results.
Remember, the more time you spend in the field fooling with basic target identification issues, the less exposure you will have to good targets. Its a matter of conservation of time/effort to produce effective results.
TerraDigger
New member
Deano, if you want to accelerate your learning here, use the Search function. However, the Phorum software has certain requirements for a search using only two keyboard characters. If you enter F2 into the search box, nothing will come up. However, if you enter F2*(you need the asterisk), you will be in information heaven. Here's how to do a search:
Using the Search function. Type in F2*.....select exact phrase, by clicking drop-down arrow, then select all-dates, by clicking drop-down arrow. Then click the Search icon. And you will have ton's of F2 info.
Enjoy
Using the Search function. Type in F2*.....select exact phrase, by clicking drop-down arrow, then select all-dates, by clicking drop-down arrow. Then click the Search icon. And you will have ton's of F2 info.
Enjoy
You didn't mention coils. I have 3 F2 coils and I would recomend using the smallest at first because it is the easiest to find specific targets, ID and recover them.
Small coil = least depth and least coverage so don't count on open field use, but tot lot and yard work to gain experience, skill and confidence. I bump my F2 up to the top level on sensitivity as soon as I turn it on. If I can't get it to settle down, I lower it until it is stable. I spent a long time under powered until I figured this out!
I bought a 11DD F4 coil for big bucks and was not all that happy with it. Stock 10 seemed nearly as good and was lighter and easier to pinpoint.
If you can join a club (visit at least) or find a seasoned hunter to go out with- do it. That was a big help for me and I am very thankful for the opportunity. When we reinvent the wheel odd superstitious behavior can develop. Having someone to talk to and watch what we are doing is invaluable. Forums are great, but live interaction is better. Nice that we can do both!
Keep asking and posting as things develop. There are very nice people her ready, willing adn able to help!
Tom
Small coil = least depth and least coverage so don't count on open field use, but tot lot and yard work to gain experience, skill and confidence. I bump my F2 up to the top level on sensitivity as soon as I turn it on. If I can't get it to settle down, I lower it until it is stable. I spent a long time under powered until I figured this out!
I bought a 11DD F4 coil for big bucks and was not all that happy with it. Stock 10 seemed nearly as good and was lighter and easier to pinpoint.
If you can join a club (visit at least) or find a seasoned hunter to go out with- do it. That was a big help for me and I am very thankful for the opportunity. When we reinvent the wheel odd superstitious behavior can develop. Having someone to talk to and watch what we are doing is invaluable. Forums are great, but live interaction is better. Nice that we can do both!
Keep asking and posting as things develop. There are very nice people her ready, willing adn able to help!
Tom