F5 : Short Initial Review

[Mike Hillis]

Overall I find the build quality to be very acceptable. I liked the coil and cable constuction. The rod and armrest are the normal fisher products. The face is large and easy on the eyes and all the controls are easily accessible. The user interface really is nice. I still dislike the plug in style coil connector, though. I

 

[jim tn]

n/t

 

[dahut]

... I aint got a clue what all that stuff was about.

 

[roceda]

Hey Mike. My F5 manual doesn't have that procedure to ground balance. It describes how to ground balance with the "Phase Lock" touchpad. Wonder why??? Ron.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Sounds like a good quickie Mike. BTW are you 7' tall ? Just curious if your running the rods on their last holes, seems like it would be pretty long.

You'll find that the Fe3O4 meter will increase if pumped over an iffy target that's iron, and it should decrease if it's a non-iron conductor.

Next time I take my F5 out, I'm going to try the old school ground balance method in the manual to see if that doesn't fix my shallow target overload issue. I've been pumping the coil while pressing the phase lock button until the ground phase and ground balance numbers match (this method is briefly mentioned in the manual). The shallow target overload is the only real issue I've had with the F5. I found it to be very stable, not a chatter box (even when cranked up), very fast TID processing, and it has one of the best user interfaces I've used yet.

I'm looking forward to seeing your posts as you test it out further.

HH,
Brian

 

[Mike Hillis]

HI Brian,

My Tesoro Golden MicroMax overloads just like this when fitted with concentric coils. The 4" concentric is the worst. I guess thats why I don't consider the F5 overloading as an issue as long as when I lift the coil a inch or two the overload signal ceases.

I think the wet ground is the main cause of a pegged out FE3O4 reading. I think this location should only be three bars dry. But still...you can't use a pegged out FE meter to id iron if the ground already fills it all in.

7' tall? No. I'm 6'1" and hate looking down at my feet for hours at a time as it kills my neck. I'm much more comfortable with the coil way out in front of me.

Got two weeks off starting Friday. Just need the snow to stop and melt off.

HH

Mike

 

[Mike Hillis]

Hi Ron,

I think the F5 manual has gone through a couple of changes. I noticed on mine that the tone modes are described correctly near the front of the manual and then described again, incorrectly, near the back of the manual. The joys of "cut and paste" without good proof readers

I haven't tried the Phase lock method yet. But I would imagine it would give the same results. I like the AM method though as you have both visual and audio confirmation that the ground signal is indeed canceled.

HH

Mike

 

[Mike Hillis]

Hey David

All you need to know is that I considered the F5 worth the money the minute the Frequency shift worked at this site. At first I thought it would be like all the others because it still chattered like crazy with the coil in the air but once I put the coil to the ground it was nice and silent.

HH

Mike

 

[dahut]

..."If Mike Hillis likes it, I love it!"

I'll get through the honeymoon with my F70 and take a look at the F5 into next year.

 

[roceda]

n/t

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Hi Mike,

I guess thats why I don't consider the F5 overloading as an issue as long as when I lift the coil a inch or two the overload signal ceases.

Unfortunately that's the problem, when I raise the coil it stays in overload mode, it doesn't reset until hitting a deeper target that doesn't cause an overload. A real pain if your park hunting as a lot of trash and coins are within the first inch or less and cause this issue. Some other F5 owners have posted this anomaly with both overload being stuck until hitting a deeper target, and those that are able to raise the coil and it behaves. I called Fisher and spoke with Felix and he was able to reproduce it hitting a quarter, but when raising the coil on his test F5 it cleared.

I think the wet ground is the main cause of a pegged out FE3O4 reading. I think this location should only be three bars dry. But still...you can't use a pegged out FE meter to id iron if the ground already fills it all in.

That's a good point, the ground where I've used the F5 must be pretty tame as the FE3O4 reading was only one to two bars at most, but the coil pumping trick seems to work well when there's a nice chunk of rusty iron under the coil (deep, rusty iron loves to ID as coins).

We just got a cold snap here (getting into the 20's tonight, which is cooooold for here), but I'm determined to do some hunting this weekend, so I'll try a different GB method and see if that doesn't effect the overload issue (it may be running too hot using the "ground grab" style method, although if it was running hot, I'd expect it to be a chatter box).

HH,
Brian

 

[Mike Hillis]

Brian, your unit sounds like it is sick and needs a trip to the doctor. I don't think any amount of setting changes will cure it. To tell the truth, your issue and my past experience was one of the reasons I bought new instead of used. F series owners need the warranty. Just the way it is.

One thing with overloads, you really have to pay attention to them as their recovery time to reset is very long. True about all units when they go into overload only some are longer than others.

Does the deep rusty iron hit in the 50+ range? or is that only large iron?

My snow has melted but we are expecting more tonight and tomorrow morning

HH

Mike

 

[jimmyk]

I agree that the unit needs some attention. My F 5 resets without a problem. Sweet coin machine.

keep on diggin'

jimmyk in Missouri

 

[wayne_etc]

I'd be interested to hear how the F5 does in regards to depth in mineralized ground and how well it is with target separation/speed.


w

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Brian, your unit sounds like it is sick and needs a trip to the doctor. I don't think any amount of setting changes will cure it. To tell the truth, your issue and my past experience was one of the reasons I bought new instead of used. F series owners need the warranty. Just the way it is.

One thing with overloads, you really have to pay attention to them as their recovery time to reset is very long. True about all units when they go into overload only some are longer than others.

Does the deep rusty iron hit in the 50+ range? or is that only large iron?

My snow has melted but we are expecting more tonight and tomorrow morning

HH

Mike

Thanks Mike, I'll play around with it a bit this weekend (am trying to get out and learn my new F70 this weekend). If I'm unable to resolve it via the control panel, back to Fisher it goes. Luckily this was a brand new purchase, so I have the full warranty. The deep rusty iron hits in the quarter + range and typically (although not always) it tends to be larger iron. Problem is it sounds so darned good, that I usually end up digging it anyway.

So far the weather forecast is good for Saturday, with chances of rain on Sunday, so I'm heading out to play in the dirt, chores will have to wait

HH,
Brian