F75Ltd upgrade, what can I expect?

[WV62]

I packaged up my Ltd and paid the $159, and my detector is on its way to FT for the upgrade.

Now I hear I will be getting a new manual with the machine when it is returned, but I haven't been able to locate one on line to read up on the changes.

Can anybody out there that has already had the upgrade tell me what to expect that will be added over the what I had? I have been reading some of the post and it seems that my machine will have 2 versions of software, 9.0 and 9.1 and I guess my 8.0 version will be gone.
How can the machine run 2 versions of software, is it switchable if so how.

I am sure I will figure all this out when the machine is returned, but I was hoping for a little jump start.

Thanks,

Ron in WV

 

[bertman]

The following link is from Fisher Research Labs and is for the F75LTD2:

http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/manuals/M75MBLK-11.06.14.pdf

 

[WV62]

Thanks bertman for the manual link.

I took a quick look and the added tones don't look like anything I will use.

The new FA processor may be interesting, where I hunt in the park the trash is just unbelievable.

The switching from 90 to 91 shouldn't be a problem, just an extra step to the factory reset.

Ron in WV

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

Anytime you do a factory reset the default ground balance is at 80.
That is way too high for my area.
Be sure to reset the GB each time you do a change.

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

What can you expect????
I was hoping for better performance..... but did not expect this on my second trip out in the field with my upgraded F 75.

 

[WV62]

Coin Rescue Inc, for sure a nice quarter.

Would you give credit to the upgrade or do you think you would have had the same luck before upgrade?

I would be interested in your story about the hunt above.

Ron in WV

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

I think the Upgrade is bringing me Luck.
I think the unit is more sensitive if only I am able to use more power.
for that find I got a good high tone in 3H and a number in the 80's.
I cut a 6" plug and pulled the grass out.
My pin pointer told me nothing in the plug but something in the 6" deep hole.
After searching the hole I pin pointed a rust bottle cap that was bent in half.
I could not get any more life from the pin pointer from the hole or plug.
As I was on my knees I put the ear phones on again and swung the F75 over the hole. Nothing.
I swung the F75 over the plug and Ping-Ping-Ping.
Something was in the plug.......
started breaking up the plug and there it was.
This is the first silver I ever got with the F75 so one of us is getting better.
I found the Kennedy half about an hour later near some kids gym set. It was 8" away from a steel pole. It is hard to sense anything by a steel pole. I was sure there was an 83 there somewhere.
I 've only been at this for 19 months now and still learning.

What I learned
Old Machine - From reading the exploits of "Revier" I can find any coin like a quarter by finding a High conductive tone with consistent ID numbers at any angle. Easy coins
y.
What I am learning after the upgrade- Part 1 -Fisher put allot of emphasis on the low Iron tone. Default is 2F and that seems to work pretty well. At least it alerts me to the amount of iron in the area I am hunting. Too much Iron is a problem.
Part 2 -If I put an Iron object like a nail next to coin I see the nice 83 Visual Display number of a quarter is gone. The VDI bounces around and seems to go no higher than Tab with my 5" coil ...BUT the tone remains as a High Conductor. Maybe a bit better with the Elliptical but jumpy. So that type of signal I would pass up and not dig.
If Iron is plenty (allot of grunts) the VDI is not reliable then one needs to pay attention to tones. Use a setting like 3H. I think I have to retrace my steps everywhere I have previously been.
Part -3 Every where I hunted becomes virgin territory with new technology.
How does that sound?

 

[WV62]

Very well said, I have read you post several times and you sure got me thinking.

Glad I ask for your story.

Thanks, now I can't wait to get mine back.

Ron in WV

 

[WV62]

I pulled from your post that you were running tones 3H, sens 80. Now just wondering if you would share the processor you were running, the disc setting, and what coil were you running?

I know you said you have only been at detecting for 19 months, your writeup sounds more like 19 years.

Ron in WV

I think the Upgrade is bringing me Luck.
I think the unit is more sensitive if only I am able to use more power.
for that find I got a good high tone in 3H and a number in the 80's.
I cut a 6" plug and pulled the grass out.
My pin pointer told me nothing in the plug but something in the 6" deep hole.
After searching the hole I pin pointed a rust bottle cap that was bent in half.
I could not get any more life from the pin pointer from the hole or plug.
As I was on my knees I put the ear phones on again and swung the F75 over the hole. Nothing.
I swung the F75 over the plug and Ping-Ping-Ping.
Something was in the plug.......
started breaking up the plug and there it was.
This is the first silver I ever got with the F75 so one of us is getting better.
I found the Kennedy half about an hour later near some kids gym set. It was 8" away from a steel pole. It is hard to sense anything by a steel pole. I was sure there was an 83 there somewhere.
I 've only been at this for 19 months now and still learning.

What I learned
Old Machine - From reading the exploits of "Revier" I can find any coin like a quarter by finding a High conductive tone with consistent ID numbers at any angle. Easy coins
y.
What I am learning after the upgrade- Part 1 -Fisher put allot of emphasis on the low Iron tone. Default is 2F and that seems to work pretty well. At least it alerts me to the amount of iron in the area I am hunting. Too much Iron is a problem.
Part 2 -If I put an Iron object like a nail next to coin I see the nice 83 Visual Display number of a quarter is gone. The VDI bounces around and seems to go no higher than Tab with my 5" coil ...BUT the tone remains as a High Conductor. Maybe a bit better with the Elliptical but jumpy. So that type of signal I would pass up and not dig.
If Iron is plenty (allot of grunts) the VDI is not reliable then one needs to pay attention to tones. Use a setting like 3H. I think I have to retrace my steps everywhere I have previously been.
Part -3 Every where I hunted becomes virgin territory with new technology.
How does that sound?

 

[WV62]

Also wondering if anybody has tried the added FA processor an could give a report on that. I read in another thread that the depth was way down on it.

Ron in WV

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

I am honored you ask. I do not feel like an expert.
Once at the area you want to hunt I would suggest you do a factory rest.
Then do your ground balance.
In the default mode you are in
80 sensitivity
Zero Discrimination
One notch
2F tones
De process.

This is a great program to test the iron content of the area you are in. Iron will give a low grunt and everything else a higher medium tone. I just learned this it is good to know for your hunting strategy in that area. If iron is a problem use 1n tones to silence the iron grunt.

In 2H The VID digital read out will provide you a clue to what the target is on a medium grunt. Since the medium grunt could be gold aluinum copper or silver you need to.pay attention to the VDI numbers. Coins provide a repeatable high number within 2 digits at any angle as you rotate around the object. Don't be upset if some items you think are coins but turn out to be bottle caps or can tops. That happens.
A good coin signal sitting far from other metal will give a good medium sharp tone in 2H or High tone in 3H. Try to visualize the size of the target by the duration of the signal. Real short tone means small targets like coins, longer tones mean junk.
If you hit a target you think is a coin, switch to 3H tones and try again. The new tone should be the highest pitch. In 3H and 4H nickles will make the high pitch.
If you discover a whole lot of iron then above coin location method might be compromised due to masking issues. I would then try FA and 1n to mask the iron.

As I hunted last time I started out in zero discrimination then switched to 15 and later to 23 to get rid of iron and some foil.
For speed I like 3H or 4H because the high tone gets my attention and less staring at the number read out like in 2F.

If you get a weak signal setting the process to Bp will boost the signal. I used to use Bp before but not sure I need it now. I Bp process I had good copper signals on BB so you can over do it do on power. Last summer I goofed an sit sensitivity on 6 thinking it was discrimination and found allot of coins.
Hey I am still learning and like to experiment too. I've only used the upgraded unit 5 hours. If it wasn't freezing out it would be longer.
Does any of this help?

 

[Bassinsmitty]

Hey coin this is an awesome report. Thanks
I tried out my upgraded F75 SE with the 5X10 elliptical coil for about 4 hours yesterday.
Only 9 clad dimes and 9 pennies.
When this hits a coin you know it.
I need to give it more time but I was in BP 99 sensitivity zero disk and it was quiet in both 9.0 and 9.1.
I messed around with tones but this thing hear everything
I hit this same park and emi was a big problem before the upgrade.
I hope it doesn't freeze yet so I can keep trying different setups.

 

[WV62]

Well I am just taking it all in, but I am sure there are guys out there that will find little nuggets of info that they can use.

Thanks again,

Ron in WV

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

What else I find is...if a coin is masked by iron, the VDI numbers may not be trusted but the tone is spot on. Thus that is why 3H high tone with jumpy low numbers seems to be the best indicator. Trust the tone. Also 1n does silence the iron if you test a coin with a nail. Really impressive for zero discrimination.
That was the point of testing the site in zero discrimination to verify if iron content is light or heavy. I am going to test each location for iron before I decided what settings I use.
the upgrade has the tools to handle iron.
I can see how in the past I could have passed up many coins because of bouncy VDI numbers. Was that a coin masked by iron. I think the F75 has the features to find those coins.
I need more time to test more. Also the iron masking affect is differant from the 5 and 11" coils. A 5" coin will miss a quarter completely in certain situations.
I ask myself why take the detector out in the field and test in targets you can not see. Sort of hit and miss. Hunting time is precious. I made a test board so I can test the reaction of the machine with different set ups on targets I can see. Then go out in the field and utilize what I learned. Speed up the learning process without digging every target. Anyone who goes out and always uses the same settings day after day is not getting the most out of the F75. Shouldn't you analyze what are the best settings for a spot before you start hunting?

FA is ok but a bit more sensitive. My pin pointer when on can make EMI in FA mode. That's not a problem just an observation.
I used the sensitivity at 80 and 99. Prior to the upgrade I never used more than 60 for most coin hunting.
Well that my observations up to now.

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

I got out of work for a late lunch and found a park that I've never visited. 38 Degrees today so not so bad.
I took out the F 75 and did a factory reset, then Ground balanced - I new right away there was allot of Iron.
GB at 63.
Hunted a bit in 2F tones and was getting allot of signals close together on the 11" coil. something every 4" near the parking lot.
This means the low and Med tone was so active I had to keep my eye on the VDI numbers.
Hit a nice strong tone in the 80's and decided to dig. Flattened Coke can.
Time was short so I switched to 1n to quiet the iron and hit a couple of copper cents. 1n was working well.
That worked great but still had to look at the VDI numbers on every hit to see if I want to dig.
I had some medium numbers I really wanted to did but time was short. I concentrated on finding something above 70.
After 10 mins I switched to the 3H for the high tone to speed things up and hit 4 more good targets. All coins.
After 20 Mins of stolling 50 ft around an old tree, I walked away with 3 copper cents and 3 Clad dimes - Passed up a nickle I am sure.
The dates on the coins were in the 1973 to 80 era so not sure if this park is old enough but I get the feeling I am the first one there so I will make a note to return. Some 1940 home near by.
The old tree look to be 3 ft in diameter so that is around a 100 year old land mark.
The F 75 - I would say it is really working well in isolating coins at that park. Got to get back to the office.
The 11" coils is ok I just need to get some more practice at pinpointing. Some of my digs were just ahead of where the coin was laying.

Ron I hope you don't mind me using your thread to record today's experience. Did you get you unit back yet?

 

[WV62]

No problem here, I am really interested in your reports.
I had some questions to ask, but was getting ashamed to keep asking for more info. I have copied and pasted all your comments into one Word file and have been going through it looking for more nuggets.

I was thinking of your settings and the iron, heavy, medium and light. So after you determine the iron level what would be your starting setting for the actual hunt and if you was make some changes what would you be looking at. In other words I can see you taking your first shot and then tweeking a bit.

Heavy iron

Medium iron

Light iron

Ron in WV

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

Well Ron I am still testing my unit but my theory is this. Let's say we are hunting a 20 ft square area with 10 quarters. 5" Coil.

Light Iron would be zero to two grunts per swing.
Odds are a coin would not be affected by iron masking.
I would use a standard settings and 3H tone. Listen for High tones and numbers from 70 to 90. Odds that a coin would be masked by iron would be 5-15%.
you should easily find 9 of the 10 quarters.

Medium iron would be 3 to 5 grunts per swing. Odds of masked coins would be 20-50%. Here you should find 5 of the unmasked quarters.

HIGH iron would be 6 or more grunts per swing. Here you would maybe ID the only 3 quarters at 83. Any quarters within 5" of iron no longer ID at 83 or the numbers bounce around like trash. So far I observed certain tones and processes will allow a good coin tone but unreliable I'd number. So I would hunt by mostly sound. If I saw VDI 88 I would certainly dig.
if I had high tone and bouncy VDI up to tab I would dig.

This is my theory.

I proved to myself that quarter next to a nail acts in this manner. Good tone- poor VDI. This was in 1n -De
My Brothers Coin master won't see the coin.
I also place a quarter between two nails each 5" apart. The 5
" coil could not see the quarter but this only happens if you swing on it and hit all 3 in a row. It you turn to it 90 degrees the coin becomes a diggable target.

Although I am in the middle of testing the 11 coil it seems more forgiving in the nail test.

I also plan to test some other methods I read up on to see how the upgrade reacts. Winter is here so this is slow going and may come to a stop soon.

Mind you these are all theories. They become facts when anyone can repeat the test and get the same results.

 

[WV62]

Theories is the way everything starts, either they test out good or bad. We all do it even if something like I think I could do better with a little coil in this spot, or if I would hit this spot after a good rain I bet it would give up some good coins.

I love this kind of stuff.

Ron in WV

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

I like all the many settings. So versatile.
So Ron, do you have any pointers on the F75?
Sounds like you had it a while.

 

[WV62]

I am kind of big on air testing all the different processors, coils, sweep speed, just getting how everything responds. Now I know in the ground everything changes and I catch a lot of grief for my air testing. The way I look at it we all have different ground, so it doesn't do anybody any good for me to post that I am getting a dime at 23" in my ground and the best you can do wherever is 9". But if I report I 10" on a air test we can compare equipment if we know the equipment, the test target and the settings.

So here is some of the info that I have gathered on my F75Ltd before upgrade. So when it gets back I will do some more testing.

I am a coin hunter most of the time and sometimes I go for inland jewelry. But for coin hunting I tend to run the disc up high even max at times, now when I run high disc I really don't see any need for tones when all are disc out, so I will run one tone or 1F. If running low disc I will run the tones, most of the time 3 or 3H.
Now in the DE processor you will get an increase in depth with high disc settings and a faster sweep speed. So for me when running DE it makes sense to run high disc and use the notch to notch in items like nickels.
Now in the BP boost processor disc settings do not effect the depth and sweep speed has vary little effect on depth either.
I will add my spreed sheets so if you take the time to study each of them you can get some idea of what I have been doing. You will notice I use a quarter for my test item and that is because read most use quarters. If it was up to me I only use a dime, the way I look at it if I can hit a dime I will for sure hit a quarter.

Now for coils I compare one to the other and kind get an idea what I can expect from the coils I have, which is four, the 11", the NEL shooter, the 5"dd and the 6.5" elliptical. The 11" and the NEL air test somewhat the same, so I expect close to the same depth with the NEL having a smaller foot print. So do you want to cover ground or do you have a little trash to work in. The 5"dd coil and the 6.5" are pretty close to the same depth, but the 6.5" has the smaller foot print. So for the trash and better ground coverage the 6.5 would get to work that day. The list below is all my coils for my F75 and my 1270.
Sometimes you may want to cherry pick an area with a big coil and then go back with little coil or even another detector.
Also I have found that with the BP (boost) I can push the depth of the little coils to get down to the silver in my area which is about 5" to 7".

Area of a 3.75" = 11.04
Area of a 6.5" x 3.24 coil = 16.59
Area of a 5" coil = 19.63
Area of a 5.75 = 25.97
Area of a NEL shooter 5.5 x9.5 =33.58
Area of a 5x10 = 39.27
Area of a 8" +=50.27
Area of a 9x8 = 56.55
Area of a 11"DD x 7.375=63.72
Area of a 10.5 dia coil = 86.59

For now I am going to assume the upgrade will have vary little effect on the processors that I had before and the coils. I am wondering about the added FA processor and the tones.

So I hope somebody can dig a nugget out of all this.

Ron in WV