Fisher F5 buging out.

[Coyote65]

Any F5 users out their experience what the user in the below video is showing? Just curious if he has a problem with his machine or coil or what exactly. I just got my new F5 and after watching his video I tried to duplicate it and got the same results. I was out side air testing on a wooden table and once the threshold was turned to 0 or on the positive side and the gain was at 70 or higher the readings got buggy. I'm new to the hobby so if this is simply chatter or overloading then I'm relieved if not I'm a little worried seeing as how mine does acts this way as well. Any input is more than welcome.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyVSrJJLfWk[/video]

 

[BuckeyeBrad]

Different locations will typically allow different gain/threshold settings before you experience instability. Higher threshold settings have more of an impact leading to chatter. Take your F-5 set at 70/0 and turn the gain down until you get no chatter (if it'll do it). Now go back to 70/0 and start backing off of the threshold. Things will settle down relatively quickly. Try different combinations of the two adjustments when over a buried target before you dig it and you'll start to learn and understand the interaction and impact of them and how the two being independent can be to your advantage..

 

[Mike Hillis]

Yep... pretty much normal. Especially at 0 threshold settings. A zero setting is wide open. Lets everything in. A gain setting of 70 made everything coming in bigger. Kind of like opening the barn door wide open so the cows can come in and also magnifyng the flys that come in with them to the size of pigs


HH
Mike

 

[Coyote65]

Glad to hear this and I did go back out and play with the settings as you mentioned and believe it to be normal, I see now what people were talking about when they mentioned the Gain & Threshold settings effecting each other and finding that right combination. Thanks Brad and Mike for the info, glad to have knowledgeable and helpful info from those with more experience with the F5. I'm still learning it but so far I'm loving it.

 

[BuckeyeBrad]

n/t

 

[pescadore]

I am supposed to get mine tomorrow or Thursday. Glad I saw the video and the thread so I would not freak out !!!!. I know this machine is going to have a learning curve and I am ready to get started. If I receive it tomorrow, I am planning to hunt till dark.

 

[nwayrue]

If you have the gain or threshold too hi your detector will do that. But this is a good thing because this allows you to "tweak" your detector to achieve max depth. Add a point of gain here add a point of threshold there. Plus in the video it looks like the coil is hanging off the balcony of an apartment building. Who knows what kind of wiring is in the walls or power lines near. It could be EMI messing with it.

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

sounds like EMI mine did that so I sold it and got the omega 8000

 

[Coyote65]

I look at it as a beep and dig machine chattering when the the gain and threshold is turned up, only difference is the F5 shows the chatter visually. I can turn the gain all the up to 95 as long as I keep the threshold on the negative side, and vice verse I can run my threshold in the positive range but have to run the gain down around the 50 range. My Tesoro chatters the same way when I attempt the same thing with it but without the TID I only hear it rather than see it. I read in the Teknetics forum about a chatty omega, however I'm far from any expert on either machine just going by what I've read as I've not owned the omega and this being my first F5 and TID detector. It's why I ask the stupid questions if one doesn't know and doesn't seek the answer then one will never know. Sorry for being a pain where a pill can't reach but it's the only way I know of to learn the F5 traits from owners who have experienced it and adding to it my own experience with it, been there done that sorta thing. Thanks again for the input, I appreciate it and it helps myself and I hope others as well to get to know the nature of the beast so to speak, If the youtube user is experiencing this and mine does it as well as others then either it a mass malfunction or their nature or this is just my opinion anyway. It doesn't seem to effect it's performance any I've been running mine with the Threshold at -2 or -3 and the gain at 85 with good results.

 

[marcomo]

Not a stupid question at all, Coyote. A lot of people will be glad to help you out here. Including our guru Mike Hillis whom I like to call "Mr. F. Fyveman."

If you go to the official Fisher website and look at head designer/engineer Dave Johnson's posts, you can read straight from the horse's mouth about EMI issues as they relate to detectors in general and specifically the Fisher F series units.

Another thing about the F5: up to a certain point, the chatter you get when the coil is held still at higher control settings will be mitigated when you swing the coil over the ground. This allows you to run the unit hotter than if you totally silence the EMI. The downside to this is the chatter will drive you crazy while retrieving targets unless you take off your headphones. Then again, from a safety standpoint, getting into the habit of taking off your headphones during target retrieval isn't a bad idea.

 

[gazn357]

I would like to know where he go the cover for this unit?

Danny

 

[autopilot42]

Does your F5 settle back down from the chatter if you max the gain and threshold? Mine settles down but you can tell the audio is sounds a bit saturated but the tid seems to be fairly stable. Mr. Saad must have some software buried to make this happen. I have tried this in both auto tune and disc and seems to act the same. Mine is an early version of 61 software. I have not tried this with the stock coil only the 11dd and the 5dd.

Take care
Bob

 

[jmaryt]

perhaps a hidden interference source?

(h.h!)
j.t.