Jumpy ID Numbers

[fjs440]

I have had the Fisher F70 for a few months and I like it. Maybe not as easy to use as my F2, but the changing from the F2 to the F70 has not been hard. Reading the manual and coming to this Fisher F-link has been important.

I am still adjusting to the F70. The F70 has its own language while talking to me, but you have no doubt when it finds something. The sounds are loud and clear. My problem is that the ID display is all over the place.

Even after rebooting and using the factory settings, the readings are hyperactive. Little waggles, big waggles, fast speed, slow speed, moving ninety degrees, and everything in between, the numbers still jump around. I have re-tightened the coil connector. I watch videos on the computer and they wiggle the coil and the numbers stay in a small range. I am still all over the place, even when you know you have a great hit.

I will still keep using the F70, because it offers things I wanted. The bouncing ID numbers will not drive me away, because it is one hell-of-a metal detector. Anything that sounds good will still be gotten out of the sand or ground. I especially love the additional depth and ground balance.

Anything else I should be trying? What, if anything, am I missing?

(As a side note: Last Summer, I recommended to four different people to start with the F2. They all loved them and are hooked, just like us. Dollar for dollar, the F2 is a wonderful starting machine.)

_______________________________________________

Fisher F70 w/11” DD
Fisher F2 w/4”, 8” and NEL Hunter Coils
Fisher 1280-X w/8”Coil

 

[jim tn]

Has it always done the jumpy numbers thing? Is the 11" coil the only one you have and if so, do you know anyone nearby that may have a F 70 or F 75 to try their coil? My first thought was the coil connection, but you have checked that. It does seem like it might be the coil??? Good luck. HH jim tn

 

[Elton]

While detecting over the ground it had number changes, as it has a very fast recovery, and was seeing the metal objects as I would swing the coil.
Once it locked on a single target, and I swept that target slowly the numbers were solid lock on of that particular target..........

Take Jim Tn advice ..............in his response to you..

 

[REVIER]

I have hunted with the F2 for 3 years/over 1000 hours, then switched to the flF70 and have been using that for over 2 years.
I have used it in both very mild soil and very mineralized soil in 2 different states, 3 different coils too.
Over time I got pretty good at swinging the center of the coil on the F2 and stabilizing most numbers to rarely more than a 3 number jump on good targets.
I had pretty jumpy behavior at first after switching to the F70, (compared to the F2), then learned to stabilize that big almost 10 number jump I had back down to about 4 or 5...most times 2-3 if they were relatively shallow, not near much trash or surrounded by a huge amount of iron.
Deeper targets past 6" we're a little more jumpy but not all the time.
All of this was in the heavenly soil in Kansas with rarely even one bar on the dirt meter and average GB numbers usually from the low 40's to mid 50's.
Moving back to different soil in Alabama it is a whole different story.
This soil is mineralized and has many problems like an unusual amount of iron in the soil.
There is slightly better conditions at sites in the suburbs, still not great, but I now live in the city downtown and here the iron problem is tremendous and the jumping problem is severe on any good target past 1-2".
When I used the F2 in this soil before I don't remember jumping all that much, but then again I rarely dug many targets much past 3" at that time either.
For most detectors of any type and every brand this soil, the bad parts of it anyway, is notorious for limiting the depth to about the 6" area.
I am not saying we can't get past that area it us just that the signals are so crazy, jumpy and insane that most don't dig much past 5" because they make no sense and don't resemble good signals hardly at all.
For the last 8 months I have tried to find a way to figure out and make sense of the signals I get at 5" and past and have done very well at that with many older coins recovered from areas that have been extremely well hunted for decades.
NONE of these deeper good targets at the 4-7" area I have recovered could be considered solid or stable in at way shape or form.
Jumpy...let's just say on these type of targets I no longer look for stable non jumping numbers anymore but blocks of numbers that might repeat.
I have had to learn a whole new language and behavior to hunt here, different than most all my experiences in Kansas, (except in super heavy iron infested sites), different than most that I knew from hunting with the F2 in either state.
That new language is slowly becoming second nature and as I got better I dug way less trash and way more quality targets in both volume and quality.
I knew how good I had it in Kansas, I hunted here first and when we decided to move back I got depressed knowing what I knew about this soil, but using the F70, all of its possible setting combinations and lots of experimenting and time spent learning that new language, things have turned out way better than I could have dreamed with several bucket list items being checked off.

I can theorize that there us a big difference in the power and sensitivity ranges between the F2 and the F70 that could account for some of that extra jumpy behavior you are seeing, could be other things happening that we don't suspect either.

A few suggestions...
Have you done a master reset lately?
If not this could correct some quirky behavior.
Do you change coils much and if so do you see different behavior between them?
Coils have been known to go bad, rare but it happens, and if you have a bad one or a bad connection this could cause some bad behavior.
Of course making sure your coil wire is not flopping around down near the coil is common sense but the F70 is so powerful this could be more of a concern than on the F2.
As a matter of fact running the cable straight up the bottom rod for 1.5 feet before coiling around the top rod might actually help.

What kind of soil do you hunt in...mineralized or mild?
I saw a marked difference in behavior between the two units in two completely different types of soil.
Are you hunting in lots of iron or other trash?
Remember that this thing picks up targets both big and small and both shallow and deep.
The jumping you see might be actual targets and not just falsing.

What are your usual settings?
F Series units seem way over-powered out of the factory even on factory settings.
Too much sense or thresh can affect the jumpy behavior.

 

[still looking 52]

If you lay a dime on top of the ground and your machine has jumpy #s when you pass across it, then I say you have a problem for sure. It shouldn't jump more than 2 #s at the most, my f5 doesn't jump any on this test. If it fails that test I would send it back for repairs.

 

[MarkCZ]

Well, I'm thinking a possible coil problem as well, or a faulty internal connection at the connector.
If its under warranty I would contact Fisher with the issue, if its not then I would pull the connector apart enough to check the soldered connection inside and if one is lose or broken then re-solder it, or find someone to solder it for you.
If its not under warranty and you don't have another coil to try then you could put out a plea on the forum to see if you can find somebody close enough to you with a F70/F75 to meet with and swap coils for awhile, if its a bad coil and you change it out with a good one the difference will shock you!!

The last time out with my F70 and the 11" DD I thought it was pretty quirky too, but I have another coil that I can use (6.5" elliptical), so my next plan is to meet up with my Big Brother Ron (WV62) and try his 11" DD and see if that straightens things out, if it does then I'll know something is wrong with mine.

lets work on some things, starting with ground balancing.
Switch to program 2,
set the disc level to 0
speed to dE
sensitivity to 20
threshold to -5
tones 1
and omit any notches.
Then press the pin point button, this will take you out of the menu option completely and leave the detector set to operate in program 2.
Okay, I don't use program 2 for anything but a ground balancing bank. (leave the detector on)

Now, without changing anything in program 2 go back into the menu and select the program again, change to program 1,
move down the menu list and make these changes,
set the disc level to your desired point,
speed to dE
sensitivity to 50
threshold to -4 (minus 4)
tones 3
notches to whatever you desire.

Okay, now you have some extra mild settings in program 2, and a little less mild in program 1.

Take the detector to an area that you can detect at,
turn it on and go into the menu and select program 2,
hit the pin point button to exit the menu option,
find a clean area of ground and perform the ground balance function,
once ground balanced go back to the menu option and change to program 1
press the pin point button and begin searching as normal.

What you have done in the above is you created a set of ground balance settings in program 2,
you ground balanced it with those settings,
and then when you switched back to program 1, in doing so you will leave the program settings but carry over the ground balance adjustment back to program 1 and its operational settings.

I've found most detectors to be a little forgiving in the area of the ground balance, not so with the F70 and that large 11" DD coil.

My theory is that for ground balancing I only need a few inches of soil under the coil (not a foot)
You really don't need any more than one tone,
You don't need to hear tiny faint responses so lower the threshold, (minus numbers)
You don't need a lot of sensitivity either,
and to find a clean spot of ground I just lower the discrimination all the way down but not to the point to select all-metal.

With the F70 you can create a whole set of ground balance settings in either one of the programs and ground balance in it and then flip-flop between the two programs and carry the ground balance setting back and forth.

Try it and let me know if it helps!

Mark

 

[Mike Hillis]

It can be hard to transfer from a low gain to a high gain detector. Best advice I can give you is to turn your sensitivity down.

If number are flashing on the screen with the coil held stationary on the ground, then you are experiencing EMI and need to decrease sensitivity until the machine gets stable.

If the machine is stable when the coil is held stationary but goes crazy when sweeping the coil, ground balance again. Then if it is still going crazy while sweeping the coil, guess what? you are hearing what is in the ground. If it is too much, reduce your sensitivity some more, and if that is still too much, notch a few trash segments out. Get the audio to the point where you can process it and grow from there.

Good luck.
HH
Mike

 

[fjs440]

Thank you for the help. I found a local guy with a F75 and he let me put on his 11"DD. it worked great. He tried my coil on his MD and it was all over the place.

I guess I am sending it in since it is still under warranty.

Thank you again. Have a great year hunting.

 

[MarkCZ]

I have had the Fisher F70 for a few months and I like it. Maybe not as easy to use as my F2, but the changing from the F2 to the F70 has not been hard. Reading the manual and coming to this Fisher F-link has been important.

I am still adjusting to the F70. The F70 has its own language while talking to me, but you have no doubt when it finds something. The sounds are loud and clear. My problem is that the ID display is all over the place.

Even after rebooting and using the factory settings, the readings are hyperactive. Little waggles, big waggles, fast speed, slow speed, moving ninety degrees, and everything in between, the numbers still jump around. I have re-tightened the coil connector. I watch videos on the computer and they wiggle the coil and the numbers stay in a small range. I am still all over the place, even when you know you have a great hit.

"fjs440" I'm very interested in the outcome of the coil issue with your F70 so 'Please' be sure to update me after you get it worked out!

Thanks
Mark