New F5 arrived!

[Brewsir]

I was initially excited, which turned to uh oh. I put it together, batteries in, turned it on, began the test procedure and all I got was chatter(no detection). I changed frequencies, and double checked everything, batteries etc. I was just about to make a phone call, and thought, might as well check the cable, so, I unplugged and plugged it back in, and shazaam, it worked. However, I'm feeling a bit uneasy, I know I had it plugged in right the first time, as it only fits one way. Is this a known "glitch" with this unit, or it wasn't "fully" seated the first time, or, I should be concerned that the first little bump, and it goes on the fritz?

Currently reading all the included info, getting ready to search the back yard.....wish me luck

 

[Wacko]

Don't know if it's common or not, but I wouldn't worry about it. My screw on connector felt like it was fully seated a few times, but wasn't. Not a lot of space there. Just make sure it is fully screwed down and you should be good to go. I have had mine out for 13 hours or so on multiple hunts - no fritz yet.

HH

 

[Brewsir]

Crap, it's the latter. There are suppose to be 2 little screws on the connector that keep it firmly attached to the cable, mine only has 1. So, any movement of the cable causes the unit to go nuts. Guess I have to do the whole ship it back and forth dance. Not a good first impression on this newbie. Am I better off dealing with Kellyco, or the manufacturer? Do I have a choice?

 

[crusher28]

Trust me it's the crappy cable connection, Had the same problem as many other people until Fisher finally got smart and fixed it w/ a new coil that had a screw in connector. Mine was brand new also, Call Fisher and ask for Filix. This has been going on for a long time an THIS is B.S WITH FISHER.

 

[Mike Hillis]

Well...that is no good.
Perhaps you could find another screw and fix it yourself? Then put a drop of fingernail polish on it (borrow from a lady friend) to seal it in place?

HH
Mike

 

[jim tn]

crusher is correct. I had the same problem with my Omega. Both screws were lost. Called Felix and two days later I had new connecter and screws. Easy fix! All I needed was the screws and no problems since. I do check the screws occasionally, though, to insure they remain tight. HH jim tn

 

[DetectorOCD]

Also, listen. I initially had some problems learning the F5. I almost sold it but only recently did I figure out what it was telling me. STAY WITH IT! Keep it on D1 until you really get the hang of it. The other multi tones will make the machine much harder to learn. It's a COIN MAGNET. If you're getting chatter, back off on the sensitivity and adjust your threshhold a little in the negative. DONT GIVE UP! I'm glad I didn't sell mine.

 

[Brewsir]

This is a frickin' nightmare! I talked to Felix this morning, and he says I'm going to continue to have problems with the unit if I keep it, suggests sending it back to Kellyco. So, I call Kellyco, they have me go outside with the unit, to diagnose the problem. In the meantime, I had re-plugged the connector in and it now seems to be working, so, there's nothing to diagnose. I'm told I can send it back, but, they'll look at it, and if they can't find a problem, they'll send it back to me, so really it's 50-50 that I get it back. I ask, can't you just send me another coil, and I'll return this one. Nope. So now, I will need to call the manufacturer again, to see if they can send me a screw and or connector. My fear is that the problem may be inside the unit where the connection is, and it will continually be a problem. I was so angry, I considered just washing my hands of it, but, Kellyco has a 30% restocking fee! 30%!? Kellyco will NEVER get my business again!

 

[crusher28]

I've been using fisher for 30 ++++++ years and never had a problem like I had with the F5. I know what he is talking about.
I have a 1236, 1260, and a cz6a never have problem 15 years of use. Call your credit company they will make them make good.

 

[mudpuppy]

I hear what you are saying, you paid good money for something and it did'nt meet your expectations, OK so that happens to all of us at one time or the other...read again what Hillis wrote, if its just one little screw, take the other to the hardware store and gets its mate from their little bins, and a small tube of loctite. problem solved for a buck, and you'll be finding that dollar in change at the nearest totlot this afternoon, or maybe Karma will send you a big gold chain to make up for it!....Really, I do feel you Brewsir, but this world is a tough place, and the more probelms you can make go away by yourself, the better off you'll be in the end.
Mud

 

[Brewsir]

I hear what you are saying, you paid good money for something and it did'nt meet your expectations, OK so that happens to all of us at one time or the other...read again what Hillis wrote, if its just one little screw, take the other to the hardware store and gets its mate from their little bins, and a small tube of loctite. problem solved for a buck, and you'll be finding that dollar in change at the nearest totlot this afternoon, or maybe Karma will send you a big gold chain to make up for it!....Really, I do feel you Brewsir, but this world is a tough place, and the more probelms you can make go away by yourself, the better off you'll be in the end.
Mud

I may be new to this, but if one little screw and some loctite would solve the problem don't you think Felix would've recommended that? Also meet my expectations? I would think that a product that only works for a few minutes before going into epileptic seizure wouldn't meet anyone's expectations, or, even come close. Furthermore, I called Felix again and asked for a screw, and he called Kellyco, a few minutes later I got a call from the head man at Kellyco telling me they were going to send me a new unit after they receive this one.

 

[Anonymous]

I hear what you are saying, you paid good money for something and it did'nt meet your expectations, OK so that happens to all of us at one time or the other...read again what Hillis wrote, if its just one little screw, take the other to the hardware store and gets its mate from their little bins, and a small tube of loctite. problem solved for a buck, and you'll be finding that dollar in change at the nearest totlot this afternoon, or maybe Karma will send you a big gold chain to make up for it!....Really, I do feel you Brewsir, but this world is a tough place, and the more probelms you can make go away by yourself, the better off you'll be in the end.
Mud

I may be new to this, but if one little screw and some loctite would solve the problem don't you think Felix would've recommended that? Also meet my expectations? I would think that a product that only works for a few minutes before going into epileptic seizure wouldn't meet anyone's expectations, or, even come close. Furthermore, I called Felix again and asked for a screw, and he called Kellyco, a few minutes later I got a call from the head man at Kellyco telling me they were going to send me a new unit after they receive this one.

I wanted to chime in and make sure you are ok. At this point you are in contact with us and we are taking care of you right?

 

[Brewsir]

I hear what you are saying, you paid good money for something and it did'nt meet your expectations, OK so that happens to all of us at one time or the other...read again what Hillis wrote, if its just one little screw, take the other to the hardware store and gets its mate from their little bins, and a small tube of loctite. problem solved for a buck, and you'll be finding that dollar in change at the nearest totlot this afternoon, or maybe Karma will send you a big gold chain to make up for it!....Really, I do feel you Brewsir, but this world is a tough place, and the more probelms you can make go away by yourself, the better off you'll be in the end.
Mud

I may be new to this, but if one little screw and some loctite would solve the problem don't you think Felix would've recommended that? Also meet my expectations? I would think that a product that only works for a few minutes before going into epileptic seizure wouldn't meet anyone's expectations, or, even come close. Furthermore, I called Felix again and asked for a screw, and he called Kellyco, a few minutes later I got a call from the head man at Kellyco telling me they were going to send me a new unit after they receive this one.

I wanted to chime in and make sure you are ok. At this point you are in contact with us and we are taking care of you right?

uh, yeah. I'm a little disappointed in the pace. I deal with a lot of computer parts, and when I have a problem with them, the vendor usually sends me everything I need for a return within minutes. Often, it arrives in my inbox before I hang up the phone. On more than one occasion I've had a vendor ask me to mark out the serial number and then sent me a replacement, no questions asked (I'm not saying I was expecting this). I broke down this unit and had it packed up within a few minutes of talking to your rep. Then I waited.............and waited, then I called, thinking maybe they got my email address wrong or something. No, that wasn't it, he said it would be sometime tomorrow. If things don't run that quickly at Kellyco, it would be courteous to at least send an email stating what the process is, and approximately how long it will take.

If your asking if I'm appeased, I suppose I am to a degree, even though it was only after the call from Felix, Kellyco decided to send a replacement. Remember the old adage, You only get one chance to make a first impression.

 

[Anonymous]

Trying to understand so I can help. Who is Felix? Are we sending you a label to send back the unit or just the screws you spoke of. What rep are you dealing with? I'll get it fixed quickly just need to understand

I hear what you are saying, you paid good money for something and it did'nt meet your expectations, OK so that happens to all of us at one time or the other...read again what Hillis wrote, if its just one little screw, take the other to the hardware store and gets its mate from their little bins, and a small tube of loctite. problem solved for a buck, and you'll be finding that dollar in change at the nearest totlot this afternoon, or maybe Karma will send you a big gold chain to make up for it!....Really, I do feel you Brewsir, but this world is a tough place, and the more probelms you can make go away by yourself, the better off you'll be in the end.
Mud

I may be new to this, but if one little screw and some loctite would solve the problem don't you think Felix would've recommended that? Also meet my expectations? I would think that a product that only works for a few minutes before going into epileptic seizure wouldn't meet anyone's expectations, or, even come close. Furthermore, I called Felix again and asked for a screw, and he called Kellyco, a few minutes later I got a call from the head man at Kellyco telling me they were going to send me a new unit after they receive this one.

I wanted to chime in and make sure you are ok. At this point you are in contact with us and we are taking care of you right?

uh, yeah. I'm a little disappointed in the pace. I deal with a lot of computer parts, and when I have a problem with them, the vendor usually sends me everything I need for a return within minutes. Often, it arrives in my inbox before I hang up the phone. On more than one occasion I've had a vendor ask me to mark out the serial number and then sent me a replacement, no questions asked (I'm not saying I was expecting this). I broke down this unit and had it packed up within a few minutes of talking to your rep. Then I waited.............and waited, then I called, thinking maybe they got my email address wrong or something. No, that wasn't it, he said it would be sometime tomorrow. If things don't run that quickly at Kellyco, it would be courteous to at least send an email stating what the process is, and approximately how long it will take.

If your asking if I'm appeased, I suppose I am to a degree, even though it was only after the call from Felix, Kellyco decided to send a replacement. Remember the old adage, You only get one chance to make a first impression.

 

[Brewsir]

Trying to understand so I can help. Who is Felix? Are we sending you a label to send back the unit or just the screws you spoke of. What rep are you dealing with? I'll get it fixed quickly just need to understand

I hear what you are saying, you paid good money for something and it did'nt meet your expectations, OK so that happens to all of us at one time or the other...read again what Hillis wrote, if its just one little screw, take the other to the hardware store and gets its mate from their little bins, and a small tube of loctite. problem solved for a buck, and you'll be finding that dollar in change at the nearest totlot this afternoon, or maybe Karma will send you a big gold chain to make up for it!....Really, I do feel you Brewsir, but this world is a tough place, and the more probelms you can make go away by yourself, the better off you'll be in the end.
Mud

I may be new to this, but if one little screw and some loctite would solve the problem don't you think Felix would've recommended that? Also meet my expectations? I would think that a product that only works for a few minutes before going into epileptic seizure wouldn't meet anyone's expectations, or, even come close. Furthermore, I called Felix again and asked for a screw, and he called Kellyco, a few minutes later I got a call from the head man at Kellyco telling me they were going to send me a new unit after they receive this one.

I wanted to chime in and make sure you are ok. At this point you are in contact with us and we are taking care of you right?

uh, yeah. I'm a little disappointed in the pace. I deal with a lot of computer parts, and when I have a problem with them, the vendor usually sends me everything I need for a return within minutes. Often, it arrives in my inbox before I hang up the phone. On more than one occasion I've had a vendor ask me to mark out the serial number and then sent me a replacement, no questions asked (I'm not saying I was expecting this). I broke down this unit and had it packed up within a few minutes of talking to your rep. Then I waited.............and waited, then I called, thinking maybe they got my email address wrong or something. No, that wasn't it, he said it would be sometime tomorrow. If things don't run that quickly at Kellyco, it would be courteous to at least send an email stating what the process is, and approximately how long it will take.

If your asking if I'm appeased, I suppose I am to a degree, even though it was only after the call from Felix, Kellyco decided to send a replacement. Remember the old adage, You only get one chance to make a first impression.

Felix is the guy I spoke to at the manufacturer (Fisher Labs?) You're sending a label. Daniel is the rep I'm dealing with at Kellyco.

 

[marcomo]

Brewsir, I'm not going to tell you to be patient because I know it's hard to be patient when you are excited and anxious to get started detecting.

Jamie is fairly new to Kellyco but she is trying very hard and has done a fine job getting things straightened out for any customers who have had issues. Give her a chance to make things right for you and I'm sure she will.

Felix at First Texas is well known to many of us on the forum. He is a first-class guy and has done extremely well for me and others when service has been needed. Obviously he did well for you by calling Kellyco and getting them to agree to replace your unit and send a prepaid label.

There are a lot of things I've learned as I've gone along in this hobby and still a lot I don't know. But I've learned enough to offer a little advice to anyone just preparing to buy their first detector:

1. Buy from a dealer who is known for great service. The sponsors of this forum are always a good choice. They have a vested interest in making sure you are 100% happy. My buying experiences with forum sponsors have been with Richard at Backwoods and Chuck at Indian Nations and I can't say enough good things about them. But that's not to slight any of the other sponsors. You can look on the feedback forum and see how well the sponsors are thought of by the members here.

2. Whether you buy from a forum sponsor, a local dealer or whoever, find out their policy if you receive a defective detector. You want to make sure that if the detector you receive is defective, you can mail it (or take it) back directly to the dealer for immediate replacement with a new unit - not to the factory for repair or replacement which will put you in a queue and take longer. In other words, you want a dealer that carries stock and will do the legwork for you if there is an initial defect. I know at least a couple forum sponsors here have assembled and tested detectors before shipping them out when requested to do so by the customer. We all want to get a great deal when we buy a detector. But when you base your buying decision solely on price or extra throw-in freebies, it's a case of penny-wise, dollar-foolish.

3. Ask your dealer when the actual detector you are buying was manufactured, and always try to get at least a fairly newly manufactured unit. In Brewsir's case, if he got a F5 with the push-on coil connector as someone suggested instead of the screw-on type, then he got a detector that was manufactured before the summer of 2010 when they changed to the screw-on type which is considered an improvement by F5 users. So even though the detector was new, it was relatively "old stock" since it had been manufactured a minimum of almost a year ago. Quietly and seldom with any fanfare, manufacturers regularly tweak things on their specific models that time and usage by detectorists show can be improved.

4. Detectors are electronic instruments that we play with in the dirt and who knows what else. They will need repair on occasion - count on it. Once you are fully addicted, make sure you have a backup detector.

Good luck, Brewsir, keep us posted.

 

[Brewsir]

-- moved topic --

 

[D&P-OR]

Excellent, excellent advice marcomo!

 

[marcomo]

Thank you, Del. That's very much appreciated, especially coming from someone as knowledgable and respected as you!

 

[Anonymous]

Brewsir, I'm not going to tell you to be patient because I know it's hard to be patient when you are excited and anxious to get started detecting.

Jamie is fairly new to Kellyco but she is trying very hard and has done a fine job getting things straightened out for any customers who have had issues. Give her a chance to make things right for you and I'm sure she will.

Felix at First Texas is well known to many of us on the forum. He is a first-class guy and has done extremely well for me and others when service has been needed. Obviously he did well for you by calling Kellyco and getting them to agree to replace your unit and send a prepaid label.

There are a lot of things I've learned as I've gone along in this hobby and still a lot I don't know. But I've learned enough to offer a little advice to anyone just preparing to buy their first detector:

1. Buy from a dealer who is known for great service. The sponsors of this forum are always a good choice. They have a vested interest in making sure you are 100% happy. My buying experiences with forum sponsors have been with Richard at Backwoods and Chuck at Indian Nations and I can't say enough good things about them. But that's not to slight any of the other sponsors. You can look on the feedback forum and see how well the sponsors are thought of by the members here.

2. Whether you buy from a forum sponsor, a local dealer or whoever, find out their policy if you receive a defective detector. You want to make sure that if the detector you receive is defective, you can mail it (or take it) back directly to the dealer for immediate replacement with a new unit - not to the factory for repair or replacement which will put you in a queue and take longer. In other words, you want a dealer that carries stock and will do the legwork for you if there is an initial defect. I know at least a couple forum sponsors here have assembled and tested detectors before shipping them out when requested to do so by the customer. We all want to get a great deal when we buy a detector. But when you base your buying decision solely on price or extra throw-in freebies, it's a case of penny-wise, dollar-foolish.

3. Ask your dealer when the actual detector you are buying was manufactured, and always try to get at least a fairly newly manufactured unit. In Brewsir's case, if he got a F5 with the push-on coil connector as someone suggested instead of the screw-on type, then he got a detector that was manufactured before the summer of 2010 when they changed to the screw-on type which is considered an improvement by F5 users. So even though the detector was new, it was relatively "old stock" since it had been manufactured a minimum of almost a year ago. Quietly and seldom with any fanfare, manufacturers regularly tweak things on their specific models that time and usage by detectorists show can be improved.

4. Detectors are electronic instruments that we play with in the dirt and who knows what else. They will need repair on occasion - count on it. Once you are fully addicted, make sure you have a backup detector.

Good luck, Brewsir, keep us posted.

Thank you so much I really appreciate the confidence. I apologize I went home really sick yesterday but I"m here today! Ok. Brewsir, will you PM me your name and address so I can see where we are in the process. I'll pop that new detector out to you lickety split!! I'm so sorry for this frustrating experience! But I WILL make it right. Even if you never buy from Kellyco again, that's ok! I just want to see this through to the end and get you out there detecting ASAP! And props to Felix!!!