Pinpointing with the F5

[TrpnBils]

So i've had my F5 for about a month now coming off of a few years on an Ace 250. With the ace I could always pinpoint well right on the tip of the inner coil ring. I know on the Fisher the pinpoint location varies depending on the depth, but I still keep finding myself having to expand my holes to find stuff half the time. I've even filled in good signal holes because I couldn't find what was in them and I didn't want to damage the area any further. For example....getting a good reading at 2 or 3" in what appears to be the center of a 6"wide, 6" deep hole and still can't get anywhere even with a handheld pinpointer.

Any tips?

 

[mudpuppy]

OK...if you are hunting on areas that you dont want to damage or dig a big hole, and you asked about pings in the 2-3" range, Ill tell you what I do which may or may not prove to be helpful..

.A good coin size target should be a crisp ping, and if you swing and at the same time raise your coil while rotating 90 degrees, the ping should get smaller and more localized under the sweet spot of the coil...dont look at the screen or even fool with the PP button, just keep your eyes on the ground right where that ping is the crispest. Swing short litlle arcs, almost a wiggle sometimes, as you gently raise and lower your coil...you should be able to stab the target with a screwdriver if its a coin in the top 3" easily...now if its a crisp ping and you start your rotation while raising your coil and the ping is still hard and crisp when your coil is a foot off the grass, its a large deep can or something, and you wont get it with the screwdriver...also I lower my sens (about half power) this seems to help in keeping the ping targets small...it takes just a little practice a few months of dedication...heck, you can practice in your own yard with a coin laying on the ground or pushed down a few inches....this method should put you within a golfball size area of where the coin is, which means you should be able to stab it with a screwdriver in a few attempts...then you just wow out a little hole, stick your finger down in there, tip the coin on edge, and pull it up with the shaft of the screwdriver and your finger working together.

If you get some time and practice you are gonna see what everything is telling you...we still get "fooled" though, which is what makes this sport so surprising...lets say you get a tight nickle or even a Dime signal in the top 3"...you pretty much have gotten good at stabbing coins, but for some reason, you cant stab this "coin" no matter what you do...that when its a RING, and not a coin! So you can slow down and use the pinpointer.

You just gotta get more time on your machine and keep analyzing all these weird events like you are doing and asking why? You are gonna be alright if you keep reasoning like you are doing, and trying to figure it out...plenty good members here to help shorten the learning curve for you. Anyway, this screwdriver trick is a good one learn, it really helps a fellow get on target fast, even if you have to dig, at least you are right on target to begin with..
Mud

 

[stilpony]

If you have a target with the 3" range, and you have a Garrett Pro Pointer, you can use the pointer to get over the coin. Just use the tip of the pointer, gently scrub the area, and then you should be able to hit it that way. Once you locate the exact point of the coin using the PP, mark it, then swing your coil over the target like Mud suggests, paying attention to where that coin is now hitting the coil. I've only had to do this a few times, as it doesnt' take long to get the hand of it. Knowing where the coin is in the ground really helps. (WARNING: This will not work on 10" targets)

By the way, which coil are you using?

 

[sqwaby]

Like Mudpuppy, I just X the target watching the coil position in reference to the ground, rotate 90 degrees and repeat. Target pinpoints in the center of the coil(stock) about 95% of the time. Practice, you'll get it.

 

[TrpnBils]

Does depth matter with the center of the coil? According to other stuff I read, the deeper the item the closer to the center it will pinpoint. I will try Mud's idea next time I'm out either tonight or tomorrow but itnsounds pretty much like what I've been doing anyway. More practice!

Incidentally, my pinpointer is the Harbor Freight $10 special and doesn't even register an item unless its within half an inch or so. A good one is my next to-get item and it'll probably be a Garrett.

 

[mudpuppy]

Yes, depth of target matters..now bear in mind I have the F70 with the 11"dd on it, it has modulated audio, so the deeper the target the weaker and smaller the ping...thats why I raise the coil ever so slightly as I swing over a target, to sort of verify the depth and location under the coil due to the tone. Sqwaby mentioned just looking at the ground...now that is KEY to your target success! focus your eyes on the ground where the ping is the crispest...Like I said, the sweet spot for me regarding settings is mid 50 sens..half power, but it seems to give me a very accurate audio feedback on any target in the top 5". Also bear in mind I dont use a pinpointer except for the Fpoint about once per week when I'm searching the grass roots for a ring signal I cant stab, though like Stilpony mentioned if you are gonna get a Pinponter, get a Garrett! I might use a trowel about once a week too, it stays in the car unless i'm in the right kind of area, meaning not a sprts field or anything like that, maybe at an abandoned school along the sidewalk, but I generally use the screwdriver and carry a small folding lockback knife for deeper targets that I may have to cut through the sod to get at..99.9 percent of my targets are stabbed, rings included.. You will be amazed at how well the CPU between your ears syncs itself with the detector...after just a little while, you will know from ping one that this one is a dime at 3.5" slightly on edge, and most likely a 80's vintage...if it was at 2" it would be in the 90's an so on and so forth depending upon the site...I aint kidding you either...I think most folks now a days hunt with too high a sens, and that robs them of sensitivity to shallow targets, slanted stacks, multidenom spills etc, they all sound like junk on high sens, and forget about totlotting or working a fenceline if theres metal poles or chain link involved, you wont get within 2 feet of them without an overload ...most all the easy silver on public lands has been grabbed by the likes of these old guys who post here who have been doing this for 30 years or more...I could understand running hotter if you are hunting for old silver coins, but good luck with that unless you get to hunt old grandpas farm someday...that said, you will find old silver in the top 5" just on sheer accident and maybe because you got really good at hunting the top...one of these days you wont ever look at the screen anymore, it will become natural to you just swinging, stabbing and grabbing. I'm a slow learner, so I set myself up like how Zeek recommended and have never looked back or changed settings much at all in 3 years...its taken me this long just to learn these simple settings, and figure out the language of metal. Some other fellows will be along shortly that are masters of the F5, and they will help!
Mud.

 

[TrpnBils]

Well that certainly gives me something to think about. Wat I get the most of is shallow clad, but what I'm AFTER is pre-clad like most people. Heck it's been 5 years and I haven't even found a wheat or any silver yet aside from an earring or two. Not sure how much of that is location and how much of that is familiarity with the detector. If its deeper though, I don't want to be covering it back up just because I can't pinpoint it well and am assuming it must just be deep, big garbage.

My other "project" right now is trying to learn how to hunt with the numbers instead of the ID screen and learning how the Fe numbers help in identifying something. I think I've read the "f5 bible" ten times by now...

 

[mudpuppy]

OK NOW I'm intrigued...5 years without so much as a wheat? Did you find old deep silver and wheats with the ACE? It might just be your location more than anything else...if you have no trouble finding clad, you should be accidentally finding silver and wheats if your dirt is old enough...man, wheats are still in circulation somewhat, and can be found in totlots and fresh drops..i bet most of the old silver found is in the top 6" anyhow...Jimtn, I wonder what is his average depth of silver found? You might want to start a different post regarding the subject.
Mud

 

[TrpnBils]

If I remember right, I think I found 1 wheat the day I got my Ace 250. Only had the F5 for about a month now. Everything around here is Civil War history so silver, wheats, indians, etc. have to be around....sure as heck is old enough.