(RE: A field test) I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my F-75...

My back yard is laiden w/ nails/screws...more then a friggin nail factory's yard would be...
...i used my Whites and Garrett's on it, got what I could (some nice trinkets did come out, but i know there should be more)...
...so what i did was (since next yr we are sodding it) i dug large holes wherever i did receive an iron signal, dug all out then re detected it...found a few more, but that method was getting old, considering it seems that there were about 15 to 30 nails every 5 square feet...no joke...really.

I will be receiving the F-75 soon, and with no experience, i do not expect much, but i will read the booklet it comes with and head out soon (very soon) after...
...i will probably head out there so fast i will be leaving skid marks, and after i am done i will post any results here, including settings, etc.

-Mike

Without reading the owners manual, and never had using one, this is my opinion:

My yard is hell w/ iron and wires in the air...very chattery...and my problem is that digging a coin at a listed depth of 14" w/ no probe (sold it, getting new one hopefully soon)...the task told me to wait on that dig.

This machine's response is fast as lighting, almost not figuratively speaking...that fast.

Once again, lots of chatter, which some went away when i switched to all metal.

I really need to read the manual for this machine due to my personal electrical/iron dilemma, but i personally feel that on a normal slightly ironed hunting ground and with patience, it excels. Because this machine picks up like EVERY signal, trashy areas seem like chatter, but isn't, so take your time to work the coil...
The super fast response will put you inches away from other signals and all readable if you can "see" how they might sit in the ground you can work the coil (even though it's large)...it seems to be an easy machine to learn, but in some areas you will have to think a little more then w/ other machines...but this is good, because w/ other machines i doubt "you would even get that signal" that would have you thinking more in the first place...

Any tips from seasoned pro's of the F-75 would be appreciated.

-Mike

-Mike

Sounds like you received the F-75.

Try =

Sens. 50
Disc. '6'
Tones '4'
Process 'PF'

Sounds like you will not be able to find a clean spot of dirt to ground balance..... without being over a nail.

Dig all tones except the iron tones (iron is the lowest tone)...... and this will help you learn the detector in short order. Don't think a Sens setting of '50' is too low. Do NOT use 'JE' mode yet.

Tom

I'll give it a try...remember, this is just one lawn we are talking about too...
I am bringing it to an older park tomorrow that's been hunted strongly since the 70/80's up to today. Hardly any iron or electrical interference if any, just maybe an over abundance of small tiny tinfoil pieces chopped by the mower.

It does still happen, but it's rare for an oldy to pop up these days...I am going to hunt down there with minimal experience tomorrow after work and see if I could find what others missed, even if I am a novice.

Kinda Siked!

-Mike

If you have a lot of trash you will want to get a small coil to get between the trash as best as you can. It can really help in hi trash and around any metal fences and playground equipment.

You can bump up Sens..... if iron & trash content are minimal.

Tom

OK...My findings:

DO NOT use this machine in high iron and/or areas on your first few hunts.
The F75 is not very sensitive, it is EXTREMELY sensitive.

If you want instant gratification, go elsewhere...if you want a pain in the butt that will turn in to one of your best friends...F-75, but not over night.

I need to take this machine to a friends yard where the dirt is soft, mid depth targets dug out out and hardly any trash or iron...

I have found it too be so overwhelming, my face actually got flushed when i heard a target (you basically hear a target every second it seems in trashy parks), It got to the point i didn't want to dig...i was trying to be choosy, probably passing up good deeper targets just for the gratification of finding SOMETHING, like clad an inch down where I wont run into problems like I was getting on deep targets.

My problem was when I heard a signal, what i believed was a good target next to a bad one, i couldn't pin point because the pin point pitch would run me straight to the iron or trash, so i tried to criss cross and dig but the ground was solid hard and 8 inches was a chore, even w/ my 250 lb. body jumping down on the shovel and watching it go maybe an inch.

I was with a friend w/ his minelab se and we both decoded to leave due to the dirt being so tough.

Regardless, he wants an F-75 and he was more adamant then I was to how wonderful this machine is, it just takes A LOT of practice.

I am goin to my friends house this weekend, the one i mentioned several paragraphs above, and i will start off like "a baby" and not the pro I am on other machines...I need to accept this fact.

I am a fisherman w/ great patience and i need to utilize that patience here...
...I have a feeling that when i do understand this machine, and I have it down well enough to feel comfortable with signals and functions without having to post too many questions here regarding it's functionality, i will truly at that point be finding many coins others missed...but like David Caradine had to get his butt kicked many times before he was able to snatch the pebble from his masters hand, i too will need to learn the ways of this machine...but when I am ready to snatch that pebble, it will feel great for sure...It's speed is just phenomenal...too phenomenal for me right now.
...It's like i am 3 years old and Fisher gave me a 1967 Dodge Hemi Charger, and i dont even get a phone book to sit on.

-Mike



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2008 12:13AM by PanMan.

This detector will 'light up' targets that you never knew existed. ESPECIALLY with higher Sensitivity settings. Hence, my recommendation of low Sens settings..... and the utilization of 4 simple intelligent tones. And just because Sens may be set on ...... say.... '40'...... does not mean that it will only go 4" on a dime..... as you (now) have discovered.

..... And.....,,,, learning the detector (on it's maiden voyage) in a carpet of nails..... just MIGHT not be the proper way to cut your teeth with this unit.

Tom

Well said tom..The F75 is like a hot rod at the Drag strip..To much throttle and you'll spin out..ease into it and off ya go for the Big Finds..It Still amazes me with every hunt..james

Thank you guys.

I know quite a few guys that just couldnt handle the F75....and its not because it wasnt within their abilities..but rather because they didnt take the time to train their brains to the responses. It took me some time to really get comfortable with all the f75 was telling me and at times it can be kinda overwhelming...............BUT................a bit of patience and field time will be VERY rewarding!
I just got back from a little hunt in a pounded old amusement park site in the woods. I hunted with two guys.................one guy got NO good targets (Whites MXT)....and the other guy got one (Exterra 70). I Got a handful of wheaties...and two mercs. Pretty much all the the targets I dug had a bit of a ragged edge....but after recovering then I was able to confirm there were co-located iron targets. The f75 allowed me to get a good enough signal to make me wanna dig.(a good enough signal to Id the targets as well) I had the Exterra user check a few of the keepers I dug before I dug them.....and he reported them as iron and told me that he would never dig them. While I was sure there was iron involved............I was equally sure they were good targets.......hence my 15 or so keeper targets to his one. (A VERY SHALLOW MERC). I think he may be looking into getting a F75 in the NEAR future!! Streak!

This is a semi-frequent occurrence for me also.

OK, Went to my friends house, but got their late so I literally only had 5 minutes to hunt.

Balance the 75 and went to work...but since I only had 5 minutes, I figured i would just hunt fast and try to find an area as quick as i could with promise...
This lawn is cleaned by quite a few other detectors (plus, we always remove all trash dug or visually seen) so I felt confident with my signals.

I found a 1982 Quarter, a "zincoln"...And my first Wheatie w/ the F-75...It was only a 1945, but still was like 5 inches at the bottom of the hill yet sounded like it was right under the coil.

Was set on DE search mode, sens at 70, and I believe I had disc on 20...I know the disc around 15-20 changes search values and I will be playing with that next...slowly but surely i am getting more confident, but i dont dig those signals that might be slightly masked coins, not yet...right now just the obvious hits...i want to get to know it better first...but..was impressed, I went over that spot before where the wheatie was found and never heard signal before, coin was kinda almost sitting on its side in the plug, maybe that's why i missed it many times before. its gonna take some time before i get it down packed, it definately doesnt take too much time to start feeling more confidence, at least with default settings and control of sens.

-Mike

And if only 5 minutes builds confidence!

ty



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2008 09:20PM by PanMan.