Tough weekend with the F75

I think I have finally relaxed enough to discuss the F75 and some short comings I am seeing with my particular unit. I and a hunting buddy of mine spent 20 hours hunting Fri-Sun. He uses an SE and has had it about a year. He has became pretty proficient with it. We hunt in some areas that well lets say, you should probably carry something that has a clip or at least hot rounds, so we usually hunt with in speaking distance of one another. We hit a new spot Friday and he pops out several nice old silvers and wheaties. I got three clads and some bottle caps. No biggie. You gotta put the coil over the coin to get it.

Saturday we hit a park. All the coins were deep and clad. It has a sandy loam just below the surface and neither of us really did well except for when I dug what I thought to be a quarter at 12 inches turned out to be a pulltab with the beaver tail still attached. We moved over to another area and started hunting. My machine would not shut up. It talked to me for 4 hours. I changed freqs, I changed the disc from 6 to 10, I moved far away from the SE. It would not quiet down. I kept using it though. I dug 30 bottle caps and 12 coins. The coins were a mix but a few were silver dimes and wheaties. My buddy came in behind me and hunted the same area and found 6 more wheaties that my machine didnt find. BTW all these coins are between 3 and 6 inches deep.

Today we went back and hit the same general area. I changed batteries and the machine seemed to settle down some but all I could get was little chirps (remember most targets are less then 6 inches deep) unless it was a bottle cap and it came in loud and clear. I finally reset the machine and pulled one more coin, it was my 1000 coin for the year and it was a 41 merc. In 8 hours I dug a pocket spill of 5 clad coins and 7 other targets that turned out to be older coins. I dug 30 bottle caps. My buddy went over the area I covered and covered well. He pulled out 4 more wheaties and 4 silver dimes. He dug over 50 coins today and 40 yesterday

The F75 almost became a tree ornament.

I hunt in disc mode usually at 6, I notch out high nickels, tabs and low zinc. I run sens at 70 if the machine stays quiet but sometimes lower. The fast grab number stays at 84. Occasionally I get a 77. For me to miss 10 targets in a relatively small area, with little trash, bothers the crap out of me. I really really really like swinging the F75, I like the display, the light weight, even the build quality is ok, what I cant handle is missing targets in the 3-6 inch range.

If someone has an idea as to what I am doing wrong or what is wrong with the machine I would appreciate the input. I am very close to sending it in but dont want to if there is something I am doing wrong. Thanks, TMAN...

That was my experiance with the F-75.I sold mine.
My son and I hunted an area hard with both of us using F75's. I bought a 3D and went to the same spot and found over 200 coins. My son tried my 3D and now his F75 is for sale.

Maybe you have a bad machine or coil I don't notch out anything and have found a
lot of coins my oldest being an 1800 large cent at 13" at a park. The f75 is not easy to learn but it came naturaly for me to understand what the it was telling me. My unit does not always give a crisp tone some of my best coins silver and old 1834 were very dirty with numbers flying. It may not be the machine for you.

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

[www.youtube.com]

If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!

I'm not buying that "you need to learn the machine" argument. I had an F75 and the problem is the susceptibility to EMI. Someone over on another forum took his apart and found out that the shielding on this machine is the cheapest/poorest possible material (graphite) and the ground to the shielding was taped on with plastic tape. Its also been confirmed that these machines are being assembled in Mexico. Personnally, I sold my machine because 1) The EMI was driving me nuts, 2)The build quality was poor afterall. This is a blatant rip off, with the cheapest labor and the cheapest parts. Just imagine what could be done if the case, LCD screen, shielding, and connections to the rod, were all top shelf and used the current electronics that seem so capable. They wouldn't be able to keep them in stock. But no, this is an overhyped bounty hunter with a top-line machine price.

I'm having similiar problems. It will freak out and be unusable after about two hours of hunting. When I say unusable, I mean it sounds like a machine gun of different tones AND the display is tearing through every number and selection like mad. ESPECIALLY if I've changed disc or notch some to experiment. My ONLY option is 5,6,7,8 DISC, DE,3 tones, and 1 notch (GB fast grabbed at 53). Anything else is a mess. Every two hours I have to do a factory reset... then it's quiet as can be for a while. Recently been hunting at a 2 acre lot where a farm house used to me. My EX2, F4, and Ace250 have been silent. I'm seriously 2 miles from ANY source of interference - there's not even power to this lot. The F75 is so erratic that it's tough to know what to dig. It will NAIL a bottle cap though! TID of a no-doubt quarter..instead it's a Pepsi twist off. Put it in 4H and every piece of foil (even the size of an eraser head)is also a nickle. It does so much talking that you would never know if it's a faint coin at 9" or nothing at all. Honeslty it might even be an axe head at 1.5 feet but show a quarter at 8". Dissapointing. I can't hunt at ALL in my own yard. That's not "hot" or "sensitive" that's mis-engineered. Really "hot" and really unusable are too close with this machine.

And "maybe it's a bad machine" is the wrong answer for Fisher since you'll see posts like these repeated over and over in different forums. It's either mis-engineered, the software is buggy, or 1 in 5 are bad?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2008 07:09PM by Shambler.

Lawrenzo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe you have a bad machine or coil I don't notch
> out anything and have found a
> lot of coins my oldest being an 1800 large cent at
> 13" at a park. The f75 is not easy to learn but it
> came naturaly for me to understand what the it was
> telling me. My unit does not always give a crisp
> tone some of my best coins silver and old 1834
> were very dirty with numbers flying. It may not be
> the machine for you.


I know how to setup a metal detector been doing this a looooong time. The F75 is a very easy machine to learn. I do know that if you make one change to any of the settings after a while you have to reset the thing because it will go nuts.So your saying my son and I had 2 bad ones? Unacceptable, if that's the case.Both of these F75's missed alot more than they found, yours is too. Look at some of the other forums,it's spreading like wildfire that the F75 has huge issues.

Ok....it will be hard to post to THIS thread without stepping on a few toes.....but here goes anyway!!
One of the things I like about posting here is the general tendancy for rational thought......and the openmindedness. I feel like its ok to post my thoughts....so with all due respect to ALL posters....and all views...here are my thoughts.
While it IS possible to have a number of defective machines out there.....its largely been MY experience that a very high percentage of problems are user errors, instead of machine defects. I hear things like "I used the machine for a whole month".......and in my opinion........thats NOT time enough for even the most experienced users to REALLY get a handle on any given machine...and learn all its little tricks and quirks. Also...some guys just cant handle certain machines. Like it or not...thats a fact., I've seen it many many times. I often run into folks at hunts....and they will tell my of their woes with a particular machine....and after picking their brain....and seeing how they have the machine set up for a given situation.....and what they are actually doing....its NOT suprising they have problems. sorry.........but thats the long and short of it.
I've NOT had a situation yet with the F75 where I couldnt adjust to a given external circumstance. Sure...I've had a few "problem" areas..but I've had them with LOTS of machines over the years.....so the F75 DOESNT have a corner in THAT market.
I'd also found that there are certain ways to set the F75 up..to make it quieter....deeper.....and more user friendly. NONE of those ways include notching.............and/or high disc settings.......or anything higher than 2F in tones. I've also never hunted with an Ex or SE user that could find a coin that I couldnt....and I have more than a few Friends that adore minelabs. I HAVE however found a few coins that THEY couldnt. (BUT..........we usually hunt hellishly FE infested sites). I found though that even in relatively open areas....the 75 can hold its own....and the only thing the SE or EXII seems to be able to do better is ID a coin at extreme depths.
While the F75 may be "easy to adjust/set up"..it DOES take time to "train that brain".
I've used the F75 for a year and a half now...and am STILL learning its secrets.(maybe I'm just kinda dumb) The day I think I know it all and stop learning (from experience OR friends) is they day I'll give it all up.
I've used a LOT of machines over the years....and the F75 is without a doubt the most productive one to date. (as measured by the fullness of my goodie pouch).
As I said earlier...............its possible folks have gotten a rash of bad ones...but its more likely that its just inexperience with a given machine.
AND NO......they arent built in Mexico ( I dont care WHAT you "heard" ....(but even if they WERE....I STILL like em!!)
Respectfully, (to all that will pounce on me) Streak!

OMG

Clearly you didn't read the posts. Or these: [forum.treasurenet.com]

Give me a break, user errors! It's that attitude that will put Fisher Labs machines in Radio Shack only. This machine has only a few configurable options. EVEN THE COMBINATIONS of usable options are less than 100 (not including JE - short for Joke). If the machine is going off like R2D2 on crack regardless if it's on the ground or in the air AND the sens is down to 30... something is wrong (this doesn't even include the TID #"s changing so quick it's beyond comprehension and the depth confidence going up and down!). This is miles from anywhere in the middle of Indiana. After a factor reset, you can go to 99/0/1/DE and hunt for about an hour before it starts to act up again!!?? Something's wrong with them.

"HEARD"??!! MINE SAYS "MADE IN MEXICO".

You also insinuate that you've touched many F75's and been around a lot of people and you've discovered that there's a "very high percentage of user errors". That seems strange at best. Were they all 12?

Regardless of your multiple disclaimers, you have an insulting mannerism to your posts.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2008 09:50PM by Shambler.

I just HAVE to address the "spreading like wildfire" comment. (with all due despect to the poster)
I know of ONE guy that had posted deragatory comments about the F75 in Hot soil (specifically hot VA soil)
He wasnt very kind at all about it. Problem was he was kinda high profile.....so his words were read by a lot of folks.
Since I read THAT post.......I've seen quite a number of posts saying the exact opposite....and all about that VERY SAME soil! Some use disc there....and some use AM there............but all are having sucess.....and have LEARNED how to handle that type of soil in their own way. They didnt give up....prouounce the machine 'junk" and move on. They LEARNED the machine...and turned it into a sucess story instead of a failure. Its ALL about really learning the machine. nothing more........nothing less. All I see "spreading like wildfire"....is the growing number of people "getting it"...and using THAT knowledge to their advantage.THIS site is a HUGE cog in THAT wheel. If one has legitimate performance issues....then thats a whole other issue.............and I'm sure Fisher will honor the warranty and make it right.
If your unsure that its performing properly...then a phone call and maybe a trip to the repair facility may be all that it takes to rectify the issue.


"Food for thought.............. Streak!

I appreciate all the posters that have posted their thoughts on this thread and I appreciate Tom for the time he spends here not only as the mod but as a md user as well. Streak, some of us have had problems with our machines that you havent and that is understandable. I started this thread as a way to gain knowledge as to if I had a learning problem or did the machine have a problem.

After discussing this issue with Daniel at Fisher it seems that I have a problem with my coil and will be sending it in tomorrow for repair or replacement. I still think this machine will smoke an SE in the right areas, hell I have smoked my buddy's machine more than once but these last few hunts have now made me realize that yes I have a damn good detector, it just needs fixin. I can easily live with that. I want to easily live with it and enjoy my one hobby when it gets back. I will let ya know how it goes when it returns. TMAN...

when I said I've run across a lot of user errors in the field...I didnt say a THING about the F75. Its an across the spectrum problem. Heck...I know guys that change their machines more often than they change their underware!!! How can anyone develop ANY expertise if they dont put in the hours?? Do you think Tom comes to HIS conclusions with 5 minute test sessions? I'd be willing the bet he spends a LOT more hours just evaluating than most spend detecting.
I knew a few of you would take offense to my post....but ya cant make EVERYONE happy. Once the "disgruntled" seed is planted............ logic goes out the door...and anything contrary to a "its junk" post is percieved as a slam. Well.......sorry if it offended you....but I'll stick to my convictions...
Yall have a nice one.
AND.......BTW....................Find ONE product that isnt a conglomeration of international parts/ engineering. you CANT. Go ahead.................take all the electronic products in your home apart....then report back. Good luck!!
Streak!

sorry you have had a problem with yours. I had a problem with My first one too...........but the second one is a screamer!!
Hope you kick some butt when it gets back!!!
Streak!

I have a friend that is a Fisher dealer. When I was talking with him about how much I liked the F-75 he told me that he had only sold around 8 units at the time. And out of 8 units, he has had 7 of them returned with problems with either the coil or coil connector causing erratic problems like some of you have described. I don't like buying lemon machines either...I had one with the Excel several years ago...but some times lemon units do get out in production runs. Since the buy out, Fisher seems to have had an increase in that area but maybe they will get a grip on it and be like they use to be.

I really love my F-75. We have an F-70 now to compliment it and I am growing to really like it. It is a lot more stable around electrical areas.

Tempers may fly...... but this may also mean that 'problems may be resolved' by simply posting/inquiring. When you spend $1K on a unit.... you have a certain MINIMUM level of expectations. And intermittent problems are the worst type to troubleshoot.

As long as 'truth'.... GOOD OR BAD..... is posted; some 'frustration/temper' is understood.

And ONCE AGAIN..... by virtue of the VOLUME of posts......,,,,,,the variations of F-75 performance/operating characteristics (ailments) are TOO great....to be discounted as 'user error'. Sure, there's going to be SOME user set-up error.... BUT....... certainly not enough to "blame all" on user error.

The T-2/F-75 (since inception) are the most EMI sensitive units on the market...... so much so...... to my disliking,,, as I cried "show-stopper" before roll-out. Yet, I will NOT be without a F-75.

I have had to walk away from highly desirable huntable sites with the F-75 due to TOO much EMI (or would simply hunt it with a CZ).... and have learned to adapt/improvise/overcome with the F-75.

All said-n-done... I DO believe that a few units may have a bad coil... or possibly a defective unit. After released, it was discovered that a bad batch of coils existed. FTP will readily/gladly/WANTINGLY replace these coils.

Tom

Streak! said: "They LEARNED the machine...and turned it into a sucess story instead of a failure."

BAH! more of the same. This is just a way for someone to defend something that doesn't deserve to be defended.

The erratic mess that mine and my buddies F75 goes through (AND OTHERS IN THIS THREAD, and another thread right here on this forum only a couple days ago AND the link I provided above AND 20 others just like it on other forums - hence the "wildfire" comment from someone other than me) every couple of hours is beyond even your superior capabilities of understanding this very simple device. Hell even the physics and electonics are not difficult to understand. I work with electronics 20X more involved than these things everyday.

What I allowed myself to do was listen to a few carefully worded posts and field reports written by people who were GIVEN machines. Tough to get honesty in this hobby. People feel that if they spend $1000 they should defend it like they'd defend their mom INSTEAD of demanding a $1000 machine.

You specifically said that it wasn't made in Mexico like you were an authority. Then said it was a conglomeration like everything else in my house. That's exactly what I'm talking about.

Oh yeah, and that "one guy" you're talking about finally made an honest comment and got tattle on. I'm guessing he won't be getting any freebies for telling the truth.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2008 11:33PM by Shambler.

Demarcos detectors...NJ. check it out if you dont believe me. A year ago last april if memory serves.
I also believe that for every naysayer....there are many satisfied users in the field you never hear from. (that never post) what you dont seem to understand is that this ISNT directed at anyone that has legitimate repair issues. There are teething problems with ANY new product out there....but to dismiss ALL of them out of hand because of YOUR problems is just wrong.You may have had bad machines. you may have had an early batch of bad coils. You may just not be able to handle the 75.or just choose NOT to. My girlfriend doesnt like machines as talkative as the F75 either....but I dont hate her for it. what you choose to use and enjoy is your buisness. I LIKE my F75...as do a great many others. Its aint perfect....but name ONE machine that doesnt have limitations!!
And nobody got "tattled" on. The person in question told me to LIE for him. didnt happen!! Now your telling me your a member of the old boys club....and you'll defend someone that asks you to surrender your integrity? not a chance sunshine. I may not always be right.....but I'll always do what I THINK is right and honorable.(and truthful) EVEN if it costs me. Some others arent as upfront. Believe what YOU choose to believe. your going to anyway!!
soooo did ya take that VCR apart yet??? (your taking this WAYYYYYYYY too seriously)
Respectfully, Streak!

hi streak!
hell i just got mine and haven't used it yet!.looks ok!..find out tomorrow if it "hunts" allright!..gonna use "factory" and see if it runs stable!..keep the desc at 6 and go with (de) at 70 "gain!"..if it starts "bitchin" i'll set the gain lower,and possibly adjust the frequency to f-7!..sound right?..any and all input appreciated AND respected,because i am aware you have considerable time on this unit,and like everything else in life,nothing will take the place of experience!

regards!
(h.h!)
j.t.

Well after I dug an 1800 large cent at 13" and then found a old army sight that dated back to the 1830 and found buckles and old half dimes from the 1830s you name it the F75 found it. However they built it they built mine just right!

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

[www.youtube.com]

If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!

Just trying to help mabye you need another forum!

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

[www.youtube.com]

If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!

I'm with you on that!

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

[www.youtube.com]

If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!

Keep it electronic & technical. Stay away from 'personal'.

I just got my F75 yesterday and I took it out for a test run. GB was 88. Fe3O4 was 0.3. Interesting numbers. I live near gold fields about 150 Miles east of me.
I did have one odd problem when using my F75. It got very quiet. Actually it went deaf. I found a bad connection where the coil plugs into the case. I wiggled the coil wire and it came back to life. This was after I did a full reset because I figured it was something I did since it was a new unit for me. I am going to open up the connector today and check it out carefully. I have no hesitation in using a soldering iron.
Did you know you can change the frequency the F75 runs at by holding the red button down and then using the toggle trigger switch to go up and down in frequency. Default is freq 4. Sometimes changing frequencies will quiet things down.
Hey I am having a blast with my F75.

Let us know how the coil repair goes; then, subsequently..... how the hunting goes. The Freq shift option is in the owners manual....... and can.... (sometimes)..... quiet the unit down in some cases.

I will Tom. I sent her out yesterday. Probably be 2 weeks or so before I get it back. I have tried the freq shift in what I thought was EMI areas without much success. There is one town I just cant hunt in. I am looking at getting cz3d as a back up. I found one that has the 1121 serial number. I will be giving it a test run tomorrow. TMAN...

Check depth capabilities on the CZ-3D with a dime.

.... When the coil is fixed on the F-75 ,,,, it may cure a few other problems.

I have to say, I have been using my F75 for a few months now. I got it early this year and as soon as the weather got better I was out trying to figure out this detector. Sure my buddy was smoking me with his ACE 250, but I kept at it. I have found some pretty good finds with it so far, including two really nice Walking Liberty Half dollars.

I have tried just about evey combination you can think of. I had some problems with electric lines, but was still able to get good signals to come through all the chatter.

I tried a new setting yesterday, in the JE mode and even though there was a lot of chatter, I was still able to hear the good signals. I pulled out two 1944 Mercury dimes and four wheaties. Also found a lot of other coins and even pulled out part of a braclet. Yes there was a lot of chatter, but the good signals came through just fine. Even in Ohio in the hot dry Clay soil, I was able to dig some pretty nice finds.

Of course I'm still learning this detector. I still use other detectors also. But I am realing trying to learn my new detector. I guess sometimes I get tired of my buddy smoking me, but just when I think he is going to beat me for the day, I pick up something that makes my day.

Keep the faith. Learn your detector, what ever one you choose to learn and use.
I have 7 different detector's and everytime I pick one of them up, I learn something new. Heck every year, I get out the manual of the detectors I want to use for the year and re-read them. Also these good forums are a BiG help also.

Best of Luck to all of you,
Ringfinder

Update to the F75. I called and it was shipped yesterday. Bobby told me that they replaced the coil AND the battery springs. The rest of the machine checked out fine. Glad to know it wasnt all me. lol. It wont be here before the weekend so out I will go with the cz3d and see if I can find some silver. TMAN...

Good to hear. Let us know. ... In fact, let us know how you do with the 3D.

I will Tom. I went to Texas for a week and havent detected with it except for the first weekend I had it. I pulled 15 wheaties and 2 mercs that weekend. Hopefully I will get a few more this weekend as well. TMAN...

Well I took the cz3d today to an old park with my buddy GOIO and his SE. Man that place has a lot of trash. I couldnt hardly get a target and when I did it was 50/50 high tone/iron. I got 5 clad coins, my buddy popped out about 15 clad 5 wheaties and a merc. lol.

What I found odd was I got 4 good 4 way nickel tones at about 2-3 inches. They were all beaver tails (no ring attached). That happened the last time I went there. I was running enhanced at 4 sens. The ground balance was just a tad below 3. Does any one ever have that kinda result?
Oh well, I guess I gotta find a more quiet area, cause for now my luck aint to good with trashy areas with this baby. TMAN...