So I've had the new F44 in hand now for about 2 1/2 weeks, and have put around 20 or so hours on it. I really like this machine...
I've only run it so far with the stock coil, but Sunday morning early I'm going to break out the sniper coil and see if the 4th revelers dropped any goodies in the park...
Anyway... At first I thought it had different volumes for deeper vs. shallower targets, but as some of you more technologically advanced than I am type of folks no doubt already know, it does not. What it does have is a lower volume setting you can use for iron targets while everything else comes in higher volume. It took some getting used to but I like it! I finally figured the volume thing out after about a week. Slow learner... but at least I finally got it.
I'm getting very good depth with this machine, found a 1940 Washington quarter a couple days ago at 10", and the depth reading was pretty much right on too. I've had other targets read deeper and be shallower, so there must be some variation there depending on the dirt and the target.
Most of the time I'm running it in the preset Jewelry mode. I like this since it's just got the iron notched out, and for some reason the tones sound best to me in this mode. I've run it in coin also, and set a custom mode of just the high silvers, but jewelry seems to be my favorite general all purpose setting. Oh, and I love, love, love that it runs on 2 AA batteries! That makes it dirt cheap to run. I haven't had to put new batteries in yet, so the life on them seems pretty darn good. I haven't been using the back light though, haven't needed it, but it's my understanding that can cut down the battery life substantially.
As far as comparing it to the old F2, there's no way to compare. They're completely different animals and share nothing in common but the Fisher name. All I can say is that the F44 found the Washington and an old wheat in an area I have really gridded and hammered, so it's definitely seeing things the F2 missed. The Washington was within inches of where I pulled out my one and only Merc when I first started with the F2. Amazing I missed it then, and more amazing I was able to find it now.
The controls are easy to figure out, nothing too complex, but it gives you tons of options for customization. Once I read and re-read the book on ground balancing I got the hang of that too, which was the only thing I really had any trouble with initially. Now it's no big deal at all.
I have had it out in light rain, and it was awesome not to have to rush back to the truck for a rain hood for the thing. It's really nice not to have to worry about covering it or frying it when a little rain blows through. Overall I'm really very much pleased with this machine and very glad I went ahead and got it. It's opened up a whole new world of detecting for me, not only because it's safe to use in the rain, but because it so much more advanced than the F2. It may not be the fanciest machine out there, but I can see it keeping me busy for a good long time to come.
