F2...final impressions below,......
- Thread starter DIGGER27
- Start date
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
Ya didn't hijack nothin' padner...that's what these here sixshooters are for
Seriously, the F2 will also hit the 8 inch mark, probably more, and you see I have a good time with mine.
I am not sure how good the pinpointing on your current unit is, but this one is very easy and very accurate.
My BH was not good at pinpointing, at all.
The deal on the Time Ranger is out of site, I have read some reviews and it seems pretty good.
It is/was the top of the line BH model, after all.
Then there are the Tesoro's...love them too.
Decisions Decisions...
blazin
Junior Member
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2010
- Messages
- 69
We just got back from another round with the unit and the discovery 1000. We really can't even use the discovery, think i'm going to hang that one up for sure. We were also realizing the depth may be somewhat lacking on our lone star as well. Found a ton of clad but we also had some strange ghost signals that we have no idea what they were.
JRountrey
New Member
This does it for me!!!
Well I am convinced. This is the best review I have read for the f2 and beleive me I have been searching high and low. I can't wait to order mine.
Well I am convinced. This is the best review I have read for the f2 and beleive me I have been searching high and low. I can't wait to order mine.
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
Well, I wrote this review, so you know where I stand on that decision.
I obsessed about buying my backup detector, like I do with everything else I buy, so I did tons of research.
The rapid recovery time was real important, the ability to pinpoint was second, and depth was third, if you can believe that.
I would have been happy with 6 inches, but I am getting 8 inches and beyond in my highly mineralized soil, so I am surprised and thrilled with that.
I can usually max out the sensitivity in most of my sites, which is a bonus and lets me get pretty deep.
I also have a Vaquero for when I really want to get down there, but I always bring both of my detectors because each one is fun to use but in different ways.
For a starter unit, backup unit, or even a main unit for the casual detectorist, this deal with an extra coil and pinpointer for $200 is just outstanding.
None of that would matter if the detector was not fun and easy to use, or did not produce the goodies.
For me, this thing hits all the marks.
HH
I obsessed about buying my backup detector, like I do with everything else I buy, so I did tons of research.
The rapid recovery time was real important, the ability to pinpoint was second, and depth was third, if you can believe that.
I would have been happy with 6 inches, but I am getting 8 inches and beyond in my highly mineralized soil, so I am surprised and thrilled with that.
I can usually max out the sensitivity in most of my sites, which is a bonus and lets me get pretty deep.
I also have a Vaquero for when I really want to get down there, but I always bring both of my detectors because each one is fun to use but in different ways.
For a starter unit, backup unit, or even a main unit for the casual detectorist, this deal with an extra coil and pinpointer for $200 is just outstanding.
None of that would matter if the detector was not fun and easy to use, or did not produce the goodies.
For me, this thing hits all the marks.
HH
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
I see several people now have just purchased the mighty F2 and are already staring to find and post some great first hunts.
I just replied to another post but there is some good info here that kind of sums up my experience with this unit so far, so I am going to repost it here and add a little more info as I think of it.
Digger27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One, I live in Alabama and the F2 seems to fit the territory around here just fine.
My Bounty Hunter was almost useless in this soil, but the F2 handles it really well.
I have dug clear signal dimes at 8" and I think it will go deeper than that with very little falsing.
I will actually probably be doing some searching in Florida as well. So how does the F2 hold up in sandy areas, especially wet sandy areas?
I used it on a little beach on a freshwater lake in Michigan last summer and it was fine.
The water edge at the beach at Oak Mountain State Park gives it fits, but I think there is some kind of metal under the sand all along the edge of the entire beach and up into the dry sand a little bit.
Saltwater will give most VLF detectors some problems and this one is probably not going to be an exception.
Turn down the sense and it probably will work well enough to find some not too deep targets.
How does it hold up against water in general? Not gonna be swimming, but how about against rain and maybe small puddles?
Coil, shaft, coil wire and connection to the coil is fine for water.
Get the electronics in the control box wet and you are gonna end up with a nice doorstop.
I wrap a gallon plastic zip bag around mine and staple or tape it shut on the bottom on soggy days and you can still use the buttons on the control panel and see the display pretty good.
Last question, I noticed in the demonstration that you can choose to eliminate certain metals in the options (such as steel etc) which is important because a lot of the areas I will be looking will be trash infested. My question is, and this is kind of a dumb one, silver and gold were not options of things to eliminate from the options. I know I would never want to do that, but it made me wonder what does gold and silver read as if they are not on the screen?
You can't knock out silver or larger coins or copper pennies, (dime signal),on this no matter how much notching you do.
Repeatable solid signals are all very digable and usually good targets
All objects can get bouncy if you are at or near the depth limit.
Iffy bouncy signals are sometimes good, but usually means one of three things...
Something deep and coin or ring size near the depth limit, or you are on the outside edge of a very large and deeper object like a can, or you found a stay-tab or something else with holes, or some weird shaped small foil.(see stay-tabs below).
I have gotten high tone bouncy signals a foot or more away from the large can type of trash,even large iron, especially in moist ground, but as I have learned the language of this fine unit I can usually tell now if it is a legitimate target.
Dug enough huge foxhole size holes at the beginning to figure this out.
The same thing will happen if you swing near big tot-lot metal posts with almost any sensitivity setting and the large coil.
That's what the smaller sniper coil is for.
Every silver ring I have and all other silver items no matter what shape up to a ring size always and consistently comes up in the low 70's as a dime with very good depth, unless it is larger like a quarter and then it will be in the 80-82 range and will always say quarter.
Half dollar and dollar coins will be from 85 to the 90's, and I expect that big silver bracelet I am destined to find will show up there, too
More than one object in a hole next to each other will be different.
I had a kinda solid signal once but it did bounce from 82 to the 90's and it was 2 quarters laying 1/2 way on top of each other.
Nickels will usually be between 29 and 33 and solid and show nickel.
34 and up and pull tab on the display will usually be a pull tab...but not every time, some will be nickels.
Full beaver tails or the beaver tails themselves are usually solid and above 33 but they can also be bouncy and up into the 50's, especially partial pieces of these.
Stay tabs, (hate these!), are always bouncy unless they are right on the surface and could range from the 20's to the 40's.
As a matter of fact, the thinner the object, especially if it has holes and is not solid, like stay-tabs, charms, and chains, the bouncier the signal no matter what it is made of.
Nails are usually in the 20's and mostly solid.
Gold...well, that's another story.
I have 2, small, 10k rings, a little bigger but still thin 14k ring and an old gold filling as test objects.
I don't know about larger items, but on these 4 I do not get great depth on any of them in air tests.
4-5 inches max...sometimes 6 but intermittent on 75% start up power, a little more on 100% power, (sensitivity).
Smaller gold objects usually come in as foil in air test right next to the coil, a little larger object will come in as nickel.
However when you start to move the object away from the coil just an inch or two, the signal will get bouncy from foil to nickel.
I suspect some gold objects, depending on gold content, shape, depth, size, position in the soil and other factors, can and will come up anywhere from nickel on down...and that includes iron!
I dug a zillion targets last year that were bouncy and iffy foil to nickel signals with my F2, and cut out at foil or just below nickel with my Vaquero.
They were always foil or pull tabs or parts of pull tabs...always...except 3 times.
Those 3 signals were small gold rings.
After the first one, I vowed to always dig any signal on any machine that I ever will use that said foil or above when not in all metal and I am hunting in disc, and I was rewarded with 2 more gold rings.
Unless I am just coin shooting, which this is excellent at doing, or relic hunting, every time I go out with this I usually just turn the sense to max, knock out iron and dig everything else...and I mean everything.
I also use a Propointer, so between the great pinpointing capabilities of the F2 and the Propointer, it takes very little time to recover most targets no matter how deep.
This is a volume business people...the more you dig the more really good stuff you will find.
Once in awhile you might dig a foil or pull tab signal and get surprised with something golden and shiny instead.
It happened to me, and that is the kind of surprise we live for in this hobby.
I found lots of great stuff from the get-go with this wonderful detector, and even more and better treasure as I continue to learn it's quirks and language.
HH
__________________
I just replied to another post but there is some good info here that kind of sums up my experience with this unit so far, so I am going to repost it here and add a little more info as I think of it.
Digger27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One, I live in Alabama and the F2 seems to fit the territory around here just fine.
My Bounty Hunter was almost useless in this soil, but the F2 handles it really well.
I have dug clear signal dimes at 8" and I think it will go deeper than that with very little falsing.
I will actually probably be doing some searching in Florida as well. So how does the F2 hold up in sandy areas, especially wet sandy areas?
I used it on a little beach on a freshwater lake in Michigan last summer and it was fine.
The water edge at the beach at Oak Mountain State Park gives it fits, but I think there is some kind of metal under the sand all along the edge of the entire beach and up into the dry sand a little bit.
Saltwater will give most VLF detectors some problems and this one is probably not going to be an exception.
Turn down the sense and it probably will work well enough to find some not too deep targets.
How does it hold up against water in general? Not gonna be swimming, but how about against rain and maybe small puddles?
Coil, shaft, coil wire and connection to the coil is fine for water.
Get the electronics in the control box wet and you are gonna end up with a nice doorstop.
I wrap a gallon plastic zip bag around mine and staple or tape it shut on the bottom on soggy days and you can still use the buttons on the control panel and see the display pretty good.
Last question, I noticed in the demonstration that you can choose to eliminate certain metals in the options (such as steel etc) which is important because a lot of the areas I will be looking will be trash infested. My question is, and this is kind of a dumb one, silver and gold were not options of things to eliminate from the options. I know I would never want to do that, but it made me wonder what does gold and silver read as if they are not on the screen?
You can't knock out silver or larger coins or copper pennies, (dime signal),on this no matter how much notching you do.
Repeatable solid signals are all very digable and usually good targets
All objects can get bouncy if you are at or near the depth limit.
Iffy bouncy signals are sometimes good, but usually means one of three things...
Something deep and coin or ring size near the depth limit, or you are on the outside edge of a very large and deeper object like a can, or you found a stay-tab or something else with holes, or some weird shaped small foil.(see stay-tabs below).
I have gotten high tone bouncy signals a foot or more away from the large can type of trash,even large iron, especially in moist ground, but as I have learned the language of this fine unit I can usually tell now if it is a legitimate target.
Dug enough huge foxhole size holes at the beginning to figure this out.
The same thing will happen if you swing near big tot-lot metal posts with almost any sensitivity setting and the large coil.
That's what the smaller sniper coil is for.
Every silver ring I have and all other silver items no matter what shape up to a ring size always and consistently comes up in the low 70's as a dime with very good depth, unless it is larger like a quarter and then it will be in the 80-82 range and will always say quarter.
Half dollar and dollar coins will be from 85 to the 90's, and I expect that big silver bracelet I am destined to find will show up there, too
More than one object in a hole next to each other will be different.
I had a kinda solid signal once but it did bounce from 82 to the 90's and it was 2 quarters laying 1/2 way on top of each other.
Nickels will usually be between 29 and 33 and solid and show nickel.
34 and up and pull tab on the display will usually be a pull tab...but not every time, some will be nickels.
Full beaver tails or the beaver tails themselves are usually solid and above 33 but they can also be bouncy and up into the 50's, especially partial pieces of these.
Stay tabs, (hate these!), are always bouncy unless they are right on the surface and could range from the 20's to the 40's.
As a matter of fact, the thinner the object, especially if it has holes and is not solid, like stay-tabs, charms, and chains, the bouncier the signal no matter what it is made of.
Nails are usually in the 20's and mostly solid.
Gold...well, that's another story.
I have 2, small, 10k rings, a little bigger but still thin 14k ring and an old gold filling as test objects.
I don't know about larger items, but on these 4 I do not get great depth on any of them in air tests.
4-5 inches max...sometimes 6 but intermittent on 75% start up power, a little more on 100% power, (sensitivity).
Smaller gold objects usually come in as foil in air test right next to the coil, a little larger object will come in as nickel.
However when you start to move the object away from the coil just an inch or two, the signal will get bouncy from foil to nickel.
I suspect some gold objects, depending on gold content, shape, depth, size, position in the soil and other factors, can and will come up anywhere from nickel on down...and that includes iron!
I dug a zillion targets last year that were bouncy and iffy foil to nickel signals with my F2, and cut out at foil or just below nickel with my Vaquero.
They were always foil or pull tabs or parts of pull tabs...always...except 3 times.
Those 3 signals were small gold rings.
After the first one, I vowed to always dig any signal on any machine that I ever will use that said foil or above when not in all metal and I am hunting in disc, and I was rewarded with 2 more gold rings.
Unless I am just coin shooting, which this is excellent at doing, or relic hunting, every time I go out with this I usually just turn the sense to max, knock out iron and dig everything else...and I mean everything.
I also use a Propointer, so between the great pinpointing capabilities of the F2 and the Propointer, it takes very little time to recover most targets no matter how deep.
This is a volume business people...the more you dig the more really good stuff you will find.
Once in awhile you might dig a foil or pull tab signal and get surprised with something golden and shiny instead.
It happened to me, and that is the kind of surprise we live for in this hobby.
I found lots of great stuff from the get-go with this wonderful detector, and even more and better treasure as I continue to learn it's quirks and language.
HH
__________________
Great reviews, and they match up to my field experience as well. The F2 does it's job for the price. I have hunted next to a good friend who has a White's QXT, and the F2 held it's own.
Of course operator experience makes all the difference in the world no matter what machine you run. I have been impressed with the F2's performance no matter where I hunt. I have dug targets at 8 in + with mine.
The battery life while using headphones is Great! The batteries lasted for several long hunts before losing 1 bar on the indicator.
Some complain about the design of the battery compartment and are afraid they may break the plastic battery holders.
What I do is push in on the battery with each index finger while slowly raising the rear of the battery out of the compartment. It seems to work well, and I haven't had to fear breaking the holders.
In other words, I love my F2 and I feel confident running it next to any detector out there. I know that it isn't a big dawg in the detector world, but mine has served me well in almost every situation I have subjected it to
Of course operator experience makes all the difference in the world no matter what machine you run. I have been impressed with the F2's performance no matter where I hunt. I have dug targets at 8 in + with mine.
The battery life while using headphones is Great! The batteries lasted for several long hunts before losing 1 bar on the indicator.
Some complain about the design of the battery compartment and are afraid they may break the plastic battery holders.
What I do is push in on the battery with each index finger while slowly raising the rear of the battery out of the compartment. It seems to work well, and I haven't had to fear breaking the holders.
In other words, I love my F2 and I feel confident running it next to any detector out there. I know that it isn't a big dawg in the detector world, but mine has served me well in almost every situation I have subjected it to
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
Yea, I kinda think it's ok, too.
Looks like a lot of newbies are coming to the same conclusion, also.
Looks like a lot of newbies are coming to the same conclusion, also.
dan
Elite Member
Digger, sorry I found our post so late, but here's a tip:
Different brands of 9-volt batteries are actually different sizes! One brand (wish I could remember, but can't - Duracell maybe?) is a fraction of an inch longer than other brands, and it won't fit at all in some products that use 9-volt batteries.
I found this quote on a stun-gun site: "Many people think that all 9 volt batteries are the same. Not true. Low quality batteries are not strong enough to power stun guns. Some 9-volt batteries are even too big in size to fit into our stun gun battery compartment. Stun guns produce electricity as their main purpose. It stands to reason that the source of that electricity come from a strong origin. The brand we and the manufacturer recommend is Eveready Energizer These 9-volt batteries have sufficient juice to power our stun guns. Off brand and especially non alkaline types are not made strong enough for the requirements of a stun device.
We've seen some 9 volt batteries stuck inside a battery compartment because the size of the battery was not a standard sized 9v such as Energizers."
dan
Elite Member
Ironic that you mention that because I felt like the opposite was true for my particular detector. The Duracells seem to be a little looser in the compartment, but I didn't actually measure to the millimeter or anything, just an observation I made.
I'm sure you're right - I don't remember which brand was too long, just that it was one of the major brands.
Thanks for sharing with us, your info is ALWAYS very helpful!!! I listen to your podcasts when I work-out at night. I get to learn things, hear some humor, and be entertained for the entire time while getting in shape for the summer.
I appreciate that you freely share your info with us instead of going mainstream and charging fees for a membership...which, I am sure most of us would gladly pay for if we had to.
You're the man Dan!
dan
Elite Member
Thanks for sharing with us, your info is ALWAYS very helpful!!! I listen to your podcasts when I work-out at night. I get to learn things, hear some humor, and be entertained for the entire time while getting in shape for the summer.
I appreciate that you freely share your info with us instead of going mainstream and charging fees for a membership...which, I am sure most of us would gladly pay for if we had to.
You're the man Dan!
I love doing the show, Rob. I was in radio for 40 years, and now I'm retired and I miss being a star. My podcasts give that back to me again!
Plus, I sell a few copies of my book now and then (
) to people who listen to the podcasts. Maybe I should put together a big infomercial and go on Home Shopping Network and QVC and REALLY move some books!
OKay, question for you Dan!
I listened to your podcast where you named names of detectors. My question concerns the comparison of the ACE 150 and the Fisher F2.
You said in your podcast that you were comparing the ace150 with the Fisher F2 instead of the ace250, because you felt it was unfair to compare a level one detector (F2) with a level two detector (250.)
My understanding based on comparisons on the internet is that the F2 is comparable to the Ace 250, and in most opinions the F2 is better than the 250 in a few areas, mainly target recovery speed and target separation.
So are you saying that the Fisher F2 compares mostly with the ACE 150, and that the Ace 250 is "That" much better than a Fisher F2 to warrant the ace 250 as a level two detector and the F2 a level one detector?
I listened to your podcast where you named names of detectors. My question concerns the comparison of the ACE 150 and the Fisher F2.
You said in your podcast that you were comparing the ace150 with the Fisher F2 instead of the ace250, because you felt it was unfair to compare a level one detector (F2) with a level two detector (250.)
My understanding based on comparisons on the internet is that the F2 is comparable to the Ace 250, and in most opinions the F2 is better than the 250 in a few areas, mainly target recovery speed and target separation.
So are you saying that the Fisher F2 compares mostly with the ACE 150, and that the Ace 250 is "That" much better than a Fisher F2 to warrant the ace 250 as a level two detector and the F2 a level one detector?
dan
Elite Member
So are you saying that the Fisher F2 compares mostly with the ACE 150, and that the Ace 250 is "That" much better than a Fisher F2 to warrant the ace 250 as a level two detector and the F2 a level one detector?
No, not at all!
I was simply counting "Level 1" as the lowest-priced detector from each manufacturer. I'd have used the Fisher F1, but there is no such thing!
Look at the retail prices (and these are the lowest-priced detectors from each manufacturer):
Whites Coinmaster - $179
Garrett 150 - $179
Tesoro Compadre - $189
Fisher F2 - $249
And then you have:
Garrett 250 - $249
So in effect, I was comparing three detectors retailing under $200 with another detector retailing for $250. Not really fair, but like I said, Fisher doesn't have a less-expensive machine.
On retrospect, it would have been more fair to use the F2, the 250, and the next-up-the-line Tesoro and Whites, to get the prices more equal. But then I would have been skipping two less-expensive "entry-level" detectors.
No good solution, no matter how you twist it.
Gotcha, I knew that you had a reason and figured that I would ask. I may have missed it in the podcast because my treadmill kind of drowns out the clarity of the speakers, and I didn't want to turn them up at 12:30 am and wake up the whole family.
Never used an ACE, but almost everyone who's used one would recommend one...
By the way, that podcast was what pushed me over the edge to spring for an F2. I am glad that I did!
Thanks bud, appreciate ya
Never used an ACE, but almost everyone who's used one would recommend one...
By the way, that podcast was what pushed me over the edge to spring for an F2. I am glad that I did!
Thanks bud, appreciate ya
Pasttom
Senior Member
FYI After a couple months scrubing my front & back yards I had cleaned things out. I thought. I then tried out the sniper coil and for grins checked the empty yard. ????????? I pulled another 25% or so that had magicly sneaked in while I was sleeping. The different coil, like a different machine just sees different targets. It is amazing! Go figure.
Go figure.
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
I only use Duracells since I get a pretty good deal on an 8 pack from Costco.
After the first one I put in got caught on the battery jacket, I haven't had any problems since.
I just push in the batteries pretty good before I lift them out, and they go in and come out pretty easily, nowadays.
Still a dumb design, I think.
If you break off one of the clips, you got problems.
As far as the sniper coil, it definitely helps in tot-lots and trashy sites.
Target separation is fantastic with the standard coil and even a little better with the sniper.
Still loving this thing, but I have been concentrating on trying to get good with my Vaquero for the last few months.
Since my Vaq is going back for service for the next 1-2 weeks, this will be my main detector for that time period.
Let's see if I can learn a few more things about this great little detector!
Of course I will add any more insights to this thread as I discover them.
And Dan, thanks for all your opinions here and your informative and entertaining broadcasts.
However since the real prices of the 250 and the F2 are so close,
($212 vs $215, not counting even the greater discounts most dealers offer if you contact them), I think the 250 is the one to be directly compared to the F2.
I picked the F2 because in my opinion, I think it still has the edge in this match up.
HH
After the first one I put in got caught on the battery jacket, I haven't had any problems since.
I just push in the batteries pretty good before I lift them out, and they go in and come out pretty easily, nowadays.
Still a dumb design, I think.
If you break off one of the clips, you got problems.
As far as the sniper coil, it definitely helps in tot-lots and trashy sites.
Target separation is fantastic with the standard coil and even a little better with the sniper.
Still loving this thing, but I have been concentrating on trying to get good with my Vaquero for the last few months.
Since my Vaq is going back for service for the next 1-2 weeks, this will be my main detector for that time period.
Let's see if I can learn a few more things about this great little detector!
Of course I will add any more insights to this thread as I discover them.
And Dan, thanks for all your opinions here and your informative and entertaining broadcasts.
However since the real prices of the 250 and the F2 are so close,
($212 vs $215, not counting even the greater discounts most dealers offer if you contact them), I think the 250 is the one to be directly compared to the F2.
I picked the F2 because in my opinion, I think it still has the edge in this match up.
HH
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
Thank you Rob...always a pleasure to try to give a little insight to others.
HH
HH
