Finaly the F5 is here!

Forino said:

The lower rod and the coil screw have to be some sort of composite plastic or the coil would pick them up. Although I do not have an F5; I'm sure they used some type of fiber composite for the rod which should be strong.

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Proflemoi said:

Hello all..

Well finally my F5 came via UPS today. I was very pleased ... but as luck would have it I got delayed at work and could not get home too early to give it a try plus it was raining to beat the band!

Here are my first thoughts right out of the box: (Remember these are just my opinions, your mileage may vary

Note: I bought my detector though a well known vendor online...


Likes:

1. The F5 looks great... very cool.
2. The unit is VERY light... Which is a feature that I like
3. The stock coil is smaller then I thought.
4. The display is huge and very easy to read.
5. The F5 is pretty easy to assemble
6. I like the fact that it had Energizer batteries in the unit, I expected a cheep no brand name.
7. The Bounty Hunter Pinpointer I got for $5 as part of the deal seems like it will work quite well... I was testing it around the house tonight and I can see right away that having a pinpointer is a MUST HAVE... and for $5 bucks .. hey ya can't go wrong.
8. The coil seems well made, its got a little weight to it... but no so much that the detector is heavy.
9. Access to all the knobs and buttons is very easy

Dislikes:

1. The bar was a bit hard to get together
2. The lower rod is made of plastic and feels a bit cheap
3. The Coil connects to the lower rod via a plastic screw and it also felt a bit cheap.
4. The F5 manual is OK... not great. I learned a lot more watching Bill Lads Video on Youtube.
5. Limited Coil choices just now... I have to admit that is really a draw back.

Accessories that came with my F5:

Most of the Free stuff I got from the vendor was cheap.

1. The bag is just enough to keep the dust off it really. The website I bought the detector from lists the bag for $49.95... WAY Over priced so I was thankful it was "free". (Well almost, I paid $14.95 in extra shipping to get the free stuff shipped. The headphones ar with $15 ... but that is about it ....

2. The headphones are ok, not he best I have seen but they will work for now. I actually got a set of KOS ear clip phones so that I could put on my hat and be all that obvious so I will keep the other headphones as a spare set.

3. The digger that comes with it is really only suited for beach and sand digging and the belt the pouch is very poorly made.


Observations for newbies:

1. If you are going to be doing ANY land hunting do yourself a favor and get yourself a Lesche or some other heavy duty digger, something that will cut in the the turf.

2. Get a pinpointer, I can see right away that having a pinpointer will cut down on your digging time.

3. Buy yourself a set of gloves to protect your hands and keep them clean.

4. Get a good finds pouch... something that you can hold some tools in will be nice.

5. Get some kind of Junk apron so that you have a place to hold on to the junk you find until you can get to a trash can.

6. If you are going to beach hunt get yourself a metal beach scoop that you can push into the sand with your foot.

7. Get yourself a coil cover and protect that investment!

8. Bring a Towel along for many different uses.

Well those are some observation right off.... I am sure I will have more. Was the unit worth $499.... hmmm hard to say until i can field test the unit... but at first glance I would have priced the unit closer to the $349 level... but that may go up if I can test the unit in the field...

Prof

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foreverRich said:

Thanks for the observations. Having used the F2, I think you will like the F5. Those add on items by the dealer are way overpriced (retail) so you think you are getting a better deal. Almost no one would pay what they claim the items are worth. Bottom line is always to get the detector at a fair price. You might want to check, I think the Bounty Hunter coils will work on your machine. Let us know how you like the detectors performance. Never have too many honest "field tests" by people who actually use the detectors. Best of luck!!

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SkiWhiz said:

Wrong, wrong,wrong. This is a myth. You can have the coil screw/bolt & nut plastic,metal or whatever. Yes that is a fact, try it. Alot of the older Tesoro's (as did other brands)came with a metal bolt and nut to hold the coil to the lower rod. The coil/detector will not pick up the metal bolt/nut because it is moving with the coil. Try it & see for yourself. Steve.

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Forino said:

I did not know that. I will certainly try. Thanks for the correction.

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SkiWhiz said:

Some people think that a metal bolt and nut doesn't do as well as a plastic one but I have tried different detectors using a plastic bolt & nut then tried it with a metal bolt & nut and didn't see any difference. Steve.

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Rudy said:

Steve, you may see a difference depending on the detector and the specifics.

You won't see much if any difference in motion discriminate mode since there is no relative motion between the coil and the mounting bolt.

But, if the detector has a preset ground balance for a non-motion all-metal mode, and you switched from a nylon to a metal bolt, or from metal to nylon, now your non-motion all-metal mode is significantly out of balance.

If the detector has manual or automatic ground balancing this can be compensated, but many low end detectors have preset ground balance and they will be affected.

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