Fisher interface

woodbutcher

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Fisher made a statement long ago that they would fight the war against bad user interfaces on machines..And even today I think they have the best looking screen made,with the exception on whites high definition colored v3i,that thing is like looking at a movie screen.
The only reason I bought a Fisher F5 was because I thought the screen and controls looked amazing.Ive seen a lot of people say the f5 is a omegga 8000,I couldn’t disagree more.I think frequencies and the ability to share coils is where it ends..F5 is more f70 in my opinion,it’s all fisher.
One thing I like about the f5 is there is no menu to sort through,all the buttons and control knobs are right there,no looking or scrolling to do,period.And I think the knobs are cool.
The ground balance is on the bottom right box (phase),it runs and gives a continuous REAL TIME readout of the ground.The lower left box is what you have your ground balance locked at,just push the phase button any time and the ground balance will sync,and lock to what the real time (phase)box is reading.Very easy.
Another useful part of the real time ground balance box is,when I hit a coin those REAL TIME numbers move a few up or down when swinging over the target.When I hit a good sounding junk target,even rusty nails hightoning,,those REAL TIME phase numbers are sporadic,all over the place..Just a great feature,I can call iron and junk hightoning almost every time.
The confidence meter is good,but more suited for cleaner ground where you can really lock on a target.
Threshold,set to +9 and 30 sensitivity bangs hard on my 8 inch merc dime..Sens at say 90 in a Emi area,turn threshold to - 3 or 4 and its real quite..I can turn threshold to -9 and sens at 80 and hit my 8 inch merc hard...Very versatile machine with the sensitivity and threshold at your fingertips,and use them together.
Fishers and the nickel tone,f70,F75ltd2 give a nickel a hightone in 3+ tones which is cool..The F5 In 4 tones gives the nickel its own tone seperate from the other 3 tones,and it’s in your face when you hit a nickel,and visual ID is spot on,not all over the place.Nickels are a solid 28,30 and when it hits 30,32 it’s always a beaver tail.I will say this,for a 7 kHz machine I have yet to use another machine that hits and identify a nickel better than the f5,both visually and audio wise.
I like all machines,and use a lot of different brands.They all have they’re place,and they all find metal.Just wanted to put a little info out on the f5,,and fishers in general.Still one of the best brands in the business,and the interface could possibly be the best in the business.Especially for us guys with bad eyes.
 

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I've always wanted to try one of the fishers,, but even though I haven't, it would be hard thing to beat the info, design and customization of the V3i. And frankly I believe the ctxs is fairly close.

Personally still believe the v3i is still a underrated machine, I believe it really gives more info on a broader range of targets.
 
I've always wanted to try one of the fishers,, but even though I haven't, it would be hard thing to beat the info, design and customization of the V3i. And frankly I believe the ctxs is fairly close.

Personally still believe the v3i is still a underrated machine, I believe it really gives more info on a broader range of targets.

Never used a v3i,but I totally agree it gives alot of info..I think the f5 tho gives some info easier,being all on the screen and no menu..But if you want the most info possible,v3i,it's a no brainier there,just hafto switch back and forth in polar plot,etc..Ive watched a hundred videos on the v3i,I'm still not up to the task tho.lol..And the screen ,just amazing in color.
 
V3 series are battery hogs.
Better get aftermarket battery if you plan on using loads.

Menu system long, too complicated.
V3 series do have flaw in GB system too.
Some may find this last statement above to be bold, or maybe folks are thinking how does sharpshooter know this. I suspected GB was flawed when I used detector.
See this link. Key on Geotech’s comments - an Engineer who was at White’s and was Big player with V3 series.

http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,120197,120431#msg-120431
 
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I love the retro knobs on the F5 and the F19/Teknetics G2+. I have not used an F5 but I have a big love/hate relationship with the F19/G2+. If that detector had more tones (even 3 would be good in disc mode) and a way to instantly go from all metal to disc and back without resetting everything it would be my favorite detector and I wouldn't have bought two of them and then sold them 6 months later!!!!!!!!! Otherwise, the screen, interface and entire form factor are really one of my favorites.:laughing::crying:

Jeff
 
Never used a v3i,but I totally agree it gives alot of info..I think the f5 tho gives some info easier,being all on the screen and no menu..But if you want the most info possible,v3i,it's a no brainier there,just hafto switch back and forth in polar plot,etc..Ive watched a hundred videos on the v3i,I'm still not up to the task tho.lol..And the screen ,just amazing in color.

The analysis screens like polar plot and sizing are fine, but still can be inaccurate unless you are in clean ground and 6" or less. BUT, the pinpoint screen also provides I feel the best info. It shows the 3 frequencies and which one it hits the strongest on, which I feel is close to 90-95% accurate. So those large chunks of cans that scream silver dollar, readily show up as aluminum. Falsing nails, show up as iron, and telling the difference between a nickel and pull tab is very easy.
 
I always liked the BH Land Ranger Pro screen. Almost bought one awhile ago but never did....
 

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yep the Land Ranger Pro and its clone the Teknetics Liberator have a great screen, interface and they are packed with features. If the pinpoint button worked half of the time they would be the very best bargain in the under $300 market.

Jeff
 
V3 series are battery hogs.
Better get aftermarket battery if you plan on using loads.

Menu system long, too complicated.
V3 series do have flaw in GB system too.
Some may find this last statement above to be bold, or maybe folks are thinking how does sharpshooter know this. I suspected GB was flawed when I used detector.
See this link. Key on Geotech’s comments - an Engineer who was at White’s and was Big player with V3 series.

http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,120197,120431#msg-120431

You are correct on the V3 being a battery hog. I got tired of feeding mine for almost 4 years.
 
I thought the f75 was the best balanced detector I ever owned. It was a joy to swing and was super deep IMO.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've always wanted to try one of the fishers,, but even though I haven't, it would be hard thing to beat the info, design and customization of the V3i. And frankly I believe the ctxs is fairly close.

Personally still believe the v3i is still a underrated machine, I believe it really gives more info on a broader range of targets.

I agree, i know it is a very deep machine. I just purchased another one as it was so cheap i could not pass up the deal. It still allows the user to do almost anything one can do with a detector as far as setting it up. But so critical you can mess one up in a heartbeat if your not careful. I pulled a two ringer from at least 10 inches with a detech accelerator 4x7 coil once.
 
V3 series are battery hogs.
Better get aftermarket battery if you plan on using loads.

Menu system long, too complicated.
V3 series do have flaw in GB system too.
Some may find this last statement above to be bold, or maybe folks are thinking how does sharpshooter know this. I suspected GB was flawed when I used detector.
See this link. Key on Geotech’s comments - an Engineer who was at White’s and was Big player with V3 series.

http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,120197,120431#msg-120431

I did the very best with mine when i GB and locked trak it. I never let it auto because if you lay it down to dig a target , it continues to compensate and if your coil is near a target when you pick it up to start hunting again your GB is off. Also key to success is to just take the stock dd coil off and forget you own it. The machine does much better with smaller dd coils and concentric coils. I still say it is or can be the best machine to date if it was refined and the flaws worked out. Sad it never happened. I keep expecting Fisher to basically take the v3 and work all the bugs out and release what the v3 series could have been. I think that is why Carl went there.
 
The analysis screens like polar plot and sizing are fine, but still can be inaccurate unless you are in clean ground and 6" or less. BUT, the pinpoint screen also provides I feel the best info. It shows the 3 frequencies and which one it hits the strongest on, which I feel is close to 90-95% accurate. So those large chunks of cans that scream silver dollar, readily show up as aluminum. Falsing nails, show up as iron, and telling the difference between a nickel and pull tab is very easy.

I have an old place to hunt that has what i believe to be liquor screw caps. They hit like silver on ever machine i have ever owned but the v3i where they hit like zinc pennies. Etrac 12-46 ctx 12-46 at 80's, every machine i have ever taken there shows them as very desirable targets. Another thing the v3i does extremely well is jewelry chains once you recognize the spectrograph response you will have no problem when you see another chain.
 
I did the very best with mine when i GB and locked trak it. I never let it auto because if you lay it down to dig a target , it continues to compensate and if your coil is near a target when you pick it up to start hunting again your GB is off. Also key to success is to just take the stock dd coil off and forget you own it. The machine does much better with smaller dd coils and concentric coils. I still say it is or can be the best machine to date if it was refined and the flaws worked out. Sad it never happened. I keep expecting Fisher to basically take the v3 and work all the bugs out and release what the v3 series could have been. I think that is why Carl went there.

Agree.
The ground balance of multi freq detectors, seems is difficult to get right or actually know how to do and keep performances intact.
One reason why we likely never seen any (for a while) what I call broader span freq span wise VLF multi freq detectors. And then eventually upped jumped the Nox.

Sometimes I wonder if there is such a thing as freq weighted GB when it comes to true multi frequency detectors.
 
Agree.
The ground balance of multi freq detectors, seems is difficult to get right or actually know how to do and keep performances intact.
One reason why we likely never seen any (for a while) what I call broader span freq span wise VLF multi freq detectors. And then eventually upped jumped the Nox.

I know i have messed up the V3i GB and sometimes i am not sure i have it right and my confidence level is low. I mostly play with the v3i , if i am going to a spot i have never hunted or can only have limited access too, i do not use v3i for the reasons you stated. But it is fun to tweak and experiment and play with when i am just casually detecting. I have been looking forward to what comes from Fisher (if it ever does) that Carl designs. I know i will get one if i can afford it.
 
Used F5 detectors are a GRAND choice for beginner detectorist not wanting to spend loads. I have a bud with one. I have used some. Don’t underestimate F5. Good coin hunter. Folks should watch and listen when my bud kicks booty using F5, and my brother using far more expensive detector is whining. Seems my brother finds pouch is lighter at the end of the excursions.
 
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