Under the helpful hints column....
I will add to this post as I think of them and have time.

If you set a notch anywhere the only sure way to get rid of it is to do a reset.
I don't care what the slashes say on top of the screen show if you set one then reverse it....don't trust them because way often then not they are lying to you...this is some sort of glitch in the programming.
Once I accidentally hit that notch and changed it from 1 to 2 when scrolling though my settings but set it back down to 1.
I was using low disc at the time and hunted for awhile before I realized I was no longer hearing that low iron growl anymore.
I did a reset, changed back to my previous settings and it came back.
The same thing happened a couple of other times with higher notches.
If you mess with this feature always do a reset after...always.


Hunting in heavy trash try setting your sense down to the 40 and under range...I usually go to 30.
No matter what coil you are using, even the big DD's, this will focus the scanning field down to a laser-like scalpel and help you pick out goodies among a sea of garbage.
Don't worry much about depth, it can still get pretty deep...use DE for the fastest response time.
Here is a silver ring I found next to a 50 year old tennis court with the amount of trash you might expect from that kind of site and with the big DD coil, too.
Plus I also found many coins there hiding and I have done the same in many other garbage filled sites.
With these settings it was easy.

Very nice ring and great advice too. Thanks for sharing both DIGGER.

I don't understand this statement -

"Once I accidentally hit that notch and changed it from 1 to 2 when scrolling though my settings but set it back down to 1"

Is that something unique to the F70 ? I don't think I have anything on my F75, for changing a notch from 1 to 2 (?) What does that mean ?

As I thought I understood it, on the F75, a notch is a range of target readings, such as 1-15 (iron), 16-25 (foil), 26-35 (nickel), 36-55 (tabs), and 56-65 (zinc). I believe you can notch out (minimum) half of a range, or the whole range, or multiple ranges. The only time I see a 1 in the notch setting window, is when there is nothing notched. Isn't this correct? It seems that the 1 & 2 that you mentioned would be in the same notch (the low end of iron), and would both create the very same notch (1 - 7), if you used either to create a notch. Or again, were you referring to something unique to the F70 ?
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Also, as I understand your tip about lowering the Sensitivity down to 30 or 40, you are saying that "the lower the Sensitivity, the more concentrated the detecting beam". Is this correct ?

Notches....
This feature is not understood by many, it works a little differently on these Fishers than on a few other brands and models and can really screw you up and make you miss things... and you don't even know it is happening if it does.

Let me lay it down for you.
First thing is when you are new at his the best advice is to stay away from this feature.
Don't turn it on, try not to move that notch setting off of that number 1 even by accident.
You will have plenty of time to learn to deal with it but if you do you had better have a good understanding of how it all works.

The notch feature on the F70 and the F75 is basically the same except for two things...the controls to set a notch are different on the F75 because you use that one button and knob to do it and we F75 guys use the pad buttons and you can notch in or out only half sections on the F75 in any area if you want but on the F70 if you set a notch in any section the whole thing is affected...you can't do halves...otherwise exactly the same.
This control over notching out only half sections is probably the one upgraded feature I wish I had on my F70 but alas, not my lot in life.

So let's say we want to set a notch.
1 on these things is off, no notch, I guess they couldn't figure out how to get the word OFF on the screen instead.

Once you move off that number 1 to 2, 12, 22, 32 or anything up the range you turn this feature on.
Pretty sure the F75 does this too and I assume you can run up through all the numbers from 2-65 like the F70 can but I am too tired to look at he manual right now so I hope this is correct.
Got that...1 is off but 2 or any o the number turns it on, I don't care if it is on 2 and only one number away it is like a knob on a radio...1 is off and 2 or any other number turns the radio on.
You know it's on by the slashes you see covering up or not covering up the icons on the screen.
So now you are done with the notch stuff so you want to turn it off and get back to default 1, (OFF), settings..back to normal.
Simple...just reverse the process you used to set them, right?
Use the controls and unset them, move the numbers back down and unset them and you know you have done this because those slashes went away one by one.
Now you are back to 1 on the notch setting, no slashes are seen so all is right with the world again.
Ahhhh...not so fast Babalouie...you might think you got rid of all the notches but this thing is sneaky, there is a good chance you actually didn't.
As I said it can and often does lie to you...a glitch in the programming.

I accidentally moved from 1 to 2 and set a notch in iron.
I immediately moved it back down and unset it correctly...but it was still set...it knocked out all my iron even though it said it took care of it.
I was using disc but it was set on 1...2 is higher so it knocked out my entire iron range from 1-15.
The funny thing is I don't recall actually doing a complete set on that notch.
You highlight the notch section using the menu button, use the plus and minus buttons to move up and down the line to the area you want to notch and then you are supposed to hit the menu button again to set it.
I don't remember doing that although thinking about it I probably did.
I was scrolling though the list on the screen and when it stopped on notch I thought I was up highlighting that program setting because I usually leave it there when I hunt to switch back and forth between the two to check targets all the time.
I then hit the + button to switch to program 2 but it didn't...The number moved from 1 to 2 because I still had the notch feature highlighted.
I must have hit the menu button at that point and actually set the notch in iron.
When I realized I wasn't hearing the low iron growl anymore, very noticeable because in my sites iron is everywhere and I hear that growl all the time with almost every move of the coil, I hit the menu button expecting to see the program line light up but saw the notch line was highlighted instead and saw it was on 2, not my usual 1.
I moved it back down to 1, hit the menu button to reverse the process and unset it and continued on...but still no low iron growl.
I thought I had hit a patch with no iron so I didn't think anything of it but a few minutes later I did the reset, set it up again using my previous disc settings on program 1 and that growl came back.

Reef...on yours you have to get to the notch section and spin the knob to get to the notch numbers you want to set so to do this accidentally like I did isn't very likely or as easy to mistakenly do as it is on the F70.

It has happened to me in other areas too...I knocked out tabs once with a notch and couldn't hear one of them in a really trashy site, and then I unset it correctly, all the tab slashes went away and you know what...I still couldn't hear a tab after that to save my life.
The notch was still set, it tried to fool me but by then I knew to check and make sure and then I took care of it the only sure way you can do it with these things...I turned the unit off and then back on and did a reset.
It is the only way to be 100% sure...The only way.

As I tried to tell that Charlie Tuna guy if you buy one used, if you lend yours out and get it back, if you set a notch at any time just for a second or just to see how it works you need to do a reset and start over from default settings or you might have notches set that you don't know you have.
I would hate to lose a gold ring because I set a notch in tabs and then didn't do a reset when I was done.
It can and does happen...why else do you think that most Fisher guys tell anyone that complains about wonky behavior...especially the ones that complain they can't pick up a nickel or any other target type in the lower ranges to do a reset?
I tried to tell Charlie Tuna to do this till my fingers went numb but he just never got it.
These things save settings when they are powered down, if you set a notch, turn it off and power up again on the next hunt any notches that you set will still be in effect...it does not knock them out by powering down...you have to take 10 seconds out of your busy life and do a reset.

I suspect there have been a whole lot of F70F75's sold super cheap by clueless owners because they messed around with the notch at some point, never did get rid of them like they thought, could no longer pick up targets so they dumped them off at ridiculously low prices to unsuspecting suckers because they were useless and broken.
We Fisher guys make up a lot of that sucker group...all we do is do a reset the minute we get one of these horrible non working pieces of garbage and miracle of miracles...everything starts working perfectly again.
Somebody is the sucker in these transactions but it usually ain't us.

As long as we are talking about notching I might as well tell you how it works on these things.

If your disc is set low, say at 5 in iron, all notches you set above that disc setting will be like regular notching...they will be knocked out.
However if you set your disc high, say at 50, every notch you set below that point will be notched IN.
This can come in handy.
I have some settings I use sometimes where I set the disc high at 65 to knock out everything but the high stuff looking for old coins but I notch in foil and nickel in case some gold is hanging around.
I could do it another way too I suppose, 15 on the disc, notch out tabs and zinc, but this is just as good.
These things are programmed like Microsoft had their hand in it...a couple of redundant features...more than one way to do essentially the same thing.

So remember that...disc low notches set above will be out.
Disc high notches set below will be in.

One cool thing is you can set more than one notch on both these units if you want to.
I can notch out foil, then zinc or any other section or combination.
On the F75 you can notch out lower foil, higher tabs and all kinds of things at troubling sites but still leave half of those sections in if you want...more control over notching areas on the F75 than the F70.
That's one reason why the F75 cost hundreds of dollars more than the F70..more features and control over those features...or why it used to.
The anniversary F75 at the $500-$600 range with all these extra features and control make it one of the if not the best values on the market today on such a feature rich detector.

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Yes, lowering the sensitivity will concentrate the beam as you put it.
A sight to behold and experience when you are easily able to pick out good targets so effortlessly in total trash heaps with even that big DD coil.

Okay, I know I am the Grasshopper here, and I agree 100%, with most everything you described, but with a couple of exceptions, concerning the newer F75.

To set a notch on "my" F75, I must first move down to the Notch feature. If the unit has been recently reset, it will be on 1, indicating that it was "off", (however, it may be on the last number that was used to create or remove a previous notch). Either way, I now turn the notch setting to a number that is within the "half-range" that I want to notch out, and then, I must "hit the menu button", to actually accept, or create that notch. Just moving the dial from 1 to whatever, does nothing and does not operation.

Yes, if you turn the notch from 1 to 2, or 12, or 22, or 32, it will show a line across that half icon (half range), whichever one you happen to stop on, but it does not create the notch - until you hit the menu button, to accept.

I'm not sure about the significance of those numbers you identified 2, 12, 22, 32, but setting notches at those numbers would notch out the following:
2.....lower half of iron (1-7)
12...upper half of iron (8-15)
22...upper half of foil (21-25)
32...upper half of nickel (31-35)

Once a notch is created, that half range, is of course eliminated from detection, or notched out. Turning the setting knob back below that half range does not remove the hash line across the icon. It remains there, until you actually remove that notch, or do a factory reset.

For example, once you set a notch, let's say on 38 (that's within the lower half of tab), you can still dial the number back to 1, or anywhere, but that notch set at 38 (which covers 36-45) will remain in place, it will still function, and that hash line on the icon will remain. BUT, if you go back to notch, dial back to whatever number (38) you set it on, or any other number within that same half range, and then hit menu again, it will remove the notch, the hash line, and you will once again detect that half range.

And yes, Disc Level and Notch work in conjunction with each other. Just got to remember, for instance, if you have a notch set (foil 16-25), and you dial up the Disc Level to 65, then you just notched that foil back in, while everything else is out, up to 65.

This may be some of the improvements that have been added to some of the newer units, I don't know.

You got it...you can't just turn the notch setting to any number and expect it to be set if you just stop there for a second...you have to hit your menu button to activate it.
Go to your notch setting and I guess you spin that knob to get to the numbers you want to set....don't you see every number pop up on the screen as you increase those numbers up to 65?
I assume it does just like mine so those numbers I used were just examples.
You can set a notch anywhere up to 65...setting a notch anywhere in your half sections will knock out those partial areas so where you set them in those half ranges doesn't really matter as long as you end up somewhere in the area you want to notch.
Again on mine this is slightly different in that I can't do half sections.
If we set a notch on any foil number the whole range is affected, any nickel number the whole range again and so on.
I was hunting in a site once where there were a ton of problematic higher number beaver tail tabs and many but not as much lower number sta- tabs.
If I had your ability I could have easily dealt with this and knocked out those higher tabs but leave in the lower ones and have at least a slight chance at some gold without the what if's bothering me.
I ended up knocking out all the tabs because I was tired and didn't want to deal with them on this hunt...but I wasn't thrilled with doing that at all the dyed in the wool gold hunter that I am.


According to the manuals it says to reverse the process to get rid of your notches...move to a number in that notch range and hit that menu button again to get rid of them.
I know you understand this because of this statement...

" BUT, if you go back to notch, dial back to whatever number (38) you set it on, or any other number within that same half range, and then hit menu again, it will remove the notch, the hash line, and you will once again detect that half range."

From the way you stated this I am assuming you believe that exactly what they said in the manual is true and that process will get rid of the notch.
Nice to have such a rosey and optimistic outlook on life and actually believe everything you read in that manual.

Here is the big, in your face, believe me or don't if you want but if you don't you will be screwing yourself over...point.

THE MANUAL IS WRONG, YOURS, MINE THE WHOLE CRAZY WORLD AND ALL THE MANUALS IN IT ARE WRONG REGARDING GETTING RID OF NOTCHES!!!!!!

Yes, sometimes doing the reverse process works and you can get out ofthe notch points just as the manual says you can but here is the kicker....
Sometimes...a lot of the times this does not work at all.
I don't care if you did it exactly right, I don't care if those slashes go away, I don't care if if your wife promised to love and cherish you forever in your wedding vows, in real life all of these things can turn out to be the opposite of what you believed them to be and wrong, wrong, wrong!!!

The fact is unsetting a notch does not unset the notch some of the time even though all indicators say you did.
It just doesn't...most of the clued in owners of both the F70 and the F75 know this...we have experienced this so it is a matter of fool me once but you won't fool me again sort of thing.

The only sure, 100% foolproof way to get out of notches is to do a reset.
That is the only for sure way to clear them out.

If you don't believe me set some notches in foil, nickel and tabs in any site when looking for high conductive coins then unset them the way it says in the manual to get rid of them and go look for gold.
When you are done call me and tell me where this site is so I can come over with my rig that has been reset and I know for sure has no notch points so I can take a run at it.
I don't have enough gold in my possession just yet.

Comprenda !

No problems here. I understand what you are saying - completely. You just can't trust the program.

I was only explaining what I had already experienced, and what I likewise confirmed today, just before I made my post.

You said >> If you don't believe me set some notches in foil, nickel and tabs in any site when looking for high conductive coins then unset them the way it says in the manual to get rid of them and go look for gold.

When you are done call me and tell me where this site is so I can come over with my rig that has been reset and I know for sure has no notch points so I can take a run at it.

Well, I didn't exactly do that, but here is what I did do, just to satisfy my own renewed curiosity.

I checked a piece or iron, that I keep with my my test samples. It always reads 10-11, along with a "low grunt".

I turned the F75 off, then I turned it on and did a reset.
Then I ground balanced, and applied my normal settings
Then I Notched at 9, which got a 8 - 15 notch (upper iron)

I checked the piece of iron again - nothing - not a peep !

I Notched at 9 again, and it removed the notch, and the hash line.

To verify, I checked the iron again & got 10 -11, along with a "low grunt"

That is all that I did to satisfy myself that it worked. Maybe there is something strange going on with foil, nickel, tabs (?) notches. Who knows.

Regardless, I always do a reset, when I first turn on the machine, and if I mess with notches, I do one when I done, just as you described, and just to make sure. When I first started messing with the notches, I got one set one day, but wasn't real sure how to get rid of it, so I did a reset. Since that worked, that's how I now, make sure they are gone

Yea...it worked that time....doing that a few times more you might find out one time it won't.
Or it could forever...no way to tell, no way to trust it.

I never do a reset every time I hunt, but I definitely do anytime I go near that notch.

Yea, I understand, and I do appreciate the warning.

As for the reset, it's just so easy to do, I guess I got in the habit of doing one, whenever I turn it on (the first time each day, that is). Not if I just shut down for a snack, or to move to another spot, etc, but just at the beginning of the detecting day (or if notches are involved) And if you have set several notches, a reset is actually easier than "un-notching" each one, individually !

Not that you need it with DST and all, but when we that are without it come across some heavy jumpy EMI we can change the frequency which sometimes helps but many owners say doing a reset at sites with a lot of jumpy behavior sometimes helps to really calm things down also...sometimes.

Yep, the new F75 can change frequencies (F1-F4) too, and I do so, often. I've got right many places, on a golf course where I live and frequently detect, that has terrible interference from something. This F75 goes absolutely berserk, numbers running the gambit with every possible sound, and I have yet to be successful in quieting it down, no matter what. I've reset, gone through all four frequencies, dropped the Sensitivity down to 30 or 40, but nothing seems to work, other than moving away to another spot. I run into these conditions at the approximate same locations, over and over. Must be some kind of underground electrical wires, or something similar.

Don't despair, you haven't tried everything.
Go past 30 on sense, down to the 20's, teens...even single digits.
You cannot believe how deep this thing can get even set that low.
Lower the thresh if you need too also...that affects noise in high EMI locations.
Change to 1 tone, monotone...affected by EMI the least.

Try motion all metal with lowered thresh and sense settings...that could work because all metal works the best for me overall in extreme EMI.

I have found targets even in sites that you described like this, but I have tons of experience you don't picking out better somewhat repeatable signals from all that noise and jumping.

Still might not work, there might be underground stuff or other problems causing this that just can't be overcome but nothing ventured nothing gained.