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First Texas Value - Fisher F44, Teknetics Eurotek, Patriot, Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro, Etc.


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I have the greatest respect for the F75 Ltd but I suspect the Patriot is the wolf in sheep's clothing here. Not sure what to make of the switch from concentric coil on F70 to DD coil on Patriot as I am rather fond of concentric coils but DD is all the rage these days so probably the better way to sell it. There is a DD variant of the F70 available also for $50 more but the concentric has normally been the stock coil. Click on picture for larger view.

teknetics-patriot-dd-fisher-f70-concentric.jpg

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I really need to post script my comments....The ground minerals where I detect on a routine basis are stronger than what most people would normally encounter.   All the units work great in normal dirt.  I don't have normal dirt.   In fact I don't even think it can be called dirt. So when I am discussing detector performance I am speaking specifically to my how it works in my dirt or what ever you call it.

I live at the base of granite mountains.  The granite breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces and has been washed out in large alluvial fans and on outward.  So I'm basically detecting granite.  When we want grass, we bring in fill dirt and lay sod on it.   The park across the street from me gives a 1 (not.1) reading on my F75 FE304 graph using the little 5x10 DD coil.   That is one bar below max. 

The greater the fill, the better the detector performance.  As the fill layer decreases the detector performance tends to get erratic.

Now I can go into the river valley and detect in the silt and do ok unless I hit sand.   I can do ok on the other side of the river unless I get on top of a lava layer.   Then I'm back to that fill scenario where performance depends on the depth of the soil over the lava.  That's home.  Travel adds more variation.

When I have the opportunity I always try to get a detector to perform well in my area.   But when all is said and done, my ground conditions are not considered the norm.  

What I'm basically saying is that my views are about how the units work in my conditions and many people will not ever experience my conditions.

HH
Mike

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Well Mike, I am extremely interested in hearing what you have to say. First, you just described the ground conditions here in Reno to a tee. Dimes start to read ferrous at 5-6" with most machines.

Too many forums are based back east and focus on detecting milder ground. People who talk about 10" dimes are living in a different world than people in the western states in particular.

That, and you are one of the few people I pay serious attention to when you post because you know your stuff, especially as regards jewelry detecting. You catch me when I post something wrong - I love that!

So please, yes, let's hear your views as they are vitally needed by those who live where the detecting is not easy. These people are underserved and think they are doing something wrong or that their machines are broken because they do not get the depths people talk about on other forums. It is important to get the word out it is not like that everywhere. You will find most people on this forum are working in areas like you are in yourself. That is the norm on this forum, not the exception. 

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Hey Mike. I see you use the F5 and I was curious about it.  I picked up one of the last Teknetics Omega version 4 8000s last week when they put a Best Offer option on their already low price.  Is the F5 the same as the Omega except with a little more control of settings? How does your F5 handle your bad ground?  I too have bad ground and it seems the Minelab FBS detectors are the only ones that can cut through it.  I now have a version 4 and 5 Omega 8000 and haven't taken the time to really try them out yet.  I was just wanting a cheap and light silver sniper to keep in the truck full time in case I run in to a good looking old curb strip while I'm out and about. 

Thanks, Bryan

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Thanks Steve.  I'm really nobody special.  I just get obsessed with things sometimes and detectors are easy to obsess over.  HA!   

Funny you ask about the F5, Bryan.  I haven't used my F5 in quite a while, not since I got the F75 LTD w/DST and I unpacked it Wednesday and prepped it in anticipation of using it on my next outing.

The F5 is not like an Omega at all.  The F5 is a....finesse type of unit,  a true professional model, general purpose metal detector that you can use for anything, anywhere.   Ok...its a single frequency unit and it has the same limitations as any other single frequency unit.  Its not a Minelab Explorer killer or a CZ Quicksilver but its can hold its own with any other single frequency unit if EMI allows. 

The three things I like best about the F5 is its ground balance range, the separated gain and threshold settings in Disc mode, and the weak signal audio boost feature.  I can ground cancel to a spot on neutral balance point in my ground with plenty of upper room left.  I can perfectly adjust the gain and sensitivity to my minerals, and I can boost the tiny signals.  Best of all, it can run at low gain settings without loosing the hots.  I'll make a F5 jewelry post in a few days and gush over it.  HA!

It's only down fall is EMI.   When the EMI gets high, you end up setting up for EMI and often times the compromise isn't the best, especially when hunting tiny targets.

The F5 also has a fixed sweep speed limit you have to operate within and it is totally unforgiving about it.  If you exceed it you might as well be swinging a broom.

There is not enough time to discuss the F5.   This will be my first time out with the F5 and the ProStar headphones.  Looking forward to my next outing.

HH
Mike

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Thanks Mike. Since they both run at 7.8 kHz I was thinking they might have the same guts with added user controls put on the F5.  I'll keep my eyes peeled for a good deal on one to try out.  I'm a fan of the dials.

Bryan

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While doing some YouTube watching triggered by this thread, I came across an informative video regarding the Eurotek Pro (specific) and target masking (general) by Mark Gillespie.  (Pretty sure this is 'our' Mark Gillespie.)

 

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