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Problems With The Fisher F-Pulse


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On 7/2/2018 at 11:48 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

I have to admit I am feeling a bit lucky after reading some of the issues people are having, especially since my F-Pulse was an early one. Sounds like there have been upgrades since. Two software versions.

I am in bad ground and if I do not put tip to ground when firing the unit up it will slowly beep in the hole. A quick tap on the button with tip to the ground will also tune the ground out if I forget.

Everything else however sounds like bugs or bad units. I am sorry you folks are having problems. It is a shame so many new detector’s and pinpointers bite people in the butt in the early months, especially when it is the most loyal customers/early adopters that get bit.

I've had many times where I had to re-tune mine, especially in mild to hot ground.

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I seem to have lucked out on the one I recently bought. I’m not having any of the issues described. So far so good.

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At least mine doesn't have that lock-up issue anymore - BUT:

I have the feeling, that the new version isn't as sensitive as the old one. Anyone else facing this issue? The last few hunts I had some small targets, the F-pulse wasn't able to find, while the Equinox screamed like there's no tommorow..

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There have been reports where folks claim that the revised software is less deep than the original.  Hard to say unless you have data on hand from a few of each version.

It is a PI detector and sensitivity to tiny low conductor targets will likely be less than the Nox. Depth, of course is not the reason we use PP’s, it’s sensitivity to find exactly where a target is which has been previously detected - either to avoid a large hole or to find some tiny bit in a pile of excavated dirt.

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I haven't felt like my F-Pulse has functioned correctly since I received it late last year... but I attributed it to operator error, and not giving it the learning curve time it deserves (I have been too quick to revert back to my old standby).  But after reading through this thread, I want to see if it is me or the device, and may end up contacting Fisher customer service.  I really want to like it!  I think the PI tech is awesome for my use, if I can connect with it.  I have a detector pro pistol that I pull out every now and then, another PI pointer... good stuff.  But my carrot performs for me day in and day out, so when I'm heading out in a short hunt window, I usually grab that one.  ~Tim.

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Tiftaaft, I would just contact Fisher and get an RMA for returning the PP.  That's what I finally did.  The replacement Fisher sent me is night-and-day more stable, and has become my favorite PP.

Sinclair/Rick, my replacement F Pulse may be slightly less deep than the first (not sure but that's the feeling), but it's still plenty deep.  As for sensitivity to different metals (I primarily use it hunting coins, but of course am always encountering other things including small bits of this or that), I don't think I've encountered anything the Nox saw that it couldn't see.  What were those small targets you mentioned?

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Aluminium is particularly bad, but other small items like small buttons, nails etc. gave me headaches, too. Did a recalibration, but in my subjective sense, that didn't help. I'll keep an eye on it.

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  • 5 months later...

Hello everyone, i just bought a F-Pulse and want to share some important findings.

Alkaline AA (Panasonic Platinum Power) = Sens-3, works perfect.

Lithium AA (Energizer Lithium Ultimate) = Sens-3, noisy on everything even holding in mid air.

Hope this helps someone because i've been reading about people thinking there pointer is broken.

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Please be more specific: " Lithium AA "

Do you mean those curious KentLi cells, that are 1.5V when discharged, but need a special charger?
They are actually a 14500 ( AA ) size lithium cell, with a switched-mode voltage regulator electronic circuit squeezed onto a small circuit-board at the end, which reduces the typical Li cells 3.6-4.2V volts to 1.5V. And can potentially create an amount of electrical interference in the process.

Or have you actually used a 3.6V Li cell in place of regular alkaline etc cell ? In which case, good luck, hope you haven't permanently damaged anything with the major over-voltage.

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