New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Hey guys, I just recently bought an entry level detector (Fisher F2). When I unboxed it, I realised I had no Idea where to use it!!! If someone could be kind enough to give some decent locations (any tips and tricks would be appreciated too :) in dunedin. I had recently talked with a member of this forum and he explained the usefulness of a pinpointed... Could someone give a link where I can buy one (preferably a Garrett ProPointer)???

Thanks for the kind welcome into the detecting community.

Spenser Millburn

Hi Chris, I am only a High School Student so I don't think I can afford a Pinpointer worth $270... Maybe If I find DotCom's hidden treasure :). So there's no other retailer that sells Pinpointers? I have tried a couple of beaches and have only found junk. I think I prefer to hunt on parks, landmarks etc (with permission of course).

Thanks for your speedy reply.
Spenser

Any cheaper pinpointers then the Garrett Pro-pointer or Minelab Pro-finder kind of work but nowhere near as good as those 2 models. As Metal Kiwi says - you need cash, and the best way of getting it is to hunt out all those $1 & $2 coins laying around the place (hint - look for grassed areas which hold regular market days, then hit the place after every 2nd market day or so). It will be surprisingly quick before you have $270 worth, then clean the coins up and put them into the bank so you can buy a Pro-pointer or finder.

If you go for a cheap pinpointer straight away then you will be wasting the price of it because you will soon want to upgrade. Remember this hobby pays for itself so use any earnings from it to get the best gear possible.

Find a park with a playground that has either a dairy or bus stop close by. Start near the bus stop or dairy then zig-zag your way across to the playground, this should be a well used path what-with people often walking/running between each point.

Hunt around the playground (if you got the 4" coil use that in the playground) check the ends of slides, under/infront/behind swings and anything you could hang upside down from or could have a quick sitting-break in.

Once the playground is done hit the grass along any other pathways, etc.

Fisher make a CHEAP (in several senses of the word) pin-pointer. And if you do the 'take it apart and tune it better' mod it gets pretty good range (not as good as a Garrett/etc though) but it'll speed up recovery times. After the mod, the only down-side is the knob/dial needs to be adjusted every time you turn it on (I'm thinking about throwing a momentary button/switch onto mine) and that gets boring really fast. It also doesn't changed tone or increase the frequency of beeps the closer you get to a target, but, if it goes off you're either an inch away or you've bumped the dial (happens a lot) oh and the battery cover is poop on it too, but that might just be mine.

I got through a few weeks of hunting without the pin pointer, but it was slow and caused plugs to be really messy as I'd grab handfuls of dirt and run them under my coil. As crap as the fisher is, it will save you time and get you digging cleaner in no time at all.

If it helps, some of the VDI readings from air testing on my F2:
50c 76
$1 62
$2 64

Obviously these could change with depth and the angle of the coin. But it gives you an idea. And the coins soon add up, just check my signature!

Best thing to do though, is to get out there and get some soil under ya coil.

And.. Let us know how it goes.

Also can someone please explain to the benefits of having a better machine? Is an 8 inches (what the F2 can get) of depth enough?

Well. You'll notice that the F2 just beeps at one of four tones when you find a target, it's pretty basic audio. If you look at something like the AT Pro (which actually has both audio modes) the pro/advanced mode drops the standard beeps and gives you tones that you can more easily read.

The tones then vary depending on target size, depth, etc.. So (in loose terms) imagine that a shallow $2 coin is going to be a louder response than a $2 coin 8-10 inches down. But yeah; you get depth, water proof, ground balancing, etc.

Some machines even have more advanced features where you can load 'programs' into them designed to make it easier to find coins, relics, etc.

The F2 will hold up pretty well for you though, it's a brilliant machine. One of the things you hear most from people who have upgraded to another detector is, "I wish I didn't sell my F2."

Edit:
Check this thread out if you have time.
http://metaldetectingfor...m/showthread.php?t=53930

Edited by user Friday, 4 October 2013 4:15:51 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

A better machine will improve your number of finds BUT not by much. For example a machine that costs twice as much as the F2 will only improve your finds by about 10% not twice as much. Depth isn't double and the only real advantage is being able to id the target better and to hunt in more difficult environments (salt water, high EMI areas etc).

Again wait until your finds add up enough to pay for a new machine then you can upgrade without it costing you anything in real terms. The F2 is a good beginners detector and instead of relying on a fancier detector to increase your finds, you will have better and faster success by fine tuning your own skills in detecting. How good you are at detecting has a much greater impact then how good the machine is.

Keep at the F2 and learn the skills first before upgrading.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5flJlZkrI1A

buggar aye!