F2 vs ace 250

[DangerDude]

I just got my F2 last Friday and have had it out about 3 times. The separation and recovery speed blow away the 250 ! The pinpointer is great too as we'll as the display and weight. The only thing I'm having trouble with is the depth. It doesn't seem to be getting the depth the 250 gets with its stock coil. I'm defiantly thinking of getting the elliptical coil to see if I can get better depth, coil cost as much as the detector though. Any tips or comments would be greatly appreciated. The 250 has scored me some great finds as well so this is not a Garret bashing post.

 

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[bevo]

just keep at it dude, I can get good targets up to 6'' with the lil guy coil.

 

[issombeituni]

Thinking of the f2 as a new upgrade from out bounty hunter.... How does is the depth on screen compare to actual? Also the numbers on screen pretty accurate for hits?

 

[steve1357]

DangerDude,

I have the F2, F5, F70 and others.

On my F2 I added the 4" coil and the 10" coil. With the 10" coil, it added a couple of inches of depth in air tests. But it changed the balance of the detector, I felt like I was swinging a lead weight on the end of it. I assume the 11" DD is heavier than the 10" round. The 11" coil costs much more than the 10", maybe it works that much better and would be worth the investment. Is the F2 the last metal detector you'll ever buy? I've bought several used detectors off ebay and saved a boatload of money over new. If not ebay, several online stores have used detectors, I got my F5 used for $300 instead of today's new $550.

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have spent the money trying to make the F2 work a little better but still short of my F5 or F70/F75. The F2 is a lower frequency and you cannot adjust the ground balance or threshold. Of course, I guess all of us would like to keep our favorite detector and have the money back on most of the rest. The F2 is the latest detector I bought, I wanted something to carry all the time at work.

With that said, I have no guesses as to why the 250 is noticeable deeper. Don't laugh, but did you turn up the sensitivity on the F2 after turning it on? It isn't at full gain when you turn it on, and does not remember your settings when you turn it off. My F2 doesn't like the dew and wet grass, sometimes it will stream a series of beeps fast and random VDIs, like 10 or so in 3 or 4 seconds when it takes off on it's own.

Maybe ask a dealer what he sees on an F2 between the 8" and 11" coils? You're right, the 11" coil is a lot of money. For how many inches more?

 

[steve1357]

On the depth reading, mine is accurate on coins, which is what it's calibrated for.

If it sees a flattened aluminum coke can that's a foot deep, it'll say you have a quarter only a few inches deep.

If mine says a coin at three inches and I dig five and the pinpointer can't locate it, I quit diggin and move on.

 

[DangerDude]

DangerDude,

I have the F2, F5, F70 and others.

On my F2 I added the 4" coil and the 10" coil. With the 10" coil, it added a couple of inches of depth in air tests. But it changed the balance of the detector, I felt like I was swinging a lead weight on the end of it. I assume the 11" DD is heavier than the 10" round. The 11" coil costs much more than the 10", maybe it works that much better and would be worth the investment. Is the F2 the last metal detector you'll ever buy? I've bought several used detectors off ebay and saved a boatload of money over new. If not ebay, several online stores have used detectors, I got my F5 used for $300 instead of today's new $550.

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have spent the money trying to make the F2 work a little better but still short of my F5 or F70/F75. The F2 is a lower frequency and you cannot adjust the ground balance or threshold. Of course, I guess all of us would like to keep our favorite detector and have the money back on most of the rest. The F2 is the latest detector I bought, I wanted something to carry all the time at work.

With that said, I have no guesses as to why the 250 is noticeable deeper. Don't laugh, but did you turn up the sensitivity on the F2 after turning it on? It isn't at full gain when you turn it on, and does not remember your settings when you turn it off. My F2 doesn't like the dew and wet grass, sometimes it will stream a series of beeps fast and random VDIs, like 10 or so in 3 or 4 seconds when it takes off on it's own.

Maybe ask a dealer what he sees on an F2 between the 8" and 11" coils? You're right, the 11" coil is a lot of money. For how many inches more?

I have the sensitivity all the way up and rarely have to turn it down. The F2 is defiantly a easy machine to use for a beginner and a quality machine. I'm trying to feel out all the manufacturers for when I make that big purchase. I found a silver dime and some clad with the F2 so far, nothing to deep though. The 250 defiantly gets more depth than the F2

 

[steve1357]

Don't know what to guess DangerDude.
I got out my F2 and ran some air tests this morning.
Used a 1994 clad quarter and the 8" stock coil.

Solid signal and accurate VDI reading

Sensitivity 1=5"
Sensitivity 2=5.5"
Sensitivity 3=7"
Sensitivity 4=8"
Sensitivity 5=8.5"

Seems to be inline with other tests I found while searching.

How bad is your F2?

And to repeat, no, I wouldn't spend the money to get a better coil, look for a better detector than the 250 and F2.

 

[F2 Hunter 28146]

I did a HUGE loooooong research on the F2 versus the Ace 250.

It was a really hard decision for me to pick one over the other. But the one thing I like on the F2 over the ACE 250 is the response time when waving over a target. The F2 is like ....beep-beep-beep-beep.... and the ACE 250 is like DOOOONG-miss-DOOOONG-miss-DOOOONG.

The other thing I thought was great on the F2 over the ACE 250 was if you look at all the other higher end, higher priced, metal detectors what do you see? They ALL have a TARGET ID which I find incredibly helpful. Which to me even though the F2 is a beginner detector, makes it a little better at determinating what a target "could" be rather than a little pointy arrow (you have 2 ways to try to identify your target on the F2).

I mean the ACE 250 is a lot easier to setup than the F2. Just push down for coins.....TADA! Push down for jewelry..... TADA! But you can pretty much do the exact same thing with the "NOTCH" feature on the F2 (it just takes a little longer but you can still look for the same things the ACE 250 is set up for). Just NOTCH out Iron, Foil, Tabs ......PRESTO..... COIN mode on ACE 250.

 

[issombeituni]

I love my f2 with the dd coil just love it

 

[Ausgoldhunter]

Both are good machines, I favor the F2, though the Ace250 has a higher frequency.. with the DD its hard to beat the F2...

 

[issombeituni]

This is my f2 the other day at a home that now has a old park on it. It a coin slayer notched out all but nickel zinc dime and quarter. I used the ace but the f2 with the dd is an animal in my book

 

[issombeituni]

Wrong photo lol here is the ones i meant to send

 

[fishguy]

lol was wondering how you detected a fish, did it swallow a nickel? Anyways nice catch and nice finds. I feel for ya dangerdude I had just purchased the f2 and I am waiting "patiently" at my mailbox. I felt like I have read half of the internet digging for information and just came down to, in my personal opinion that I was getting more for my dollar with the f2. Now if I could just find a raincover for it I am set! good luck to ya and use what feels best for you not what we say lol

 

[crazy4coins]

Hey Dangerdude!

I also own the Fisher f2 and have considered buying an upgraded coil such as the 11in DD or 12x13 SEF. However, anyone who I ask says that the coil will not make a significant improvement in depth, and that it would be more beneficial to simply buy a better machine with adjustable ground balance. That being said, I can't find anything wrong in buying the 10in concentric coil for the f2. It's not nearly as expensive as the DD coil and from several reports, it should add a couple inches of depth to the detector.
I hope this helps!
crazy4coins

 

[issombeituni]

I disagree i hunting ground with my 11dd that i did with the 10 and picking up way more and much better separation for me it turned my f2 into an animal .

 

[issombeituni]

And better depth

 

[crazy4coins]

It also really depends on your ground conditions. You'll see a bigger improvement in performance with the 11in DD if you have mineralized ground

 

[crazy4coins]

I was simply going off of what salesmen had told me, but a lot of people here seem to love the 11in DD coil for the F2.

 

[atomicscott]

It's really not much of a comparison. The F2 is sooo much better! Most people who have used both will agree

 

[F2 Hunter 28146]

As you can see in ISSOMBEITUNI's post.... the Fisher F2 is SOOOOO good you can even detect FISH!!! <JK>