White’s new flagship has proudly left port!…the Spectra V3!

Part 1 of however many it takes!

To say there are a LOT of features and options on White’s newest flagship, the Spectra V3, is an enormous understatement!    I’ve spent weeks deliberating on the best way to present a review of the Spectra…and I finally decided to break it into phases.  If I tried to put everything into one story, I think it would almost be overwhelming! (to me too…trying to write it!)  There will no doubt be some outstanding books and tutorials written on this machine.  I would strongly suggest buying one of those when they become available (Jeff Foster or Andy Sabisch?).

This first “phase” report is about the packaging, contents and overall new user impressions.  As the chapters continue, I will branch out into other aspects such as assembly, air-testing, interface and “real-world” usage.

So here we go!…

White’s Spectra V3 Review, part 1

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I’ve had a lot of questions about the innovative F5 over the past few months.  This is a feature break down I did that was posted on Kellyco’s site.  Hopefully you’ll find it useful

Fisher F5 Field Test

Mark Ellington

Fisher F5 Face

I was given the wonderful opportunity to do some field testing with Fisher’s amazing new F5. The F5 is one of the most unique detectors I’ve put my hands on in a very long time! The perfect blend of cutting edge, software driven power meshed with the feel of good old fashioned knobs. I find it very interesting that the “oldest name in metal detecting” is utilizing the newest technology! The F5 is the result of Fisher’s self proclaimed “war on bad user interfaces”. The lead Engineer on the F5 was Jorge A. Saad.

Since Fisher Laboratories came under new management, the Company has not been resting on their laurels! First out of the gate came the incredible F75, followed by the mid-range F4. Next up was the affordable F2, then recently the incredibly deep F70. That leads us up to the innovative F5!

The F5 is situated in the familiar F2/F4 housing, but the electronics are entirely different. This platform was designed by Engineers Jorge Saad and Dave Johnson (with John Gardiner and Mark Krieger additionally lending their talents) to offer outstanding discrimination, depth and ID capabilities. You’ll find the F5 mounted on the familiar gold and black “S” rod which has proven its ergonomics and durability throughout the years.

*Click below to see the rest of the review*

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Fisher’s World Treasure News 2009! 

Fisher was kind enough to send it our way for distribution…if our servers can take the downloads!  By the way, overlook the mediocre writer in there named “mark”

*Update* WTN is now posted for download on Fisher Labs Website…get it HERE!

“The Heat!”

To put it bluntly, the Fisher F70 is THE HEAT! As a proud and happy owner of an F75, I caught myself thinking…”I bet the F70 will be a scaled down F75”. In some ways, I was right. A few less features than the F75, (and I LOVE the F75 trigger!…it should be illegal to build a metal detector without a trigger!) However, Fisher retained the most useful functions and made them very accessible to the user. There’s also a little something extra under the hood… more depth than the F75! Yep, you read that right! In my soil, coil-for-coil, the F70 is slightly deeper than the F75.

Speaking of coil-for-coil, if you already have an F75 you can swap coils back and forth. The new elliptical concentric coil for the F70 is great! Excellent design, construction and balance. However, slap the big F75 11” DD coil on the F70 and hang on! I’m talking SERIOUS depth here! Select the “slow” option in areas that will allow it (lengthens the sampling time on the target…if I understand it correctly) and you will be getting way, way down in the ground! (I picture moles, grubs and earthworms packing their bags and fleeing the radio waves in utter terror!) However, due to the lengthened response time, the odds of masking due to nearby trash are increased…but I love having the option to pick which way I want to hunt, depending upon site conditions.

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Teknetics Delta 4000 Review

Mark Ellington

www.detectorstuff.com

*Review based on prototype version…subject to change!*

(click on images to zoom)

The Teknetics T2 has developed quite a cult-like following since its release! With good reason…It is powerful, lightweight and innovative. It is chock full of useful features that appeal to advanced users in this wonderful hobby.

The Teknetics name has long been synonymous with performance…and that legacy is continued with the launch of the new Teknetics Delta 4000. Lead Engineer on the Delta is John Gardiner. He has had a hand in many recent metal detector releases, including the Fisher F75 and F70. He was backed up by Jorge A. Saad (see my Fisher F5 review for more on him) who wrote the core software code. The legendary Dave Johnson designed the hardware and is overall Lead Engineer for the Teknetics line of metal detectors.

Teknetics Delta 4000 Face

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Okay…are you ready for this? I’m going to open this F5 review with a very bold statement. The new Fisher F5 has the BEST user interface of ANY metal detector I’ve ever used!..and I’ve used a bunch!

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I’ve always heard “The older you get, the faster time passes.” Now that I’m in my mid 40’s I’ve found that statement to be all too true. However, there are exceptions to this rule…. Christmas, payday and waiting for a metal detector to arrive in the mail! I’m the first to admit, I become very “kid like” when I have a new machine on the way to my house. My wife is very “understanding” of this affliction of mine, only succumbing to the occasional “eye roll” when I constantly babble on about treasure hunting, old sites, coins and metal detectors.

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