OWNER’S MANUAL r Use erwate E d n U r o RG Not f SUBME T O N DO Uses two AA ALKALINE batteries only. Do not use “Heavy Duty” batteries. Do not use ordinary Zinc Carbon batteries.
Congratulations! Congratulations on the purchase of your new Fisher F44™ Metal Detector. The F44 is the result of many years of software engineering and features the latest advancements in lightweight design and target accuracy. The F44 can be used with its default modes, or use the Custom mode to create your own setup. No longer will weather be a force that stops you from enjoying your sport, the F44 is completely weatherproof. Laugh at the rain.
TERMINOLOGY The following terms are used throughout the manual and are standard terminology among detectorists. A relic is an object of interest by reason of its age or its association with the past. Many relics are made of iron, but can also be made of bronze or precious metals. RELIC IRON Iron is a common, low-grade metal that is an undesirable target in certain metal detecting applications. Examples of undesirable iron objects are old cans, pipes, bolts and nails.
CONTENTS OF BOX The following detector components are in the box: Headphone Jack Cover 4. Middle Stem MENU GG PP MODE 1. Control Housing with 2 screws Velcro 5. Lower Stem with Bolt & Knurled Knob attachment and washers 2. Armrest Assembly with Screw and Lock-Nut Velcro 6. S-Rod Handgrip 3. Triangulated Concentric Elliptical Searchcoil 4 O-Ring One installed on coil connector and a replacement O-Ring included in manual bag.
ASSEMBLY Tool Required: #1 Phillips Screwdriver ●1 • Remove the Screw from the Armrest. ●2 • Slide the Armrest over the end of the S-Rod. • Attach with Screw and Lock-Nut. Attach Control Housing with Screws; install back screw first. NOTE: • The Handgrip fits under the Control Housing. Handgrip may partially cover one mounting hole. Peel back Handgrip to expose the front hole. • Ensure the headphone jack cover is properly seated before attaching the control housing.
ASSEMBLY (Continued) LOCKING COLLAR 4 ● INTERNAL CAM LOCK 5 ● SILVER BUTTON MIDDLE STEM 6 ● S-ROD 7 ● S-ROD MIDDLE STEM 6 ● Position S-Rod upright. Rotate the LOCKING COLLAR fully in the counterclockwise direction. Insert your finger inside the tube and make sure the INTERNAL CAM LOCK is flush with the inside of the tube. Insert the MIDDLE STEM into the S-ROD, with the SILVER BUTTON pointed upward. ●7 Rotate the MIDDLE STEM until the SILVER BUTTON locates in the hole.
BATTERIES The detector requires two AA batteries. We recommend ALKALINE batteries (not included). Do not use ordinary “Zinc Carbon” batteries. Do not use “Heavy Duty” batteries. Rechargeable batteries can also be used. If you use rechargeables, we recommend using a “Nickel Metal Hydride” rechargeable battery. The battery compartment is located on the right side of the Control Housing. Both batteries should be installed with the negative terminal down. Remove battery tube: 1. Slide the battery door off. 2.
QUICK-START DEMONSTRATION I. Supplies Needed • Nail (made of iron) • U.S. Quarter (or silver coin) • U.S. Nickel • Gold Ring • U.S. Dime • U.S. Penny, dated after 1982 (post-1982 pennies are made of Zinc) (Most newer non-U.S. coinage also contains mostly Zinc) II. Position the Detector a. Place the detector on a table with the searchcoil hanging over the edge (or have a friend hold the detector with the searchcoil off the ground). b. Keep the searchcoil away from walls, floors and metal objects. c.
THE BASICS OF METAL DETECTING This metal detector is intended for locating buried metal objects. When searching for metals, underground or on the surface, you have the following challenges and objectives: 1. Ignoring signals caused by ground minerals. 2. Ignoring signals caused by metal objects you do not want to find, like nails. 3. Identifying a buried metal object before you dig it up. 4. Estimating the size and depth of objects, to facilitate digging them up. 5.
THE BASICS OF METAL DETECTING (Continued) The searchcoil produces a magnetic field and then detects changes in that magnetic field caused by the presence of metal objects. This magnetic field the detector creates is also susceptible to the electromagnetic energy produced by other electronic devices. Electric fences, cell phones, cell phone towers, power lines, microwave ovens, lighting fixtures, TVs, computers, motors, etc.
OPERATION and CONTROLS MENU GG Press MENU to cycle through menu items: • VOLUME • SENS • NOTCH • GROUND • BACKLIGHT Press or to INCREASE or DECREASE menu settings. PP MODE Press and hold PP to enter Pinpoint. Press-and-Hold GROUND GRAB® to perform automatic ground cancelation.
THE DISPLAY Target Category Icons Icons will turn from outlined to solid indicating a detected target. A “blank” position indicates a Notched-out target category. Iron Target Category ID Numbers Target Depth Indicator Menu Category Icons Mode Indicator Backlight Icon Ground Ground Target-ID Battery Level Error Mineralization Indicator Icon Indicator DEPTH INDICATOR Coin-sized objects will be detected up to 10” deep. The 6-segment graphic indicator is calibrated to coin-sized objects.
MENU The Menu is located on the left side of the screen. During normal operation the Menu is inactive and the text icons are faded. Press the button to cycle through the menu options. When active, the icon will be bold. Each press of the moves to the next Menu item. Use within each menu item to make adjustments up or down. Here is a description of the Menu options: Adjust speaker volume from 0 to 20. The default setting is 7.
MENU (Continued) The Notch control allows you to accept or reject different types of metals per each target category group. All categories are eligible for NOTCH. Each mode, Jewelry, Coin, Artifact and Custom, has its own set of notches. NOTCH With Notch menu active, press “+” or “-” to program the Notch feature. Each press of the “+” or “-” cycles to a new category and the active position is indicated by a flashing icon.
MENU (Continued) There are four discrimination modes: JEWELRY, COIN, ARTIFACT and CUSTOM, and ALL METAL (A/M) mode. JEWELRY and COIN modes have preset notch settings. You can change all 9 target category notch settings in all four discrimination modes and these changes will be saved on shutdown. Pressing the MODE button will cycle through the modes. The active Mode will have bold text. Use NOTCH to change discrimination settings in each mode. The NOTCH function does not work in All Metal mode.
MENU (Continued) After you have identified a target using a motion mode of detection, press and hold the to identify the target’s exact location. This technique can yield more information about the target’s shape and size and also find its exact location to facilitate extraction. 1. Press and hold 2. Position the searchcoil just barely off the ground and to the side of the target. 3. Move the searchcoil slowly across the target. The target is located directly under where the sound is loudest.
TARGET IDENTIFICATION This is a motion detector. The coil must be moving for the detector to sense metal except when in Pinpoint. If you stop the coil over a metal object it will null-out and go silent. When metal objects are detected, the detector will emit a sound, a Target ID Category icon will illuminate and a 2-digit Target-ID number will appear on the screen. Possible Target-ID numbers range from 1 to 99.
TARGET IDENTIFICATION (Continued) See chart below for description of tones induced by different metals in different modes: Jewelry Coin Artifact Custom AM Iron Fe Iron Bass Bass Bass 2 Foil Med Bass Med Gold 3 4 5 6 Nickel Alum Zn Dime Med Med Med High Med Bass Low High Med Med Med High User definable (default VCO) VCO 7 Qtr High High High Silver 8 Half High High High 9 Dollar High High High Ferrous, gold and silver targets will generally register within their corresponding category icon ranges.
DEPTH & TARGET DISPLAY The display shows the PROBABLE identification of the metal detected, as well as its PROBABLE depth. READING THE DISPLAY The detector will register a target upon each sweep of the searchcoil, when a buried target has been located and identified. If, upon repeated passes over the same spot the target identification reads inconsistently, the target is probably a trash item. With practice, you will learn to unearth only the repeatable signals.
DEPTH & TARGET DISPLAY 50-59. US. Zinc coins and many non-U.S. coins of recent vintage are classified here. 60-69. Copper coins, small silver coins (U.S. dime) 70-79. Medium sized silver coins (U.S. quarters) 80-89. Large silver coins (U.S. half dollars). 90-99. Very Large silver coins (U.S. silver dollar). When used in 20 (Continued) areas outside the U.S.
GROUND CANCELATION WHAT IS GROUND CANCELATION? Why do I need to cancel out the ground? All soils contain minerals. Signals from ground minerals are often tens or hundreds of times as strong as the signal from a buried metal object. The magnetism of iron minerals, found in nearly all soils, causes one type of interfering signal. Dissolved mineral salts, found in some soils, are electrically conductive, causing another type of interfering signal.
GROUND CANCELATION (Continued) When using a metal detector the Ground Phase conditions can change from location to location and even within smaller areas only yards apart. Performance can suffer if the detector is not ground balanced properly so it is important to know when the conditions UP ARROW: DOWN ARROW: have changed.
MANUAL GROUND ADJUSTMENT (Continued) to be inaccurate. If you stop moving the searchcoil, the bar graph will go blank. INDICATION % Fe3O4 SUSCEPTIBILITY 4 Bars 3 Bars 2 Bars 1 Bars None -High -Medium -Low -Very Low -- 0.4 - 1.6 0.1 - 0.4 0.025 - 0.1 0.006 - .025 less than .006 1,000 - 4,000 250 - 1,000 60 - 250 15 - 60 less than 15 Magnetic susceptibility is expressed in micro-cgs units.
CHARACTERISTICS & LIMITATIONS 1. This detector comes with a waterproof searchcoil. The searchcoil can be completely submerged into water. The control housing is weatherproof but cannot be submerged in water. 2. BURIED UTILITY LINES. This hobby metal detector is not designed to locate buried pipes or cables. First Texas Products manufactures a complete line of pipe and cable locators for this application. These are sophisticated instruments with functionality different from your hobby metal detector. 3.
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SYMPTOM TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE Detector chatters, beeps erratically or has low sensitivity CAUSE • Using detector indoors • Using detector near power lines • Using 2 detectors in close proximity SOLUTION • Environmental electromagnetic interference • Use detector outdoors only • Move away from power lines • Keep 2 detectors at least 6 meters (20’) apart • Reduce sensitivity until erratic signals cease • Discharged battery • Wrong type of battery • Replace battery • Use alkaline batteries Do not mix
TREASURE HUNTER’S CODE OF ETHICS: • Always check Federal, State, County and local laws before searching. • Respect private property and do not enter private property without the owner’s permission. • Take care to refill all holes and leave no damage. • Remove and dispose of any and all trash and litter found. • Appreciate and protect our inheritance of natural resources, wildlife and private property.
ACCESSORIES Fisher® Padded Carry Bag Rugged double stitched construction. Includes handy exterior pocket for extra batteries or small accessories. – 103693000C Fisher® Camo Pouch Camo pouch with two inside pockets, belt included. – PCH-F Stereo Headphones Use with Fisher® metal detectors. Lightweight and adjustable with true stereo sound, adjustable volume, 1/4 jack with 1/8 adaptor, 4’ cable. – 9720950000 Metal Sand Scoop Large galvanized metal scoop with filtering holes. Strong Rubberized grip.
