Fisher ID EXCEL User manual

ID Excel
Target I.D. Metal Detector
FISHER RESEARCH LABORATORY
Hot Digital Technology
NEW FOR 2004!
Operating Manual

CONTENTS
About Your Detector ............................................................... pg. 1
Setting Up ................................................................................. pg. 2
Control Panel ........................................................................... pg. 4
Factory Preset Mode .............................................................. pg. 6
4 Tone Audio System ............................................................... pg. 7
Pinpointing ............................................................................... pg. 7
LCD Identification System ....................................................... pg. 8
Auto Ground Balance ............................................................. pg. 9
Additional Features ................................................................. pg. 10
Searching ................................................................................. pg. 11
Battery Replacement .............................................................. pg. 13
Maintenance ........................................................................... pg. 14
Treasure Hunter’s Code of Ethics ........................................... pg. 14
Specifications .......................................................................... pg. 15

1
ABOUT YOUR DETECTOR
Your ID Excel is the hottest digital technology on
the market. It was designed to give you maximum
performance, superior target separation, and a 4
tone audio ID - all in an easy to use, lightweight
package.
Read this instruction manual thoroughly,
practice often and you will be ready for some
exciting and rewarding treasure hunting. Drop us
a line if you have any questions, comments or good
finds to tell us about. In the meantime...
Happy Hunting!
Fisher Labs

2
SETTING UP
Your Fisher ID Excel is built to last for years. Handle it carefully, care
for it regularly, and it will give you years of dependable service.
The ID Excel requires little assembly.
1. Unpack your ID Excel carefully and save the
carton: it may come in handy if you ever have to
return the instrument for service.
2. Slip the lower stem into the middle stem.
3. Adjust the stem length and coil angle so that the
search coil rests flat on the ground about 6 to 12
inches in front of and slightly to the right of your right
foot (to the left of your left foot for left handers). Your
arm should be straight and relaxed, the grip held
loosely (see drawing on next page). The stem length
is adjusted by loosening the lower lock nut and
allowing the spring clip to snap into one of the
Lower
lock nut
Center
stem section
Adjustable,
fiberglass
filled, nylon
lower stem
Upper
lock nut
Search
coil cable
Control
housing
Touch pads
Padded
Arm rest
Foam
hand grip
Nylon wing nut
(with replaceable
Duro-Neoprene
bushings)
Upper stem
8” Spider Coil
Headphone Jack: located on
the back of the control panel.

3
holes in the center stem. The coil angle is adjusted
by loosening the nylon wing nut on top of the
search coil.
NOTE: Remember, the longer the shaft, the more you’ll have to
bend your elbow to keep the coil off the ground and the sooner
your arm will get tired. The ID Excel is balanced for comfortable
searching in a tight semicircle around the front of the operator.
4. With the stem length properly adjusted,
wrap the search coil cable snugly around the
lower stem and the center section. Leave just
enough slack near the coil to allow it to be tilted
completely backward and forward.
NOTE: A loose cable near the search coil may cause false signals,
but don’t wrap it so tightly that it pulls against the housing or the
coil.
SETTING UP
5. Reconnect the coil cable to the control housing.
Be careful not to cross thread it and make sure it’s
snug, but hand tightened only.
6. With the shaft length and coil angle properly
adjusted, you should be able to move into your
search position by leaning forward very slightly and
raising the angle so the coil rests flat on the ground
about 6 to 12 inches in front of your arm.
Adjust the stem length and coil angle so the coil rests flat on
the ground about 6 to 12 inches in front of your foot. Move
into your “search” position by leaning slightly and raising the
coil about 2 inches off the ground. This should put the coil
about 12 to 18 inches in front of your lead foot.

CONTROL PANEL
4
The ID Excel control panel is an all new digital I/O System. The LCD
Display provides you with a constant control readout showing you
all of your current settings.
1. The POWER button turns the unit ON and OFF. One of the first
things you will notice when you turn on your ID Excel is the battery
level display. Fresh batteries will show 9 volts; when the battery
level is down to 6 volts, you have about an hour of battery life
left. The detector will not turn on if the search coil is not properly
connected. This can prove to be a timesaving safeguard.
2. The MENU button enables you to enter the “menu mode,” in
which you can adjust the discrimination and sensitivity controls
with the UP/DOWN arrow buttons. Notice that when the MENU
button is pushed, the active control blinks — this is the control that
can be adjusted with the UP or DOWN arrow buttons. To move
to the next control, just press the MENU button again. When you
have all your settings completed, press the P/P (Pinpoint) button
to return to the search mode.

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CONTROL PANEL
A. The DISCRIMINATION control can be varied from a setting of
-36 to +22 with the arrow buttons when the DISC icon is flashing.
+7
0
-36
+11
+14
+18
+17
+22
+36
IRON
ZINC
PENNY
SILVER
& COPPER
PULL TABS
LOW
TONE
LOW-MID
TONE
MID-HIGH
TONE
HIGH
TONE
FOIL
NICKELS
DISCRIMINATION CHART (APPROXIMATE)
BRASS
B. The SENSITIVITY control can be varied from a setting of 1 to
a maximum of 10 with the arrow buttons when the SENS icon is
flashing. As with most detectors, set the sensitivity higher for best
depth performance in soils that are low in mineralization. As the
mineralization gets worse, lower the sensitivity setting as needed.
Please note that a SENS setting of 1 will still yield excellent results.
Remember, to exit the MENU mode at any time, simply press &
release the P/P button to return to the SEARCH mode

3. The P/P (Pinpoint) button is used to return to the search mode
after you set all your current settings when it is pushed and
released. As mentioned above, If the P/P (Pinpoint) button is
pushed and held while hunting, the Precision Visual Pinpoint Mode
will be activated.
4. The MODE button enables you to toggle between two operating
modes: a “true” all metal detecting mode or, with an advanced
discrimination system activated. To switch betweeen the two
modes while hunting, press the arrow down/mode button.
Fisher recommends that for a quick start setup and while you
are learning to hunt with your ID Excel that you use the factory
preset mode. Factory preset mode can be set by pressing the
MENU button until the FP icon fl ashes on the LCD display. When
the FP appears, press and hold the P/P (Pinpoint) button until
you hear a brief tone. This activates the factory preset setting of
discrimination at +5 to reject ferrous targets and Sensitivity at 6 in
the disc mode.
FACTORY PRESET MODE
CONTROL PANEL
6

4 TONE AUDIO SYSTEM
The four-tone audio system provides you with more information
per sweep, acting as a target I.D. system in the “discrimination”
mode. While sweeping the ID Excel search coil over a target, you
will hear one of four tones:
LOW TONE = Iron objects (ferrous)
LOW/MID TONE = Foil, Nickel, Round Tabs
MID/HIGH TONE = Square Tabs, Zinc Pennies
HIGH TONE = Copper, Clad, Silver Coins
If a bell tone audio is heard, accompanied by an “OL” on the
LCD, the coil has encountered a larger or shallow target and the
search coil must be lifted to avoid overload and inaccurate I.D.
When hunting in the ALL Metal mode, a single tone will be heard
for any metal object the coil is swept over. This mode responds
much like the “auto tune”mode of previous detectors.
Pinpointing
When the P/P (Pinpoint) button is pushed and held, the non-motion
pinpoint mode is activated. This pinpoint mode may be familiar in
some ways (when the target is approached, the audio intensity
increases), but different in others (the digital numeric indicator). The
two digit (0-99) LCD will help you to accurately pinpoint your target
by increasing in value as the center of the target is approached.
This gives you much more resolution in pinpointing than a “depth
estimation” system, and allows you to characterize size, shape,
and location of your target better.
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LCD IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
The LCD will also show you an indication of the type of target you
have found, in conjunction with the audio tones, by showing you
a number preceded by a “-” or “+” sign. The target identification
system works as follows:
When in either search mode (ALL METAL or DISC), a target
will produce a number between 0 and 36 indicating target
type.
In addition, the - or + sign in front of the number
indicates whether the target is ferrous in nature
(an iron target) “-” / or nonferrous (a non-iron target) “+”.
The target I.D. numbers correspond
to the following target types:
All negative (-) numbers: Iron
+0 to +8: Foil
+9 to +11: Nickel
+17 to +18: Square Tab/Brass
+20 to +22: Zinc Pennies
+28 to +30: Copper pennies, dimes
+30 to +34: Quarters
+34 to +36 Silver
Remember, this Numeric I.D. system is activated in either
the All-Metal or Disc. modes (although the 4-tone audio
I.D. is only active in the Disc. mode).
Also, the discriminator can silence the audio for certain
targets, but the two-digit I.D. will always reveal the target
identity.
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