Fisher Detector Recommendations

[childoftechnology]

It's become a habit of mine to buy a detector in the spring, and then resell it once winter arrives because money is tight. In the past several years I've had a Whites XLT Spectrum, a Garrett GTA-350, and a Minelab Musketeer Advantage. I found the Garrett was the easiest to use, but lacked depth and discrimination. The Whites had the best interface (love that display), but I never had much luck with it, perhaps due to highly trashy and mineralized soil. I had the best luck by far with the Minelab (finding many things I'd missed with the Whites), but it suffered from many little drawbacks like the ear-piercing tone, shoddy craftsmanship, and flakey controls. This year I want to get a Fisher, which I will probably keep or end up passing on to my Dad who is a long-time detecting enthusiast. I've narrowed it down to two models, based mostly on price: a 1232-X2 or a CZ-5. I'm hoping to find a good deal on a used one, but in the meantime I'd like some advice. First of all, is there any advantage to having target ID? Sure it looks neat, but how useful is it really? And how do these two models stack up to each other in performance?
I've also considered an ID Excel or ID Edge, but some users claim these have a slow sweep speed and that the buttons are problematic.
Thanks for any advice.

 

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[Michigan Badger]

Fisher makes great machines. The CZ-3D is hot, I'm told. One very modest man on another forum told me it gets 12 inches on a freshly buried dime. If so that would make it about the deepest VLF going (except for the Nexus).

Most other top of the line machines get about 8 inches on a test buried dime.

But, depth is not everything. My first Fisher was 1260-X back in 1983. I killed the coins and relics with that little factory set GB machine and the old coins back then were about the same depth they are today (up to 5 inches). I still have a nice pile of Barber dimes and Indian cents I found with it.

Your plan to buy a used Fisher and resell it in the fall is a good one. Fishers really hold their value.

Some year try Tesoro. They're hard to find used and when they show up they usually don't stay for sale very long. I run the DeLeon myself (TID) and it's by far the best machine I've ever owned. I'm reworking a site I've hunted many times before with some of the most expensive detectors made. With the DeLeon it's like the site has never been hunted before. I went out for a total of about 2 hours and found 10 Wheat cents, more clad and Memorials than I care to count, and a really awesome bronze artifact I still need to have identified. Last year I covered and recovered this very same area and all I could find were pulltabs and Memorial cents (a few clad).

 

[Jeffro]

I like my CZ5 a lot... It's simple to operate, great depth, pretty reliable ID, (does well on nickels, better than others I have tried), fairly light, and good battery life with headphones. I've never tried the 1232, so I can't compare, but once I found this one, I haven't looked for another yet. Will probably get a water machine this year, tho- just to round things out.

The Tesoro's are great machines as well, can't go wrong there either. Try the Fisher first and see what you think.

 

[stoney56]

I assume you mean 1236X2 and not 1232X2. There was a 1232X though. Have you looked at this section?

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,218.0.html

 

[Sandman]

The Fisher CZ5 is a good machine and fairly deep and very stable. It knocks the socks off the 1232x2, 1235, 1236x2 and holds it's own against the 3D. Target id is nice if your only out searching for lets say dimes or quarters. I know guys that will use the target id to only dig pull tabs and nickels so they get most of the gold rings and leave the quarters in the ground so they can keep swinging for the gold rings. It's also hip mountable if you want to wade with it in a fresh water lake. the main difference between it and the CZ6 and CZ6A is the control box isn't water proof and it has a different coil connector.

 

[childoftechnology]

. The CZ-3D is hot, I'm told. One very modest man on another forum told me it gets 12 inches on a freshly buried dime.

I've read that the CZ-3D is a somewhat inferior successor to the CZ-5, at least that's the opinion of at least a few users. The CZ-5's tend to go cheaper anyway so that's why I'm leaning that way.
A dime at 12"? I'd have to see that to believe it.......
So basically, you'd recommend the CZ-5 over the 1232-x2? I'll probably settle on the CZ5 anyway, unless the ebay auctions I'm watching get out of my price range......
Thanks for the advice.

 

[rvbvetter]

I've never tried the CZ 5, so I can't compare the two. But I got a CZ 3D a few months ago and have really come to like it. It has excellent depth. I'd have to put it right up there with my Whites DFX and my ML EXP II in the depth department. But that's about all they have in common. The CZ is a different beast in the way it operates. The CZ is a much faster or quicker responding machine than the DFX and EXP II. What Fisher calls the CZ's high pitch tone (good target signal) is really just a very short abrupt PAP PAP sound. At first it really frustrated me until I finally understood which sounds were good and which ones were bad. Too me the manual is not very clear or thorough in explaining the difference.
Now that I know and because of it's quickness and excellent depth and distinctive good target signal. I'm finding that I can really pull the coins up in a high trash site. And it's great on nickels.
One thing though, and I've heard this of CZ 5's also. It really likes rusty nails.
But on the CZ 3D if your hunting in enhanced mode. You can flip the toggle to salt mode and the sound difference will I D 90% of them without having to dig.
Leon on the forum here is the one that straightened me out on which sounds were good and which sounds were junk. You might want to talk to him.
I have an ID Excel too and it's a nice and light detector, but the tone ID can be a little difficult to tell good from bad on deeper targets. Of the Two, I would definitly go with the CZ 3D. HH

OH!! One more thing. With the CZ 3D you will want head phones with volume control. Cause the volume of the CZ 3D can blow your socks off, especially when pin pointing.

 

[TomNWMI]

Well since you mentioned the 1236X-2 and CZ-5 and after reading Muddy's and the

Badger's posts on target seperation might I suggest you take a hard look at the ID Edge?

I don't know where you got your info on the sweep speed being slow cuz it is one of the most forgiving around in that regard. But, the main thing to keep in mind is target seperation. I have many many hours on a 1236 and it is almost without peer in iron. The CZ's are great because the gave very good "hits" that are clean an unmistakeable on some pretty deep targets.

Now the Edge.. combine the best attributes of these 2 machines and that is what the Edge is all about. Great seperation in iron and unmistakeable audio on good stuff. Fisher's engineer worked a lot on improving the audio and it shows. Get in the really tuff stuff like areas littered with nails and all you gotta do is lower the sens and reduce your sweep speed to allow the machine a chance, it will do it! ID's will not be accurate at all ie: wheat pennys that should read "28" may bounce in the high teens, but at least the detector will see em. Can't say that for another one of the new machines that came out recently. LOL I hunted both in "hunted out" areas and it was no contest as to who got it right.

If the Edge says there is something there in the iron you can bet the farm there is.

just my 2 zincs

Tom