Problems with Fisher CZ-20 help?

[tabooda]

I lucked up on the biggest picking find I've ever had. While rummaging through stuff donated to the habitat for humanity "re-store", I found a Fisher "Quick Silver CZ-20" in the case with a sand scoop for $35. Didn't think it would work.... Especially when I looked it up and found out it was a $1400 machine. I figured someone broke it and just donated it to get it out of the house but, I figured $35 was worth finding out so you can't imagine how surprised I was when I put batteries in it that it worked. This was a year ago and although I haven't tested underwater, I have found many cool things with it. But, I'm having problems.

#1. I am having a he'll of a time ground balancing it. And, #2. After having it on for a bit, it starts to sound off with phantom signal hits. The higher the sensitivity, the worse it gets so I'm only able to hunt shallow after a while out in the field.

I finally got the hang out of ground balancing and know you need to do it often during your hunt for the changes in soul types but.... The phantom signals (bleeps) is preventing me from doing so..... So the phantom signals are my main issue. I've done battery test and they seem to be good when the bleeping starts.

It seems to work fine at first and that's when I find good stuff but.... When the bleeping starts.... It's useless and grows tiresome and I finally call it a day.

Can someone help me out with this?

Thanks

 

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[adamBomb]

1. I would send to fisher and have them perform the CZ21 upgrade which should solve any problems the machine is having. Considering you basically got the machine for free it would be well worth it anyway.

2. What do you mean you are having problems ground balancing? Can you ground balance at all? The higher the sensitivity the more the machine will make noise and false. You should turn sens down so that its nearly quiet. But the fact that you say after detecting for a while it just starts falsing randomly when it wasnt before would indicate a problem...unless of course you went from wet sand to water in which case the machine would need to be readjusted.

 

[steve1357]

1. I would send to fisher and have them perform the CZ21 upgrade which should solve any problems the machine is having. Considering you basically got the machine for free it would be well worth it anyway.

2. What do you mean you are having problems ground balancing? Can you ground balance at all? The higher the sensitivity the more the machine will make noise and false. You should turn sens down so that its nearly quiet. But the fact that you say after detecting for a while it just starts falsing randomly when it wasnt before would indicate a problem...unless of course you went from wet sand to water in which case the machine would need to be readjusted.

Ditto!

Send to Fisher, well worth the trip and calibration and repair. You'll have a new machine and no doubts haunting you.

 

[tabooda]

Well thanks.... I heard about the upgrade before to the 21. Any idea how much that is?

 

[Fletch88]

The charge is $350 I believe and you will basically have a brand new Cz-21 for $350+ $35 + shipping! It's a no brainer not to send it in for the conversion. They won't do anything but convert it to a 21. No work performed on an existing 20.

 

[tabooda]

Is it true that the upgrade comes with a new 10" coil?

 

[Fletch88]

Is it true that the upgrade comes with a new 10" coil?

No if your coil is bad that would be extra. I personally like the 8" coil better for submerged water detecting.
Call Felix at First Texas and he will tell you all the specifics. I also cannot remember how much warranty they give you with a conversion. I think it is 12 months but not sure.

 

[OBN]

I'm betting the coil is bad on that machine, I think your bill maybe up around 475.oo for all ( call felix like fletch said ). Converted to a 21, new coil.. a few gold rings will start covering the cost. And if you enjoy the hobby as much as all of us here, it'sa lot cheaper then owning a Harley, or Street rod and as much fun.

 

[tabooda]

So Felix referred me to tech..... So does anyone have experience with Fisher being complete dicks? The guy Felix referred me too is not very helpful and condescending

 

[OBN]

So Felix referred me to tech..... So does anyone have experience with Fisher being complete dicks? The guy Felix referred me too is not very helpful and condescending

Taboo, I think you are up the creek without a paddle. Fisher is the only, for parts and repairs.

 

[steve1357]

Only thing I try after hitting a brick wall is try calling back a different time of day and maybe getting someone else.

 

[Willee]

Consider selling it for $150 as is and make a big profit.
Add an extra $50 for the hard case.

 

[Rick K]

What did you ask the tech - and what did he answer?

Fisher's folks have a good reputation for being helpful, but there's only so much diagnosis that can be done on the phone.

I suggest that you either send it in and pay the money, sell it as is, or donate it back to where you got it and consider your $35 out of pocket as a charitable donation

 

[Rick K]

Oh yes, by the way - I know new members might not know, but it's not common here to go around calling hard working employees of the companies who make our detectors "complete dicks".

just sayin'

 

[flgliderpilot]

So Felix referred me to tech..... So does anyone have experience with Fisher being complete dicks? The guy Felix referred me too is not very helpful and condescending

Yep. I've heard this before, but I've only had good experiences so far myself. I'd be surprised if they did anything for you cheap since you purchased it used. A friend of mine had a similar problem and sent it in, they wanted $700 to repair it if I recall.

I would inspect the main board for corrosion or damaged components.

The machines are fairly old school inside, all discrete components so the CZ20 should be somewhat easy to work on although without a schematic it would be looking for the obvious failure points (caps,connectors, solder points).

The CZ21 however is NOT easy to work on because from what I understand you need to replace the face plate if you take it apart (you destroy the faceplate seal to remove it). This makes it basically unrepairable unless you pay big $ to Fisher. For this reason I am very careful with mine.

 

[Carl-NC]

I figured someone broke it and just donated it to get it out of the house...

From your further description that sounds about right. Most likely the phantom signal problem will be a serious challenge for the repair tech to track down so getting a quick-n-cheap fix probably ain't in the cards. So you are down to 2 options, both of which were already mentioned: Get it upgraded to a CZ-21 for a bargain price, or sell it at a nice profit and make it someone else's problem. Either way you win.