F Series Fisher Opinion POLL

[Michigan Badger]

Vote and tell why you voted the way you did.

Many of us are wondering what's up because there are so many conflicting "reviews" out there.

You can VOTE here without the threat of someone deleting it. So, be honest in your VOTE and wise in your comments

Do tell all...

Badger

 

[Mac232]

Re: Fisher Opinion POLL

I bought my daughter an F2 this year for her birthday . One day in the last part of June my XLT was acting up real bad , falsing in mid - air , so I went home and exchanged it for the F2 . Got back to the school and notched out everything but dimes and Quarters . At the end of about two hours time I had a little over three dollars in clad . Thats why I gave a rating of " Good " .


Mac

 

[cosmic]

You can read about my experiance with the F75 in the fisher forum.. Not good!!

 

[Michigan Badger]

You can read about my experiance with the F75 in the fisher forum.. Not good!!

I've heard there were problems with some earlier F75's but this has all been taken care of now.

Any comments?

 

[cosmic]

This was a new one 2008

 

[thompy]

well i have the t-2 simular to the f-75 and really enjoy it in the old iron nails, handles iron very well, they could be built more durabile but have had no problems, played with the f-4, seemed to be a big step up from the 3300 that it was built off of but more of a park machine not my forte, i think the main avantage to the f series are the fast processors for target seperation

 

[willpond & LLK]

We use an F-2, it works fine for us, no problems and we found enough coins this summer to pay for the first one and have enough left over to take the family out for a weekend. I'd say the F-2 works just fine, does everything we want but dig out the coin!

 

[Michigan Badger]

well i have the t-2 simular to the f-75 and really enjoy it in the old iron nails, handles iron very well, they could be built more durabile but have had no problems, played with the f-4, seemed to be a big step up from the 3300 that it was built off of but more of a park machine not my forte, i think the main avantage to the f series are the fast processors for target seperation

Check out the poll votes Thompy...ever see a poll so all over the place?

I think this is saying something but I'll wait a few days to comment.

 

[Lt1stone]

My first real detector was a fisher from the early 80's and it was good. I had other brands since that were good also. I got back into detecting again and in December I bought a F-2. I have since sold it and it still is a good detector with very good depth on both coils.

 

[Michigan Badger]

Hi Jim,

I sure hope you stay around here, you really do an excellent job on your product reviews.

I think I'm seeing a pattern develop here already.

Thanks much!

 

[thompy]

yeah if only we all had a silver tongue like Jim , i also have the loose battery box issue, but doesn't seemed to get any worse, have thought about some double sided tape under the fwd side to snug it up. MB i think they will do well as a company, lots of people don't like change, the need to address there package some but the electronics rock, the f-70 sounds to be a tougher package,probably going to be my next machine. then there is the stigma being associated with bounty hunter,probably a tough nut to crack, one thing that torques me is they mentioned a smaller coil for the t-2 to be coming out, and still nothing, the t-2 seems to have a strong following in Great Brittan, honestly the t-2 doesn't need a smaller coil but that is besides the point, the Teknetics line has been but way back on the burner.
on the f-4 i think they did a good job on an entry machine to introduce people to detecting, but the depth wasn't there, and on iffy targets it would hit then not repeat, i feel a machine should be consistant, hit coins and such just fine, i know what i like and the f-4 wasn't it but was curious on how it compaired to the 3300 that i tryed, but then the minelab xt 50 didn't impress me either, some good attributes, but as a package it rubbed me the wrong way

 

[Michigan Badger]

yeah if only we all had a silver tongue like Jim , i also have the loose battery box issue, but doesn't seemed to get any worse, have thought about some double sided tape under the fwd side to snug it up. MB i think they will do well as a company, lots of people don't like change, the need to address there package some but the electronics rock, the f-70 sounds to be a tougher package,probably going to be my next machine. then there is the stigma being associated with bounty hunter,probably a tough nut to crack, one thing that torques me is they mentioned a smaller coil for the t-2 to be coming out, and still nothing, the t-2 seems to have a strong following in Great Brittan, honestly the t-2 doesn't need a smaller coil but that is besides the point, the Teknetics line has been but way back on the burner.
on the f-4 i think they did a good job on an entry machine to introduce people to detecting, but the depth wasn't there, and on iffy targets it would hit then not repeat, i feel a machine should be consistant, hit coins and such just fine, i know what i like and the f-4 wasn't it but was curious on how it compaired to the 3300 that i tryed, but then the minelab xt 50 didn't impress me either, some good attributes, but as a package it rubbed me the wrong way

Great post man

I just got through reading an email from a BIG potatoe in THer land (author and treasure hunter) who bragged the F75 to the moon! And he doesn't sell detectors either! Go figure?

Here's a quote from his email:

"I also use an F75, which is superb in house sites. Its recovery time is incredible. It hits a target, iron or whatever, and resets itself, ready for the next target. I hate to say, but I went behind the Nautilus with it and found a good many more buttons with it in sites loaded with iron."

This is something for a man who's well-known for being a Nautilus user and highly successful Civil War relic hunter.

He also wrote that the MXT is a favorite and has an excellent target ID meter to avoid digging nails.

Interesting stuff.

I too am now looking into the F70. I almost got a nice used T2 recently but missed out.

 

[TerryC]

I bought an F-4 recently. I found it to be the worlds best bottle cap finder! Even with them disc'ed out! The people at Outdoor Outfitters acknowledged the problem and suggested the 8" coil instead of the DD. I have yet to use it since. I will reserve further comment until I have put the machine through its paces. I will most likely modify my views after I put a hundred hours on the machine.

 

[thompy]

the DD coil on the t-2 is pretty bad for caps as well, as was my QXT pro, but in the woods i dont find many bottle caps

 

[Michigan Badger]

the DD coil on the t-2 is pretty bad for caps as well, as was my QXT pro, but in the woods i dont find many bottle caps

You know it's things like this that make it clear that there's a whole lot more to making a good coinshooter metal detector than just making a machine that detects metal.

I personally never cared for the DD's. But then I'm old and set in my ways

Give me a good concentric coil any day.

 

[Michigan Badger]

I bought an F-4 recently. I found it to be the worlds best bottle cap finder! Even with them disc'ed out! The people at Outdoor Outfitters acknowledged the problem and suggested the 8" coil instead of the DD. I have yet to use it since. I will reserve further comment until I have put the machine through its paces. I will most likely modify my views after I put a hundred hours on the machine.

Good report Terry

Over the years my Tesoros have given me enough bottle caps to cover a 2-story building (well, not quite).

 

[liquid1]

Good post Badger..I might not qualify for much of an opinion being fairly new to Detecting..But so far knock on wood my F75 has been a great all around machine..Its lightning fast and get good Depths, will find coins in a park all the way into the wet salt oceans..Its top notch on finding relics, From ....Tiny brass/gold.... to large Western Wagon parts..I have the stock 11" DD and the Tiny 6" foot..the small coil is a great trash hound and gets Decent Depths..I guess the F75 with its fast recovery and confident Display meter VDI has spoiled me a bit..I just Like it a Bunch...Its light and fits my arm perfect...
I bought my wife a Titan 2000 XD for christmas 2007 and I caught the Bug for Detecting, i have since bought my Dad and Daughter each a Ace 250 ...Next to the 75 the ACE and TITAN Detects like Snail mail......I want to get the FX-1 probe and the F70 coil..I mostly got into this to Relic hunt and coin hunt with the family...I have limited time so I new I needed a unit that would Zip across the Ground and not miss Much..I know some folks dont like FT all that much..I'll be Sending my unit in for the Upgrade soon so I;ll know more about there service then..For Now I'm A happy Camper..SO I give the F75 a great review..I got It in Jan 08 and have kept the stock covers on it its still like new..It is a sensitive little rascal which I like..Just like Jim has posted its Performance is awesome..But I can say with every hunt I learn something new about the machine...just my $0.02 worth....james in NC...

 

[BuckleBoy]

Love it's performance, hate it's build quality...

This is why I've stuck like glue to the Old Fishers.


I didn't vote in the poll above because I have no information to contribute...

Since the sale of Fisher--quality and customer service appear to have gone downhill...and after several horror stories about others' older machines getting gutted of their old components in favor of Bounty Hunter parts, I won't even trust them to send my "classic" Fisher to. The F-75 costs over Twice what my 1266 did new...and seems to offer *at best* a similar level of performance with a less durable machine. (I used my first 1266 for 16 years of problem free, no-repairs-needed hunting--and probably could've had it repaired for another decade of trouble-free use... Now I am on 1266 #2.

I am interested in this thread though--and that is why I replied--so I could read others' comments as they're added.

Regards,


Buckles

 

[TreasurdiggrNY]

I voted, I think they're very good. My 13 yr. old Son got an F2 from his cousin a few months ago and the first thing that came to mind was the flower pot on your patio in the middle of Winter
I've used the F2 a lot, my Buddy has an F75 and I think the F series presents several things technically as well as user friendly features that others will be trying to replicate for a while like:
1. Processing speed: If you don't know by now it is very fast and does a great job with target separation, something that's very handy in trashy and target rich areas. When I get into an area like this say 4'X4' I can quickly scan it, find an edge and work my way thru. I make adjustments constantly on the Sens ending with the sens at max and move onto the next spot.
2. Lightweight Balanced: You can swing them all day, the F2 is super light and my Buddy has the F75 with the mounted probe and it is engineered perfectly, even with the big DD coil.
3. Mix and Match: Several of the coils are interchangeable between machines, I even use the 10" Magnum Coil from Bounty Hunter on the F2 and found my oldest find a button in a NYC Park from the 1820's-1830's.
4. GIANT ID NUMBERS: They have giant numbers
5. Price: The F2 is still $199.00 with the extra 4" coil and the lower rod.
6. It's a whole series: Depending on what features you're looking for or how much you want to spend, there are 5 machines to choose from.
I think they did very good in a time when some might say we have reached the technical limits on what VLF machines can do.
Glenn

 

[thompy]

Jim your honesty and integrity and ability to get your point across are outstanding, i have though about and epoxy as a bedding but don't want it permanent, in-case, or when i send it in, the coil is not water proof on mine, cuts into the prospecting when you cannot submerge the coil, last weekend at my lattest kilns site, there is a nice little stream running along the hole site, i can imagine that they spent plenty of time in it trying to cool off. Jim i wonder how they get the depth on these machines yet cut the power in half and get the long life out of the batteries come paired to some older machines, on that subject why do the lower end
[new] fishers stick to the expensive 9v batteries