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

 

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[hsjrev]

I tried an F2 and the target ID numbers were way off on anything deeper than 3". It would ID silver coins as iron or foil. Apparantly most owners don't have this problem so I may have gotten a "bad one". Despite the F2 experience, I got an F70 about a month ago and it's been great. Build quality seems fine and it has great depth and very fast recovery and about as accurate a target ID as I have ever seen even at the limits of depth. So in my own limited personal experience, the F2 pretty much sucks and the F70 is a shining star.

 

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[thompy]

im not much of a #'s watcher, when i didnt have them i wanted them, now that i have them most times dont even look, lots to be said for good audio

 

[La Beep]

Here is the problem in a nut shell.

Most of the old Fisher guys will not buy another Fisher, Until Fisher get back to the level that they come to love. Great customer service and if needed free service. Now they have lousy customer service and new units have to be sent back and what happens after the warranty runs out, Fisher charges the highest service fees out there. Not Good

Out of the new Fisher crowd a certain percent are not going to continue to buy unless Fisher brings the company back to it's glory days, especially when Fisher is selling sub standard high dollar machines coming from the factory defected. First Texas is no longer selling the bottom of the line detectors and need to act like they are a top dollar seller or they are doomed. Simple.

I think the Fisher name will not be around much longer due to the negative reports floating around out there but don't worry if you are a new Fisher groupie because they will still sell under the name Teknetics.

As for me I am not going to buy one, but if one is given to me I would use it.

 

[BuckleBoy]

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

My 1266 gets 60-80 hours on a set of new AA's. I think that's pretty incredible. I get 40 hours out of a set of rechargeables.


-Buckles

 

[BuckleBoy]

Badger,

This topic has captured interest, you're getting some great perspectives.

Buckles: I no longer recall, how many AA's does your unit use? Just curious, but regardless, that's still darned good performance compared to some of my units that take 8 AA's. Mind you my units also have to provide energy to support menus and visual readouts, so that explains why they eat through batteries. Your unit and the 1265X saw widespread use over the years.

Jim.

This IS a good topic. Badger, I've missed your great threads--and I'm Very happy that you're back. The Cult Detector thread is wonderful as well.

Jim, my detector uses 8 AA's. Your point is well taken about the displays, etc. The reason I say 60-80 hours is because it is closer to the high end for battery life with headphones and closer to the lower end without.

Regards,


Buckles

 

[thompy]

i agree MB you always have the best topics, labeep nothing has been going on with the Teknetics line, still dont have a small coil for the t-2

 

[liquid1]

...Humm If only Dave johnson would supply us with his secrets on battery conservation and power and fast target seperation he instrumented into the F series..From all my reading up on the man he is a genious with electronics..I just wonder what lurks around the corner..Seems like the F70 is proven its self a little as a new unit..I'm not sure why Fisher sold out or merged with First Texas to begin with maybe I need to educate myself on the matter, I have read fisher Had a lifetime warranty and NOW the machines are 5 years..which will concern many..But so far I am enjoying the fact that the F75 now has 3 coil options and its a very Fast and light machine..possibly due to the plastic housing and lighter materials..I think the F75 would be a Killer Deal at the F70 price..I might be wrong but I think the F75 was introduced to compete with the Minelab SE..I know these were the 2 units I compared the most..I have a friend Down in texas testing the 2 side by side in the real world.I need to get an update..Has anyone priced the coil prices of the Minelabs latley..Maybe the F series Build quality aint up to par But with all the new models Including the F4 They seem to be a Better performer than the BH line for any type detectorist..Maybe I need to Buy a whites/Minelab product to Know better....The garrett Ace 250 is Built like a Tank and it feels like one swinging it as well the coil is heavier than my whole F75..So I think Dave Johnson and the design Team is paying attention to Details..Maybe with some old timer Fisher customers they think Being a tad cheaper on materials for a lighter more comfortable swinging machine..AINT the Answer...I know with the small coil its feather lite...pinky lite..I just hope the electronics hold up..I'm sure after the 5 years is up I'll open the houseing up and take a look..Its good to know that theres some independent electronic guru's out there with test equipment just waiting..I tinker with electronics just a little myself..just enough to see smoke clouds every now and then..ha ha..
Jim I wonder if Tom from florida can answer some of the performance vs battery life questions..
Great tread..folks ......james

 

[La Beep]

labeep nothing has been going on with the Teknetics line

All I am saying is I not sure the the Fisher name can be saved and it might be best to let it go. I am sure with time the what ever name the detectors produced will be great. But Getting back lost reputation is hard. People have come to expect great things from Fisher which is sadly missing these days.

In the end it all about money, will people buy lesser quality and service.

It like a Mercedes dealer telling it's customers we will now reduce your service to Ford level.

Sorry if I offended anyone driving a Ford.

 

[Michigan Badger]

Many things come to mind as I read the postings here. But I'm not really ready to come to any definite conclusions yet in regard to the whole F series of machines. The poll seems to be pretty much spilt down the middle in regard to the F75, F2 & F4.

So far it seems very positive for the F70 but it's very early.

Do we have a learning curve problem---quality control problem---or maybe something else?

 

[nudels]

I've never owned one, but I have used one and demoed one at Kellyco. My vote is based more on things other than experience with the units... more in just watching what is happening with the brand. From what I can see/understand, they took away the lifetime warranty, but haven't really reduced the pricing levels for the level of machine offered. Also, there appears to be more evidence of lower quality reports from end users.

I have an IT background and have heard similar overtones in the PC industry. The majority of the corps in the 90's took a "race to the bottom" strategy. Their strategy was "we can sell XX million PC's if we can get one at a $20 cheaper price point than Joe Bob", and so they all did (well 95% did). Slowly, but surely, they raced to the bottom in piecemeal fashion, generally in the following ways: shorter warranty, lower quality of parts, less longevity, lower amount of RAM/HDD, and even at the OS level they cheapened it by cramming it with 10-30 ad/share/lame/nag/demo-ware for any half-arse that corp would give them a quarter per system to pre-load it on there. Some people wanted more, so they paid $100 more and got better things, but 90% was all based on and built up from the same low end stuff. FWIW Apple took a different stance, with a much longer time horizon strategy-wise, and now their strategy is paying off, in spades. <on soapbox>I highly recommend Apple to anyone.<off soapbox>

So in a nutshell, that is why I see Fishers having a rough time ahead, it really appears they have taken the "race to the bottom" turn, and it has proven to be a slippery, one way slope, IMHO.

 

[Michigan Badger]

This just came to me from an experienced Civil War relic hunter.

I asked him why so many are down on the Fisher F75.

"You got me as to why some don't like the F75. I can only guess some long time Fisher users didn't like a new setup because it isn't hard plastic that weighs as much as a cinder block. I used a Fisher 30 years ago. Great machine but I would take today's over those 11 times out of 10. Being real open, I have heard some say they've had a handle break. Could be. Mine's a low number and hasn't broken yet. I do wish the screen shield was tighter on the box. But I heard the new ones are. I just use the dust cover it came with. No problems. It's a matter of opinion on the weight. But it's not as heavy as a Nautilus so it can't crash through brush like a King Tiger tank. Then again, you won't be able to tie your shoelaces at the end of the day without bending over like you can with some DMCs in a factory setup. Fragile or not, the performance is there. I had not long before been wishing the DMCs were a bit quicker on their recovery speed. Then comes the F75, which is super fast in recovery speed allowing you to get down directly beside iron without as much "masking." Good battery life, too. Around 22-24 hours/pack. I can live with that. And to top it off, it has depth comparable with a Ba. Don't mean to sound like a spokesman for the F75. But I have used it, own one now and do like it. It also has seven frequencies, which will let you do some really impressive stuff in worn out sites. Well, talk about rambling. haha Anytime, man. Just ask away. And best of luck hunting. "

 

[bigolhorns]

I waited several days to post this,but here goes. I voted poor but maybe should have been doomed.
I've been detecting since the early 90's. Lots of excuses are made for the F75 by people like me that spent a bunch of money and went......huh
I just sold my F75 because of the all the frustration in trying to use it.
My favorite F75 excuses:
"You don't know how to set it up".......Excuse me........... I do know how to setup a detector
"It's recovery speed is "FAST". Where did this come from?? Somebody said this once and now it's true??
"It's noisy because it sees everything in the ground"... I don't' want to see (here) everthing. (This is my favorite)
"Too much EMI".... I want to search where there is EMI. My CZ will
"Your Brian can't keep up with it"... Guess I need to speed up my brain Then it should include an adjustment for Brian speed.
"Turn the sensitivity down"..... Then I still have an unstable detector with no depth.
"Jumping Display Numbers,Must be trash next to the target".......I want it to lock on. My CZ will.
"It's Deep"...............Deeper than what Again somebody found a deep coin once and now it's true?? All machines do this from time to time. We have all been blown away by a deepie that the machine we were using should not have made.
For me the F75 was not fun to use like I think metal detecting should be. Too much BS for a detector with less than average performance. I'll never own another "F" series.
True story:
I have exclusive permission to detect one of the oldest universities on the west coast spent 11 months working this with the F-75 . Made a few finds but nothing like I was hearing the F75 should be finding . Most of the time it was just going nuts no matter how I set it. I told my wife I know the stuff is there but the F75 just can't find it. Her response: "You just want to buy another detector".
Well I bought a new CZ-3D. In an area my son and I had hit hard, both of us using F75's.Went in with the 3D I recovered 236 coins in that 20'x20'spot! 37 wheat's and 17 silvers. Earliest being an 1897 dime at 8". I did not dig one rusty nail or any bottle caps In the last two months I have found 16 silver rings and 8 gold rings and the the stuff just keeps keep coming.
The CZ did the trick and man is it fun to use! But now I'm hearing batches of the 3D's are inconsistent.

 

[liquid1]

This just came to me from an experienced Civil War relic hunter.

I asked him why so many are down on the Fisher F75.

"You got me as to why some don't like the F75. I can only guess some long time Fisher users didn't like a new setup because it isn't hard plastic that weighs as much as a cinder block. I used a Fisher 30 years ago. Great machine but I would take today's over those 11 times out of 10. Being real open, I have heard some say they've had a handle break. Could be. Mine's a low number and hasn't broken yet. I do wish the screen shield was tighter on the box. But I heard the new ones are. I just use the dust cover it came with. No problems. It's a matter of opinion on the weight. But it's not as heavy as a Nautilus so it can't crash through brush like a King Tiger tank. Then again, you won't be able to tie your shoelaces at the end of the day without bending over like you can with some DMCs in a factory setup. Fragile or not, the performance is there. I had not long before been wishing the DMCs were a bit quicker on their recovery speed. Then comes the F75, which is super fast in recovery speed allowing you to get down directly beside iron without as much "masking." Good battery life, too. Around 22-24 hours/pack. I can live with that. And to top it off, it has depth comparable with a Ba. Don't mean to sound like a spokesman for the F75. But I have used it, own one now and do like it. It also has seven frequencies, which will let you do some really impressive stuff in worn out sites. Well, talk about rambling. haha Anytime, man. Just ask away. And best of luck hunting. "

...
Badger ,I'm a New user But this is my experiance...It does take a bit of getting use to..I'm new and still learning..But picked it up pretty quick for the short time I have to hunt..But Its time to Get to rocking and Rolling I have 200 acres of Prime Relic hunting comming up and I will be Digging Most all signals..I am looking for Western settlers era, Civil war,And Gold.......And I'm a Digging Fool..Gonna get the FX-1 soon and F70 coil ....Cant wait..to get started..
Bigolhorns...I have heard good reports on the CZ3D...Sounds like theres a few Bad crackly F75 machines that got shipped out..I must be lucky to have gotten a good one so far..
Jim, your so good at getting your point across..I'm sure he will give the correct technical answer...james

 

[Michigan Badger]

I'm beginning to think the problem here is just what some have been saying all along. Fisher shipped out a bunch of badly defective F machines. In a sense they're all bad in build quality. But some were bad in both function and build quality.

I enjoy repairing antique tube radios but really know very little electronics. One thing I do know is solder connections must be solid or one has serious problems. Cold solder joints or weak joints can really make for noise and other irritating manifestations.

Possibly the F series circuit boards were made out of the U.S. and lack of factory quality control led to this mess?

Or maybe some people are imagining their finds?

This is all very confusing.

 

[Coin Digger]

I received my F2 with 2 factory defects. A cam lock that wouldn't hold the lower shaft still and a bare wire at the coil, both problems I was able to fix easily.

As far as performance it's a grand slam.
More than once I would hit a strong target and watching the numbers it would I.D. both objects in the same hole. I'm not kidding.
First time it was dime-dime-nickle from different angles and out popped a nickle then a dime at 5-1/4". Second time it read dime 75% of the time and pull tab the rest of the time and guess what out popped a dime and pull tab together at 2".
I dig so many coins it wares me out.

It must have one of the fastest processors on the market because target recovery is excellent. Fisher needs to work on build quality and if they do I'll forever be a Whites fan turned Fisher loyalist.

 

[La Beep]

Don't know if anyone here has noticed, but a Fisher representative is now active on the Fisher forum @ Finds. Quite willing to discuss any and everything. Not a bad move.

Finds is Fisher forums and I would expect to find a Fisher rep on them, if they have not it show how little they care. Let the Fisher rep come to the other forums and take the heat.

I noticed a lot of post being deleted now. (but their credit I seeing that they are starting to leave a lot of negative ones.)

BTW fisher has ruled the Finds forum with a iron fist, so some one from Fisher has all ways been watching. Why do they come out of hiding now? Like I said too little too late.

 

[nudels]

I noticed a lot of post being deleted now. (but their credit I seeing that they are starting to leave a lot of negative ones.)

BTW fisher has ruled the Finds forum with a iron fist, so some one from Fisher has all ways been watching. Why do they come out of hiding now? Like I said too little too late.

Manipulation of forums is yet another bad sign .

 

[DirtDiggerDaveinMD]

My problems with the new Fisher units relate to build quality. I started with a Bounty Hunter. Yeah it was light, and I could swing it all day, but it was fragile. I can't justify spending top dollar for Fisher's name, with Bounty Hunter's quality of build and cheap internal componets. I don't care how deep the thing detects, or how fast it's separation and recovery time is, if the detector can't stand up to hard use.

 

[La Beep]

Wow! Such widely varying views,

You have some of the "classic" Fisher crowd that expect the old level of quality and service.

The you have the "Hay the Fisher team is moving into the 21st century" crowd. Who are willing to give up quality and service as a trade for that improvement.

Then you have the new crowd that take Fisher for what they get now and expect no more.

As a company which group would you like to have behind you? Thats up to the management of Fisher.

I have and still use a Fisher since the late 1980's, all service on it was done by me as long as I could get parts. My CZ5 was brought before the life time warranty, yes Fisher had a 5 year before they went to lifetime.

All I am asking of Fisher is to act like a Top of the line detector company and not like a bottom of the line detector company after all they are asking for my hard earned money.

When and if they get their act together again I may look at their line again. But I will never again pay top dollars again. Midrange maybe. Knowing they may rake me out to dry.

 

[TerryC]

Wow,
Very interesting. This is a net with INTERNATIONAL scope. Fisher is going to take a big hit if they don't clean their product line up! (I'm crawling back under my bed and wait for the barrage to end!) TTC