fisher 1266x - still a relic hunting legend?

[SaginawIan]

Everything I read says it is a legendary relic machine and depth demon that others are measured by - but everything I read is from 7-8 years ago. Does anyone still prefer this machine, or has technology caught up with it and passed it by?



thanks,
Ian

 

[BuckleBoy]

Buck - Good to hear that the thumbing method works on the 1266, I use that on the Umax.

Excellent! So you already know how it works. You'll find that you'll have greater accuracy with the 1266's disc. knob than the uMax. The 1266's disc (each one of the two) goes from 1-10 with numbers--so it makes it much easier to say that a certain type of target tunes out at "a hair above 5 1/2" for example.

So did you just memorize where the items knock out, or mark the dial somehow?

Exactly. You just memorize where they tune out. The manual gives you a good idea, and then a year or two of practice allows you more finesse.

Also, good to hear that it's somewhat impervious to a little rain - environmental cover available? Plastic baggie would probably work fine.

Light rain and mist should be fine--and a plastic baggie works well too, although you should make sure to take the baggie off as soon as you're done. (This is part of the reason I would rather leave the machine left uncovered in a light rain--since baggies can actually hold moisture in.) I'm not sure that an environmental cover was ever available for the 1266.

I think your old rusty trusty 1266 should be in a museum, buck, maybe have it mounted with all your civil war finds and put it on the wall!

Ian, I wish I could afford to do that. I will Sorely miss that machine. I saved up money when I was 12 years old from cutting yards--single dollar bills and fives at a time--and put it in a metal band-aid box until I had enough to get the 1266. That machine is special to me--for many reasons. I am truly amazed at what I've found with it during the past decade and a half--even with some years off from the hobby during undergrad study. I need to get something out of my old machine in order to get a newer 1266--because my low Clad count won't cover it (I had that saved just for the purpose of repairs). I don't like to sell finds--and over the years, I've only sold two items. One was a silver chauffer's badge from the 30's--and the offer was a good one, from a collector of chauffer's badges. The other was the crock which I found last month and restored. I have strong principles about keeping rather than selling--I feel that it keeps my priorities straight in the hobby... and I believe that once the hobby starts, it should run itself in terms of gear, except for gasoline and batteries.

Whoever buys my old Fisher off eBay will probably not realize how special it was--or what amazing finds were among the tens of thousands of targets its coil has been over.


Regards,


Buckles

 

[BuckleBoy]

Could someone comment on the recovery speed of the 1266x ? For instance, it's ability to pick up a coin close to a chunk of iron.

Any examples of iron and a coin in the same hole?

thanks - Ian

Maybe FisherMan could help me with this one...recovery speed in the trashy areas...

I don't have that much knowledge about the recovery speed as compared to other detectors. I think Easy Money could help out with that--since he's a technology wiz, and has a lot of information (and a Massive detector arsenal). I listed one example up above about a 1774 Half Real in the hole with large nails...

I think the big thing about the 1266 is to make sure your disc is low enough that you will be able to hear the targets that are *slightly* better than iron, yet high enough that 95% of the nails won't sound good to you. As I said before, I dig occasional nails--but I also dig nails out of holes where there are good targets. It doesn't seem like nails "mask" a good target completely (if they do, then I'm out of luck--and I won't hear it)...but in many cases I circle around an "iffy" target, sweeping over it at different angles. Same thing with a signal just a hair better than a nail. If I get more good information in the course of that, I dig. In plowed fields I open a hole most of the time...and the signal either gets better or worse. (Careful not to loose a coin on edge, though.) So that pretty much prompts the decision to keep with it or cover it back up and move on.


-Buckles

 

[kindafoundabuckle]

What frequency does the 1266 use? Just curious.

KFB

 

[BuckleBoy]

What frequency does the 1266 use? Just curious.

KFB

4.8 KHz, I'm pretty sure.

 

[kindafoundabuckle]

What frequency does the 1266 use? Just curious.

KFB

4.8 KHz, I'm pretty sure.
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If it ran a little but higher I bet it would have even more depth

 

[BuckleBoy]

What frequency does the 1266 use? Just curious.

KFB

4.8 KHz, I'm pretty sure.

If it ran a little but higher I bet it would have even more depth

The 1270 ran higher, but as you know--the design for that one was Crap. I think it ran at 8 KHz and change...

 

[SaginawIan]

I would think Fisher has some regrets with the 1270. It seems like they had such a good thing going with the 65 and 66, then they unveil the 1270 and like you said the balance was off and I hear that people didn't like it as much. I wonder if there were some engineers saying, why did we mess with it? Kind of like the when Coke Classic as replaced with "New Coke".

I hear the 1270 has the iron silencer feature that the 1236 has, and that it helps in certain ways, but overall everyone prefers the 65 and 66. Maybe if for no other reason than that they were familiar with the old style and have learned those detectors.

So heres a question, would a 1266 user be able to pick up a 1265 and have no problem using it? What about the 1270? And also, are all 1266 detectors equally as hot or do they vary to some extent?

 

[BuckleBoy]

I would think Fisher has some regrets with the 1270. It seems like they had such a good thing going with the 65 and 66, then they unveil the 1270 and like you said the balance was off and I hear that people didn't like it as much. I wonder if there were some engineers saying, why did we mess with it? Kind of like the when Coke Classic as replaced with "New Coke".

I hear the 1270 has the iron silencer feature that the 1236 has, and that it helps in certain ways, but overall everyone prefers the 65 and 66. Maybe if for no other reason than that they were familiar with the old style and have learned those detectors.

So heres a question, would a 1266 user be able to pick up a 1265 and have no problem using it? What about the 1270? And also, are all 1266 detectors equally as hot or do they vary to some extent?

Yep. The balance was off, and the 1270 was made mostly of plastic rather than anything sturdy... but if that weren't enough, the danged battery doors were the most horrible design I've Ever seen. (2 9v's--one on each side of the grip up under the control box). The doors would come open--since there wasn't much to keep the batteries up inside the box, and then the battery would come flopping down--sometimes ripping a wire loose! And replacement doors did the same danged thing!

Yes, that machine had an iron silencer--but I don't know how it dealt with iron masking a good target. Any feature like that raises my suspicions--since I don't know what I'm Not Hearing...

A 1266 user would be absolutely fine with a 1265, and the learning curve would be much less on a 1270. (A few more bells and whistles there--not all of them either useful or good).

As far as I know, most 1266's were pretty consistent. I've never heard any complaints from anyone. Perhaps someone will come forward with a negative experience, but until then...I'm "sold" on this classic.


-Buckles

 

[kindafoundabuckle]

What frequency does the 1266 use? Just curious.

KFB

4.8 KHz, I'm pretty sure.

If it ran a little but higher I bet it would have even more depth

The 1270 ran higher, but as you know--the design for that one was Crap.  I think it ran at 8 KHz and change...

The only problem with that machine was the battery doors. Other than that it was good. It was built on the 1266 frame so it could not have been that bad. In the reviews I read on it the 1270 it got very high marks. The iron mask was the big improvement and in my opinion not just a bell or whistle. We neither used it enough to give it good or bad marks. We never used those features enough to make judgement on it in my opinion. It was made for relics and relics only and the few times we did use it the 1266 and my XLT got smoked by it and was being swung by a newbie!! Remember the day it was the only machine to find a bullet? I think you are being a little harsh on it. To me it was the last good machine Fisher made or ever will make.

KFB

 

[BuckleBoy]

The only problem with that machine was the battery doors. Other than that it was good. It was built on the 1266 frame so it could not have been that bad. In the reviews I read on it the 1270 it got very high marks. The iron mask was the big improvement and in my opinion not just a bell or whistle. We neither used it enough to give it good or bad marks. We never used those features enough to make judgement on it in my opinion. It was made for relics and relics only and the few times we did use it the 1266 and my XLT got smoked by it and was being swung by a newbie!! Remember the day it was the only machine to find a bullet? I think you are being a little harsh on it. To me it was the last good machine Fisher made or ever will make.

KFB

Good points, KFB! I didn't think it was built on a 1266 frame--since it was all plastic. And in terms of getting skunked--I just had a headache that day. :P

A lot of it is what you walk over and what you don't... In terms of relics, I'd say that a Fisher is better than the XLT--but that's an opinion merely based on the number of brutal skunks I have dealt to you in the long course of our relic hunting partnership.

8)

Nice cannister shot ya dug with that 1270! That was a day that won't be forgotten, buddy. Let's hunt again soon, so that the DFX can whip up on my Ancient Fisher.


-Buckles

 

[SaginawIan]

So do you Fisher 1260/1265/1266 users get funny looks or comments from people with the high end more expensive computerized machines? I'd love to hear a story or two about that - especially if you ended up kicking butt!

What kind of headphones do you prefer for the 1266? I have Killer Bees and they work great on the Tejon.

I have a Vibraprobe 560 and I'm now wondering if that will interfere with the signal on one of these hot machines. . .

So when you are digging a signal and the machine is freaking out while lying on the ground, what do you do to shut it up - or do you just listen to it chatter away?

Ian

 

[BuckleBoy]

So do you Fisher 1260/1265/1266 users get funny looks or comments from people with the high end more expensive computerized machines? I'd love to hear a story or two about that - especially if you ended up kicking butt!

What kind of headphones do you prefer for the 1266? I have Killer Bees and they work great on the Tejon.

I have a Vibraprobe 560 and I'm now wondering if that will interfere with the signal on one of these hot machines. . .

So when you are digging a signal and the machine is freaking out while lying on the ground, what do you do to shut it up - or do you just listen to it chatter away?

Ian

Well, I can't recall getting any wierd looks--since the rest of the Iron Brigade knows how I roll, and they're the only folks I hunt with now. I don't honestly know how a Vibraprobe interferes with the machine.

In order to shut the machine up when it's lying on the ground, you simply back the sensitivity knob off.


-Buckles

 

[VOL1266-X]

I bought a new 1266-X in 1996 and it is the md I use today. I have worn out 3 coil covers on the original coil. I have used it so much that I can turn up the discrimination all the way. I even bought a very lightly used 1266-X on Ebay last year as a backup.
You can call me "Old School" if you like but I have been hunting with friends with expensive deetectors and rarely do they find more relics than I do. I have found over 1500 CW bullets, numerous buttons, CW buckles. old coins and much more with it over the years. As to relics, I have yet to see a unit that can beat it for CW relic hunting. It is fair on coins but there are units that do a better job on coins and deep buttons because they are programmed to be sensitive to round items.
I was friends with Sam White who was killed disarming a CW shell at his home in Petersburg, VA. recently. When I decided to buy a detector, I asked Sam for his advice. He sauid that Nautilus was the best for his area but the soil here was highly mineralized in Middle TN and it would drive me crazy. I understand that this problem is now corrected on the new machines. His recommendation was to buy a Fisher 1266-X. It is super on pinpinting. Dman has a new SE that he is learning but he still gets me to pinpoint his finds.
Most mds are only as good as the experience of the operator. I have a friend who has owned at least 20 mds including a Fisher 1266-X. He buried a CW bullet 10 inches in his yard and he said that the 1266-X was the only detector that can consistently locate the bullet in all soil moisture conditions.
Some people just like having the latest and greatest toys out there. Some folks trade detectors so often that there is no way they could have learned them that quick. Knowing your detector and knowing where to go is the KEY. I am a 1266-X believer.

 

[SaginawIan]

Vol1266, when you find a coin with the 1266 - do you know it before you dig it? Can you mostly identify your targets at this point?

Ian

 

[BuckleBoy]

So do you Fisher 1260/1265/1266 users get funny looks or comments from people with the high end more expensive computerized machines? I'd love to hear a story or two about that - especially if you ended up kicking butt!

I do have a story about that--I'd forgotten all about it.

So...there was a certain someone who used to be in the Iron Brigade, but who is no longer with us... and he had an XLT which he thought he'd deal me a butt-kicking with...so this guy starts hunting in "Coin" mode at an old house site--disregarding all the brass, lead, and other relics in favor of skunking me on coins. Well--guess who ended up with the LC and Half-Dime that day--even though I dug all the brass out in the process as well? I skunked him on our Colonial site hunts too...but the best story about him is this one:

The next hunt I took that guy to a CW spot of mine that was getting a little thin--but I was sure had some bullets left. The ONLY bullet he found with the XLT was one that I found with my 1266 and called him over, tapped my toe on the ground, and said "Wanna dig your first CW bullet?" (And then he had the balls to say "Well, it's kind-of-a jumpy signal. It's probably a little bit of aluminum." I looked at him and said "Either you dig it or I will, but it's getting dug this afternoon." And he digs it--and it's a deep .69 cal round ball.


-Buckles

 

[VOL1266-X]

Vol1266, when you find a coin with the 1266 - do you know it before you dig it? Can you mostly identify your targets at this point?

Ian

Ian, I can't tell if it's a coin or CW bullet. It just sounds good. Silver has a better tone than clad. WW2 manuever 30/06 brass hulls have a larger pinpoint as you can generally hear a double tone as the machine reads each side of the cartridge. However, I was hunting a US Cav Camp and was digging manuever cartridges in a small area and got a good signal. I thought it was another cartridge but it was a dropped Sharps Carbine bullet. After that, I dig any solid signal. I dig shotgun brass and pull tabs in a known CW site. The tone is the key but I can't tell you exactly WHAT it is-I just know it is GOOD-Dig it !!! Iron and cast iron items with a soilid signal have a louder pinpoint. The best thing about the 1266-X is that you just turn it on and go plus you can take someone who has never used a md at all and with a few mimnutes od instructions- they can be digging CW relics. Regards from hot and dry Tennessee.

 

[kindafoundabuckle]

The only problem with that machine was the battery doors. Other than that it was good. It was built on the 1266 frame so it could not have been that bad. In the reviews I read on it the 1270 it got very high marks. The iron mask was the big improvement and in my opinion not just a bell or whistle. We neither used it enough to give it good or bad marks. We never used those features enough to make judgement on it in my opinion. It was made for relics and relics only and the few times we did use it the 1266 and my XLT got smoked by it and was being swung by a newbie!! Remember the day it was the only machine to find a bullet? I think you are being a little harsh on it. To me it was the last good machine Fisher made or ever will make.

KFB

Good points, KFB! I didn't think it was built on a 1266 frame--since it was all plastic. And in terms of getting skunked--I just had a headache that day. :P

A lot of it is what you walk over and what you don't... In terms of relics, I'd say that a Fisher is better than the XLT--but that's an opinion merely based on the number of brutal skunks I have dealt to you in the long course of our relic hunting partnership.

8)

Nice cannister shot ya dug with that 1270! That was a day that won't be forgotten, buddy. Let's hunt again soon, so that the DFX can whip up on my Ancient Fisher.


-Buckles

An average day relic hunting with BB...........Hey Tom come check this target with your XLT it sounds iffy on my 1266. I would scan it and tell him I got a smear on the signagraph so it is a nail or a small piece of rusty iron. I would advise to pass it on by and not waste his time. But in a desperate attempt to prove my XLT wrong he would dig a 10 inch hole to find a nail. Sound familiar BB?

KFB

 

[BuckleBoy]

An average day relic hunting with BB...........Hey Tom come check this target with your XLT it sounds iffy on my 1266. I would scan it and tell him I got a smear on the signagraph so it is a nail or a small piece of rusty iron. I would advise to pass it on by and not waste his time. But in a desperate attempt to prove my XLT wrong he would dig a 10 inch hole to find a nail. Sound familiar BB?

KFB

Key word: "iffy"

I always dig 'em, buddy. You know that--it isn't to prove your smart machine wrong, it's because I have dug 'em in the past and gotten some good targets.

The good ones--I've never needed a second opinion on those. I'd have those out of the ground before you took two steps in my direction.




Ian,

Because of the size of iron's pinpointing (which should be disregarded in plowed fields, where a coin near the surface could give you an overload signal!), I've never had any problem knowing a coin signal from a Big Iron signal when I got one. The coin signal will remain strong for an average-depth target all the way up to 10 on disc--with the possible exceptions of deeper small cents (but the signal won't cut out, it'll just "fade" a bit closer to disc. 10). Nickels, Nickel Three-Centers, and Half-Dimes are another story...as they are on any machine. Although the nickels (I think, at least) are pretty easy to figure out. So with some practice, it's possible to know that you've got a coin signal in advance of digging the hole.

-Buckles

 

[FisherMan_1266X]

Hey guys -

Sorry for the delay on replying to the thread... I'm having a really, really bad stretch of luck here, and my mind has been in overload for the past few days (let's just say that it may be difficult for me to get out and hunt for a while, seeing as it takes a vehicle to do so...)

Anyway, so, here's some of my thoughts - and I apologize if I'm repeating myself here... and bear with me - some of this info may be kinda jumbled up, but it's really the only way I can get it all down - stream of consciousness, yknow...

As far as hunting in trash, and determining whether to dig something or not - here's how I approach an "iffy" (or as I like to say, "funky") signal: Is it mostly a repeatable signal? if not, then, Does it hit solid in even one direction repeatedly? and, if not, then Does it pinpoint anything like a coin would? If any of these three apply, I dig the sucker... and then sometimes, I dig it just to learn what that particular sound is - to build up my "audio Rolodex", as it were... the gist here is that with the 66 you have to get "good" information from a "bad" signal - in other words, they are all good, until you determine they're not.

My experience has shown me that:
1. Objects (i.e. coins) will have a "range of depth" - in other words, if I lift the coil while pinpointing a signal which I believe to be deep and still hear a solid signal, say, 6" off the ground, I'm gonna guess that it could be something larger than a coin; if the object has a very "shallow" pinpoint signal, meaning it disappears after lifting the coil a couple of inches, then I feel pretty secure that the object is smaller than a coin (can slaw, pencil eraser, grommet, foil, etc. etc.)... the pinpointing of the 66 is one of it's best features - I can usually tell the depth of a coin by just the pinpoint signal alone...

2. Signals on the 66 usually have a "shape" to them... even though the 66 only has one "tone", there are countless variations on that tone, and they all mean something different. [Keep in mind these descriptions all depend on the depth of the object - deeper objects are harder to classify using the "shape" method.] Bottlecaps, for example, to me usually have sortof a "square" signal - a solid signal with hard edges. - kiondof a "bap bap" sound (I believe this has more to do with their mass than anything, but I may be wrong.) A shallow coin, however, will have a more "round" shape - still a solid signal, but with softer edges - more of a "waah waah" sound. Deeper objects will sound similar to surface objects, but they will be much "softer" - they will often be scratchy and seem like they're trying to discriminate, but it's just the coil trying to hang on to the signal... with that said, it comes back to the first criteria - repeatability and pinpointing. (And gut feeling.)

But to summarize all this, it really all comes down to knowing what it's trying to tell you (and it's going to try and tell you a lot), and the only way to figure that out is to listen to the signal, remember what that signal sounds like, dig it, and learn.

 

[BuckleBoy]

I agree with your comments 100%, FisherMan. We hear the types of signals differently--or perhaps our 1266's report them a little differently, but we agree on the consistency of how the signal is reported vs. what it turns out to be. The last few sentences of you reply are the most important--and after a thousand targets it all starts to make sense.


-Buckles