Jump to content

Recommended Posts

New post on Fisher's Facebook page - notice the 6x10 elliptical coil.


Fisher Research Labs
about an hour ago
Our new Fisher F19 models on display at IWA in Nuremberg Germany! The F19 will come in pink camo, green camo and fisher gold. Stay tuned for more information, these things are going to be AWESOME relic hunters!

post-3-0-91802000-1394213337_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I assume it is a Gold Bug decked out as a relic detector. I do not care what they call it as long as it finally comes with the 5" x 10" DD coil as stock. I wonder if anything electronic has changed? Iron volume would make the relic crowd happy.

It is an outdoor expo in Germany with far more hunting enthusiasts than metal detector users. So very little chance anyone would see it and know enough to care to post details. It looks exactly like my Gold Bug Pro with the 5" x 10" DD coil mounted. F 19 sort of implies 19 kHz. The F series is defined on the Fisher website at http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/deetectors-f-series.htm as MULTI-PURPOSE VISUAL & AUDIO TARGET ID DETECTORS

The Gold Bug Pro is doing well for the relic hunters but the name was not a good fit. Fisher may simply have rebranded it or the lower price Gold Bug and included the popular 5" x 10" DD as stock equipment and camo options to boot. This allows them to market it as a relic detector and part of the F series. It would resonate more with people in Europe than a detector marketed as a prospecting machine. It would also explain the lack of fanfare because if true there really is nothing new here.

If all there is to get people going is speculation then let them speculate. Reality is probably boring. I put my money on Gold Bug Pro with new decals and stock with 10" elliptical coil. That would be nice as I do think it is the best coil for the detector and right now only way to get it is as an accessory item or part of a dual coil package. So now you can finally get a Gold Bug Pro with the coil that should have been on it from day one. And a new name so sellers do not have to explain to relic hunters why they might be interested in a prospecting detector. Wave the magic marketing wand and now it is a relic detector.

Pure guess on my part - I have no insider information on this unit. But if I am right it will be funny as in my role as a gold prospector I will end up recommending people buy the relic detector instead of the gold detector. Unless they finally offer the Gold Bug Pro with 10" elliptical without forcing the purchase of a dual coil package.

post-1-0-73368800-1394215186_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately waterproof detectors are problematic for manufacturers. It is a small market and the detectors have the highest warranty costs of any segment. So once a waterproof detector gets designed it tends to stay in service forever with minimal change. It would be nice to see a new waterproof PI from Fisher though since that niche has gone empty since they discontinued the Impulse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Well, looks like I pretty much guessed right but the new F19 does offer more features than the Gold Bug Pro so it may sell for more than I thought. Looks like a detector I may have to get. Basically what we have in the F19 is a Gold Bug Pro that comes stock with the 5" x 10" DD elliptical and these additional features:

Adjustable Iron Audio - this allows you to not only set the range of targets that give the low tone iron response but allows you to adjust the volume of that response. This is great is you are in thick ferrous trash and you are being barraged with low audio reports. Lowering the volume of the iron response makes for a more pleasant experience and yet the non-ferrous reports still sound off loudly.

Why not just tune the ferrous targets out completely? When you do that you increase the likelihood of target masking occurring, where the non-ferrous response is eliminated right along with a nearby ferrous response.

Notch Mode With Adjustable Notch Width - this allows a certain range of targets in the middle of the discrimination range to be eliminated or "notched" out. Commonly used to eliminate pull tabs while allowing coins including nickels to be detected.

Backlit Display - allows better visibility of the display in low light conditions.

Big question at the moment - does it have a dedicated all metal mode? If so, I may get one. If not, I will have to pass.

post-1-0-42076400-1395880815_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Well, the latest information indicates the F19 will have a Manufacturers Suggested Retail a price of $899 and will be discounted to $799, so $150 more than a Gold Bug Pro at $649 discounted. The model will sport a true threshold based all metal mode similar to that on the Gold Bug Pro - see the right knob in the photo below. It comes standard with my preferred coil, the 5" x 10" DD coil. The only way to get that same coil right now on the Gold Bug Pro is as part of a two coil package for $749 though that could change.

It uses a single 9V battery just like the Gold Bug Pro.

The bottom line is you really do not need the extra features for nugget detecting. But if you find them at all desirable it is looking like the F19 will be every bit as good as a a Gold Bug Pro for nugget detecting. I will get one ASAP and confirm if that is indeed the case but looks like June availability at earliest.

post-1-0-03485700-1398141521_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...