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Fisher F19 Doing the "Bic Pen Test"


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Steve, I just watched Keith Southern's video on the F19:

 

 

That unit is a definite performer at 19 kHZ, great V-break, hot with a 5 x 10" DD coil and good air sensitivity. When will you be getting one for gold prospecting?

 

Bill

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Not sure that I will. The camo was supposedly a "Limited Edition" and I figure we are paying $100 extra for camo. And I am not a big fan of camo, I would be happy with gold and black. Gold and black, $100 less, I would already have one.

It is in my thoughts however. I asked Keith to do the test with the pen so I could compare to the F75 I currently have, and he tossed the F19 video in for free! I already knew it would nail it so no surprise there. I have had a Gold Bug Pro for years and the F19 is a tweak of the Bug.

When I sold the Bug I kept the small coil and 11" DD coil "just in case". But I am hoping the latest version of the F75 will make me happy enough that I do not need to go there. The problem is the F19 is hotter on small stuff but loses a bit on larger stuff. The F75 is better on larger stuff but loses a bit on small stuff. Direct frequency trade off. I have a Gold Bug 2 for tiny gold so I am more interested in a VLF with good depth on larger gold and good ferrous discrimination. That is why I am leaning F75 or Nokta right now.

The F19 is more the fallback position. I am really also waiting on the Teknetics version, which will be an upgraded T2. It has a rod/handle like the F75 and will hopefully not be camo but other than that will be the same as the F19. Maybe the 11" coil instead of the 10" coil so we will see.

Throw in the fact I am first in line for a Makro Gold Racer and the F19 and G2 will just have to wait.

Having said all that, I think the F19 is a sleeper due to Fisher's lack of interest in promoting it. Never saw a company less interested in their own new product release. If I were in the market tomorrow for a Gold Bug Pro there is no doubt I would get the F19 instead. It comes with my preferred coil, the 5" x 10" DD and has numerous extra features I like, like the backlight and ferrous volume adjustment. The unit is probably the best compromise of having both the F75 and Gold Bug Pro in a single package, and if nothing else keeps me happy for the next few months I may ditch them all and get the F19 or G2. I promise anyone that gets one for as an all around machine good on gold you will not go wrong. In a way it is my machine to beat.

More information and specs on Fisher F19

fisher-f19-green-camo-detector.jpg

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Steve,

I don't recall ever hearing of the Bic pen test before.  Made me want to test all mine.   Right now there is too much interfence for the F19 and since there is no frequency shift on it, all I can do is wait for what ever is causing the interference to shut off.

While I was waiting I got curious about how the Fisher F5 would fair in this test, so I pulled it out and had a go with the 5" DD on it. 

In Disc mode, with a Gain setting of 50, and a +8 threshold setting, I get a loud, solid repeatable 1.00" on the pen with the 5" DD coil.  I'm thinking this is pretty good for a 7.8 kHz unit.   However, both the audio and visual TID response is ferrous.   Whatever is causing the interference won't let me test with a higher Gain setting or do a valid test in the All Metal mode.  But I'm looking forward to testing again with different coils after it quietens down around here. 

I've had the F5 put up for a little while and had forgotten how sweet it was.    

HH
Mike

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Hi Mike,

It is my own test that happened by accident running the show on the retail floor. I needed a good simulated small gold nugget that was always the same and always available. Somehow I noticed that the cheap pens we always had around were perfect. The basic cheap Bic or Papermate, all plastic barrel, brass tip and medium (1mm tungsten carbide) ball point. It turns out it is near the tipping point between ferrous and non-ferrous on many detectors and became my own standardized test for what I considered minimum nugget detecting capability. It serves the same purpose as a micro jewelry test. The main advantage is anyone anywhere can get one so it does provide a standard of sorts, like a dime or US nickel.

In all metal it is just a way to test potential depth on a small target. What has become more instructive is the disc results though, in whether the detector reports ferrous or non-ferrous and by how much. Good way to compare coils also on a detector for weird responses. Like a DD will often sound in several different places where a concentric may get a more consistent centered reading. Kind of an eye opener at times.

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I find it interesting that the F-19 passed Keith Southerns' 10" dime test while the Fors Core did not even though they are 19 khz versus 15khz.

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Glad to see you pulled the trigger on a F-19, always exciting to un-box a new machine. It should be a lot of fun around old sites and workings, of course they are a joy to swing. 

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Steve, I didn't mean to tease you with the F19, but this looks like a hot prospecting machine! Now I want one too. :nugget:

 

Bill 

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