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The Tale Of Two F75's (One For Sale)


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Hello Everybody,

 

I posted this on Dankowski's forum.  I thought others my find this information helpful so I'll put it up here :-)

 

This saga all began in January 2015 with the purchase of a brand new (not upgraded) F75 LTD with DST. This first unit (11-14 model) was defective (the display was rattling around in the housing) and it had the "mama" pin point bug. After discussing with the dealer I purchased it from, we decided the best course would be to return it directly to Fisher. I contacted Fisher and they issued a return label no charge. Off it went. I asked that the new unit be completely calibrated and tested prior to shipping.

Unit #2....This machine air tested quite well, 16" on a nickle in discrimination mode but weak in all metal mode. Really weak, like 13" max. On top of that, when used in dirt (actual detecting), the TID was extremely erratic. Called Fisher again. They sent me another return label at no cost. Once again I asked that the unit be fully calibrated and tested prior to shipping. I was assured it would be, like before.

Unit #3....This one arrived, (same #2 unit I had sent in) with a note saying the coil was bad. No mention of calibrating or testing. The TID was now stable but the all metal mode was still anemic. Nothing had changed there. Back on the phone to Fisher. They sent me another return label. Once again I asked that the replacement unit be fully calibrated and tested. Once again I was assured it would be.

At this point Tom was advertising one of his calibrated F75 LTD's. I bought it. At least now I could go detecting and know I was using a unit that would do what it was supposed to do. When this one arrived I did a quick air test on a nickle. over 16" in discrimination, BP, sensitivity 99, disc zero (just like all the other tests). All metal is close to 18" in air test. I'm smiling now!!!!!

Unit #4 from Fisher arrives....OK, I'm thinking finally can get down to business. Surely this one would be proper. Man was I disappointed. This unit actually air tested worse then the last one both in discrimination mode and in all metal mode. Unbelievable!!!! Back to the emails and phone calls to Fisher. I also did a side by side air test and in the ground test between the Tom certified unit and the one from Fisher. I recorded the side by side air test results on a piece of poster board. Took a picture of it and emailed it to Fisher showing them the difference.

At this moment I thought....since I have two machines sitting here, why not try swapping coils. So....I did another air test after swapping coils (11x9 is used in all tests) What do you know.....now the machine from Fisher air tests almost identical to the Tom certified unit. I sent Fisher another email explaining what I had done. Saying it may just be a coil problem. They responded saying that they would send me another complete unit but they were worried that I wouldn't be happy with anything they sent since I had a Dankowski F75 LOL. I said give me a good unit that I can have a clear conscience selling.

Unit #5.....Well, Fisher finally got it right. This unit air tests every bit as good as Tom's calibrated unit, maybe even a shade deeper. It took a lot of time and persistence but they made it right. I will add that everyone I worked with at Fisher was really helpful and the service was great. They just really need to work on batch consistency and QC. The F75 is a beast.

This fifth machine is for sale here Brand new F75 LTD If your looking for one that works like it should....look no further. I went through hell to get it, almost hate to part with it. I can't use two of them though. I would sell the Tom calibrated unit but it has been used....this one has only been air tested and made a quick pass over my test garden.

I guess the moral of this story is if you don't think your detector is doing what it should. Ask why!!!  Thank you to everyone that contributes to these forums.  If I hadn't read what these machines were capable of I would have never known I had a sub par machine.

 

Kenny

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So Fisher was willing to send you two replacement units (one coil replacement- one complete replacement) at no cost to you for shipping either way; based on your findings on air testing under conditions completely unknown to them. Pretty good I'd say.

I'm sorry to hear that you were inconvenienced, I'm sure it was frustrating, but except for the original unit, it appears that none of the others were actually defective, just not up to the standards you had set.

It is a sad fact that almost all makes of detectors exhibit considerable unit to unit variation, much like I remember was true for rifle accuracy when I was into that stuff - some rifles of a certian make and caliber were tack drivers and others were not.

I am pleased to hear that Fisher went the extra mile to satisfy your expectations. I'm sure whoever buys it will thank you for your trouble.

One advantage to dealing with a local dealer is that you can probably do your air testing before you buy!

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Hi Rick,

 

Fisher actually sent me 4 brand new detectors at no cost based on my findings.  As I said above, everyone I dealt with was more than helpful.  I'm not sure I would say only one of them was actually defective.  When the non-filtered all metal mode is substantially weaker than the filtered discrimination mode, In my opinion something is amiss.  When your paying top money for a flagship detector I feel you should get top performance.

 

A frustrating experience it was but I think it was worth it and I think it brought some things to light within the company of Fisher itself.  Maybe it was educational for all of us I hope.

 

I understand assembly line and mass production but maybe they can implement some tighter pass/fail requirements and really make these shine.

 

The F75 is an excellent detector.  It may not fair as well as others in hot ground, that's not it's strong point.  Actually in hot ground I think it becomes similar depth wise to my AT Gold.  But in mild ground it's a beast, that's where it really stands out

 

One thing I discovered on a prospecting trip.was it's tolerance for hot rocks.  Heavy basalt in this area, I couldn't completely tune them out on the GPX 5000.  When running the F75, I could hear the hot rocks loud and clear in All Metal but when switched over to disc mode Boost process with zero discrimination.....those hot rocks simply disappeared.  Not a whisper.  I didn't find any gold that trip with either machine but the hot rock elimination impressed me.  I have a couple other spots to run it over and see how it does with the hot rocks there.

 

Kenny

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 I'm having a bit of trouble with a Ford truck. Would you mind calling them for me? You know how patient I am.

 

I would but I don't think anyone can help that 6.0 LOL  Get that tool box switched over to the dodge and call it good :-)

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A very informative experience Kenny, thankyou for relating it and your F75 prospecting observations to us. Glad to see that it finally worked out satisfactorily for you... thanks to your persistence.

 

Jim.

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A very informative experience Kenny, thankyou for relating it and your F75 prospecting observations to us. Glad to see that it finally worked out satisfactorily for you... thanks to your persistence.

 

Jim.

 

Thank Jim.  I hope it helped bring some changes.  During our many conversations, Fisher actually thanked me for making them aware of certain aspects of their organization and things they could change.  I hope it helps.  They really do make some excellent detectors.

 

Have you noticed the ability of the F75 to negate hot rocks.  I know you have used the original F75 quite extensively in your quest for silver :-)

 

Kenny

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 DDMK6------

  I'll trade you my Ford F350 for your Fisher F75.

 

Your going to have to sweeten the pot a little to make that a fair trade LOL

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 DDMK6------

  I'll trade you my Ford F350 for your Fisher F75.

 

At this point you may have to fork over some cash as well. 

 

strick

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