Fisher F19?

[LipCa]

Got a buddy of my son that is looking for a relic, coin detector.  He has no experience and would like to stay under $500

Seems an F19 might fit the bill.... anyone used one?  Pros/cons?

[groundscanner]

My brother used a Fisher gold bug which also ran at 19 khz and he did very well with it.  He found plenty of buttons with it.  That being said I would expect the F19 to have similar performance.  Also check Steve's review under the review section.

MT

 

[devilsrenegade]

I have the  F19  and used it for a couple seasons. I found the vdi numbers to be rock solid, also the 10 X 5 coil did very well in heavy trash. I also like the adjustable width notch discrimination , ferrous volume control and the adjustable tone break for cherry picking silver coins. The cons were the s rod. I prefer my G2+ , only difference between the two that I can tell is the rod and coil supplied .  I found my first seated dime and buffalo nickel with my f19. ?   The best of luck with whatever detector you choose !

[GB_Amateur]

50 minutes ago, groundscanner said:

My brother used a Fisher gold bug which also ran at 19 khz and he did very well with it.  He found plenty of buttons with it.  That being said I would expect the F19 to have similar performance.

Yes, the F19 is the Gold Bug Pro with a few extra bells and whistles.  I have one and really like it, although it's taken a back seat to my Minelab Equinox 800.  Several reports of the GB-Pro performance are here on this website, for example:

Note that Phrunt has experienced a big improvement with the Detech Ultimate 13 inch coil compared to the stock coils.  Of course that's another $170....  But that would likely really help hunting deep relics at battleground sites.  Don't ignore the used market for coils but especially for detectors.  I've seen some very good buys on the Gold Bug family (and that includes the Teknetics G2 which is equivalent to the GB-Pro and the G2+, equivalent to the F19).

[Jeff McClendon]

Hi

the Fisher F19=Teknetics G2+=Gold Bug Pro (newest version) are basically the same detector. They are proven gold prospectors, excellent relic detectors and pretty good coin and jewelry detectors. In my opinion they would be great at coins and jewelry if they had better audio options. Two tones in discrimination mode is really not enough for coin and jewelry. They have rock solid Target ID numbers, excellent All Metal mode and are pretty quiet in high mineralization and EMI. They are not known for being deep.

Two other First Texas detectors that offer more audio possibilities are the F70=Tek Patriot and the F75=Tek T2. They are great on coins, jewelry and relics and can prospect too. They are hot detectors and are a bit more affected by EMI. They are definitely more sensitive and deeper. 

The newer F44 is also a perfectly good coin, jewelry and relic detector. It has excellent weatherproofing and waterproofing.

5 year warranties on those FTP products,

Also, there are still some good deals on new Makro Racer 2s and Nokta Impacts, both are comparable to the f70/f75s.

 

Jeff

[GB_Amateur]

17 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

Two other First Texas detectors that offer more audio possibilities are the F70=Tek Patriot and the F75=Tek T2.

Yes, the Teknetics Patriot with 7"x11" DD coil at $399 new, including shipping, is a better deal, IMO.

BTW, the Fisher F75 and Teknetics T2 aren't quite the same detector, but they are related.  For example, the coils are not interchangeable and concentric coils aren't available for the T2.  But performance-wise they are close, from what I've read.  All F75 coils will work on the Patriot -- another reason it's such a good buy.

I also agree that only 2 tones for the Gold Bug family is less than ideal for coin hunting.  There are so many good, affordable detectors right now that small things can swing the decision.

[Jeff McClendon]

Hi phrunt, 

I tried a newer (2018) T2+ recently. It still had EMI issues. That is why I said it is more sensitive. Probably was not the best choice of words. With my testing the T2+ actually ran quieter in All Metal mode than it did in its dual channel discrimination mode set at the same sensitivity level (70). What The Heck!!!

I got to test the T2+ vs the F19 using the same 11" X 7" DD coil. T2+ was an inch and one half deeper on all test bed targets and in the field in both modes. In disc mode, T2+ target ID was not better than the F19. The F19 locked on well or just gave a tone. The T2+ would lock on with a good tone but would down average high conductors and up average low conductors!!!!! What do you dig?????

I don't know where your coins ring up on the F19. Here in the US our coins are very spread out from the low 50s to the mid 90s. Using two tones the VCO tone on the 50s thru 70s targets and high tone on the 80s thru 90s can all sound just about the same depending on depth. Like you said, you have to look at the screen a lot when coin and jewelry hunting. There is no choice. The F70/75 series gives a lot more tonal options for sure.

I am trying to be unbiased here but it is really hard. I absolutely love the F19, G2+, Gold Bug Pro form factor.

FTP!!!!! PLEASE UPGRADE THE AUDIO ON THESE DETECTORS!!!!!!!

Jeff

[EL NINO77]

Teknetiks G2 -its designed as a gold detector - so in Mode Discrimination mode is its ground filter built to be very resistant to mineralization and good identification-ID and excellent stability ..... It's a high Ground filter .. - therefore has a limited detection depth ... The only possibility to improve the depth properties of the ground filter at Teknetics G2 ... is to use a large coil ...in my case 13  DD"ultimate...

[LipCa]

Thanks for the comments.  Apparently the G-2 is the same as the F-19 but the G-2+ is programed to different parameters than the F-19.

Just wait and see what he decides.

[LipCa]

So..... what is the difference between the 11" DD coil that came with the Gold Bug Pro (Gold Bug series) and the 10" DD coil for the F19?

Could they be interchangeable?