New Fisher F19

http://www.fisherlab.com/Hobby/fisher-f19-metal-detector.htm

Id buy one if they fixed a few things that were/are annoying on the Gold Bug Pro....
The volume/gain control was not combined...up the gain and you up the volume.. same thing with the GMT. ffs??

9v...hello!!...its the year 2014, these batteries cost nearly as much as a good detector. Could it not be run from a bank of AAs under the rear stand...or behind the c/box?...fairdinkum!!...a mod id be doing first up.

I wonder if this model retains your settings when switched off??... from memory, the GBP didn't.
Night light...ok thats a plus.

Need a new toy, haven't had a new toy since i bought the TRX pin-pointer.

I like the pink camo version....cant lose the b@stard in the green grass of home....however, best be staying out of the flower bed.

Besides the colours, this one is not enough different from my standard digital GB to make me want to buy one.
General specs appear the same.
http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/detectors-gold--nugget.htm#goldbug

FeTone, Adjustable Iron Audio

Camo and back-light. 10x5DD coil and i think that just about pulls it up.?

I might sell me GMT and get one, but id be doing those few mods to it. Tho the memory issue still bugs me.

I am not so sure that I would swap a GMT for a Gold Bug.
My Bug is good at the beach in the All Metal mode but is crap in Disc over salt.
The All Metal mode picks out small jewelery that my sand shark and Infinium miss but it is not as deep seeking on coin size items in the wet sand.

The instructions state that the GB setting obtained in All metal ground grab transfers to the Disc mode but I have not noticed this because depth in disc over wet sand is cronically dismal but is excellent in All metal mode.

The TID sector icons jump around quite a bit when mineralisation is high which results in iffy tone ID.

I like the ground Phase, Mineralisation and Fe readouts which can give a clue as to whether you are in possible gold bearing ground or on a black sand paystreak.

I use Varta Lithium 9 volt batteries and so far the current battery is still showing full charge after approx 20 hours of beach detecting.

Ok so a few things have changed since the GB Pro.
It now saves your settings when powered off.
It has a volume, yet im not sure its an overall volume, but more one that controls the ferrous/none ferrous audio.....i could be wrong, but it still looks to me like the Gain control is the overall volume level adjuster.?? If so, RPG headphones or booster will rectify this issue.
A 9.6V RC battery pack will take care of the cost of the 9v battery issue and longevity. With one of these, it will run for weeks on one with a large mAh rating..

Getting more and more intrigued with this one .....hmmm?...thinking even more seriously about finding the GMT a good home.

Best vid i could find on its functionality.....i'll bill AussieDetectors for the interest shown due to the link.  

http://www.aussiedetectors.com/apps/videos/videos/show/18713355-fisher-f19-metal-detector-advanced-programs-for-coins-relics-and-jewelry-

http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/manuals/MF19-Reader.pdf

As far as All Metal mode detecting is concerned I donot see any difference between the F19 and my Gold bug.
If the ground balance setting of the F19 carries over into the disc mode then that is a plus.
The iron tone is not fool proof and the detector can give an iron tone for a lot of gold rings. The only way I can get my bug to signal a high tone on all of the gold rings and small nuggs that I have is to set the disc to zero, in which case All metal mode may as well be selected.

How much do you want for your GMT?

I near on bought the GBP when i was looking for a good VLF for creek bed work.......having used them it was a toss up between  the GMT. If the GBP had the small elip coil like the older GBs...it would have been a no brainer.

How much do you want for your GMT?

Not sure, but it'll come with all the goodies i got it new with. Will have to sus out wot their going for in tip-top condition?, or else id rather keep it.

Be good to get my hands on the F19 before leaving WA....not that testing it here would sway my decision in anyway. I had more probs with ground in NSW with the three VLFs i have on board now.

My GB is far from perfect in extreme iron mineralisation and will not penetrate solid iron ore/stone and will only detect small nuggs on the surface of this type of ground. It is good at the beach and OK in moderate iron minerals. I like the sensitivity to sub gramers in quiet ground. I use the 11 inch oval DD, the standard 5 inch is tradjic for beach work due to the small ground coverage and low detection depth.
In All Metal Mode The 11 inch can respond in air to nuggs as small as 0.15g at between 10 and 14cm with Gain at 12 oclock depending on the nature of the nugg. In ground is not as good and varies widely.
A 5g will detect out to between 20 and 25cm in air with Gain at 12 oclock, 20 cm will be a good signal and 25 will be iffy.

The detector is ok in strong EMI which results in a jittery threshold but the detector is still very useable.
In my opinion the SDC2300 will kill the GBP on small sub g nuggs in hot ground and creek/river bedrock cracks

In my opinion the SDC2300 will kill the GBP on small sub g nuggs in hot ground and creek/river bedrock cracks

Your probably right, but the SDC is 4k, comes with 1 coil and has no disc ability, uses the most uncommonest battery type, the batteries move about turning it off, needs a patch lead adding another $100 to the cost, is an ergonomic lemon and floats in water......worth 2800-3k$ not a penny more.

VLFs are getting better, PIs are getting more expensive.

Difficult to disagree with any of that mate.

It is interesting that I am using the GB more often at the beach now than my Inf and Sand Shark.
I guess the main reasons are that the Bug is light weight, runs for yonks on alkalines or lithiums. The detector pings coins at 18 inches in wet sand ( you have to listen carefully) in All Met mode. It responds to all targets from very small gold chains to buried cars and cannons at fair depth....Not that I have found a cannon but!
   I purchased the GB off Ebay for 380 bucks if I recall correctly and have not regretted the buy for even an instant.

    If I want to go into the water then that is a location for the Inf and Sand Shark.

Dont get me wrong here, im not knocking the SDC, i'll get one soon enough, but i wont pay that sort of money for it. There is no doubt its a top little performer, but you have to draw the line on what your wiling to pay, and i'll not support ML by buying one new.

When you stop feeding the pig, it loses weight.  

Back to the topic.
Be interesting to know how it would work on the beach coupled to a large SEF coil.?...do they make a SEF to suit the Fisher range.???
Coverage rather than depth is my way of thinking when talking beach work.

I don't know about SEF but there is a NEL Tornado 12 x 13 DD and a Fisher 7 x 11 DD and there may be a NEL 15 x 17 DD but I am not sure of that one.

NEL Storm 13"x 14" is so far the largest coil NEL makes for the Gold Bug, it's made more for depth than coverage.

ivanll

Thanks for that info Ivanll. I was uncertain re the 15 x 17.

I have a Fisher eliptical DD that measures 35.5cm x 17.5cm that works with my Midas 500 but will not connect to my Gold bug (Diff plug)so I donot know what detector this was designed for....Possibly the earlier analogue Bugs 1 or 2 ?

ivanll wrote:NEL Storm 13"x 14" is so far the largest coil NEL makes for the Gold Bug, it's made more for depth than coverage.

ivanll

Interesting, i would have thought the term ...diminished returns would apply to a detector using a battery that can only deliver a small amount of milliamps..... if its to last as long as some do on one 9v.?

Perhaps that observation ....is not supposed to be observed.

Me thinketh that thee are begining ta stir tha pot so ta speak.  
Don't be fooled by the low power consumption. Even though the GBug TX field strength is low compared to the High end PIs, the detector has good signal processing ability and it can find nuggs at good depth in light to moderate  iron mineralisation.

As an example the bug can find the same 10 oz roundish lead test nugg at 17 to 20 inches as can my Other non ML PIs and these detectors have a field strength about 12 times that of the GB at a distance of 4 mtr from the coils.

An old Gardiner 2020A with a 5 inch coil and a field strength less than half that of the Gold Bug can ping smaller sub gram nugs than the Bug at 6 inches in ground.

Power isn't everthing but cct and coil design and signal processing is.

Me thinketh that thee are begining ta stir tha pot so ta speak

Your seeing something that aint there.

Well I wuz at tha time.

Ok this one is starting to gain momentum.

The beauty today with selecting a good VLF detector......there's so many to chose from.  
The amount of VLFs selling for around the 700-1500$ mark makes it a testy choice, boiling down to features i think more than performance.

Plenty of interesting reading on the GBP / F19 compared to not that long ago when it was not a favorite.

Maybe the new Minelab super detector combining both technologies will take the hassle out of owning a VLF.?

Is that definate that the new ML is a combined VLF/PI ?
I recall that Deepers had a VLF/PI hybrid a few years back but I cannot find any ref to it today.

adrian ss wrote:Is that definate that the new ML is a combined VLF/PI ?
I recall that Deepers had a VLF/PI hybrid a few years back but I cannot find any ref to it today.

2009.....The Deepers 2x1 (Two For One) VLF/PI.

adrian ss wrote:Is that definate that the new ML is a combined VLF/PI ?
I recall that Deepers had a VLF/PI hybrid a few years back but I cannot find any ref to it today.

Take a good read of what patents have been kicking around from about 2012. From there you can draw your own conclusion.

Go back even further and take a good read on the FBS patents and you'll see where its more time domain than frequency.

I dont have the link, but make google your friend tho and you'll find plenty of interesting reading. Although BC does not come strait to the point when talking patents, you have to be committed in order to make sense of the literature.

Minelab did say they were working on new technology in that news letter they put out not that long ago.

I take it no one here has taken the plunge and gave the upgraded GBPro a test drive.? (F19)

FFS that means i'll have to spend MY money to find out.

Gunna have to find out first about old stock....dont want one of the first releases. And if there not a big mover here in OZ....probably old stock giving the new owner a bum steer.
I read the first lot were under performers.

I've been reading with great interest all of your comments about the Fisher F19 ........ 'cos I just won one !!!!

So ..... after it arrives, I'll be doing some testing / learning and will put a bit of an "old girl's guide to the F19" up on here. Should be fun

Its not a bad machine truth be told, it just didn't float my boat the way i like.  Was about to get rid of it after testing it up against the Nokta/Makro range.....then Nokta went and released the new Nokta Fors Gold + operating on 19khz...so i guess i have a use for it once again.
Perhaps Fisher will right the wrong on their next update and give the F19 separate volume controls. ?

PS...watch out for the pin-point mode...its an eye opener...or should i say...an ear full.

WOW!!!!!!  Congrats on your win Kate.
   
         

I will be waiting for your thoughts about it ...
How did you put it?

" old girls guide to the f19 "