F19?

[SCGA1]

How is the depth on this machine? I purchased one on the 17th and have not been impressed with the air test depth. I've tested it in disc. Mode 100 sen. with no discrimination. I'm getting about 7 1/2 in. on a dime and three ringer, nine inches on a quarter and 10 in. On a nickel. Is this normal for these or do I have a bad one? I know air tests really don't mean much I just thought it should do better.

 

[Shenandoah Digger]

That's about what I get with the stock coil, which for a coil that size is pretty good. I'm checking out after market coils to see which would give me the best depth and still have the machine function as it should. Trying to decide between the Ultimate 13 and the NEL Hunter.

 

[woodchiphustler]

You will be sad using any coil but the stock. Just not the same. My in ground depth is 7 to 10 inches but the magic is not in the depth. It is stable and pretty accurate at depth. Nothing separates good targets in and around iron as well. That elliptical coil is the key,

 

[Tom Slick]

The 7"x11" Biaxial coil adds about an inch to an inch and a half to the depth. I almost always use the Biaxial coil or the 5"DD coil and feel the 10" stock coil is a compromise between the these two. The standard coil doesn't separate as well as the 5" or cover as much ground or get as good as depth as the 11" coil. The Ultimate 13" coil and the Nel Hunter both add about 2" more depth over the standard 10" but with a loss of separation and both are quite a bit heavier than the Fisher coils. I used the Ultimate and the Hunter for dry saltwater beach sand but felt the added coverage and depth didn't out weigh the added weight so it's back to the 11" Biaxial for that task. When I'm ghost town hunting in heavy iron trash and nails, the 5" coil is put to work. Ghost town hunting in the dry, West doesn't require great depth so the 5" works well. Relic hunting in the East in the woods requires greater depth due to the greater buildup of vegetation and moisture.

 

[lytle78]

The F-19 has much greater depth in All Metal. I suspect that this balance of all metal vs. discrimination depth is becUse it is a derivative of the Gold Bug Pro. The GBP is really optimized for finding nuggets and discrimination is only useful to ID shallow ferrous material since any deep targets would have to be dug anyway since Correct ID of deep stuff is seldom possible and would likely result in leaving gold because the ID number is dragged down to the ferrous range by depth and mineralization.

Relic hunting with the F-19 in deep soil has to be done by ear.

 

[Shenandoah Digger]

The F-19 has much greater depth in All Metal. I suspect that this balance of all metal vs. discrimination depth is becUse it is a derivative of the Gold Bug Pro. The GBP is really optimized for finding nuggets and discrimination is only useful to ID shallow ferrous material since any deep targets would have to be dug anyway since Correct ID of deep stuff is seldom possible and would likely result in leaving gold because the ID number is dragged down to the ferrous range by depth and mineralization.

Relic hunting with the F-19 in deep soil has to be done by ear.

All very good points.

 

[Bill_S]

I done a video where I air tested 3 coils. You can see it in the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3DpzvXeW9U

 

[SCGA1]

Bill I watched your video again and verified my depth again. I got the same results as my initial post. There is a 2 to 2.5 inch difference in disc. mode. In all metal it was about the same.

 

[Bill_S]

I know some of the early ones had problems and would not get much depth. Did you purchase yours new or used?

 

[SCGA1]

It was new and it shows 7 14 on the front of the ser#. I contacted Fisher and they said all the bad ones had been fixed. I was told to send it in and they would look at it and fix it if there was a problem with it.