- - I went to the high school again today, to continue pounding one particular area of the grounds. I just started hitting it, twice in the last 4 days. So far I have pulled about $8 in change for about four hours effort. I have started calling it the "Piggy Bank," due to it's payout and gently sloped grade. I have gridded a section about 80' x 50' so far, and there is probably twenty times that much yet to do. Maybe more. I could be at it a while!
This time I hauled my trusty Golden and a new detector, the Fisher F70. I wanted to see how they compare. I didn't really expect them to be much alike and I wasn't let down - they are not. However there is much to recommend them both and they are more similar than one might think. In the end, I think there is room for both in the Dahut Arsenal.
For this comparison I'll use the 10 section scale devised used by Andreas Meyer. That said, lets take a look at the two detectors side by side.
1. Features
The Golden can't hold a candle to the F70 on features alone. It has an ALL METAL mode and an ED-120, progressive DISC mode.... there is no pinpoint mode. Coupled to the DISC mode there is an excellent notch arrangement and 4 tone audio ID. No LCD readout is offered. There are the normal SENSITIVITY and THRESHOLD controls, it takes one 9v battery for power and has a 1/4" phone jack. The ground balance is preset. That's about it
I'd give it a 7 on features.
The F70 has one DISC mode and one ALL MODE mode as standard... and a ton of other features. Everything from a large LCD readout to interlinked gain, threshold/pre-amp and SAT speed adjustments. It has six distinct audio ID modes, along with notching, a pinpoint control and even seven different operating frequencies. It takes 4 AA batteries. There are more features than I can list. On features alone, the F70 gets a 9.
2. Depth and stability
Okay, let's confess: The Golden is not a depth monster. Compared to the Fisher, it comes up short. I didn't wind it up today opting for a setting of "*" on the SENS control. Even so, the Golden is good for about 6-8" on a dime. It doesn't fail to hit good targets, mind you, but deep, deep targets are gonna be a stretch.
On depth, the Golden gets a 7.
The F70, on the other hand, is about as deep as you can make a detector, I think. With all those gain, preamp and ground tracking adjustments, you can reach 10-12" on a coin. I don't think the Golden will do that consistently, although I have gotten 10" on a quarter with it.
On depth, the F70 gets a 9.
There is a downside of all this gain and preamp stuff, though. At the settings needed to make the F70 go to it's limits, it is twitchy and nearly so unstable as to be unusable. Even at moderate levels, the tiniest bit of foil or wire will make it chirp and quiver.
Stability for the F70 is an 8 (and that may be generous.)
The Golden by comparison is rock steady, and hardly whimpers no matter how much you wind it out. And at the boost ranges, over good targets and not trash, it gets some respectable, if not stellar, depth as well.
Stability on the Golden? 9
3. Discrimination and Notch System
The Golden has progressive DISC and a notch system that, in my opinion, is accurate and plain hard to beat. It takes some practice to get it right, but once you get the tones and notch arrangement figured out, you can ID any pull tab or screw cap made, and/or blank out any you don't want to recover. It needs a notch accept function, but it's no big deal. The Fisher lacks that, too.
The Golden's progressive DISC is razor edged, and cuts off all normal targets with authority when set to reject them. Unlike the F70, with it's digital controls, you thumb the knob to manipulate DISC. The iron range tone ID alone is a worthy feature... every detector made should have this.
The Golden signals strongly over targets, and you don't have to strain to hear them.
DISC and notch on the Golden: 8
DISC on the F70 runs the scale from 0-99 and is very accurate at all practical depths. It has all the tone ID you could want and surpasses the Golden in audio choices. It is not so razor edged as the Golden, though, and I experience plenty of "creepers" - those targets that are set to be discriminated out, but aren't. It hits harder on nickels than the Golden which seems not to really like them. The notch on the F70 is kinda weird to set up and is of the in-or-out blocking type. It works, but it has none of the subtlety of the Golden. The F70 has a volume control, but a somewhat weak audio amplitude even at max volume.
DISC and notch on the F70: 8
4. Ease of use
The Golden is the hands down winner in this category. Few detectors are as simple to use, while still offering plenty of accurate information to help with your digging decisions. With only four knobs and two switches, this is total analog joy. You set a few knobs, flick a switch and you are off. The Golden rarely falls over when you set it down and it rests nicely against you while you pocket your finds.
Ease of use for the Golden: 10
The F70 is not as easy to use. It has a scrolling menu arrangement for control selections that isn't difficult, but it cannot compare to the Golden. It can drive you batty with the various sensitivity and preamp controls and you can spend some hunt time fiddling with these settings to get it to settle down. The F70 falls over at the least breath of wind; it's tiny "footprint" making it unstable. It doesn't want to stand up at all.
Ease of use for the F70: 8
5. Types of hunting that can be done with the detector
The Golden is best as what Mike Hillis calls a "cruiser." This means schoolyards, tot lots, parks and so on are it's forte. What some might call general purpose detecting. It's excellent DISC and notch features make it eminently suitable for this style of hunting. I have used it as a relic detector and the iron tone ID features are a real boon in this type of hunting. But it isn't really deep enough for those targets at the extreme depths. Prospecting is basically out, with its preset ground balance, ED 120 DISC and limited SENS. It is NOT waterproof.
Types of hunting choices for the Golden: 7
The F70 is touted as a coin, relic and prospecting detector and I feel it is good at at least two of them. With the narrow elliptical coil and many adjustments, you can turn it down and sneak around trash in the worst park. For relics, wind out the gain, boost the preamp and set it in slow SAT and I believe it will go as deep as you care to dig. I have no experience with the prospecting mode, so cannot comment. I have found more than my share of .22 caliber bullets with it so far, though. That ought to tell you something. The F70 is NOT waterproof.
Types of hunting choices for the F70: 9
6. Weight and balance
The Golden has a solid feel and balances slightly forward, biased towards the largish 8 x 9 epoxy sealed coil. It's weight is rated at around 2.5 lbs. It is so light and easy to swing as to be almost hardly worth mention.
Weight and Balance on the Golden: 9
Believe it or not, the F70 has the Golden beat in this category! It weighs slightly more than the Tesoro, at just under 3 lbs, yet it balances right on the "S" handle. The weight and balance even and there really is no contest. Winner - the F70
Weight and Balance on the F70: 10
7. Power consumption and operating costs
This is easy. Both rate a 10. The Golden uses one 9V battery that seems to last forever; Tesoro says it goes for 10 to 20 hours or something like that. It seems longer. The Fisher F70 uses four AA batteries and goes for 40 hours, rated. Neither one is worth quibbling over, so let's don't start.
Operating costs? What operating costs? Snag your batteries at the Dollar Store and get hunting!
Power consumption and operating costs for BOTH: 10
8. Build Quality
The Golden is built on Tesoro's familiar Micro Max platform. It is proven through years of use to be rugged, reliable and trouble free. There is nothing cheap feeling once you get one in your hands, although they appear a little toy like at first. The only weak spot I can detect is the strain relief on the cable connector from the coil. It has what seems a shoddy coil spring, which I've had break in the past. For the most part, though, it is not an issue.
Build Quality, Golden: 9
The F70 is kinda wimpy compared to the Golden. It just feels like you need to be careful with it, like it won't suffer much punishment. The LCD screen cover is a thin PVC sheet and is prone to damage. The coil is rugged enough, and the rods lock up well. But a sharp wiggle in the hand makes it all feel kinda unseated. I feel better after shrouding my F70 in bubble wrap and duct tape to help keep it from harm... I haven't felt the need to do it yet to this Golden.
Build Quality, F70: 8
9. Warranty
The Golden is a Tesoro. It has a lifetime warranty on the instrument, to the original purchaser. However in practice, Tesoro Inc., has a reputation of fixing any of their detectors, regardless of who currently owns it. This is a well deserved reputation. I've had a couple of Tesoro detectors fixed for FREE, even though I was not the original purchaser and the repairs, in one case, were major. The Tesoro people never batted an eye nor asked questions. As long as the instrument isn't abused or modified, their warranty on the instrument and their willingness to repair any of their units is untouchable.
Golden Warranty: 10
The F70 is warranted for 5 years to the original purchaser only. This is common practice in the industry and 5 years is a good long time.... longer than most, in fact. And they take care of you, no matter what, if you are the original purchaser.
But if you are not the original purchaser you are taking your chances. Sorry, Tesoro wins here.
On the other hand, Fisher-First Texas is making some major strides to improve and provide great service to their customers and their instruments. Their Service Manager, Mike Scott, has told me time and again, "We'll do what it takes to make our customers satisfied and keep them detecting." This doesn't mean they want a flood of requests from rascals looking to get something for nothing, but they are very willing to work with the customer. This is a great leap ahead of the old Fisher, in my experience.
F70 Warranty: 8, improving
10. Price and value
The Golden retails at $528 MSRP and hits the streets at about $423.20, dealer sell price. Personally, I think that at that price there are detectors which offer better performance and more features. But on the used market, with that untouchable warranty, they are hard to beat at around $250-$300.
Price and value new: 7
The F70 retails at $799 MSRP, with a street price of $649, dealer sell price. With all it can do and the near infinite adjustability, it is worth a lot. Is it worth $650? When you consider the Tesoro Cortes, Whites XLT, Garrett GTI 1500 or other high end detectors, it's competitively priced. Considering it performs better in tests than nearly all the competition, even some costing MORE, I'd say yes.
Price and value new: 8+
Totals
Golden - 93
F70 - 95
At no point in today's hunt was the F70 able to hit a target missed by the Golden. In many cases, in fact, the Golden hit them harder and without as much noisy chatter. Today's total was 61 coins for $3.01, a silver earring and a large wad of pull tabs and screw caps.
By no means does this indicate the Golden is the equal of the F70. It is not; in many arenas it is decidedly inferior. Given more field time with the F70, I suspect I will be willing to raise the score on the Fisher.
But for what it is, when used within it's limits - especially when it can be had used for a good price - the Golden just might be one of the best values available on the detector scene.
This time I hauled my trusty Golden and a new detector, the Fisher F70. I wanted to see how they compare. I didn't really expect them to be much alike and I wasn't let down - they are not. However there is much to recommend them both and they are more similar than one might think. In the end, I think there is room for both in the Dahut Arsenal.
For this comparison I'll use the 10 section scale devised used by Andreas Meyer. That said, lets take a look at the two detectors side by side.
1. Features
The Golden can't hold a candle to the F70 on features alone. It has an ALL METAL mode and an ED-120, progressive DISC mode.... there is no pinpoint mode. Coupled to the DISC mode there is an excellent notch arrangement and 4 tone audio ID. No LCD readout is offered. There are the normal SENSITIVITY and THRESHOLD controls, it takes one 9v battery for power and has a 1/4" phone jack. The ground balance is preset. That's about it
I'd give it a 7 on features.
The F70 has one DISC mode and one ALL MODE mode as standard... and a ton of other features. Everything from a large LCD readout to interlinked gain, threshold/pre-amp and SAT speed adjustments. It has six distinct audio ID modes, along with notching, a pinpoint control and even seven different operating frequencies. It takes 4 AA batteries. There are more features than I can list. On features alone, the F70 gets a 9.
2. Depth and stability
Okay, let's confess: The Golden is not a depth monster. Compared to the Fisher, it comes up short. I didn't wind it up today opting for a setting of "*" on the SENS control. Even so, the Golden is good for about 6-8" on a dime. It doesn't fail to hit good targets, mind you, but deep, deep targets are gonna be a stretch.
On depth, the Golden gets a 7.
The F70, on the other hand, is about as deep as you can make a detector, I think. With all those gain, preamp and ground tracking adjustments, you can reach 10-12" on a coin. I don't think the Golden will do that consistently, although I have gotten 10" on a quarter with it.
On depth, the F70 gets a 9.
There is a downside of all this gain and preamp stuff, though. At the settings needed to make the F70 go to it's limits, it is twitchy and nearly so unstable as to be unusable. Even at moderate levels, the tiniest bit of foil or wire will make it chirp and quiver.
Stability for the F70 is an 8 (and that may be generous.)
The Golden by comparison is rock steady, and hardly whimpers no matter how much you wind it out. And at the boost ranges, over good targets and not trash, it gets some respectable, if not stellar, depth as well.
Stability on the Golden? 9
3. Discrimination and Notch System
The Golden has progressive DISC and a notch system that, in my opinion, is accurate and plain hard to beat. It takes some practice to get it right, but once you get the tones and notch arrangement figured out, you can ID any pull tab or screw cap made, and/or blank out any you don't want to recover. It needs a notch accept function, but it's no big deal. The Fisher lacks that, too.
The Golden's progressive DISC is razor edged, and cuts off all normal targets with authority when set to reject them. Unlike the F70, with it's digital controls, you thumb the knob to manipulate DISC. The iron range tone ID alone is a worthy feature... every detector made should have this.
The Golden signals strongly over targets, and you don't have to strain to hear them.
DISC and notch on the Golden: 8
DISC on the F70 runs the scale from 0-99 and is very accurate at all practical depths. It has all the tone ID you could want and surpasses the Golden in audio choices. It is not so razor edged as the Golden, though, and I experience plenty of "creepers" - those targets that are set to be discriminated out, but aren't. It hits harder on nickels than the Golden which seems not to really like them. The notch on the F70 is kinda weird to set up and is of the in-or-out blocking type. It works, but it has none of the subtlety of the Golden. The F70 has a volume control, but a somewhat weak audio amplitude even at max volume.
DISC and notch on the F70: 8
4. Ease of use
The Golden is the hands down winner in this category. Few detectors are as simple to use, while still offering plenty of accurate information to help with your digging decisions. With only four knobs and two switches, this is total analog joy. You set a few knobs, flick a switch and you are off. The Golden rarely falls over when you set it down and it rests nicely against you while you pocket your finds.
Ease of use for the Golden: 10
The F70 is not as easy to use. It has a scrolling menu arrangement for control selections that isn't difficult, but it cannot compare to the Golden. It can drive you batty with the various sensitivity and preamp controls and you can spend some hunt time fiddling with these settings to get it to settle down. The F70 falls over at the least breath of wind; it's tiny "footprint" making it unstable. It doesn't want to stand up at all.
Ease of use for the F70: 8
5. Types of hunting that can be done with the detector
The Golden is best as what Mike Hillis calls a "cruiser." This means schoolyards, tot lots, parks and so on are it's forte. What some might call general purpose detecting. It's excellent DISC and notch features make it eminently suitable for this style of hunting. I have used it as a relic detector and the iron tone ID features are a real boon in this type of hunting. But it isn't really deep enough for those targets at the extreme depths. Prospecting is basically out, with its preset ground balance, ED 120 DISC and limited SENS. It is NOT waterproof.
Types of hunting choices for the Golden: 7
The F70 is touted as a coin, relic and prospecting detector and I feel it is good at at least two of them. With the narrow elliptical coil and many adjustments, you can turn it down and sneak around trash in the worst park. For relics, wind out the gain, boost the preamp and set it in slow SAT and I believe it will go as deep as you care to dig. I have no experience with the prospecting mode, so cannot comment. I have found more than my share of .22 caliber bullets with it so far, though. That ought to tell you something. The F70 is NOT waterproof.
Types of hunting choices for the F70: 9
6. Weight and balance
The Golden has a solid feel and balances slightly forward, biased towards the largish 8 x 9 epoxy sealed coil. It's weight is rated at around 2.5 lbs. It is so light and easy to swing as to be almost hardly worth mention.
Weight and Balance on the Golden: 9
Believe it or not, the F70 has the Golden beat in this category! It weighs slightly more than the Tesoro, at just under 3 lbs, yet it balances right on the "S" handle. The weight and balance even and there really is no contest. Winner - the F70
Weight and Balance on the F70: 10
7. Power consumption and operating costs
This is easy. Both rate a 10. The Golden uses one 9V battery that seems to last forever; Tesoro says it goes for 10 to 20 hours or something like that. It seems longer. The Fisher F70 uses four AA batteries and goes for 40 hours, rated. Neither one is worth quibbling over, so let's don't start.
Operating costs? What operating costs? Snag your batteries at the Dollar Store and get hunting!
Power consumption and operating costs for BOTH: 10
8. Build Quality
The Golden is built on Tesoro's familiar Micro Max platform. It is proven through years of use to be rugged, reliable and trouble free. There is nothing cheap feeling once you get one in your hands, although they appear a little toy like at first. The only weak spot I can detect is the strain relief on the cable connector from the coil. It has what seems a shoddy coil spring, which I've had break in the past. For the most part, though, it is not an issue.
Build Quality, Golden: 9
The F70 is kinda wimpy compared to the Golden. It just feels like you need to be careful with it, like it won't suffer much punishment. The LCD screen cover is a thin PVC sheet and is prone to damage. The coil is rugged enough, and the rods lock up well. But a sharp wiggle in the hand makes it all feel kinda unseated. I feel better after shrouding my F70 in bubble wrap and duct tape to help keep it from harm... I haven't felt the need to do it yet to this Golden.
Build Quality, F70: 8
9. Warranty
The Golden is a Tesoro. It has a lifetime warranty on the instrument, to the original purchaser. However in practice, Tesoro Inc., has a reputation of fixing any of their detectors, regardless of who currently owns it. This is a well deserved reputation. I've had a couple of Tesoro detectors fixed for FREE, even though I was not the original purchaser and the repairs, in one case, were major. The Tesoro people never batted an eye nor asked questions. As long as the instrument isn't abused or modified, their warranty on the instrument and their willingness to repair any of their units is untouchable.
Golden Warranty: 10
The F70 is warranted for 5 years to the original purchaser only. This is common practice in the industry and 5 years is a good long time.... longer than most, in fact. And they take care of you, no matter what, if you are the original purchaser.
But if you are not the original purchaser you are taking your chances. Sorry, Tesoro wins here.
On the other hand, Fisher-First Texas is making some major strides to improve and provide great service to their customers and their instruments. Their Service Manager, Mike Scott, has told me time and again, "We'll do what it takes to make our customers satisfied and keep them detecting." This doesn't mean they want a flood of requests from rascals looking to get something for nothing, but they are very willing to work with the customer. This is a great leap ahead of the old Fisher, in my experience.
F70 Warranty: 8, improving
10. Price and value
The Golden retails at $528 MSRP and hits the streets at about $423.20, dealer sell price. Personally, I think that at that price there are detectors which offer better performance and more features. But on the used market, with that untouchable warranty, they are hard to beat at around $250-$300.
Price and value new: 7
The F70 retails at $799 MSRP, with a street price of $649, dealer sell price. With all it can do and the near infinite adjustability, it is worth a lot. Is it worth $650? When you consider the Tesoro Cortes, Whites XLT, Garrett GTI 1500 or other high end detectors, it's competitively priced. Considering it performs better in tests than nearly all the competition, even some costing MORE, I'd say yes.
Price and value new: 8+
Totals
Golden - 93
F70 - 95
At no point in today's hunt was the F70 able to hit a target missed by the Golden. In many cases, in fact, the Golden hit them harder and without as much noisy chatter. Today's total was 61 coins for $3.01, a silver earring and a large wad of pull tabs and screw caps.
By no means does this indicate the Golden is the equal of the F70. It is not; in many arenas it is decidedly inferior. Given more field time with the F70, I suspect I will be willing to raise the score on the Fisher.
But for what it is, when used within it's limits - especially when it can be had used for a good price - the Golden just might be one of the best values available on the detector scene.
. I just gotta get one!
), in order to replace the Golden. This one will stay!
