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overall build quality
- Thread starter jmann
- Start date
I have used a 75 since they came out. They are not built like tanks but are strong enough to withstand abuses in the field. I've accidentally hit mine with a shovel, small hand digger and watched a borrower drop it from two feet onto the ground and it still works fine, but keep it out of the rain. It is light and balanced well. No build problems with mine. I did have a bad coil but I think some water seeped into it even though coil is waterproof.
I had well over 3000 hours on a regular F 75 and the only problem I encountered was having to replace the cam lock. My current F 75 LTD, which I have had since they first came out, is purring along with no problems and there are prolonged stretches where I use it daily for several hours. Light weight, but sturdy. HH jim tn
i hunt probably at least 4 days a week now with my ltd. It has held up well. I too have dropped mine a foot or two from the ground a number of times, honestly. And yet it keeps on ticking, My only concern although Ive never heard of any one having an issue with it is the pull/push trigger for the pinpointer/ ground balancing. I fancy it to feel like a rather small gauge metal when I go to use it. I mean after the thousands of times you engaged it and not necessarily delicately, I just wonder if it will be the first thing to go, mechanically and or electronically. Yet Im in my third year with it and its hanging in there. Im pretty much a plow right through the bushes kind of guy, but I do respect my instrument enough to slow down when Im in difficult terrain for fear of falling on it , etc. I probably would take that care with any detector I take a field. They are high tech machines and if the money is in the electronics as opposed to a bunch of overweight housing and poles, than so be it. A very important part of my decision on this machine included the overall weight. You can use it all day as it is very light. Overall I think its built alright. Good hunts, CO
Krychu, thanks for the photo, it's not always easy for us to keep tabs on what happens on another continent. I have informed our quality control people about it.
* * * * *
Now, just for the sake of discussion, is there any other manufacturer's forum here where the chief engineer keeps track of it and is willing to thank someone for posting about a problem? Much less a photo of catastrophic failure? I don't think so!
We have very low return rates, but they're not zero. Although we'll never reach zero, that's our goal. In order to strive for that goal, we need to know what fails, and if possible get the machine back so we can do failure analysis on it. ......Some of you forum old timers have witnessed how much our customer service (which thanks to the Internet tends to go public) has improved over the last several years: the same thing is happening throughout the company in the areas you don't see. And rest assured we don't think we've "arrived" and that no more improvement is needed. The trademarks we manufacture may have been around a long time, but as a company we're young and growing.
* * * * * *
Now, to put some perspective on all this "build quality" stuff.
The T2/F75 mechanical package has the best ergonomics in the metal detector industry. This is not like the "which one goes deeper" debates which will never end: since we claimed "best ergo" with the intro of the Tek T2, not one soul has been willing to dispute it. We did our scientific and engineering homework and we publish the ergonomic specifications. More than 5 years later, nobody else in the industry even publishes ergonomic specifications. Our competitors dispute us on everything else, but when it comes to ergonomics, they're dead silent. Eloquent of them, ain't it?
We got it so "right", that virtually nobody has asked us to shave one gram off the weight. "Hipmount", that issue just vanished. Most people who use it but who haven't actually weighed their machines say it's the lightest machine they've ever used, they can swing it all day without fatigue, even though (surprise!) it actually weighs a lot more than some other much lighter but less ergonomically engineered machines. Yep, we did pay attention to weight, but the ergonomics had to come first for the simple reason that getting the shapes and weights properly distributed counts for more than sheer cutting weight. If you've ever swung a Garrett Ace 250, that's a good example of how badly ergonomics can be done in a machine that actually isn't all that heavy.
Most metal detectors are built around a "frame" of aluminum tubing, and in the USA the various manufacturers use just about the same diameters and alloy grade, and have for many years. The tubing itself is standard off the shelf stuff. And has a history of being very durable. This does not mean that nothing ever breaks it: to achieve that we'd have to use 2 inch (5 cm) diameter malleable iron pipe, and that ain't gonna happen.
And of course nowadays all manufacturers use a lot of plastic. I remember 30 years ago when Fisher switched from aluminum to plastic on the 1260-X, there was an outcry in beeperlandia, "cheap plastic!". Well, the aluminum boxes were constantly getting banged up, and the plastic fixed the problem. Back then there was no Internet to explain to customers that the plastic actually made the product more durable.
Forgive me for praising a competitor for whom I once worked, but one of the sturdiest mechanical packages in the metal detector industry is also one of the lightest-- Tesoro Micromax. Light weight doesn't have to mean flimsy. Old timers still praise the ruggedness and decent ergonomics of the "old Fishers", not realizing that the Fisher mechanicals we make nowadays are most like the models that earned that reputation, and not the Cimino-era clunkers that helped doom the "old Fisher".
And there's another competitor whom I won't name, but y'all know who it is. Weighs like a tank, so people assume it must be sturdy, although reports on that issue are mixed. In any case, it has outlasted many an arm, and orthopedic surgery is a lot more expensive than getting a metal detector repaired. There is even an aftermarket in accessories designed to lighten the load! May God have mercy on my soul if I ever subject a customer to such inexcusable physical abuse.
--Dave J.
* * * * *
Now, just for the sake of discussion, is there any other manufacturer's forum here where the chief engineer keeps track of it and is willing to thank someone for posting about a problem? Much less a photo of catastrophic failure? I don't think so!
We have very low return rates, but they're not zero. Although we'll never reach zero, that's our goal. In order to strive for that goal, we need to know what fails, and if possible get the machine back so we can do failure analysis on it. ......Some of you forum old timers have witnessed how much our customer service (which thanks to the Internet tends to go public) has improved over the last several years: the same thing is happening throughout the company in the areas you don't see. And rest assured we don't think we've "arrived" and that no more improvement is needed. The trademarks we manufacture may have been around a long time, but as a company we're young and growing.
* * * * * *
Now, to put some perspective on all this "build quality" stuff.
The T2/F75 mechanical package has the best ergonomics in the metal detector industry. This is not like the "which one goes deeper" debates which will never end: since we claimed "best ergo" with the intro of the Tek T2, not one soul has been willing to dispute it. We did our scientific and engineering homework and we publish the ergonomic specifications. More than 5 years later, nobody else in the industry even publishes ergonomic specifications. Our competitors dispute us on everything else, but when it comes to ergonomics, they're dead silent. Eloquent of them, ain't it?
We got it so "right", that virtually nobody has asked us to shave one gram off the weight. "Hipmount", that issue just vanished. Most people who use it but who haven't actually weighed their machines say it's the lightest machine they've ever used, they can swing it all day without fatigue, even though (surprise!) it actually weighs a lot more than some other much lighter but less ergonomically engineered machines. Yep, we did pay attention to weight, but the ergonomics had to come first for the simple reason that getting the shapes and weights properly distributed counts for more than sheer cutting weight. If you've ever swung a Garrett Ace 250, that's a good example of how badly ergonomics can be done in a machine that actually isn't all that heavy.
Most metal detectors are built around a "frame" of aluminum tubing, and in the USA the various manufacturers use just about the same diameters and alloy grade, and have for many years. The tubing itself is standard off the shelf stuff. And has a history of being very durable. This does not mean that nothing ever breaks it: to achieve that we'd have to use 2 inch (5 cm) diameter malleable iron pipe, and that ain't gonna happen.
And of course nowadays all manufacturers use a lot of plastic. I remember 30 years ago when Fisher switched from aluminum to plastic on the 1260-X, there was an outcry in beeperlandia, "cheap plastic!". Well, the aluminum boxes were constantly getting banged up, and the plastic fixed the problem. Back then there was no Internet to explain to customers that the plastic actually made the product more durable.
Forgive me for praising a competitor for whom I once worked, but one of the sturdiest mechanical packages in the metal detector industry is also one of the lightest-- Tesoro Micromax. Light weight doesn't have to mean flimsy. Old timers still praise the ruggedness and decent ergonomics of the "old Fishers", not realizing that the Fisher mechanicals we make nowadays are most like the models that earned that reputation, and not the Cimino-era clunkers that helped doom the "old Fisher".
And there's another competitor whom I won't name, but y'all know who it is. Weighs like a tank, so people assume it must be sturdy, although reports on that issue are mixed. In any case, it has outlasted many an arm, and orthopedic surgery is a lot more expensive than getting a metal detector repaired. There is even an aftermarket in accessories designed to lighten the load! May God have mercy on my soul if I ever subject a customer to such inexcusable physical abuse.
--Dave J.
Hi Dave!
I don't think, that the F75 is a bad machine. The detector - and coil - is very hard to destroy
But this plastic handle, which is mounted on the aluminium pipe, sometimes can break - example above, in my post. I stress, this isn't my machine and pictures, but i had F75 one moment in 2010. The pipe is, as I remember, 22,5 mm aluminium. The pipe wall is probably 1,8 mm. The hole is too big, so the material breaks. I have no idea, how to repair this, but I hope, the Firts Texas can address this
Sorry for my bad English, but i hope You understand me
I send more pictures from "PS" forum: http://www.poszukiwanieskarbow.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=68235&highlight=
Greetings, K
I don't think, that the F75 is a bad machine. The detector - and coil - is very hard to destroy
But this plastic handle, which is mounted on the aluminium pipe, sometimes can break - example above, in my post. I stress, this isn't my machine and pictures, but i had F75 one moment in 2010. The pipe is, as I remember, 22,5 mm aluminium. The pipe wall is probably 1,8 mm. The hole is too big, so the material breaks. I have no idea, how to repair this, but I hope, the Firts Texas can address this Sorry for my bad English, but i hope You understand me
I send more pictures from "PS" forum: http://www.poszukiwanieskarbow.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=68235&highlight=
Greetings, K
Thanks for the additional photos, Krychu, I will print them out for QC department personnel later today Monday.
The USA metal detector industry has taken pretty much for granted this kind of aluminum tubing and how to work with the stuff. Although it has served us well, a while back several people in the company including myself began asking if we should be looking at alternatives, for reasons unrelated to failures such as you have observed which are very rare.
I am not trying to get anyone excited about what specifically we might be selling in the future, just trying to point out that we are not taking existing designs for granted, and we welcome information from the field.
-- Dave J.
The USA metal detector industry has taken pretty much for granted this kind of aluminum tubing and how to work with the stuff. Although it has served us well, a while back several people in the company including myself began asking if we should be looking at alternatives, for reasons unrelated to failures such as you have observed which are very rare.
I am not trying to get anyone excited about what specifically we might be selling in the future, just trying to point out that we are not taking existing designs for granted, and we welcome information from the field.
-- Dave J.
Big Boys Hobbies
Well-known member
You will not find a better balanced lightweight machine than the F75. Perfect design!