what is wrong with the F19?

[garrybk]

I bought a F19 in September. I wanted a light weight detector that was good for relic hunting. I have only been metal detecting for a few years. So I don't have 20 or 30 years experience to back up what I say. But this is not my first detector. I think the F19 is a really great detector. For a $800 machine it does really well. When people compare it to $1000+ machines I don't figure it's a fair comparison. I'm not sure you can fairly compare any two machines. There are too many variables. I think fisher made a couple marketing mistakes with the F19. The "best relic detector" is a rather ambitious statement. Initial offer only in camo. That should be optional. Then the recall didn't help.
The f19 is very light. It goes very deep. The adjustable notch that you can move is great. The back light is nice. The adjustable vco is great. The f19 works for me. I'm getting better with it each day. No matter how much you spend on a detector you have to understand it or you won't find much. The F19 had a bad start. I'm not sure it will recover. For those of you that are old enough, I hope it doesn't turn out to be an Edsel.

 

[D&P-OR]

Gary-----If you are happy with it & it does what you need/require---that's all that counts.-----Who cares what anybody else thinks!----And yeah, I'm an old goat that remembers the Edsel but the F-19 isn't going that route. ------I think the problems FT had with it on its debut was what "set it on its heels" more than anything else---but---to FT's credit, they took care of those problems.---I think it got a bad rap because of that though.----And yeah, I had one of them (two of them)---the wife & I each had one.----Kind of wish I would have kept one but my head got turned towards that sexy little French thing (called the Deus).

 

[scoopjohnb]

I don't think there is anything wrong with my F19.
Fact is with the 10x5" coil it has pulled a few targets out of the garden other detector configurations have missed.

Now all that says is, it looks at the ground a little differently than anything I've used before.

It won't be leaving soon as I feel there is much more to learn and hunting with it is great fun.
Nice light swing and it picks up surface coins like a champ!
Even in trash where it counts.

 

[hershey1]

The best detector is the one YOU feel is the best for your style of hunting in your ground and finds the things you are looking for. When the G-2 came out it also had the title of being the best relic detector. It is good but not better than my F-75 LTD in my opinion. The more you use your machine the more you will find. I have several machines for different types of hunting and all are very good but I will assure you the machine you are most familiar with will be your go to machine. Again this is my opinion. HH

 

[Elton]

The first run had some issues from factory that was corrected immediately. Parts were installed wrong..

 

[Monte]

✔ I like the control housing design and most of the adjustment functions.

✔ I really like the excellent camo finish.

✔ While not a fan of DD coils, I do like the 5X10 DD and am glad they picked it and not the big, open 11" BiAxial [size=small](Double-D)[/size] coil as standard.

✔ I like the method of being broken down for shipping into a more confined box.

✔ I liked the fact that it handled my preferred iron nail challenge better than any Greek series model, F5, Gold Bug Pro or G2. They did do some work on that function.

✔ I got one so I could use it for some field evaluation and liked the fact that a friend bought it without any hesitation as it was what he wanted.



But the two problems I have about the F-19 are:

• For me and my needs it just didn't match or replace anything I had in my personal detector arsenal.

• And I got an F-19 to display at a seminar and maybe reconsider adding to my detectors, but just realized this brand new F19 wasn't a fit for me and now I have a brand new detector for $650 including shipping and there hasn't been a single bite!

Glad to hear it is working out for you and your search needs.

Monte

 

[NIBBLER]

The few that has sold on ebay has just barley reached the 500 mark.I don't believe the outlook for the 19 looks very good.Especially at the current price..

 

[digsgti]

The problem is that is too similar to the cheaper G2/Gold Bug machines. Good machine but nothing that was going to make a big splash.