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Fisher F2 - Is it still considered a decent entry level detector?

turtlefoot

Headstamp Addict
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
7,487
Location
The Ozarks
I have the chance to pick up a Fisher F2 locally, working, for a very good price. I know it is older and no longer made, but in the overall picture, is it still considered a good entry level machine? Almost all the videos that I can find are obviously older, but, at the time it came out, it seemed to have good marks.

It's only $50.00 and I am looking for an upgrade from the Bounty Hunter. Any advice is appreciated.

Doug
 
Go get it!

My first detector was a Fisher F2 and I used it to find my first silver: a 1916 merc!
 
Glad to hear you will get it.

Now, if you don't mind, I am curious how long you have been detecting? Are you mainly looking for coins in urban settings? How often do you get out detecting?

Best of success to you.

Monte
 
Glad to hear you will get it.

Now, if you don't mind, I am curious how long you have been detecting? Are you mainly looking for coins in urban settings? How often do you get out detecting?

Best of success to you.

Monte

I got my first detector when I was a kid back in the early 80's, just a toy basically. I eventually picked up a White's Coinmaster Classic III in the late 80's. I detected until the early 90's and then dropped the hobby until the early 2000's. I have been out of the hobby for the last 4-5 years due to health issues. With the exception of the White's, I have always used the Bounty Hunter Fast Tracker or Tracker IV (Cheap).

I have always been a relic hunter primarily hunting for logging relics and shotgun "headstamps". This year, I have decided to expand my hunting for coins in local parks and hopefully an old homesite every now and then. I like to get out 2-3 times a week for an hour or two.
 
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I have the chance to pick up a Fisher F2 locally, working, for a very good price. I know it is older and no longer made, but in the overall picture, is it still considered a good entry level machine? Almost all the videos that I can find are obviously older, but, at the time it came out, it seemed to have good marks.

It's only $50.00 and I am looking for an upgrade from the Bounty Hunter. Any advice is appreciated.

Doug

Already advised to you but my instant reaction was also "Grab it!"

Hate that it uses 9V batteries, but otherwise decent machine, great to learn on and find tons of clad (at least!) Down the road, keep it as a backup, or pass the needle to the next guy...

I was just thinking the other day, I need to keep my F2 in the trunk ALWAYS, and load up the higher end stuff on planned hunts. Mytwocents.

EDIT -- I just re-read your post and...having never used the Bounty Hunters, I can't say for SURE that this is a step up as far as what you'll find with it -- but it IS a good detector at a great price.
 
.....EDIT -- I just re-read your post and...having never used the Bounty Hunters, I can't say for SURE that this is a step up as far as what you'll find with it -- but it IS a good detector at a great price.

It will be a step up for sure. It has a screen with info on it, which will take some getting used to. My Bounty Hunter is strictly a beep and dig machine.
 
Just a bit to add to or correct my earlier reply.

turtlefoot: said:
I got my first detector when I was a kid back in the early 80's, just a toy basically. I eventually picked up a White's Coinmaster Classic III in the late 80's.
I built my first detector as a 'kid' in March of '65. I used three homebuilt detectors until I got my first factory-made unit in my hands in the summer of '68, and it was also a White's model. You must have hit the neighboring key and meant late '90's because the Classic series didn't come out until the early-mid '90's. It would have been a Coinmaster Classic III or Classic III Plus. I had them both and preferred the 'Plus' version as it used the Blue Max series coils.


turtlefoot: said:
I detected until the early 90's and then dropped the hobby until the early 2000's. I have been out of the hobby for the last 4-5 years due to health issues. With the exception of the White's, I have always used the Bounty Hunter Fast Tracker or Tracker IV (Cheap).
Dates and times are off, but it's good you got back into the hobby. Yes, the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV is on the 'cheap' or 'budget' end , and for me I also consider the Fisher F2 to be on the lowest-side of the detector scale. My concept of a 'beginner' or 'entry-level' detector might differ from some because I have always felt that if someone is going to get into the hobby and take it seriously, and that could be teenage years through adulthood, they should invest enough to get a detector that can work well and handle the site environment challenges they are going to face. No, not the most expensive or most featured detector, but one that has the circuitry design performance and best coil size to accomplish the task.

I hope your 'health issues' have been resolved so you can enjoy getting out detecting again. I've had to use a cane since March of '93 and that really slowed me down. Going through some rehab now but hope to be ready to go by spring-to-summer time. I can only get in an hour or two each time this past four or five years, but do try to get out 3 to 5 times a week depending on how my back is doing.


turtlefoot: said:
I have always been a relic hunter primarily hunting for logging relics and shotgun "headstamps". This year, I have decided to expand my hunting for coins in local parks and hopefully an old homesite every now and then. I like to get out 2-3 times a week for an hour or two.
If you're looking for "logging relics' as well as "headstamps' or shotgun shell bases, you can do that in an All Metal mode or a Discriminate mode that allows a lower-end, ferrous-range, acceptance since a lot of "logging relics" are going to be made of Iron / steel. Some shotgun shell bases as well although most of those are going to fall in the non-ferrous range of conductivity.

As for 'Coin Hunting', if you are sticking to city parks and schools and other public sites, as well as homesites periodically, then it can be helpful to have a good Discriminating unit to help deal with modern trash. Just remember, if any of those places have a lot of Iron Nails in close proximity, a good 'Relic Hunting' detector with a smaller-size coil will be advantageous to work in and around the ferrous debris, just like in a ghost town or logging camp environment.

And don't forget, if you are strictly looking for coins, you might be passing up some good silver or gold jewelry that falls in the 'trash' category of Tone ID and visual Target ID. Foil, Pull-Tab, Screw Cap, etc.


turtlefoot: said:
It will be a step up for sure. It has a screen with info on it, which will take some getting used to. My Bounty Hunter is strictly a beep and dig machine.
I like a non-display "Beep & Dig!" detector for a lot of my hunting tasks, and relied on a non-display detector for the most part until 1994. I have my two favorite non-display detectors, and always take at least one of them along on any travel I do.

Non-display detectors found most of the tens-of-thousands of coins I have recovered since I got started ... and that's because there was no visual Target ID until 1983, ... and the fact that in those early days the popular-use sites were loaded with coins! I continued to use the non-display detectors after that most of the time. I owned some TID models, but didn't start relying on it much until I got an XLT in June of '94 and used it mainly or urban Coin Hunting.

There are times, when Coin hunting, that the Target ID is useful, but for the most part I rely on the audio response of any detector for any application.

Having the F2 with a visual TID display might be helpful in you are strictly looking for coins and willing to rely on the VDI read-out to be very selective of the targets you will recover. The end result is:

You will have fun detecting new and different environments.
You will be able to recover a lot of coins that might be present.
You will lean more about different detector features and behavior.
It might be a new experience that gets you involved enough to consider buying a better-performing detector in the mid-price range.

For the record, if I came across an F2 or another useful low-end, easy-to-use detector for $50 I'd buy it. My six kids range in age from 40 to 50 years old and those who detect have their own unit. The result of having six children is that I have 18 grandchildren, at last count, and on the occasional times a group of us might get together I have some 'loaner-units' for my other kids or the 'grown-up' grandkids to use. I'd snag one or two more lower-end 'beginner' units for the younger grandkids to join in the fun. Fifty-bucks for a clean, good-working F2 isn't a bad deal for the right reason.

Monte
 
EDIT -- I just re-read your post and...having never used the Bounty Hunters, I can't say for SURE that this is a step up as far as what you'll find with it -- but it IS a good detector at a great price.

It will be a step up for sure. It has a screen with info on it, which will take some getting used to. My Bounty Hunter is strictly a beep and dig machine.

..."I am looking for an upgrade from the Bounty Hunter."...

Clearly you know the F2 has feature upgrades over the BH, so my point was I'm not sure with the stock 8" concentric coil if it will find anything that the bounty hunter wouldn't, just relay the information differently / better. Others who have used both could say if the F2 is any deeper or faster...

I used mine primarily with the 11"DD coil, and had a blast putting it over tons of dirt.
 
TorqueMaster: said:
Clearly you know the F2 has feature upgrades over the BH, so my point was I'm not sure with the stock 8" concentric coil if it will find anything that the bounty hunter wouldn't, just relay the information differently / better. Others who have used both could say if the F2 is any deeper or faster...

I used mine primarily with the 11"DD coil, and had a blast putting it over tons of dirt.
My youngest daughter bought a BH Tracker IV for her youngest to use that I checked out for them. An F2 w/8" works much better. That is why I would snap one up for $50 in his case.

Good to hear you had fun with yours because that is what the hobby is about ... Having fun!
 
Just a bit to add to or correct my earlier reply.
...Dates and times are off, but it's good you got back into the hobby....

You have to be correct. I would have gotten the Coinmaster Classic III Plus in the '90's as I was out of school by the time I purchased it. I graduated in the late 80's.

I forgot all about the Blue Max coils. I remember when I purchased the Blue Max 950 coil.
 
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