Spec sheet

Operating Principle: VLF

Frequency: 19 kHz

Search Coil: Standard 10x5”

Weight: 2.5 lbs

Battery Type: 1 x 9v rectangular alkaline

Warranty: 5 years

Price: £699.00

This month I'm testing the Fisher F19, the name of which relates to the working frequency, not a homage to past military aircraft. The detector bears a strikingresemblance to the Fisher Gold Bug DP, a model I use as my second detector. Although I love the Gold Bug I’ve always thought it could be improved. So I went into this field test with high expectations that myimprovements might feature

Out of the boxFitting together the F19 follows the normal procedure;assemble the three-piece stem system, fit the coil to thebottom and secure using the supplied plastic nuts andbolts. Wrap the coil up around the stem, taking up anyslack cable before pushing the cable plug into the back of the control box. Finally secure the connection bytwisting the knurled locking collar. Assembly is achieved in less than three minutes.

Fisher F19

DisplayThe F19 shares the fantastic LCD display of the Gold BugDP. Looking at the screen there’s an arc across the topwith a 1 - 100 target scale. Each time a target is detected,a three-segment indicator appears above the correspondingsection of this scale. The visual display indication (VDI)number is shown prominently in the centre of the screen.As you adjust the menu settings, a digital setting can beseen bottom right.

Figure 1 Figure 3

Figure 2

These are the main readings you will use for detecting.There are also a range of information sections within thescreen giving users useful information on target intensity,battery condition, ground balance, and various messagesincluding menu items.

Controls Looking at the control box you realise just howminimalistic the controls are. There are two rotary knobsand a four-button push pad. The left hand rotary controlswitches the detector on, and as its turned clockwise thedetector increases power by raising its gain.

The right hand knob is the mode control. In the anti-clockwise position it switches into the Discrimination(Disc) mode. When this control is turned clockwise theF19 enters the All-Metal mode, therefore this controlshould be turned until a slight Threshold is achieved.

The four push buttons have dual uses depending on

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which mode has been selected. In the Disc mode the two buttonsmark + and – are used to increase/decrease menu setting. Thesettings you can adjust are: Discrimination, Backlight, Volume, V-Break, Notch Width and Notch. The F19’s Discrimination isprogressive, so the higher the setting, the more objects arediscriminated (from iron up). To get to the other menu settings youneed to select them with the Menu GG button, toggling througheach adjustable variable and then with the + and - buttons.

V-Break sets the point between low and high tones. Pressing theplus button increases the area of low tone, adjusting the areas of theAudio Discrimination. This is a real improvement over the GoldBug DP, which incorporated the Discrimination and V-Breaktogether. Now the F19 splits this control into two parts, giving theuser complete control over tone or blanking of undesirable objects.

This clever dual discrimination system gives the choice of usingthe F19 as a tone discrimination detector, giving low tones todiscriminated targets. By increasing the Discrimination setting it’s possible to blank trash altogether.

Other improvements over the Gold Bug include a notch systemfor blanking specific targets anywhere in the discrimination range.This is handy if your site is littered with lots of the same junk target -e.g. shot gun cartridges.

The F19 has a backlight setting in the menu. When activated ithas a really pleasing red-lit display. You can adjust the brightness ofthe backlight using the + and - buttons.

The Volume setting is very clever as it incorporates an iron-silencer at its higher settings. Between 1-9 all targets increase involume incrementally, but at the setting of 10, ferrous low-tonetargets are blanked. Then between 11-20 the low-tones progressivelyincrease in volume while high tones remain at the their highestsetting. So it’s possible to control the volume of low tone targets,allowing good high toned targets to stand out on iron-contaminatedsites.

Saving settingsTo save your custom settings you simply press and hold the MENU button for eight seconds, and release once you see ‘…..’.These saved settings will now become the default startup settings.This is another improvement, as the Gold Bug lost its settings once it was switched off.

To reset the detector back to the factory settings; switch on theF19, press and hold the Menu GG button and switch off. The nexttime the machine is switched on it will revert back to the factory-preset settings.

The last button with a ‘gun sight’ graphic operates the Pinpointmode. This is a momentary switch that only operates whilst beingheld down.

Advanced Disc Mode setupThe Ground Balance feature can only be set in the All-Metal mode.For best results Balance before turning to the Discrimination mode.The procedure to do this is relatively simple; turn the POWER knobclockwise and increase the GAIN until the knob reaches the 12o'clock position. Turn the MODE knob clockwise until it emits aslight Threshold, and while over clear ground free of targets, bobthe coil up and down while pressing and holding the MENU GGbutton. This grabs a setting for Ground Balance, displaying it in thebottom right of the screen, and on releasing saves the setting insidethe machines electronics. Then simply turn the MODE knob fullyanti-clockwise until it clicks back into the DISC mode, and thenincrease the gain to the desired setting ... and you're ready to startsearching.

All-Metal ModeTo use this machine in All-Metal mode, turn the POWER button on and rotate clockwise to the 12 o'clock position. Then turn theMODE knob clockwise until you have a slight Threshold. GroundBalance the detector over a clean piece of land using the GroundGrab (GG) button. The ground setting can then be fine-tuned usingthe two buttons marked + and –, and I find that increasing the AutoSetting will strengthen the target responses.

On paper this mode will get you better depths than theDiscrimination mode, and this is useful in the right circumstances.However, the loss of audio discrimination and the reliance of VDIreadings to identify iron targets, means you tend to search with youreyes locked to the display screen. This soon gets tiresome, and Ipersonally only use this mode to search small productive areas.

Test bedI took the F19 to my test bed and switched it on, and adjusted the settings. I chose VOLUME 11, V-BREAK 34 andDISCRIMINATION 42. I then Ground Balanced and startedswinging my coil over the buried targets. At full gain the F19 hit a 5p target to 10”, and a cut quarter penny to 41/2”. This was veryimpressive considering the high mineralisation of my test bed, anddemonstrated the high sensitivity of the 10x5” elliptical coil.

Field testThe site I chose first to test the F19 was a field that had produced a few Anglo Saxon sceattas. This was predominantly a Roman site,over looking a tributary of the Great Ouse. Like most of my old sitesthis one had been heavily searched, and the remaining targets in the‘hot’ areas tending to be very small, intermingling with all the site’siron.

I started to search and soon pulled a few minims. I was detectingusing just the V-BREAK set at 40 and no Discrimination. The lowtones were controlled setting the volume to 11, which acted like anIRON volume control. The non-ferrous target boomed out over thelow iron grunts.

The first silver was a hammered cut quarter, the first of two of thesession. After just over an hour I had found 20 Roman coins, all verysmall. This had been an impressive first search, even though myintended prey hadn’t surfaced, maybe next time.

After about a month of using this machine, I found myself on alarge field in Suffolk. The field had been searched in the past, andwhere ever you go you find lots of iron and very few non-ferroustargets remain. After about an hour I got fed up with hearing all

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ConclusionThe F19 is a well thought out detector and a great improvementover the Gold Bug DP. The extra control and ability to save settingshas made this my ‘go to’ machine for contaminated sites littered with iron. It has a blistering fast recovery rate, giving the ability of snatching desirable objects close to iron, targets that are oftenmasked to other machines.

The only concern I have about this machine is choice of coil forthe UK market. The 10x5” coil is very sensitive to small coins, andwill excel on sites where you have cut hammered or coins like Saxon stycas, but the depth of the coil to large items isn’t asimpressive. Luckily all the aftermarket coils of the Gold Bug fit the F19, so I was able to use them to get the additional depth Ineeded on pasture.

And lastly the colour finish … why was I sent the pink camouflage version? Was this a slur on my masculinity? Or a way of guaranteeing its return? Well it isn’t going to work, I’m keepingthis baby! For anyone concerned about the colour, it’s also availablein green.

This is a great machine that is more than capable of finding somegood finds. I have already replaced by Gold Bug with the F19.

Competition: Win a Fisher F19!Our thanks go to Joan Allen for supplying a machine to give away worth £699.00. For your chance to win just answer the followingquestion: What frequency does the F19 work on? Fill in the coupon below (no photocopies allowed unless you are a currentsubscriber and your number is required) with your answer and send it to us at the Fisher F19 Competition, The Searcher, 17 DownRoad, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2PX. Closing date for all entries by 31 March together with your name, address and contactnumber. Good luck!

Please enter me in the draw for the Fisher F19 competition:

What frequency does the F19 work on?

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Name ......................................................................................................................

Address....................................................................................................................

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Tel number.............................................................................................................

Subscriber no. (if required) .............................................................................

App or digital subscribers ONLY simply either do a 'screen grab' of the page, print it out and post the coupon OR attach thescreen grab to an email and send it to info@thesearcher.co.uk.Competition Rules:This competition is open to all readers except employees of The Searcher (which includes all regular contributors and their families) and our printersand distributors: Warners Group PLC. Only one entry is permitted per person. Entries will be accepted by POST only addressed to: Fisher F19 Competition,The Searcher, 17 Down Road, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey. GU1 2PX. Digtal/app subscribers ONLY by email or post. To be valid, entries need to bereceived on or before 31 March. The draw will take place soon after and the winners will be notified by telephone (if possible).

There is no cash or other alternative to the prizes stated and the prizes is not transferable and no part or parts of the prize may be substituted forother benefits, items or additions. The judges decision is final and binding. No correspondence will be entered into. No responsibility can be acceptedfor entries lost, delayed or damaged in the post.

WIN!

Fisher F19(Scores out of ten based on price category)

Ergonomics (weight/balance) 9

Simplicity/User Friendliness 10

Build quality 9

Weather resistance 8.5

Discrimination Performance 9

Overall detection Performance 9

Value for money (£699) 9

SEARCHERRATING

the low tones, so I increased the Discrimination to 40 and droppedthe V-BREAK to 38. This eliminated all iron responses, allowing me to adopt a technique known as the Muppet. I walked aimlesslyaround the field searching from corner to corner in an effort ofcovering as much land as possible in the shortest of time. By the end of the session I had found two hammered coins and an array of artefacts. This was one of the most enjoyable days detecting I’d had for ages. Not for the finds, but for the experience. I reallylike the F19.

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