Fisher F4

Fisher F4

Jeremy Daw in England -
I have had my Fisher F4 since February 2011 and I have been metal detecting for over 30 years. I have owned many detectors including several Minelbabs, Tesoros, Whites, and Garrett’s. I have now had 3 Fishers, a 960D in the 1970’s with the ‘walking stick’ type shaft, an ID Edge and now the F4.
As I had owned the ID Edge for several years I decided to upgrade to the F4, big mistake. The ID Edge with the 10 ½ inch coil gives really awesome depth, but that’s another story.

The F4 is fairly well balanced and although it’s not heavy it’s not as light as I would have hoped. It has a nice display screen but as usual in the UK the American decals are pretty useless, you need to look at the id number to get an idea of the target. The ‘Cu’ copper icon is accurate on copper coins. Depth indicator is fairly accurate. I found the pinpointing took a bit of getting used to as it seems to fall between the centre of the coil and the coil bolt.

The land where I detect on is in the Midlands area of the UK, its fairly neutral soil and I can usually turn the sensitivity up to maximum without any falsing. Working near power cables can cause the detector to go haywire at times but reducing the sensitivity usually cures this.

If you are detecting with an i-phone or smart-phone in your pocket it can be prone to sound off occasionally with rapid bleeps. I have used this detector on several Channel 4 ‘Time Team’ digs and it can get interference from the film crew ‘walkie-talkies’ nearby.

This detector operates in ‘all metal discrim’ and as such you need to ground balance it as you will get more depth. I have a test bed in my garden and the Fisher F4 will pick up a Georgian half penny lying flat in the ground at 10 inches. If it’s not ground balanced this is reduced to about 7 inches. I could go on about all the finds I have made with the F4 but as with any detector you have to walk over this stuff in the fist place. However, I recently dug a small bronze Roman ‘grot’ coin from over 10 inches in pasture land, I was really surprised!

When you turn the F4 off you lose all your settings and it reverts back to the factory preset when turned on again, no big problem as its simple to set up.
Pro’s, Easy to set up and use.
Fairly light and reasonably well balanced.
DD coil better on wet sand than a concentric coil.
Quite good depth for a mid-range detector.
Con’s, Coil shaft bolt comes unscrewed, falls off and gets lost. I ordered a new one which I had squash the threads with a pair of pliers to make it tighter so that it didn’t happen again.
Now and again the screen freezes and just like a computer I have to switch it off and back on again.

Apr 17, 2012

4 Yes
0 No

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Mister

mick in blackburn -
Hi this is my second review on the f4.been doing very well 7 more silver sixpences, silver st christopher large one artillrey cap badge first world war plus the usual copper old pennys half pennys a farthing plus decimal coinage upto £28.but I've been having trouble ground balancing and using in all metal with the threshold.

I was getting a lot of chattering even if I turned down the sens. So I bought a suppressor 5mm from maplin. What a difference I ground balance spot on the manual way I balance till it goes quiet then go back a touch so I can just hear it.
It works great mess with sens threshold to my liking. Its like a different machine and improved the depth as well believe it or not I had two good repeatable signals couldn't find anything on the third repeatable I just kept digging 15 inches a 20p came out I couldn't beleave it I was just not digging deep enough. Usually it tells the truth on the depth.

Anyway, if your having problems like mine buy a wiggit suppressor 5mm £2.19 fantastic. Im so pleased with this machine. I'm saving up to get an f70 a bit more power but I'm still keeping the f4.
I've had all top end machines they don't come anywhere near this baby. My wifes sick of hearing me going on about it anyway I wont bore you any longer good hunting mick.
p.s. fit the suppressor as close to the box as possible.

Dec 03, 2011

13 Yes
1 No

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FISHER F4

MICK in BLACKBURN UK -
Hi, I've had the f4 2 weeks now. What a machine gold ring silver bodge threesilver sixpences 1 silver florin edward pennys 6 poundscoins 12 plus change roman? Celtic metal ring. What can I say I've had all the machines this is an allrounder.

I bought it second hand for £240 with headphones extra coil and spade. Get the ground balance right and theres no end to what this machines will find. My first fisher will certainly be upgrade to another fisher but I will be keeping the f4. Well done fisher.

Nov 17, 2011

7 Yes
0 No

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Good Beginner, has a few flaws

MedicManiac in Oregon -
Three Stars for this detector. Its defiantly a great beginner machine. Pinpointing is dead accurate, and the machines ability to classify metal is 89% accurate. Very light, well balanced, and is user friendly.

I didn't notice an oversensitivity to power lines or power boxes which was nice..I've detected with it around those big green power boxes without any interference.
Usually any interference due to powerlines is controllable using the sensitivity settings.

I think the deepest I have ever pulled a coin out of the ground has been 7 inches.
Fisher customer service is very fast to respond. I've also been told this machine will beach hunt, as long as the sensitivity is adjusted correctly.

Now for the cons....the reflective screen will melt your corneas you when the sun shines down on it. It Cannot tell the difference between bottle caps and quarters. If your in a high bottle cap area, you might as well leave. The padding to the grip is very cheap, mine came loose and moves up and down the rod.

Fisher's warranty would be nice, if I hadn't lost the receipt...stinks that the receipt is the only way to get warranty work done on it. Fisher says it will memorize your notch settings for the next time you use it, but mine never did. Oh, and be prepared to use 9V batteries like no other, they only last for about 10 hours tops.( but to be fair, I never ran batteries until they were fully dead because I didn't want to reduce performance.)

Overall three stars because it is a good machine, it just has a few small PITA problems.

Jun 05, 2011

18 Yes
4 No

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Excellent Metal Detector in a Reasonable Price Range

Tom Street in Tacoma, WA -
I am new to the hobby. It is very confusing to find the best manufacture and which is the best detector for the buck in ones price range. It can be hard to get a straight answer. Since I am not sure if metal detecting is something I want to do a lot, I did not want to put a lot of money into it. I read the reviews for a lot of detectors on the web. I thought out of all the reviews of detectors costing between $300 and $600 the Fisher F4 seemed to be a good choice. Even the F5 and F70 had some negative comments in the reviews.

I was still not too sure, so I called Kellyco to seek some advice. When I mentioned the F4, the salesman said it was a good one in that price range. I was not sure if it was the best or he said so because it mentioned it. I was willing to pay more if there was a better one within my price range.
I ordered it and so far I think the salesman was right on. It is far from being a White V3i with all the nice graphics and the ability to analyze what is under the ground before you dig, but it does the job very well.

What I like most about the F4 is the nice “pinpointing” feature showing the depth of the target. I have just figured out the sweet spot in the middle of the coil. Being new to the sport, I was dismayed with all the false reading I was getting. I guess with anything, it takes practice. It would be nice if Fisher would have included a DVD showing a newbie how to actually use it and problem solve false readings. It can't cost that much to add to the package. My only other complaint is the head phone jack is on the bottom of the box which shortens the cord and it is easy to get tangled up.

Over-all, the F4 is a great detector even compared it some which cost more. I was able to find things in my yard the first time I used it.
I am well satisfied with the F4.

May 31, 2011

8 Yes
0 No

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Fisher F4 is AWESOME

vrlpierce in Placerville, CA -
I've always wanted a MD since I was a little boy treasure hunter with my grandpa, using a cheap radio shack unit; but, never got around to it. However about a week ago, my 3 year old daughter flushed a $10,000 diamond on a gold necklace down the toilet and into our septic system...YIKES!!!!
So, off I went on the search for a decent metal detector. I first tried a BH Fortune Hunter (got a great deal, $140 on sale, 40% off). But it would only find lots of trash and didn't detect anything in the septic tank (yes, it was covered in plastic). So, I took it back and bought the Fisher F4. OMG, what a machine!!!! I took it out to practice with and learn and all of a sudden I was finding lots of cool stuff the BH missed. I found lots of 1960s to 1990s dimes, pennys and quarters all around my house and down by the lake we live next to. I found a 1966 dime at 10 inches deep without a hitch. Target ID is very easy to learn and use and is very accurate. Target depth is pretty accurate and the pinpoint mode is great. Ground balancing is super easy too. This machine is very intuitive and easy to learn for a begginer. After reading the manual, I was finding coins after 5 minutes of practice. It is a high quality item that finds cool stuff with ease.
The next day, I covered it in plastic bags and went over to our septic tank to look for the diamond necklace. It detected it immediately OVER THE WATER WHICH IS 4 FEET DEEP!!!! Target ID was exactly as described for gold items in the instruction manual. After a few minutes of fishing/scooping with an old rake, I recovered the diamond and gold necklace; HAPPY DAYS!!!! So, the way I see it, this unit has already payed for itself many times over.
Buy this unit; you will be extremely happy. It is easy, easy, easy to use and is great quality. This unit is head and shoulder above any BH rig, even if they are made by the same company. I look forward to many years of treasure hunting with this unit.

Sep 03, 2010

26 Yes
7 No

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MY REVIEW OF THE FISHER F4

SHAUN R in united kingdom -
A cracking detector!! I got this machine 2 weeks ago and took it to a field that I've used explorers on plus my e-trac and more recently my teknetics t2. All I can say is this machine wipes the floor with the lot of the!!

Firstly the f4 is far better balanced and much better on hot rocks than the t2 and also its very easy to take the sensitivity right to the top without it giving off false signals.
Recovery speed is astonishing and its fantastic though trashy areas and makes it simple to pull out good targets in junk.
First time out in my regular field I came back with 6 assorted coins one being French but also found silver too and this machine loves silver. Also found many small non ferrous targets and an antique ladies silver ring.it now makes me think that perhaps some detectors are trying to do way too much with way too many functions which makes them unstable.

This machine is easy to balance and easy to simply switch on and go. The best mode I found was all-metal discrim rather than just descrim as it finds many more targets and picks up everything and you choose what to dig.
I may add the silver items I found were not all where i expected and the ring hit right where pull tabs are and so did the French coin so my advice is run this mode and forget all that notching out and trust me you will love this machine.

HERE is my only criticism and thats the headphone socket is a pain where it is and I found my headphone coil getting wrapped around the box every 2 mins. Apart from that I would leave your t2 and f75 ego at home for one day and simply go try it with an open mind and you will be amazed and for the price having tried it I would've paid t2 money for it as it finds much more. Seems to me the lower frequency is much much better and a lot of my targets were found at depth too.TRY ONE !!!
Also I've gotta say a thanks to dinger51 off youtube and his reviews and tests of this machine as thats what made me buy it!!

Jun 12, 2010

36 Yes
3 No

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Fisher F4

John S.W. Mo. in Joplin Mo. -
Hi Guys
I'll try and keep this brief, I currently own 8 detectors. From a Tesoro Compadre to a minelab Explorer. The one that lives in my truck is the F4.
Dead easy to ground balance,deadly pinpoint, accurate depth and I.D., simple to set up, quick responce and above average depth.
Don't know, why but as much of a dime magnet as my CZ is on nickels.
Not much to complain about, doesn't save your settings when you power down.
Noticed our self proclaimed expert never got back with Andy and explained how the F4 is just a cheap discovery knockoff---do yourself a favor and getchaone!!!!

Mar 27, 2009

33 Yes
2 No

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F4 repacked bounty hunter 3300

Bobby in Bristol,Tn. -
A salesman does not know how the two metal detectors are put together as far as electronics inside unless they had some degree in that field. I will take both detectors apart and give the break down of the electronics in my next post. Both f4 and 3300 are good machines. I prefer the 3300 over the F4 due to being the same at about $300.00 cheaper and nicer looking. My next post will give people like Andy a new out look on electronic break downs and as to how they work. I will add that any F2-F4 coils will fit the 3300 bounty hunter like the 11inch DD coil for an example. HH Bobby

Sep 11, 2008

11 Yes
29 No

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Fisher F4

Steve in upstate New York -
I have owned several brands & models over the 15+ years I have been detecting. I recently bought a F4 and I really like it. I do not favor any brand and I will not bash any brand. I will say that the F4 is a nice light well built detector that is very accurate id'ing targets (especially with the DD coil) and gets decent depth. The discrimination works very well, it is not an iron lover like some of the Fishers. In the first 3 or 4 days of use I have found over $20.00 in clad and 6 rings. When comparing to the Garrett Ace 250 (which I have had) the Fisher is a deeper seeker/better id'ing/and isn't as jittery. And the F4 has a 5 year warranty. You can get a 4" coil for under $40.00 which makes a great coin killer in trashy area's. I am more than pleased with the F4 it is a keeper. To sum up the F4 I would say it is like having a Tesoro Cibola with a target identification display, anyone that has used a Cibola knows how good that is. The reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating is because a 5 star rating to me would be a perfect detector & there is no such thing as a perfect detector. Thanks! Steve.

Jul 13, 2007

72 Yes
1 No

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