Osage said:
I bought a 1236 in Feb. this year. The machine did not appear to operate properly. Disc. seemed to not work more than about 3 in. deep. The dealer was no help at all and was actually plain rude. I sent the 1236 to Fisher so they could take a look.
Everyone I spoke to at Fisher was very help full. They replaced a diode (sp) and re calibrated the machine for me at no charge with a quick turn around time. The detector is like a differant animal.
Read my recent post about Fisher service.
Osage said:
How would you discern or identify a pull tab from gold ring with a 1236 ? Dime from a penny ? Any other operation tips ?
Gold ring from pultab? That's easy - dig it up. That is the only sure way. Sometimes, pull tabs will fall off or break up slightly in strength when compared to good targets like rings. But that is not a sure thing. It remains a fact that tabs and rings look the same to a detector.
Dime from penny? Same rule - dig it up. Same reasons.
Operating tips for one of my favorite beep-dig detectors? Here you go, hot off the 'net:
1.The 1236-X2 is a detector that Fisher has needed for a long time. As a relic hunter, I can tell you, It is GREAT!. I use a 1266-XB to hunt with for the maximum depth, but sometimes run into to problem of a lot of iron targets. That is when I will switch to the 1236. I know then when I hit iron. The good thing about the 1236-X2 is you have the option to hunt in a regular disc mode, adjusting it to
you taste, or you can go into the Iron disc mode with a turn of the knob. A plus in the 1236-X2 is the silencer mode.
The 1200 Fisher series detectors are renowned for thier background chatter, but Fisher took care of this problem with the Silencer mode, without the loss of depth.
All in all, I think the 1236-X2 is a very versatile detector, and you will not go wrong with it. As far as depth, it is not the 1266, but it offers things relic hunters wanted. Depth is acceptable to me. I hope this helps you some.
2.It works great on coins. It really seems to like nickels. Turn the disc to 4 or
"IRON" and just dig. Turn it to "10" and get all coins except nickels.
I dug a platinum ring with my 1236X2 two weeks ago - DAVID
All of the 1200X series detectors use the same coils. They are available in 3 3/4", 5", 8", 10", and 10" elliptical.
The 1236 goes very well in trash iron laden areas which seems to give the CZ's a hard time.
3.Man I can't believe the depth I've been getting with it. For a 2.9 lb. machine it's impressive. The Silencer mode is a real good addition as well as the "threshold" depth boost.
This kicks in above the preset SENS of "8". Up to preset the SENS is adequate for most situations. But, when you go above this level, you hear a threshold hum, which indicates you are in the boost mode. There is some serious depth here.
4. I really like this unit I've noticed that the disc control has little or no affect on finding deep targets (unless you disc em' out).
I tried checking targets when running at the
"IRON" knockout preset, then moving the disc to 1-2 (accepting more iron) The target responses did not improve over the iron preset. Something less to worry about! Also when looking for deep targets turn the silencer OFF! It really finds those deep targets. Not to mention SMALL targets.
5. I took my my (new)1236 out this last weekend to a fresh water lake and found about 50 coins and also about 50 lead
fishing weights. It really surprised me with the amount of targets that it found. This lake is hit pretty hard by other machines. I tried hunting with the silencer on and also with it off. The only difference was just a little less chirping with it on.The depth did not seem to be affected one way or the other.
Some of the coins and weights were 6-7 inches deep and the signal was very loud, and this was in dry sand. All in all it seems to be an excellent machine on the beach or looking for relics.
6. Everything good I've heard about it seems to be true. I always have to prove things to myself, so the first day I hunted with disc. at 1
( very low, virtually an iron accept setting - DAVID ) and before digging, I switched to
"IRON" preset knock out to see if it was gone. Then I'd check to see what number it disc'd out on.
I never had the
"IRON" preset knock out a target that wasn't iron! This detector reminds me somewhat of my Bandido, it is quiet and smooth and gives sharp clear signals.
I also noticed, it will beep on a large deep iron target in iron preset, which is good if you're relic hunting.
7. When ever I get a new machine I dig em' all till I've got a good feel for it and then start tinkering with the disc. My suggestion...
Set it at Iron Preset and use that shovel! If you still must thumb the disc dig em' all above 4.5 - 5 MAX! Also try hunting with the silencer OFF if you can. I only use it in extremely trashy spots ( where I get lots of pops,clicks)
Tip: OLD dirty nickles WILL read as foil at X depth....
8. I use the 10.5 coil and find it to be great on the beach. I don't - repeat, don't - crank the sens up. As soon as I hear the "threshold" hum, I back off just a bit. The disc I keep at around 4 (until I get in the black sand and then I back off on sens (around 5) and up disc (to about
. My beach production has gone up a lot since I'm using the 1236...
9.The 1266X goes deeper, but that is the only advantage it has over the 1236-X2 other than the dual discrimination mode. And the 1266-X will not hipmount.
The 1236-X2 has better target separation, is quieter in iron (better disc circuit), hipmounts and it is lighter on the rod. It uses two drop in 9 volt batteries.
For coin shooting I now prefer the 1236-X2 over the 1266-X, because if you max out the disc you will knock out all zincs with copper pennies and dimes accepted. No need to split hairs with the disc knob (which is tedious), just max out the disc and start hunting.
