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Gold bug 2 new and old?

M

machineman

Member
I know I have seen this before but I cant find it. How do you tell new from old gold bug 2. I know one has gold bug 2 on the side and the other has Fisher.
 
The older ones were made in Los Banos, California and the newer ones in El Paso, Texas. Also, There were rubber covers on the switch toggles for the iron disc and ground mineralization on the early ones.
 
Which one is better, and why? Is there also an easy way to tell the counterfeits?
 
The quality control MAY have been a little better on the Los Banos ones altho I currently have a FT one and it is good. But the coils are NOT interchangeable between the old and the new ones.
 
All 71 kHz Gold Bug 2 coils are interchangeable regardless of when they were made. The older original 19 kHz Gold Bug coils do not work on the Gold Bug 2.
 
The coils currently made by FT will NOT work of many of the older GB2s, they do not ground balance properly. I and many of my friends have experienced this first hand. one of my best friend bought a new GB2 just so he could have a 6" coil, Could not get a new 6" to work on his older GB2. Fisher is aware of this and I heard that if you send in your old GB2 with the new coil, for a fee they will tune the older GB2 to the new coil.
 
My final word on the subject. All coils made for the Gold Bug 2 both old and new should work on all Gold Bug 2 units, and indeed normally that is the case. However, the coils do vary slightly coming of the production line. Gold Bug 2 units are tuned specifically to the coil that comes with them in the box. If a coil is sufficiently off of "normal" then a detector tuned specifically to that coil will work great but will have issues with other coils that are closer to the norm. A Gold Bug 2 can be tuned up by the factory to work with a coil that may be different than what it came with, but then it will not of course work as well with the original coil. But to say new coils will not work on old units is a vast over-generalization. May not work well? Possibly, but it is on a case by case basis, not an across the board thing.

And yes, I just confirmed this with Fisher. Feel free to do the same.
 
steve herschbach said:
My final word on the subject. All coils made for the Gold Bug 2 both old and new should work on all Gold Bug 2 units, and indeed normally that is the case. However, the coils do vary slightly coming of the production line. Gold Bug 2 units are tuned specifically to the coil that comes with them in the box. If a coil is sufficiently off of "normal" then a detector tuned specifically to that coil will work great but will have issues with other coils that are closer to the norm. A Gold Bug 2 can be tuned up by the factory to work with a coil that may be different than what it came with, but then it will not of course work as well with the original coil. But to say new coils will not work on old units is a vast over-generalization. May not work well? Possibly, but it is on a case by case basis, not an across the board thing.

And yes, I just confirmed this with Fisher. Feel free to do the same.
Click to expand...

If you care to come to Quartzite this winter I can show you several examples of coils that are not interchangeable. Fisher may have fixed the problem by now, but Fisher has never admitted there was a problem even during the time they were being sold, but a Fisher dealer friend of mine had lots of problems because of after market Fisher coils that would not work on older GB2s.
 
I am not arguing at all with that. If you read my post again I agree there can be compatibility problems with individual coils and detectors due to variations in coil manufacturing over the years. But I like the idea of coming down to Quartzite for a little detecting!
 
steve herschbach said:
I am not arguing at all with that. If you read my post again I agree there can be compatibility problems with individual coils and detectors due to variations in coil manufacturing over the years. But I like the idea of coming down to Quartzite for a little detecting!
Click to expand...

Let me know when you get here. No guarantee on AU, but its a good area to look for it.
 
Steve.....
I have the older gold bug 2 with the rubber tips and i ordered an extra lower rod for another coil and the one i got is completely round and my original white one has a flat shape on one side..... I can't seem to find that flat sided lower rod anywhere.
see picture.
Joe
 
The very first Gold Bug 2 detectors had the white lower rod with a flat edge. You have one of the original series I do believe! Hopefully you can return the lower rod for a refund. Only fix I see is getting a new middle rod section also.

One of my detecting buddies has one of those early models, still going strong after all these years.
 
Thanks Steve..... The place i got it from contacted fisher and said the same thing you just said but they called it the upper rod as mine is two pieces total. white bottom shaft and gold upper shaft. they (fisher)quoted $70 for that part but the store found one in stock for $30 so they are sending it to me free right now and if it will work then charge me....if not they will take everything back and pay shipping. that's good service.
The gold bug 2 i got doesn't even have a scratch in it and looks rarely used...... I love my gold bug 2
Thanks steve,
Joe
 
If it doesn't work out i will pay shipping back as they went way over and above to try and help me with basically a $20 part...... I would just feel better.
Can't wait for this weather in phoenix to cool down some to get back out there..... 101 degrees at 10am
 
Old Gold Bugs and GB2 don't die,just their owners,still swing mine weekly, as long as I can walk or see, it's with me-John
 
Let me clarify a little... In one of the other threads Tom discusses using a GB 2 on a beach for micro gold. Tom makes reference to "the older Gold Bug 2" as being the machine to use. My logical mind assumes "old" being different from an new off the shelf Gold Bug 2. Similar to the 1021 CZ's The pro not being considered at all.
 
Some a my friends luv the new gb pro but I ,and again,many of my friends don't. Detectors ALL have quirks and idiosynchracies(sp?) that put folks off. Like women,one mans pleasure is yet anothers nightmare. Rent,borrow or ride along before ya buy as they all are amazingly different. Example-look at all 3 of the new GB series as all different in performance yet same platform. Go slow and low budget and save your dough $$$$$-John
 
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