My report on the Fisher F44

[LW Steve]

1.) The detector is weather proof.! You can hunt in that light rain without any rain covers on your control housing.
2.) The backlight is a very nice feature! After the sun goes down you don't have to pack up your bags and go home.
3.) Target Separation with the 7" concentric coil is amazing! You can pick all day long in the trash with this coil.!
4.) The notch program that the F44 has is very user friendly. You can notch out every category except high coins if you want.
5.) You can assign different sounding tones to different target categories. (4 Tone Target ID )
6.) The F44 goes deep but not as deep as a CZ.
7.) The F44 7" coil and coil cable has lots of EMI shielding so the F44 is not bothered by most powerlines.
8.) The detector is very quiet in the iron when iron is notched out.
9.) At only 2.3 pounds it is extremely light.
10.) It is very accurate at separating zinc and cu pennies.
11.) You can build your own custom program using notches & 4 tone target ID. This is nice!
12.) 7.69 kHz. Operating Frequency.
13.) The F44 is very sensitive to small gold rings as I have already tested 12 of my tiniest gold rings out on this detector and it passed with flying colors using the 11" coil.
14.) The all metal mode will pick up the tiniest of targets. (dry sand beaches, bark piles, volleyball courts)
15.) It has High Tech Computerized Ground Balancing features (Nice!)
16.) I was digging round pull tabs and beaver tail tabs at 6" this morning with the 7" coil. So yes it goes deep like all Fisher detectors do.
17.) The 7" concentric coil is the best looking 7" coil that I've ever seen. A thin and lightweight spider coil.!
18.) The 11" concentric teardrop coil that it comes with I'm not a big fan of, as I will be using the 7" coil 99% of the time.
19.) With all the features that the F44 has it should be selling in the $500 to $600 range. You can get them for only $309.00 & free shipping.
20.) When you use this detector with its 7" coil you will be amazed.

 

[TheHunterGT]

I am glad to see it is finally getting some love across forums and videos. For the price it is very hard to beat if you want a weatherproof detector that goes 7-8-9 inches in good dirt.

Not many people know it has notch volume adjust like the Omega 8500. Probably one of my favorite features on any detector.

That big teardrop concentric it comes with....fantastic coil.

 

[LW Steve]

I am glad to see it is finally getting some love across forums and videos. For the price it is very hard to beat if you want a weatherproof detector that goes 7-8-9 inches in good dirt.

Not many people know it has notch volume adjust like the Omega 8500. Probably one of my favorite features on any detector.

That big teardrop concentric it comes with....fantastic coil.

Yes it does have notch volume adjust where you can lower or raise the sound on any category.
Lots of people like to hunt with iron notched in, but they lower the sound on iron when it is detected. (easier on your ears this way)


Also, I forgot to mention that the F44 has a Non-Volatile Memory feature which means it saves all your settings every time you shut down, except your last ground balance setting is the only thing not saved.

The F44 is simply a marvelous detector.

 

[LW Steve]

I have my custom program built to find small gold rings & silver coins.
Here is how I have it set up...

I have iron notched out (1-19) (bass tone)

(20-29) (medium tone) tiny gold rings / tin foil

(30-39) (medium tone) small gold rings / nickels / round tabs / beaver tail tabs

(40-49) (low tone) square tabs / Men's gold wedding bands

(50-59) (low tone) zincs come in at 50 to 54 the corroded ones come in the lowest

(60-69) (high tone) silver dimes / cu pennies come in at 63 to 66

(70-79) (high tone) silver quarters

(80-89) (high tone) silver halves / caches / large items

(90-99) (high tone) silver dollars / caches / large items

 

[Skwerly]

it'd be fun to see a real world report on f44 vs f5. barring the weatherproof aspect, i imagine they'd be neck and neck.

 

[dfmike]

I've had both. Despite the almost identical frequency they operate on, they were very dissimilar to me in the way they behaved or "talked" to the operator. I could understand one but the other not so much.

 

[Dancer]

Steve
Did you try it on wet salt sand, say near the surf? I know some beaches give more trouble than others. Just wondered how the F44 handled it ?

 

[navydad5]

I am thinking of the F44. At $309.00 it is a bargain. For $339.00 you can get it with a DD coil. I am also looking at the Whites Treasurer Pro at $367.00.
Is a DD coil worth $30.00 more and is the Treasure Pro worth the extra dollars over the Fishers??
HELP

Navydad

 

[Monte]

I am thinking of the F44. At $309.00 it is a bargain. For $339.00 you can get it with a DD coil. I am also looking at the Whites Treasurer Pro at $367.00.
Is a DD coil worth $30.00 more and is the Treasure Pro worth the extra dollars over the Fishers??
HELP

Navydad

You've only made 3 Findmall Forum posts which hints that you are new to the forums, and since you're asking about these two lower-cost models, perhaps new to this great outdoor sport. I' wrapping u my 54th year of enjoyment with metal detectors today and start working on my 55th year of having fun in March. I'm a very avid, devoted detectorist and split my h8unting time with the bulk of it Relic Hunting old sites such as ghost towns, homesteads, military encampments and all sorts of places with activity from the 1840's through the Depression Era and then some. I started working my first old ghost town in 1969, but made a pronounced switch from being an avid urban Coin Hunter to Relic Hunting in mid-'83. However, when I can't get away to those out-of-the-way locations, Coin Hunting is where I fulfill my detecting enjoyment.

I currently have ten detectors in my working Regular-Use Detector Outfit, and of those ten, two are Fisher F44's. I compared my first F44 with several other makes and models after I got it last fall, and that includes a White's Treasure Pro that I was loaned by White's for evaluation. I was so impressed with the performance, simplicity, and search coil selection that I bought a 2nd F44 in early February.

The Treasure Pro is still here, collecting dust as it leans against the wall, and while it has a couple of good points in the way of modes and adjustment functions, it falls way short when it come to functional performance. Way short. The Treasure Pro, that now has an MSRP of $499.95 because White's raised the price $100, comes with a big 10" DD coil. Not the best pick for a lower-end class detector that is mainly going to be used for Coin & Jewelry Hunting unless it is on a wide-open beach. A smaller-size coil is needed for typical day-to-day hunting in trashier areas. Their search coil choices are very limited, too.

It doesn't allow separate audio tone choices like the F44, and it doesn't have an Iron Audio Volume adjustment like the F44. Also, the F44 is a very quick-response and fast-recovery design, while the Treasure Pro has a slower and delayed response and recovery time. Combined with the bigger coil it is an annoying when hunting in any common urban trashy environment.

The F44 comes standard with a tear-drop shaped Concentric coil or you can get it with the 11" DD coil, if you prefer. The MSRP is $399.00 and it is an overall better detector that anything White's has in that range or even up to where the Treasure pro is priced today. Yes, you can get the F44 with a Double-D coil, but I am selective on the search coils I use and match the better-performing coils for the detector in-use and the type of site I am hunting. I one and use both Concentric coils and Double-D coils on my 10 detectors, so I am not really biased with the coil type, just how the type of coil performs with different detectors and what/where they are being used for.

As an example, I prefer the round 7" Concentric coil on my Teknetics Omega 8000 and one F44 for most of my urban Coin Hunting needs or for lower-trash older locations. On my 2nd F44 I mounted a new 5" DD coil because in trashier sites, I like the 5" DD coil's performance. And since I already had a newer F44, and also because I have some DD coils I like on some other brand models I use, plus have some extra coils in my Accessory Coil Tote for the F44 and Omega's, I ordered my brand new F44 with the 5" Concentric coil instead of the 11" DD or the goofy-looking tear-drop Concentric coil. Brand new and delivered to my door directly fro El Paso with the 7" Concentric, my F44 cost me under $300! I also ordered a n extra lower rod to keep a spare coil mounted and at-the-ready for a quick coil change.

It's a very good detector, very reasonably priced, and FTP stands behind their products and provides very good performance afield for a very decent price. I am not strictly brand loyal, I just select and use makes and models that work well for me. I know I'll be adding one or two models to my regular-Use Outfit this year, but currently I have 4 Nokta-Makro units, 4 FTP units and 2 Tesoro's to cover my wants and needs. I hope to work in some detecting tomorrow and the following four days, but I'll sure be pleased when things warm up and a real spring arrives and hangs around for a while. And I'll be doing it with an F44 along on every detecting jaunt I make.

Monte

 

[navydad5]

Monte:

Many thanks for your help. You are correct that I am new and looking for a detector in the $400.00 range. I have decided not to continue looking at the White machine. There is too much "noise" on the forums about the detector and also about White. I am going to set you a task if you will accept it. If the budget was $450 give or take $50.00 what machine(s) or manufactures would you suggest for a new guy. I have given my Garrett 350 to my grandson. It was acquired several years age and was seldom used. It has been my experience with past hobbies of a technical nature (reloading ammunition for 7 plus calibers) that going with budget equipment
has required me to rethink my actions. Metal detectors require a not insignificant investment with little chance of recovery. $400.00 seems a fair amount for a first investment. I live in an area with red (iron) clay soil and will be coin shooting in parks and abandoned buildings. There are several local lakes with sand beaches. I am 80 years old with 80 year old knees. Overall health is good. I am like an old car, parts keep falling off.

This will help me stay connected with 15 year old grandson. HELP (I know I am shouting)

Navydad5

 

[Tot Lot Bandit]

Not Monte but if you are 80 I would not get it with the DD coil. I have the F22 with standard 9x5 coil and put on the 11 " DD for field hunts. It get's a little front end heavy if you swing for a while. I'm 62 years old. The F22 is almost the same detector minus ground balance and back light as F44. They have the same Khz. I'm mostly a Tesoro guy having owned 5 of them but I will tell you I find 3 times the coins using the F22 vs the Tesoro's. Earlier this year I pulled 33 dimes with it from a park I've hunted several times before with the Tesoro's. You can see it in action on my YouTube channel.

 

[REVIER]

Monte:

Many thanks for your help. You are correct that I am new and looking for a detector in the $400.00 range. I have decided not to continue looking at the White machine. There is too much "noise" on the forums about the detector and also about White. I am going to set you a task if you will accept it. If the budget was $450 give or take $50.00 what machine(s) or manufactures would you suggest for a new guy. I have given my Garrett 350 to my grandson. It was acquired several years age and was seldom used. It has been my experience with past hobbies of a technical nature (reloading ammunition for 7 plus calibers) that going with budget equipment
has required me to rethink my actions. Metal detectors require a not insignificant investment with little chance of recovery.

$400.00 seems a fair amount for a first investment.
A Teknetic Patriot costs $399, shipping included, if you use an easily obtainable $50 discount code.


I live in an area with red (iron) clay soil and will be coin shooting in parks and abandoned buildings.
I also live in an area with red clay soil, mineralization in the dark stuff too and heaps of extra iron junk everywhere.I
My F70, (exact same model as the renamed Patriot), dealt with it all easily using many different coils both concentric and DD.
I also mostly hunt in Parks and sometimes abandoned properties like old schools.
I find a lot.
I might suggest a sniper coil if iron trash and junk are issues, the bigger ones can be used, a sniper makes it easier.




There are several local lakes with sand beaches.
The F70 can deal with both fresh and saltwater.

I am 80 years old with 80 year old knees. Overall health is good. I am like an old car, parts keep falling off.
Preaching to the choir, getting old ain't for sissies.
[size=medium]The Fisher's are some of the most ergonomic units around, the Patriot is shockingly well balanced and light as a feather.[/size]


The Patriot can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.
Easy to use straight out of the box, a more capable detector for the price is going to be hard to come by.
TONS of owners around here happy to give advice.

If you opt for the F44 I can't fault you, I have several thousand hours standing behind it's ancestor, the great F2.
All Fishers have a sweet language and a cool and understandable way of looking at things.


This will help me stay connected with 15 year old grandson. HELP (I know I am shouting)
Sure, but you are excited so we get it.

Navydad5

 

[navydad5]

To all of you especially Monte for the follow up, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Against all advice I am going for the $339.00 44 with DD coil. I will add to the purchase a 7" round concentric coil at $60.00. This gives me 2 coils for $100. Advice has been that the 7" coil will be the one mostly used. The DD coil
might help with resale if and when this becomes needed. One last thing is buying another lower rod so both coils are set up and ready to use. (thanks Monte). With help from you guys I think I have avoided most if not all mistakes a new guy would make. In reality the MD takes a backseat to the time spent with my grandson. My son once said to me while we were doing something together that we were 'MAKING MEMORIES."

How do you put a price on that?????

navydad5
Oklahoma

 

[jim tn]

Don't be afraid to use the larger DD coil, though. Fisher's DD coils are terrific in trash, even the larger ones. And, once depth becomes important you will get more depth with the larger coils. Good luck, making memories is what its all about. HH jim tn

 

[REVIER]

I also use snipers most of the time, I did the exact same thing with my F2 and I hunt in sites like you so those that advised you are correct.
The DD will come in handy and should be used in the right circumstances but it is way easier to learn a new detector if you use smaller coils...I think, anyway.

Fishers just work, period...once you learn what it is actually telling you the world is yours.