someone to retune or "tweak" a fisher cz detector ?

[sookie]

Anyone who knows what a Fisher CZ is, knows the rumor / fact, some machines come off the line "hotter" than others.

Case in point are the CZ-3D #1021's. I would bet the same has happened in some of the other CZ models - in fact, all detector brands.

The next CZ I hook off the market, is going to be a keeper for me.

Does anyone know of a qualified person that works on Fisher CZ's ? Especially, tuning or "tweaking". Thanks

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Fisher has highly qualified individuals to do the tuning and would be my first choice as have dealth with both the new and old Fisher with excellent results....

 

[pratt]

Sookie,

My CZ 5 just came back from Fisher a few weeks ago and have to say they did a great job on it. It seems to be a lot more hotter than it was. I know there are a few people out there that can calibrate the units but when it comes to depth or how hot a unit is, I think Fisher is about the only one that can do that kind of service if parts are available witch in my case they had (alot more to that story).
You can try Broken detector or contact Thomas dankowski they both work on them.

 

[locusman]

I hate to say that but I beg to differ Dan. My dealings with Fisher service on my CZ-7's has been a mixed bag. The first time I sent in my CZ for repairs about 1 1/2 years ago with a nice letter I had written explaining what I wanted done to the machine and nailing down some things that I knew were wrong with the machine. They obviously didn't even bother to read the note I had written, but just did "what the repair manual" says to do to any broken machine. Basically, the machine came back to me working just as badly as before I had sent it - and not surprisingly it broke again within two weeks. Of course I had to re-send it again - and Fisher had the nerve to try to charge me again for the same repairs (another $130) they were supposed to have done the first time. I complained to customer service that the machine had not been fixed to my satisfaction the first time - and Fisher finally renegged on charging me the second time again. We really shouldn't have to go through this much hastle for repairs - the only guy that is worth his salt at Fisher repairs is Felix - if you are lucky enough to have him look at your machine. The other guys they have - in my opinion - should go back to electronics school, or at least should learn how to read what customers write to them.

I have never had these kind of problems with Tesoro - their repair guy Rusty is great. Fast, free, and always gets it right the first time. Fisher service used to be free, and used to do this kind of quality work. Ever since they went First Texas, they have been a far cry from the old Fisher company.

I am not saying this to be a jerk - but it is the truth from my perspective. So I can perfectly understand when people ask who to send their Fisher machines to for repairs, because Fisher repair just isn't up to snuff sometimes.

Just my two cents.

Mark

 

[Neugene]

I just got my 1021 CZ-3D back from being calibrated and tweaked by Nasa Tom and I couldn't be happier. The ID window is more accurate, the audio is cleaner and the machine is much more stable. His price was very reasonable and I got it back exactly one week after I shipped it. He also took the time to explain the adjustments he made and why.

HH
Chris

 

[Up to my ____ in Pulltabs Grant]

Anyone who knows what a Fisher CZ is, knows the rumor / fact, some machines come off the line "hotter" than others.
Case in point are the CZ-3D #1021's.

Fisher is playing games. The fact that they dumb'ed down the CZ3d, they intentionally lowered the performance, changed spec, is so that they
can sell the higher end more profitable units based upon what is said here on these forums and they hype regarding the performance of the new versus old units.
They know that you and I will not buy them if there is little increase in performance. They also know that many people make a decision to buy the latest based upon one feature. Depth.

Does anyone know of a qualified person that works on Fisher CZ's ? Especially, tuning or "tweaking". Thanks

Mr. Tom Dankowski from Coco, Fl. A great guy.Tom Dankowski
Tom is the only person whom I would let touch my CZ3D.

 

[Dan-Pa.]

One would think they would just discontinue the CZ3D...but certainly respect your opinion...have used both and see no appreciable difference..
I do know seems like the market is being flooded with similiar units...different names...cosmetic colors and the like...
Bottom line some prefer older technology and some prefer newer lighter technology and arguments could be made for either and many do well with either..so the choice is yours.
I have heard of those owning older CZ units loosing performance and getting them retuned by various sources with excellent results whether it be the manufacturer or private tech's..
As far as Tom Dankowski reading his literature and watching some of his videos he certainly knows CZ's and the hobby.
I personally prefer a conventional CZ and a CZ3D could be improved with a salt mode, conventional mode and an enhanced mode as most areas I hunt are both old and new and enhanced
mode is tough to use as I dig too much trash while regular mode is locked in salt mode causing some loss of depth or sens. to gold jewelry...However enhanced mode in those hunting real old areas certainly enhances your chances of finding old coins and tokens..

 

[Dan-Pa.]

My CZ problems have been far and few between and in the last 20 yrs since its inception repair costs have gone through the roof but what hasn't..
Trying F units with updates and such have had excellent results but again we are talking about the new Fisher and perhaps I have been lucky but only talking from personal experience
and imagine experiences differ... certainly have to admit they are F unit orientated and see CZ units being discontinued from their present line of units and an end of an era as time moves on.

 

[Neugene]

I have a CZ-20, a CZ-3D an F75 LTD. and I love them all. I have also owned the original F75 as well as several Whites and Minelab machines. As far as my choice to send my CZ-3D to Tom rather than to FT I will say that all techs and service departments are not created equal. I am in no way slamming FT as I have never had to deal with them personally; I am talking about large companies in general.
Most large corporations have procedures in place that guide their service techs through repairs/calibrations as well as an allotted amount of time for each. Most of these procedures will have an acceptable range/tolerance for each parameter checked or adjusted during the repair/calibration rather than a precise target value.
Tom does not work for a large detector company; he is under no pressure to repair/calibrate my unit within a predetermined time frame. His name and reputation is on the line with each job he does unlike a tech at a large company so he is more likely to hold a tighter tolerance. He also personally helped develop the CZ-3D so I am confident that he knows from personal experience exactly how it should perform and what to do to correct any deficiencies he might find rather than relying on a "cookie cutter" value or solution found in a repair manual.

Dan, you said "One would think they would just discontinue the CZ3D" then two lines later, "Bottom line some prefer older technology and some prefer newer lighter technology and arguments could be made for either and many do well with either..so the choice is yours."

In my opinion, the second quoted statement is the reason the first quoted statement has not occurred. In other words, if X percent of consumers prefer older technology and Y percent of consumers prefer newer technology and you sell both, X+Y>X or Y alone so it would be a bad decision financially to discontinue either technology.

Just my 2 cents.

Chris

 

[Mike Scott]

Daniel Snell has been with Fisher over 20 years doing repairs-He has more experience with CZs than anyone in the world. Salvadore also worked for the old Fisher in CA and knows CZs better than anyone.
David Johnson designed the CZ platform so knows them better than anyone. The 3 people with the most experience with CZ detectors work for FTP....

Felix manages repairs and never looks at a machine.

Mike

 

[Up to my ____ in Pulltabs Grant]

I'm sure that the old guard from FISHER do know exactly what they are doing.
I don't believe that anyone would question the technical integrity of FISHER's core group.
There is however, a looming question of other types of integrity based upon corporate agenda, expediency and circumstances both known and unknown.
One issue is that the specs have been changed on the CZ3D, they no longer go as deep nor are they as stable as they did at their inception.
This is not simply a statement but factual observation made by many people whom have owned both new and late models
and by those whom have worked on and serviced them.



If you send your unit to FISHER...
Will FISHER tune them for maximum performance, stability and depth or will they set them to current spec?
Has FISHER changed the recipe for the unit?
Are the newer parts the same spec as the originals?
Do the new parts have the ability to be set to original spec?
WIll FISHER troubleshoot your unit or simply have one of the lackeys throw parts at it until its working?
Will they fine tune it for performance after any parts replacement?



These type of questions make it easy for me to choose alternate but highly qualified, trusted sources.
I do take full consideration of the "known". The "unknown" is truly what may be the ultimate sacrifice.
I decided to make no compromise and no sacrifice when it came to my CZ3D.
My CZ3D is absolutely irreplaceable/priceless to me.

My unit had become unstable and more so at maximum depths. It had a slight loss of depth, it finally simply would not power up.
Tom Dankowski just finished working on my (1021) Cz3D and mentioned that this was the hottest one he's seen to date.
Tom stated that he wished that he owned mine for his personal use.
Tom fine tuned my CZ3D after some minor repairs and brought it back to better than original spec.
Tom tested it thoroughly after the repairs and this unit will still hit a dime at 12.1" during air tests with a stock 8" coil.
This is what I would have hoped for from FISHER but then again, I refuse to take any chances.
Piece of mind is also priceless.
.

 

[Neugene]

Mike,
I honestly meant no offense with either of my posts. Like I said, I own three detectors at present , all Fishers, and am anxiously awaiting your next greatest thing.
I am a design engineer by trade and up until recently have been a practicing musician. For years I relied on a guitar tech at a corporate store to set up my instruments and they all played reasonably well. I then learned how to set them up myself and now do it for others as well. I will admit that I am a perfectionist and spend much longer tweaking an instrument than the guys at the aforementioned store. As a result, the instruments perform at their absolute best when I am finished. They are not merely "in spec", every single adjustment is tweaked for optimum performance. Because I don't rely on this as a form of income I can take the time to talk to everyone about their instrument, find out what they want out of it, watch them play and then explain what I can or cannot do for them and why.
It would be unprofitable for a corporate tech to spend this much time on a single setup. For me it is a hobby/passion that comes pretty close to paying for itself and I will put my work up against anyone's.
After talking to Tom, I understood that he looks at the 3D the way I look at a guitar. He is a perfectionist that does what he does because he loves it, not because it's his job. This is the main reason I sent my CZ-3D to Tom and recommend that others do the same.
Again, no offense intended, Sookie asked for honest opinions and that is what I gave, nothing more, nothing less.

Good Day,
Chris

 

[chuck ky]

what type measuring device do you use when you check the depth at 12.1 inches.

 

[Up to my ____ in Pulltabs Grant]

what type measuring device do you use when you check the depth at 12.1 inches.

12.1 is Tom's measurement and I don't know what he uses.
I know that just over 12" is what my CZ used to air test with a clad dime.

I just looked in my notebook and it was 12 3/8" as of Oct 05

 

[Neugene]

For what it's worth I am getting just over 12"in the air on a clad dime. My deepest garden dime is 10" flat and has been there for 5-6 years and the 3D nails it consistently with the sens @ ~5 vol 5 gb ~7 disc 0. The garden is a sizeable patch of East Tennessee's finest red clay. I can live with those results.

Chris

 

[Up to my ____ in Pulltabs Grant]

For what it's worth I am getting just over 12"in the air on a clad dime. My deepest garden dime is 10" flat and has been there for 5-6 years and the 3D nails it consistently with the sens @ ~5 vol 5 gb ~7 disc 0. The garden is a sizeable patch of East Tennessee's finest red clay. I can live with those results.

Chris

Hell yes, 10" in red clay is damned good.

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Not a fan of air tests but they do give ballpark results...glad someone tested in the ground...I personally use my test garden planted 20 years ago and imagine that may even be ballpark against a coin that may have been buried for 100 years as copper really leaches in the ground and silver to a much smaller degree but after many years you should get more depth..
Never hunted in some of the clays of the South but will say judging from your results you have a hot CZ. and life is all about choices whether it be a red chevy or a blue ford and can understand your choice of tech's...and am sure the same could be said about other forum users choices...

 

[gmanlight]

One method NASA Tom uses is to attach a coin to a wooden dowel then bury it in his Florida neutral soil.

Cutting the dowel as needed and touching it with the coil until a ID results with detector.

That is why you see measurements of 12.1 or 10.8 and the like.

 

[Lipservice]

I found a 1021 CZ-3D on Ebay. The guy said he only used it in his yard a couple times. Anyway I
bid on it and won it for $567.66. So I had him just ship it right to Tom for validation. Tom got it today and sent me this PM...

Terry,
Just received the 1021 CZ-3D. . . . . and...........I have already run it through about 2/3's of a full calibration/validation. This one is a good one. I'm making several VERY minor calibration adjustments. I've boosted the auto-tune on this one .. a bit. It did have a pronounced deep target audio smear...........and this has been fully corrected. It is a very solid unit.......looks new.........and has full depth capabilities (12.0" on clad dime in real (Florida) dirt). I am really trying to finish this unit.........so I can get it in the mail system BEFORE the weekend. That way......it'll be 'mobile' over the weekend.....and in your hands next week.
Sincerely,
Tom

Needless to say I am pretty excited!