This was my first metal detector I bought used in mint condition in 1987. I ended up selling it to a friend to get him back into metal detecting 10 years later and I bought a Fisher 1235-X. He later bought a Fisher 1266-X.
Hey coin spader! I like the single toners. They're easy to i.d. the targets like you were showing. Two-tone are nice but anything more than 2-tone, gets a little confusing to the ears, especially if the detector has a high recovery speed and response time like with those modern European as well as American Fisher F-75s/Teknetics T2s, etc., etc. I've been md'ing since appx. 1989 and my first and (very) successful MD was a Fisher 1225-X. GREAT little machine and deep too! The 1212-X and the 1220-X must've been discontinued just before the late 80s and been replaced by the 1225 I used. Never used the 1260-X until very recently, which was added to the Fisher model line in around 1982-83. I used the 1265-X(a really deep machine) and then, finally the 1266-X which was even more powerful; so powerful that it was detecting very deep relic-region targets. I mean, it was DEEEEP! But so much so that it was having me dig too deep and too much, lol. Wished I had NEVER gotten rid of it though. Now, one can't find one for less than $300 (if) they're even lucky enough to find one. Oh well, I have and have used from time to time my 1270-X which is also discontinued like all the other 1200-series machines but it's pretty much as deep as the 1266 just the same. Never used any of the CZ-series Fishers or water detectors from them though but I hear the CZ-3D is quite a hit. Have and sometimes still use, a Teknetics Eurotek Pro; related to the G2/T2/Omega 8000 and is basically a modern Fisher with the Teknetics name. Fisher did themselves a bad thing by almost going "belly up" and then First Texas buying them out in the late 90s. That, right there, pretty much spelled the end for the older single-tone Fishers except for the Gold Bug and made way for the 2-6(or even more), tone detectors. The newer Fishers don't even sound like the old(er) Fishers, nor do they have the solid feel of the older ones. Thanks for this great video you did, air-testing a vintage, but still solid and capable machine like this. There ought to be more videos out there of people testing a lot more of these old "lunchbox" style machines. Too many want to get the screen-i.d., tonal machines thinking they are deeper but I have to say, I used and own a Garrett ADS Deepseeker from appx. 1978 and that sucker will detect a dime at 12.5" on an airtest (but, but), it requires 6 9-volts to do this so I (don't) use it often, LOL!!
I really like the older Fisher machines, especially the 1265 and 1266. They give you the sweetest little beep on really deep coins. As far as the newer Fishers go I am a real fan of the F19, GREAT! in the irony trashy areas and at 19 KHZ it will hit the small stuff very well. I am currently using a Technetics G2+ and it is pretty much the same as the F19. Another great beep and dig detector is Minelabs Musketeer series which are very deep and give you that nice modulated buzzy sound when you go over a deepie. Thanks for your comment! GL HH
Hey, you're welcome coin spader! Gotta love those old Fishers! Never tried the F19 or the G2 or a G2+ but I do sometimes use my Tek. Eurotek Pro with the 11" DD coil. REALLY deep on the little dimeys I noticed, lol. At the beach I kept trying to find this 12-13" deep dime and (finally), I got it into one of my scoop fulls, lol. It was a clad dime but it was encrusted with a green patina and salt-crusted corrosion so it had been down there for years, maybe years of other machines going over this same spot and having missed this dime, all those years! Pretty fantastic results with the EuroTek Pro as that find proves! Yeah, I agree, GREAT machines, the Teks. are! The Minelabs are the 'go-to' stand-ins when the Fishers are in scarce supply it seems, lol. Those Musketeers are really impressive from the videos on youtube. Also, I bet the Sovereign GT is awesome too. I cannot (stand) the Minelab Etrac (screen i.d. setup) as it was next to impossible for me to understand what was going on on the screen of one I tried to help a friend set up. He had lost or misplaced the instruction manual and never could find it (and) also, I had never used a Minelab in my life, lol. As you can tell, many to most of my machines from my first "mile-long" article(sorry for that by the way) have always been the 'beep-and-dig' type. In other words, K.I.S.S.(Keep It Simple Stupid), LOL, right coin spader ?? LOL! If it takes a PHD in rocket science and 45 minutes of wasted time just setting the machine's parameters and program menus up, than the MD hobby is no longer fun, it's work!., right ? LOL. The thing I like about the Musketeers is the same thing you stated before. They're basically turn-knob detectors with some basic settings and then one is ready to hunt and yeah, like you said they look to be (d e e p) too. I can actually do better sometimes with a BH Tracker IV than my 75 yr. old friend used to do with his Whites MXT. Why? Because he was so adamant that he didn't want (one) p'tab that he would disc them out on his ($650) MXT but at the end of two years, not finding any gold of (any) kind, I told him, 'Pat, have you been disc'ing out your tabs ??'. When he says yes (because) he refuses to dig the tabs, I says, 'Well there's your reason for no gold', lol. To this day, he (still) won't take my suggestion to dig those tabs, LOLLL!! Actually, in some areas, the tabs are one of the least found items and I'm sure you've witnessed that even in some parks and when they (are) detected in certain parks, they're few and far between. Oh well, I guess you "can't teach an old dog, new tricks" with some stubborn, strong-willed MD'ers, LOL!! Hey coin spader! Try out a turn-knob, Pirate Apolonia from Bulgaria. These detectors (ROCK) in terms of depth. VERY deep but don't use it in high-trash areas because as with many to most Eastern European machines and brands, they seem to all use as little disc(up to foil disc.) as they can. This one is VERY deep though and it's a beep-and-dig, 'turn-knob'. I would have to say it would be VERY close, if not, better slightly, than the depth of the Fisher 1266-X. Be prepared to dig ( D E E P)!! Was finding the older 'ring' tabs at 12-13" in a trashy 20-year old park, lol, so I warn you, they (are) D E E P!!! Got mine off ebay for $265; a bargain considering it detects (maybe) as deep as the mid-to-upper priced $900+ Minelabs except, of course, the GPX4500/5000, lol. DeepTechs from Bugaria are also good as a turn-knob 2-toner and the iron/trash volume(low-tone) can be muted with an 'iron mute' turn knob. Minimal disc. once again though(through to p'tab disc./low-toned if you so choose) so it's happiest when being used for deep relics but (not) at home in trashy sites. Nexus Bonanza from Bulgaria has full-range disc. like the old Fishers, are turn-knob and go up to 13" (plus) on nickels with the stock .
Yeah I have owned a couple of the Makro Racers from Bulgaria and they are deep as well even when running them in disc. I would like to get me another one of those good ole 1266's though, they are just a lot of fun to use. I just got me a Whites MX7 a couple days ago and I am still learning it but it seems to work very well in trashy areas plus it goes quite deep as well. I will probably make a video on it soon. GL HH
Yeah I forgot about the Makros. There's also the Detech MDs(not to be confused with DeepTech which is a different co.) from Bulgaria as well as the Mikron MDs(very deep but they don't like stray EMF from power lines) and also, the Noktas from Turkey. All really deep ones but the most stable one in EMF might be the Detechs. They're very deep and 'turn-knob'. Never tried the MX7 from Whites. Nice-looking though. I (wish), just wish I still had my old 1266 still, lol. Oh well. Hey coin spader, do you remember the Tesoro Golden uMax and have you ever tried one out ? They were great multi-toners and I cannot figure out why Tesoro quit making them.
I just sold one a couple weeks ago, Didn't really want to but I'm getting to many detectors so I thought I would let somebody else have some fun with it. I found a lot of good stuff with it but it wasn't the deepest I ever had.
I have had both and they will both go pretty deep but in my soil the 1265 is a bit deeper than the 1220x . They both love high conductors like silver and copper.
This was my first metal detector I bought used in mint condition in 1987. I ended up selling it to a friend to get him back into metal detecting 10 years later and I bought a Fisher 1235-X. He later bought a Fisher 1266-X.
I have same machine as back up, very good depth, mine has the U shaped handle, and no frequency shift, but air tests the same, built like a tank too
Thanks for sharing! A buddy of mine cleaned up with multiple silver coin finds back in the day when this first came out in the early 1980s!
Yes they are still very capable machines, The older fisher detectors were very well made. Thanks for your comment and watching my video. GL HH
Hey coin spader!
I like the single toners. They're easy to i.d. the targets like you were showing. Two-tone are nice but anything more than 2-tone, gets a little confusing to the ears, especially if the detector has a high recovery speed and response time like with those modern European as well as American Fisher F-75s/Teknetics T2s, etc., etc. I've been md'ing since appx. 1989 and my first and (very) successful MD was a Fisher 1225-X. GREAT little machine and deep too! The 1212-X and the 1220-X must've been discontinued just before the late 80s and been replaced by the 1225 I used. Never used the 1260-X until very recently, which was added to the Fisher model line in around 1982-83. I used the 1265-X(a really deep machine) and then, finally the 1266-X which was even more powerful; so powerful that it was detecting very deep relic-region targets. I mean, it was DEEEEP! But so much so that it was having me dig too deep and too much, lol. Wished I had NEVER gotten rid of it though. Now, one can't find one for less than $300 (if) they're even lucky enough to find one. Oh well, I have and have used from time to time my 1270-X which is also discontinued like all the other 1200-series machines but it's pretty much as deep as the 1266 just the same. Never used any of the CZ-series Fishers or water detectors from them though but I hear the CZ-3D is quite a hit. Have and sometimes still use, a Teknetics Eurotek Pro; related to the G2/T2/Omega 8000 and is basically a modern Fisher with the Teknetics name. Fisher did themselves a bad thing by almost going "belly up" and then First Texas buying them out in the late 90s. That, right there, pretty much spelled the end for the older single-tone Fishers except for the Gold Bug and made way for the 2-6(or even more), tone detectors. The newer Fishers don't even sound like the old(er) Fishers, nor do they have the solid feel of the older ones. Thanks for this great video you did, air-testing a vintage, but still solid and capable machine like this. There ought to be more videos out there of people testing a lot more of these old "lunchbox" style machines. Too many want to get the screen-i.d., tonal machines thinking they are deeper but I have to say, I used and own a Garrett ADS Deepseeker from appx. 1978 and that sucker will detect a dime at 12.5" on an airtest (but, but), it requires 6 9-volts to do this so I (don't) use it often, LOL!!
I really like the older Fisher machines, especially the 1265 and 1266. They give you the sweetest little beep on really deep coins. As far as the newer Fishers go I am a real fan of the F19, GREAT! in the irony trashy areas and at 19 KHZ it will hit the small stuff very well. I am currently using a Technetics G2+ and it is pretty much the same as the F19. Another great beep and dig detector is Minelabs Musketeer series which are very deep and give you that nice modulated buzzy sound when you go over a deepie. Thanks for your comment! GL HH
Hey, you're welcome coin spader!
Gotta love those old Fishers! Never tried the F19 or the G2 or a G2+ but I do sometimes use my Tek. Eurotek Pro with the 11" DD coil. REALLY deep on the little dimeys I noticed, lol. At the beach I kept trying to find this 12-13" deep dime and (finally), I got it into one of my scoop fulls, lol. It was a clad dime but it was encrusted with a green patina and salt-crusted corrosion so it had been down there for years, maybe years of other machines going over this same spot and having missed this dime, all those years! Pretty fantastic results with the EuroTek Pro as that find proves! Yeah, I agree, GREAT machines, the Teks. are!
The Minelabs are the 'go-to' stand-ins when the Fishers are in scarce supply it seems, lol. Those Musketeers are really impressive from the videos on youtube. Also, I bet the Sovereign GT is awesome too. I cannot (stand) the Minelab Etrac (screen i.d. setup) as it was next to impossible for me to understand what was going on on the screen of one I tried to help a friend set up. He had lost or misplaced the instruction manual and never could find it (and) also, I had never used a Minelab in my life, lol. As you can tell, many to most of my machines from my first "mile-long" article(sorry for that by the way) have always been the 'beep-and-dig' type. In other words, K.I.S.S.(Keep It Simple Stupid), LOL, right coin spader ?? LOL! If it takes a PHD in rocket science and 45 minutes of wasted time just setting the machine's parameters and program menus up, than the MD hobby is no longer fun, it's work!., right ? LOL. The thing I like about the Musketeers is the same thing you stated before. They're basically turn-knob detectors with some basic settings and then one is ready to hunt and yeah, like you said they look to be (d e e p) too. I can actually do better sometimes with a BH Tracker IV than my 75 yr. old friend used to do with his Whites MXT. Why? Because he was so adamant that he didn't want (one) p'tab that he would disc them out on his ($650) MXT but at the end of two years, not finding any gold of (any) kind, I told him, 'Pat, have you been disc'ing out your tabs ??'. When he says yes (because) he refuses to dig the tabs, I says, 'Well there's your reason for no gold', lol. To this day, he (still) won't take my suggestion to dig those tabs, LOLLL!! Actually, in some areas, the tabs are one of the least found items and I'm sure you've witnessed that even in some parks and when they (are) detected in certain parks, they're few and far between. Oh well, I guess you "can't teach an old dog, new tricks" with some stubborn, strong-willed MD'ers, LOL!!
Hey coin spader!
Try out a turn-knob, Pirate Apolonia from Bulgaria. These detectors (ROCK) in terms of depth. VERY deep but don't use it in high-trash areas because as with many to most Eastern European machines and brands, they seem to all use as little disc(up to foil disc.) as they can. This one is VERY deep though and it's a beep-and-dig, 'turn-knob'. I would have to say it would be VERY close, if not, better slightly, than the depth of the Fisher 1266-X. Be prepared to dig ( D E E P)!! Was finding the older 'ring' tabs at 12-13" in a trashy 20-year old park, lol, so I warn you, they (are) D E E P!!! Got mine off ebay for $265; a bargain considering it detects (maybe) as deep as the mid-to-upper priced $900+ Minelabs except, of course, the GPX4500/5000, lol. DeepTechs from Bugaria are also good as a turn-knob 2-toner and the iron/trash volume(low-tone) can be muted with an 'iron mute' turn knob. Minimal disc. once again though(through to p'tab disc./low-toned if you so choose) so it's happiest when being used for deep relics but (not) at home in trashy sites. Nexus Bonanza from Bulgaria has full-range disc. like the old Fishers, are turn-knob and go up to 13" (plus) on nickels with the stock .
Yeah I have owned a couple of the Makro Racers from Bulgaria and they are deep as well even when running them in disc. I would like to get me another one of those good ole 1266's though, they are just a lot of fun to use. I just got me a Whites MX7 a couple days ago and I am still learning it but it seems to work very well in trashy areas plus it goes quite deep as well. I will probably make a video on it soon. GL HH
Yeah I forgot about the Makros. There's also the Detech MDs(not to be confused with DeepTech which is a different co.) from Bulgaria as well as the Mikron MDs(very deep but they don't like stray EMF from power lines) and also, the Noktas from Turkey. All really deep ones but the most stable one in EMF might be the Detechs. They're very deep and 'turn-knob'. Never tried the MX7 from Whites. Nice-looking though. I (wish), just wish I still had my old 1266 still, lol. Oh well. Hey coin spader, do you remember the Tesoro Golden uMax and have you ever tried one out ? They were great multi-toners and I cannot figure out why Tesoro quit making them.
I just sold one a couple weeks ago, Didn't really want to but I'm getting to many detectors so I thought I would let somebody else have some fun with it. I found a lot of good stuff with it but it wasn't the deepest I ever had.
My first metal detector. An old friend sold me his. Back in the 80s. I think it uses the same coil as a 1260x
Hello have just bought this machine, what was settings you used
I think these are deeper than 1265s even you ever compare the two?
I have had both and they will both go pretty deep but in my soil the 1265 is a bit deeper than the 1220x . They both love high conductors like silver and copper.