Fisher 1266 Video I have done

Thoughts on the 1266.

Used to think 30 years ago it was a noisy machine but been running one couple weeks I got off Morgan.And I must say by modern standards its well behaved.And acts like my 1236's with silencer off.

Still a serious unit in iron trash with small coils,Just like the 1236 is.

[www.youtube.com]


5 inch coil on nail board

[www.youtube.com]

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Keith, I just got real homesick watching this video. I do miss my 1266. In 2012 I was still hunting with it but was convinced by folks that I needed to get with the program so I did. So I made a trade to keep up with the crowd. I dug quite a bit of iron with the 1266 but I also dug a hellava lot of relics with it too. Deep shallow and everything in between. The new detectors are great, no question about that. But we Still dig trash and we still dig nails. But can anyone honestly say that they’ve not missed a good find because the ID numbers said it wasn’t worth digging. I know I guilty of it.

The Fisher 1265 and 1266 were easy to use, dependable, and efficient. I had one for years with zero problems. I miss that old Fisher.....I had the same feelings when I sold my vintage 1978 Toyota Celica. Last I heard the guy is still driving it....lol

Thanx for the video Keith. The 1266 was certainly a deep seeking beast. But it lacked in any sort of reliable TID. Ie.: It wasn't good for cherry-picking in turf, for example. Because it seemed like everything after about 5" began to sound the same. And it wasn't very good in mineralized ground. But for certain applications, it was un-beatable.

Hey Keith, just curious are there any older units than can hit that 10" dime?
Troy X5 maybe?

Here’s the text of an email I got from Dave Johnson about 4 years age when I asked about the 1266.

“ It had good sensitivity to deep coins in low mineral ground. Otherwise not so great.

The fan club comprises users who are looking for deep stuff in non-trashy areas, and who spent a long time learning its language. For those folks, the 1266 advantage is that it has great potential depth, and the challenge is to get that depth out of it. A machine that doesn't have that kind of depth to begin with, there's nothing you can do to give it that depth. ”

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold

Most metal detectors Disc and ID (if applicable), with the exception of the Minelab FBS, are unreliable at depth (+5 inches)........ this includes the 1266. The 1266 is a pure deep relic machine.....nearly 30 years old. In an old site where you basically dig everything its great (in my soil). Iron next to non-ferrous sounds too good....I dig it. Thus I found a good target that the Etrac (FBS) missed. The 1266 iron to non-ferrous ratio is horrible, but if its medeval iron then not trash. The Troy Shadow X5 is as deep as the 1266, but more complicated to run. Work too hard to achieve the same results....can take the fun out of it. The X3 and X5 were actually manufactured by Fisher for Troy. The X2 by Tesoro.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2020 06:45PM by Arkansas.

Those were the days my friend.
Something about the 1200 series detectors we love
and a close nephew the CZ's
Fisher was king back then.

Tejon will hit a 10" dime.

Still lots of love for the 1200s for sure.

I know I used to dig three ringers with that 10.5 coil in some decent dirt fields deeper than anything i could find at that time.

I had to keep the disc to just stop ground chatter and listen for the round sweet tight faint hits.

I never could work iron like I could with my tesoros.But I knew guys who could.I was hunting a site once with a 1265 user and we both had the small 3 inch coils on and he was tearing it up and i was digging nails and iron.on a my tesoro a pop was a good target in iron not on the 66 lol and I didnt have the skill in the early 90s to decipher a powerful machine.yet he was a old timer and knew how to get it done.he'd say listen to the quality of the signal.and I though man I'm hearing quality everywhere LOL.One thng was I didnt even understand full disc accept ranges were different.tesoro rejected nails on zero 1266 hit rocks on zero.LOL..I didnt know.!!!Finally over time I got it to 4.5 and still was noisy on disced items.What a headache I had in iron.Id alway's go back to the Tesoro for iron work.Running it now it iron and its talks and tells so much with those sounds it makes.

One of those targets in the video is a deep broken horseshoe like a foot and I can tell its a target I would not dig unless I wanted to in a camp/ battlefield for a iron relic hopefully.

The 1266 gave me some great gun parts like lock plates bayonets gun hammers.maybe more than any other unit on a battlefield.

Yes the X5 with DD coil in that soil will hit dime.A 5900 will too when ground balance is dialed in.4 filters helps alot using a Concentric in bad soil.Musky with big coil hits it .

Actually the Musky in iron is awesome and its way noisier than the 1266 to me.Musky is alot like a 1266 with a ground balance and DD coil.

Always said if you can run a musky and or Tejon in iron and decipher you can run anything in iron and decipher.

nothing like analogs.

One reason I admire the Deeptechs so well.Old school feel.

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

The Tejon is one of Tesoro's greats. Keith likes it.Unmasks better than some newer models. The Tejon loves to eat batteries and GB adj is touchy....otherwise nice. Love the concentric coils in iron.

Besides hitting nails I enjoyed the CZ series when I use to use them.

When the 1266 came out, some actually went back to using the 1265 because the 1265 is smoother on hot ground....not as noisy and easier to hear the round sounds. The round solid coils are better than the spider coils. The 1235, 1265, 1266, 1270 coils are interchangable. Never used the 1270....build quality is known to be bad.compared to earlier models.

Arkansas Wrote:
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> The Tejon is one of Tesoro's greats. Keith likes i
> t.Unmasks better than some newer models. The Tejon
> loves to eat batteries and GB adj is touchy....oth
> erwise nice. Love the concentric coils in iron.

Yes I still feel the Tejon was the best single tone un-masker to be built.

2 toned unmaskers.I think the DEUS/GMP either one maybe slight lean to GMP for rawness feel.and the Deeptechs with right coil combo.Any one of those and I can find stuff in iron.

3 toned.The Mak/Noks really shows off in three tone in iron with right coil.

I really dont click with more than 3 tones in iron for unmasking.

All my take.All my personal opinion.and you know what they say about opinions. Theres other good ones too but those click with me the most.

Lots of great machines being built and have been built.And the end user of it and knowing it is a huge advantage for success.I like T2s and F19s and Omegas etc.BUT I sort of like raw feel machines.Im also big on using machines some wont use or dismiss.I like to challenge myself its part of the hobby/quest working at it and getting satisfaction.How fun is that to accomplish things on even dead sites.I get whooped alot by the sites but I try something else.I'm stingy I alway's want one more piece of the history off a site.I may find a nice Reb button or buckle and before I get to truck I'm thinking I want another one and it took me months to get that one off the site.What a great pursuit we have in the metal detecting hobby.I have many hobbies but metal detecting gives me the most return for my investment and just not in finds.

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Enjoy everyones input on the 1266....shows how much of an impression it's left. The 1266 has raw power and light weight...balanced. Keith, viewed some of your Sovereign videos. Both you and Clive have pointed out its unmasking abilities in large iron. I had a variety of coils for my Sovereign Elite. One coil was the hated 8" concentric coil. Found a CW bullet flattened out like a Checkers game piece within the first 5 minutes of using it...lol. Still dont know how I previously missed it.

Arkansas you have some great insight to the 1266!!

Yes Sovereigns are really a great unit in big iron.

You can get a FBS especially a Safari to do about the same by notching out all iron-1 to-10 and removing the highest number +40.very very quiet in big iron.Yet doesn't have that unique Sovereign report.But still acts like the sovereign.And I suspect thats what the sovereign does with the disc.iron is removed and is also removed on the upper wrap side.

I call the Sovereign.B.B.S. Big Brass Slammer for relics in big iron.

That's a hard thing to do believe it or not find big stuff in big iron.the big iron can sound so good on most machines you will walk away from a big non ferrous thinking its another piece of large iron falsing.Plus ultra slow sweep speed really lets you get in close and let it sound off with just a creep speed.

I've seen it many times fresh house site full of iron and BBS goes in and gets the big stuff and or high stuff before you start picking with another unit.

I sort of have gravitated to the Safari for same reasons as it does as well with the notches and it still has a warranty.I have a notched pattern saved for big iron sites.put it back in all metal and go by tones for more unmasking with same unit.Safari has a unique ability to jump from ferrous to conduct tones with simple one button press over say explorer or Etrac.Yet Safari has full FBS punch in all metal and I have conduct and ferrous saved on all-metal button so can toggle back and forth on the fly.

BUT the sovereign was and is a great Big iron hunter.I have a buddy till this day all he will use is a sovereign original he bought new after using one straight and solely for 29 years.all he wants is the big stuff.and he has the buckles to prove it work's.He actually prefers the old first one and has ran it thousands and thousands of hours.the one where you can turn off iron mask and its even quieter in big iron never even burping on it.Like the GT had also at the end of the run.All he wants is the Coinsearch coil white moon coil also.

Talking about the poker chip you found.I remember once digging a 1820 large cent under a railroad spike with the Sovereign.I had just got it and was cruising around house site and got a sweet hit.i had the old bar meter and it showed all the way to the right.I dug down and saw that spike and said really ???No way this thing dont hit iron like that.I picked up the spike and ran across coil and nothing dead null.looked in hole saw a green disc lying flat with spike mark impressions coming and going from it impressed in the soil.scanned hole and exact same sound and meter reading i had heard before digging..picked it up and rust was adhered across the middle of the coin .Crazy stuff!

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Minelab Safari is underrated. One of my favorite tube videos on it....search ...Gordon Heritage Minelab Safari. The first Sovereign was noisy, but it had both the toggle to turn Iron Mask off and also to flip the multi tones to single tone. The solid white 8' Coinsearch coil is one of the favorites, but not waterproof. The XS is said to have the best tones. Would there be another model metal detector that could detect a coin under a railroad spike?? Maybe an old Compass 100 kHz or Garrett BFO ?? I found an green Indian head penny next to a rusty horseshoe with a GM King Cobra. It had Tesoro type disc and produced only a faint clicking sound that stayed true even after waving the coil repeatably fast.....runs at 15 kHz.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2020 02:41AM by Arkansas.

Arkansas Wrote:
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> The 1266 is a pure deep relic machine.....nearly 30 years old. In an old site where you basically dig everything its great (in my soil).

> The Troy Shadow X5 is as deep as the 1266, but more complicated to run. Work too hard to achieve the same results....can take the fun out of it. ?

>The X3 and X5 were actually manufactured by Fisher for Troy. The X2 by Tesoro.



Check of the uber Shadow X5 - done

What about the X3 Fisher and the Tersoro (I've heard it's a good one)?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2020 04:12AM by Cal_cobra.

I love my Musky, a deep non ferrous target sounds so sweet with a Minelab Musketeer and I can pick through the iron pretty good with it. I also like the Fisher 1200 series detectors,they sound really nice on deep coins,that little buzz is an unmistakable sound. The 1236X-2 is my favorite Fisher beep and dig.

If Fisher would have added the CZ 3 tone I.D. to the 1236x that would have been even more of a killer machine.

The Tejon worked best in iron that was on the same plane as the coin. 3d with iron raised above the coin, the Tejon will not hit it with a concentric coil. I don't know if a dd coil would hit a 3d coin with the Tejon.

Detector like the Xp Orx, Equinox, Gold Kruzer w/dd coils will hit a coin with a nail raised about the coin.

So you need 2 detector. One that separates best on a flat plane and another that hits 3d. The Xp Orx reminds a lot like a Tejon. The Tejon and Orx chatter in iron. I like that they both don't false a lot off of iron. Tejon a great relic hunter including iron relic.

I really miss my Tejon and modded Lobo ST.

Arkansas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When the 1266 came out, some actually went back to
> using the 1265 because the 1265 is smoother on hot
> ground....not as noisy and easier to hear the roun
> d sounds. ...

Ah, a trip down memory lane. Yes: When the 1266 got rolled out, the temptation to upgrade was enormous. Because in an air test, it was easy to see that the depth had doubled. Woohoo ! A dime at over a foot with ease, woohoo! What's not to love, eh ? But the devil was in the details : I'd venture to say that it's more than just "some" went back to the 1265. I would venture to say it was a LOT went back to the 1265. At least in parts of the USA where even moderate mineralized ground existed. Because the 1266 became very unstable is all but perfect ground. And even though it had a disc. knob, it became useless d/t everything sounded the same after about 4" depth. Doh ! (at least with any sort of minerals present). So where I'm at, any persons who'd come up through the ranks from the 1265 to the 1266, went scrambling back to their 1265 in a heartbeat.

About the only place I saw the 1266 do much good here, was dry -sand hunters on white-sand beaches. In those cases, sure, when using the 10" coil, they could effortlessly get a quarter to 1.5 ft. deep. Because that's like detecting through thin air. But they could never get on the wet salt, nor would they use it on land, etc....

Keith Southern Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> .I remember
> once digging a 1820 large cent under a railroad sp
> ike with the Sovereign.I had just got it and was c
> ruising around house site and got a sweet hit.i ha
> d the old bar meter and it showed all the way to t
> he right.I dug down and saw that spike and said re
> ally ???No way this thing dont hit iron like that.
> I picked up the spike and ran across coil and noth
> ing dead null.looked in hole saw a green disc lyin
> g flat with spike mark impressions coming and goin
> g from it impressed in the soil.scanned hole and e
> xact same sound and meter reading i had heard befo
> re digging..picked it up and rust was adhered acro
> ss the middle of the coin .Crazy stuff!
>

Great story. I never much understood how the Sov. would have that un-masking ability. The audio was so annoying, that I never used the Sov. and excal for anything other than the beach. But for those that "grew up with it" (like if that were their first detector, so they never-knew-anything different), they adapted to using it on land. Even for cherry-picking in parks, for example. Or for iron ridden ghost-townsy hunting. And they did ok, as you did. But I could never get the knack of it for land-hunting.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2020 01:19PM by Tom_in_CA.

The way the Sov threshold changed tones according to the last target was always weird too me?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2020 03:08PM by Harold,ILL..

Harold,ILL. Wrote:
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> The way the Sov threshold changed tones according
> to the last target was always weird too me?

Yes. And also the "null" (for the rejected un-wanted targets) had a long "tail". And the beeps had a long "tail". To me that always indicated horrible masking. Since it reminded me of the earlier first 6000D from the late 1970s to early 1980s. Those too had the long "tail" on the bongs. And as we all know, the 6000D (even though ahead of its time in all other regards) was NOT good at averaging, seeing through, separating, etc... Hence I always just assumed that the Sov was ALSO masking in the same way . But after watching some videos of nails-on-top of coins, I see that's not the case. Still though, I could never get used to the sounds.

I forced myself to get used to it on the beach (where targets tend to be separated anyhow). Since the Excal was among the first water-proof discriminators to hit the market. But whenever I tried to use that or the Sov. on land, it just never clicked like faster-concise beeps of the Explorers clicked.

Yeah the large cent under spike was just plain weird and may have been fused or something.

Just one of those weird times you were blown away from something you saw.

So many great units form the past and in the present .Just enjoy them and learn them no matter what you have .

I knew guys who use 40 year old machines to hunt with and had them since new and held together with duct tape and they know them like the back of their hands.and they can pretty much hang with and or out do anyone relic hunting even in iron.The stuff they dig and have dug would make your mouth water.They dont do forums and tell me I'm crazy for doing them.LOL.

Machines are nice but its the user who makes them perform next level above wbat even the engineer didnt envision it doing.

I know and have known some great hunters and one thing is they know where and how to hunt and know how to run the equipment they have.

Never dismiss a machine as inferior in the detecting world.

What's the adage 10% of the hunters dig 90% of the stuff.Very true.

I've got tons of great stories I could tell about stuff I've seen on hunts with the silent majority.

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

For many years I always had a 1265 or 66, along with one other. I like to have a least two machines....each purposely different from each other. The one that I sold that I wish I had back was a Gold Mountain 1650. Great at unmasking. It had two levels of disc...high and low and factory manual GB. Ran at 15 kHz.....same frequency as the Garrett Stinger. My King Cobra is still a keeper. It is modified with Threshold and manual GB. Has Keith Wills sticker on the bottom....he may have done the mod. Gold Mountain took Tesoro Gold Sabre Plus and made it better and lighter....then got sued. Curiously soon after, Tesoro, came out with their own lighter machines....Umax style. Tesoro is one of those companies you just wanted to shake......to wake up new ideas.

Keith Southern Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> They dont do forums and tell me I'm crazy for doin
> g them.LOL.
>
>

They might want you to *think* they are hermit-lone-rangers. But notice that they're more-than-willing to show their trophies and share their stories with Keith Southern. And perhaps (gasp), they might even have other friends beyond Keith. Or those "hermits stick together" and have fun hunting with each other, and all-the-associated social stuff (competing, comparing, showing off, etc....). Yes I grant you that's not the same level as today's social media platforms of forums, FB, etc.... But on the other hand, you'll notice that they don't hunt alone. And if they found a gold coin or something super cool, you can BET they wouldn't "keep it a secret". They would at least show off to a few select friends for a few well-deserved high-5's.

Human nature is human nature. Our hobbies and sports would be no fun to do solo. Like if you accomplished a triple back flip while skiing, you would DARN WELL HOPE that your buddies saw it. MD'ing is no different. No one is a "hermit". They probably just older, and grew up before the modern 'puter internet era. That's fine. But no, as much as they think they're an "island", they aren't.

Hey Tom yes they/We are competitive with each other.but USUALLY in our clique's

You have to be careful just posting finds on forums.that's all I'll say about that.You can read between the lines why.

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Posting online is evidence. Be careful.....too many searching to legally or illegally take your finds or hunting sites. Dont get me wrong, we should hunt legally. However, if I were to post that I found $20 on 10th Street.....least 50 people would claim it. Does anyone here remember when TH and author Karl Von Mueller house got broke into???......too many details, including addresses in his books. Stay safe.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2020 05:25AM by Arkansas.