Fisher Gold Bug User Manual
Gold Bug
Prospector’s Metal Detector
Operating Manual
FISHER RESEARCH LABORATORY
CONTENTS
About Your Gold Bug .............................................................pg. 1
Setting Up ................................................................................. pg. 4
Hipmounting............................................................................pg. 6
Control Functions .................................................................... pg. 7
Operating Modes ...................................................................pg. 9
Turn On Procedure ................................................................. pg. 10
Ground Reject Procedure ..................................................... pg. 10
Auto-Tune Mode .................................................................pg. 11
No-Motion Mode ................................................................pg. 12
Motion Mode ......................................................................pg. 13
Searching ................................................................................pg. 14
Pinpointing...............................................................................pg. 16
Auto-tune and Motion Mode ............................................ pg. 16
No-Motion Mode ................................................................pg. 17
Target Recovery ..................................................................... pg. 18
Operating Tips ......................................................................... pg. 20
False Signals ............................................................................ pg. 21
Battery Replacement .............................................................pg. 23
Maintenance .......................................................................... pg. 24
Treasure Hunter’s Code of Ethics ..........................................pg. 25
Where to Use Your Metal Detector in the U.S. ..................... pg. 26
Specifications .........................................................................pg. 27
ABOUT YOUR DETECTOR
The Fisher Gold Bug was conceived, designed, engineered
and manufactured for one purpose: to find gold nuggets. And
it's done just that for thousands of week-end and professional
prospectors. So, if you're after gold, you've got the right detector.
Here's why...
Gold Sensitivity:
Just about any metal detector will sound off over
a large nugget. The problem is, most nuggets are
small. The Gold Bug will respond solidly to nuggets
not much bigger than the head of a pin.
Ground Rejection:
Not only are most nuggets small, they're in highly
mineralized soil. Mineralization so strong that it
overloads the ground reject circuitry of many
detectors and drastically reduces the performance
of others. The Gold Bug will penetrate all but the
worst of these soils.
Operating Modes:
Three completely different all-metal modes: VLF
Slow Motion, VLF Auto-Tune and VLF No-Motion.
All with manual ground adjust and variable
sensitivity for optimum operation in any situation.
Elliptical Search Coils:
The standard 10-inch elliptical coil covers more
ground with each sweep than a normal 8-inch coil.
The optional 14-inch elliptical coil covers even more
ground and goes a little deeper. And the 5-inch
elliptical coil is perfect for extremely "hot" ground
and tight spots.
Keep in mind that the Gold Bug will respond to all metals, not
just gold. It has no "discrimination" or "target identification"
circuitry. We've found that any attempt to electronically tune
out unwanted targets is a good way to lose those very tiny
nuggets.
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ABOUT YOUR DETECTOR
There's no reason why you can't use your Gold Bug for "coin
shooting" in parks, relic hunting in ghost towns or on the beach.
True, the Gold Bug was designed for prospecting, but if you're
willing to dig up some junk with the good stuff, you'll probably
find more and deeper targets than you could with a "trash
discriminating" type of metal detector. This is especially true in
highly mineralized soil or black sand.
Now the rest is up to you. You've got the right detector but
you'll have to decide where to search and then put in a lot of
long, hard hours searching. And of course you're going to have
to learn your Gold Bug. Read this instruction manual carefully
and practice often. Drop us a line if you have any questions,
comments or exciting gold nugget stories. In the meantime...
Happy Hunting,
Fisher Research Laboratory
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ABOUT YOUR DETECTOR
Detector stand
Padded arm rest
Anodized aluminum
upper stem
Snap button
7-foot search
coil cable
Lock nut
Adjustable, ABS,
fiberglass-reinforced,
nylon lower stem
Nylon wing nut
Waterproof, ESI-shielded,
elliptical search coil
Foam grip
Drop-in battery
compartments
Cable
connector
Threshold
control
Velcro®
straps
Figure 1. Fisher M-Scope Gold Bug
3
SETTING UP
The Gold Bug comes to you just about ready to use. There are
only three steps required: sliding the lower stem into the upper
stem, connecting the loop coil to the control housing and
adjusting the angle of the search coil. Take a look at page 3
and familiarize yourself with the parts of the Gold Bug before
proceeding.
1. Unpack your new Gold Bug
carefully. Save the carton and
inserts –they may come in handy
for future storage or shipment.
2. Take a look inside the locknut on
the upper stem. Note the yellow
locking pad on the left-hand side
and loosen the locknut by rotating
it fully counterclockwise.
3. Slip the lower stem into the
upper stem, making sure the flat
side of the lower stem is aligned
with the compression pad inside
the locknut of the upper stem.
Tighten and loosen the fit by
turning the locknut.
Adjust the stem length and coil
angle resting the search coil flat on
the ground and about 6 inches in
front of your right foot (left foot for
left-handers).
4. Adjust the stem length (using
the lockout) and the coil angle
(using the nylon wing nut) so that
the search coil rests flat on the
ground about 6 inches in front of,
and slightly to the right of, your right
foot (to the left of your left foot for
left handers.) Your arm should be
straight and relaxed with your grip
held loosely.
4
SETTING UP
REMEMBER: THE LONGER THE SHAFT, THE MORE YOU
WILL HAVE TO BEND YOUR ELBOW AND THE
SOONER YOUR ARM WILL GET TIRED. THE GOLD BUG
IS BALANCED FOR COMFORTABLE SEARCHING IN A
TIGHT SEMICIRCLE AROUND THE FRONT OF THE
OPERATOR.
5. With the stem length properly adjusted, wrap the
loop cable tightly around the upper stem and
secure it with the two Velcro straps. Connect the
cable connector to the control housing.
CAUTION: MAKE SURE THE CABLE IS NOT PULLED
TIGHT AT THE CONTROL HOUSING AND THAT YOU
HAVE ENOUGH SLACK AT THE SEARCH COIL TO
ADJUST IT TO ANY ANGLE
6. With the shaft length and coil angle properly
adjusted, you should be able to move into your
"search" position (as shown in the illustration on
page 4) by leaning forward very slightly and raising
your arm (still straight) until the search coil is about
2 inches above the ground and 12 inches in front
of your foot. The search coil should be parallel to
the ground and may have to be slightly readjusted
at this point.
7. If the arm rest is too wide or narrow, you may
bend it slightly inward or outward to meet your
exact requirements.
5
HIPMOUNTING
Your Gold Bug is light and extremely well balanced however,
if you're going to be swinging it for more than a few hours you
may want to convert it to a "hipmount".
The Gold Bug control housing
can be hipmounted to reduce
weight on the stem and create
nearly effortless hunting. Belt
loops are provided on the underside of the control housing.
1. Disconnect the cable from the housing or make
sure you have at least 8 inches of slack cable
between the housing and upper stem.
2. Grab the control housing and slide it off the
handle by pulling it to ward the arm rest.
3. Put your belt through the slots on the underside
of the housing.
4. Left handers should wear the housing on their
right hip and right handers on their left hip.
NOTE: if you’re working in shallow water, you may want
to strap the control housing on your chest in a heavy
plastic bag, and seal it tightly around the cable.
6
CONTROL FUNCTIONS
1. MODE: This thumb activated switch instantly puts
your Gold Bug into one of three operating modes:
Auto-Tune, No-Motion or Motion. The Auto-Tune and
Motion modes are recommended for searching
whereas the No-Motion mode is usually used for
pinpointing. For a more detailed discussion, see The
section titled "OPERATING MODES".
2. SENS: Adjusts sensitivity to targets and ground
minerals. the higher the setting, the deeper you'll
detect. You'll also detect smaller targets. However
the Gold Bug is so sensitive at the maximum setting
that you'll also pick up more false signals in mineralized
soil or in areas of electrical interference. In the
extreme counterclockwise position this control
doubles as a battery test. A loud tone indicates good
batteries. A faint tone indicates weak batteries. No
tone means that it's time for a change. As a general
rule, you'll be able to use your Gold Bug for about an
hour after the battery test goes silent.
3. GROUND REJECT: This dual knob control is used
to electronically tune the search coil to ignore
ground minerals. The small knob on top is a singleturn coarse adjust with about twenty fixed positions.
The large 16-turn, fine tuning knob is on the bottom.
This control works in conjunction with all three
operating modes.
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CONTROL FUNCTIONS
4. VOLUME: Turns the power on and controls the
signal response volume. Normally set at 10 unless you're
wearing headphones (strongly recommended) in
which case the volume should be lowered to a
comfortable level when the Gold Bug is responding
to a large or shallow target.
5. HEADPHONES: This jack accepts most mono and
stereo headphones with 1/4" plugs. When using a
headphone with a "Stereo/Mono" switch, put it in
the "Stereo" position.
6. RETUNE: Retunes the Gold Bug in the No-Motion
mode to your preset "threshold" tone (See
THRESHOLD Control). When searching in the Motion
mode it is necessary to push, hold and release the
retune button when the unit is first turned on (not
required if it is in the Auto-Tune mode when turned
on) and only occasionally thereafter if you leave it
in the MOTION mode. Switching to the Auto-Tune
position and back has the same effect as pushing
the RETUNE button. Frequent use of the RETUNE
button is necessary when operating in the NoMotion Mode (especially at high sensitivity levels).
7. THRESHOLD: This shaft on the rear of the control
housing is purposely small and out of the way so
you won't move it accidentally. It is used to tune
the "Audio-Threshold" point at which a very faint
hum is heard in the Auto-Tune and No-Motion
modes. Once it is set, you won't have to reset it
very often unless you change SENSITIVITY or
GROUND ADJUST points. The THRESHOLD control has
no effect on the Motion mode which runs silently
without a threshold tone.
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