Fisher Labs 1280-X, m-scope User Manual

1280-X Aquanaut

Automatic Metal Detector for Sea, Surf or Shore

Operating Manual

FISHER RESEARCH LABORATORY

CONTENTS

About Your 1280-X .................................................................pg. 1

Assembly ................................................................................ pg. 2

Setting Up ................................................................................ pg. 3

Hipmounting........................................................................... pg. 5

Control Panel ......................................................................... pg. 7

Discrimination Points ............................................................. pg. 8

Searching ...............................................................................pg. 10

Pinpointing..............................................................................pg. 12

Target Recovery .................................................................... pg. 13

Recovery Tools ...................................................................... pg. 15

Operating Tips ........................................................................ pg. 17

Sinker Assembly .................................................................... pg. 17

Battery Replacement ............................................................pg. 18

Battery Recharging ............................................................... pg. 18

Maintenance ......................................................................... pg. 20

Search Coils ........................................................................... pg. 21

Treasure Hunter’s Code of Ethics ......................................... pg. 21

Where to Hunt in the U.S ........................................................ pg. 22

Specifications ........................................................................ pg. 23

ABOUT YOUR DETECTOR

Fisher Research Laboratory has been producing rugged, high
quality, high performance metal detectors since 1931, longer
than any other company in the world. Your 1280-X Aquanaut is a
product of that proud heritage. Designed for deep sea treasure
hunting, the 1280-X will also do the job in fresh water or on land.

The 1280-X is easy to use. No fine tuning, no threshold tone
and no complicated “ground-adjustment”. Just turn it on, set the
volume, sensitivity and trash discrimination controls, and you
probably won’t have to touch the knobs again. The 1280-X
automatically tunes itself to changing ground conditions and salt
water, rejects most small pieces of junk and detects valuable
targets all at the same time.

The 1280-X is built to take a beating. The search coil is light­weight glass-bead epoxy filled. The shaft is fiberglass reinforced
ABS. The control housing is injection molded ABS. The state-of­the-art Piezo Electric headset was designed especially for the
1280-X. And the entire unit is submersible to 250 feet.

The 1280-X is a “motion” detector, meaning the search coil
must be in motion to detect a target. However, the motion
required is slight and unlike earlier “motion” detectors, you’ll be
able to almost completely stop the coil for accurate pinpointing.

Your 1280-X is a precision metal detector designed and
manufactured by the oldest and proudest name in the business.
Take good care of it, read this instruction manual carefully and
you’re in for some exciting treasure hunting. If you have any
questions, suggestions or make any big finds, drop us a line. We
want to hear from you. In the meantime...

Happy Hunting!
Fisher Research Laboratory

1

ASSEMBLY

Battery Access Panel

Control Panel

LED (Light Emitting Diode)

8-inch Spider Coil

Derlin Screw and
Nylon Wing Nut

Upper Stem

Adjustable Arm Rest

Arm Rest Screws

Spring Lock (Not visible)

Lower Stem

Search Coil Cable

Waterproof Headphones

The 1280-X requires very little assembly. Unpack it carefully and
save the carton which may come in handy for future storage or
shipment.

1. Remove the headphone, handle and search coil
assemblies from the shipping carton. Be careful not
to damage the foam rubber inserts or put any strain
on the cable connections.

2. Adjust the stem to the approximate length you
will be using, extended for stand-up use or, as short
as possible for diving. To extend the lower stem,
push in the spring lock, pull out the lower stem and
let the spring lock snap into another hole.

3. If you will be using the 1280-X on the handle, and
not body mounted, wind the search coil cable
around the handle assembly as shown in the
diagram above. Secure the cable with the two
Velcro straps included with your 1280-X. Make sure
there is some slack at the control housing end and
enough slack at the other end to attach the search
coil.

4. Remove the Delrin bolt and nylon wing nut from
the search coil. Line up the hole in the stem
between the two holes in the search coil “ears”.
Attach the coil to the stem with the bolt and wing
nut and finger tighten.

2

SETTING UP

FOR LAND OR SHALLOW WATER (See Figure 2-A)

Put the headphones around your neck to keep them out of the
way while making the following adjustments.

1. Adjust the length and coil angle 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 the handle
grip held firmly but comfortably. Remember, as you
increase the shaft length, you also increase the
strain on your wrist and arm. The 1280-X is balanced
for comfortable searching in a tight semicircle
around the front of the operator.

2. Leave enough slack in the coil cable to allow
the coil to swivel as far as it can in either direction.
The coil wing nut should be tight enough to prevent
the coil from moving.

A. Extended stem for land
or shallow water

Figure 2. Setting up. When the stem length is properly adjusted, the 1280-X
is balanced for sweeping in a tight semicircle. Always overlap your swings
by at least 50%

B. Short stem for diving

3

SETTING UP

3. You should now be able to move into your

“search” position by leaning slightly forward and
raising the search coil approximately 1 inch above
the ground. Your arm should still be straight and the
coil should be parallel to the ground, about 12
inches in front of your foot. The coil angle may have
to be slightly readjusted at this point.

FOR DIVING (see Figure 2-B on previous page)

The recommended setup for underwater use is the shortest
possible stem length with the search coil adjusted parallel to the
sea bed or lake bottom. Keep the headphones around your
neck, off your ears, while descending or ascending.

4

HIPMOUNTING

For almost effortless treasure hunting, the control housing is
easily removed from the handle and attached to a belt clip.
“Hipmounting” the 1280-X in this manner takes half the weight
off the handle and allows the land or shallow water Treasure
Hunter to search much longer without arm fatigue.

1. Grasp the handle grip firmly with one hand and
the control housing with the other.

2. Slide the control housing off the mounting
bracket by pulling it towards you.

3. Slide the belt clip into grooves on the bottom of
the control housing. This is a snug fit and you’ll have
to bend the belt clip slightly. Make sure the narrow
end of the clip goes into the grooves first and the
short hooked side faces out.

4. Unwrap just enough of the coil cable to allow
for searching.

Figure 3. You can hipmount your 1280-X by sliding the control housing from the handle
and attaching it to your belt. This reduces the weight of the stem, creating nearly
effortless hunting.

5

HIPMOUNTING

5. Slip the control housing onto your belt, left side

for right handers, right side for left-handers.

CAUTION: Hipmounting is not recommended for underwater use.
The search coil cable may become entangled with a
submerged object, making it difficult for the diver to resurface
quickly in case of emergency.

6