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.
ASSEMBLY Battery Access Panel 8-inch Spider Coil Control Panel Derlin Screw and LED (Light Emitting Diode) Nylon Wing Nut Lower Stem Middle Stem Searchcoil Cable Adjustable Arm Rest Waterproof Headphones Upper Stem Arm Rest Screws Spring Lock (Not visible) Please save all packing materials for later shipping. Most important, notice the styrofoam face plate cover.
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 searchcoil 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...
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.
CONTROL PANEL 1. POWER/VOLUME CONTROL: Turns the power on and off. Also controls the target response volume in the headphones. The volume control should be set no louder than comfortable when the searchcoil is passed over a large, close target. 2.
DISCRIMINATION POINTS By adjusting the DISCRIMINATION control you will be able to ignore (or “reject”) small pieces of metallic trash and ground minerals while detecting valuable targets. The lowest setting at which an object is rejected is referred to as the object’s “discrimination point”.
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DISCRIMINATION POINTS 9. Large pieces of trash such as beer cans or jar lids may sound like good targets no matter what you do. With a little practice, however, you will be able to tell the difference between a large target and a small coin sized object.
SEARCHING Good search techniques remain the same whether you’re using your 1280-X in the desert or on the bottom of the ocean. 1. Decide how much discrimination you want to use. a. In relatively non-trashy areas you may wish to search at zero discrimination.
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SEARCHING 1. Minimum Depth a. Very slow or fast sweep speed. b. Discrimination set at “10.” 2. Good Depth a. Moderate sweep speed. b. Discrimination set at “5.” 3. Maximum Depth a. Moderate sweep speed. b. Discrimination set at “0.” 4.
PINPOINTING Pinpointing takes practice. The more time you spend with your 1280-X, the faster and more accurate you’ll become. 1. Once a buried target is indicated by the tell-tale “Beep” of the 1280-X, continue moving the searchcoil from side- to-side across the target in a narrower and narrower search pattern.
TARGET RECOVERY Once you have pinpointed a target, your objective is to recover it quickly and neatly, leaving virtually no trace of your excavation. There are almost as many ways to do this as there are treasure hunters. Whatever works best for you is good enough as long as you don’t break any laws or leave your search area looking like a World War II Battlefield.
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TARGET RECOVERY inserting the screwdriver into the ground next to the hole and pulling in towards the center. Do this 4 to 5 times around the edge of the hole until it is no longer visible. PLUGGING METHOD This method of recovery is not allowed in many areas and should never be used in dry lawns or in very hot weather.
TARGET RECOVERY your 1280-X if you still can’t find it. 9. Once you have recovered the target, check the area again. Two or more coins are often found in the same spot. 10. Scrape all loose dirt back in the hole, reinsert the plug and press it firmly in place with your foot.
OPERATING TIPS 1. Keep the searchcoil cable wound snugly around the stem when diving around coral or jagged rocks to keep it from snagging. 2. Divers should make sure the drain holes in the headset are unobstructed. Better yet, wait until you’re on the bottom before putting them on and take them off before surfacing.
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OPERATING TIPS find anything under either one, you’re probably over a nail or some other elonggated ferrous object. But a coin on edge will give the same response and there’s lots of coins on edge down there. In either case, the target will be between the beeps or, if you sweep at right angles to your original direction, you’ll receive a single beep directly over the target.
BATTERY REPLACEMENT Eight 1.5V size AA batteries (not included) are located in the rear section of the Control Housing. The batteries are sealed off from the electronics so that accidental water leakage into the battery compartment will not damage the circuitry. 1.
BATTERY REPLACEMENT VERY IMPORTANT Follow these instructions carefully to avoid getting water in the battery compartment. 1. Tuck in the wires. Do not pinch them in the seal when closing. 2. Tighten the knobs SECURELY. a. Use a coin. b. Tighten by hand FIRMLY. Use maximum MANUAL force.
BATTERY RECHARGING Rechargeable nicad batteries may take as many as 1,000 recharges, however they do have some limitations you should be aware of: 1. Nicads will last only about half as long as standard carbon-zinc batteries before recharging is required. 2.
BATTERY RECHARGING 1. Install the nicad batteries. 2. Plug the charger into your auto cigarette lighter socket and the small cable into the 1280-X RECHARGE JACK. 3. The batteries will begin charging immediately. 4. An overnight charge with the engine off may give only 6-8 hours of battery life.
MAINTENANCE CLEANING Hose down your 1280-X with clean fresh water whenever you’ve had it on the beach or in the water. Pay particular attention to the following areas: 1. Stem adapter. Sand or dirt between the coil “ears” and stem adapter will literally grind away the ears and adapter.
BATTERY DOOR GASKET: ORIENTATION CROSS SECTION Battery door gasket installation Figure 9. The rubber gasket, which fits into the battery door, must be installed with the larger protrusion (B), toward the battery door. If you remove the gasket for cleaning, re-install correctly. Improper installation will result in leakage.
SEARCHCOILS The 1280-X is available with either the standard 8 inch “Spider” coil or the 10.5 inch “Spider” coil. As a general rule, the 8 inch coil is preferred for tight spots, fast moving surf and high density trash areas. For normal conditions however, the 10.5 inch coil will cover a little more ground with each sweep and will give slightly more depth 5 to 20 percent in air, less in soil, depending on target size and mineralization.
TREASURE HUNTER’S CODE OF ETHICS LETS PRESERVE OUR TREASURED SPORT! Laws governing the use of metal detectors are becoming more and more common. In many countries, the use of metal detectors is illegal or severely restricted. Don’t let this happen in your area. •...
Notes: 1. Approximate. 2. Pulsegate Unipolar Audio Processing. Advanced Fisher circuitry which allows silent operation below “audio threshold tone” with no loss in sensitivity. 3. The 1280-X is a “motion” detector while in the search mode. The searchcoil must be moving at least slightly to detect a target.
This device complies with FCC Part 15 Subpart B Section 15.109 Class B. FISHER RESEARCH LABS, INC. 1465 Henry Brennan El Paso, Texas 79936 Tel 915.225.0333 Fax 915.225.0336...
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