• Metal Detectors
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Quality

Fisher metal detectors are known for high quality.  Fisher Labs hand-crafts each detector with pride in the USA.

Performance

Worldwide, treasure hunters rely on Fisher for durability, dependability, and a deeper search.

Reputation

Dr. Gerhard Fisher designed the first metal detector in 1931.  The Fisher logo has been a symbol of excellence for over 70 years.  Fisher continues to employ the best names in the industry, and is currently the proud home of Chief Design Engineer David Johnson.

Service

Every single Fisher metal detector is thoroughly tested and meticulously inspected, both during assembly and before delivery. Front-runner technology, at an affordable price, has made Fisher the most trusted name in metal detection since 1931.

Fisher Metal Detector History

Fisher has the most comprehensive line of hobby metal detectors in the industry. From general use to gold prospecting to underwater detection, Fisher delivers the top quality and innovative technology to equip you for the field.

In the late 1920s, while Dr. Gerhard Fisher was working as a research engineer in Los Angeles, California, he obtained the first-issued patent on an aircraft radio direction finder. Dr. Albert Einstein became interested in Dr. Fisher's work, and, after he was given a demonstration of Dr. Fisher's equipment, animatedly (and accurately) predicted worldwide use of radio direction finders on land, at sea, and in the air.

In the early years of radio direction finders, pilots often found errors in their bearings when they passed over certain areas and when metal objects passed between the transmitter and receiver. When Dr. Fisher investigated, he discovered that the errors over areas of land resulted from highly conductive, mineralized soils. Dr. Fisher theorized development of a portable electronic prospecting instrument that would use the same principle to detect the presence of ore deposits and small buried objects.

In 1931, Dr. Fisher founded Fisher Research Laboratory in a garage behind his home in Palo Alto, California. With his team of four employees, Fisher began production of the “Metallascope,” an early device consisting of two large, flat wooden boxes with simple copper coils, vacuum tubes, and homemade components.

Around 1933, Dr. Fisher was commissioned by the U.S. Navy to install a radio direction finder aboard the USS Macon, a dirigible airship. Here Dr. Fisher found that mineralized mountains and large metal buildings canceled out the radio direction finder's capabilities. This finding led to the development of the first metal detector.

By 1936, sales of the Metalloscope were skyrocketing and the garage was no longer big enough for the growing company, and Fisher Research Laboratory moved into its own building. Soon after, Dr. Fisher was granted a patent for the Metalloscope.

The “M-scope,” as it became known, soon became the accepted standard for electronic metal detection. Geologists found ore, treasure hunters treasure; utility companies located buried pipes; lumber mills detected metal inclusions in sawn logs, and law enforcement agencies detected abandoned and hidden weapons.

After World War II and the Korean Conflict, during which Fisher Research Laboratory was called on by the U.S. government to contribute to the war effort, the M-scope became increasingly popular and Dr. Fisher's patents began to expire. Other companies began manufacturing similar machines. Fisher was able to maintain solid leadership in the industry through tirelessly incorporating every new technical advancement and, significantly, by keeping in contact with innumerable users and taking advantage of their field experience and suggestions when designing new models. Over the years, Fisher Research Laboratory has designed and produced radio communication systems, Geiger counters, cable fault locators, voltage detectors, and other sophisticated detecting equipment.

In 1967, Dr. Fisher retired, leaving a company that continued to innovate and expand. From 1981 - 1995, Fisher Research Laboratory's senior electronics engineer, David Johnson, developed many of the metal detecting industry's most advanced machines. In fact, most of the legacy products Fisher manufactures today are Johnson designs, including the Gold Bug, and the X and CZ series.

In 2006, Fisher Research Laboratory was bought by First Texas Products (FTP), and the company moved from California to El Paso, TX. Luckily for Fisher, this reunited the company with senior electronics engineer David Johnson, who had established himself as one of the most innovative metal detector designers in 28 years; his designs have been among the top-performing and top-selling detectors for four of the biggest metal detector manufacturers.

Since 2006, Fisher has continued to introduce new products; in the past several years, Fisher Research Labs has introduced more new products than the rest of the industry combined. David Johnson, now Chief Design Engineer, and his talented team continue to innovate, and Fisher Research Labs continues to make metal detecting history.