Fisher Research Labs was founded in 1931 by Dr. Gerhard R. Fisher, the world renowned engineer and inventor who was the first to receive a patent for the metal detector. From its simple beginnings in Fisher’s garage, Fisher Research Labs is a made-in-America success story. The world’s oldest metal detector business, Fisher Labs uses the latest in technology to build the most trusted products in the industry.

A start in aviation navigation

Dr. Fisher, a German immigrant who studied electronics at the University of Dresden, was a Research Engineer in Los Angeles in the late 1920s when he obtained the first patent ever issued for aircraft radio direction finders. His revolutionary work in aviation attracted the attention of Dr. Albert Einstein. After seeing a demonstration of Fisher’s equipment, Dr. Einstein predicted the worldwide use of radio direction finders in the air, on land and at sea.

Aircraft pilots who used Fisher’s early navigation tool found errors in their bearings when metal objects came between the transmitter and receiver, or whenever they passed over certain terrain. Dr. Fisher determined the errors were caused by the presence of highly conductive, mineralized substances. This discovery led to his invention of a portable electronic prospecting instrument, based on the same principle, used to detect the presence of buried metal objects and ore deposits.