Fisher Research Laboratory

Fisher Research Laboratory was founded in 1931 by Dr. Gerhard Fisher, a German immigrant who studied electronics at the University of Dresden.

He patented a metal detecing device he called a "Metallascope", later shortened to "M-Scope". He started the company in a garage behind his home at 1505 Byron St., Palo Alto California. Dr. Fisher and four employees began building M-Scopes, starting each unit as a new order came in.

In 1936, the M-Scope became better known, sales increased, and the garage was no longer large enough. Fisher Research Laboratory moved to a small building at 745 Emerson St., in Palo Alto.

In 1939, just prior to World War II, Fisher Research Laboratory moved to a larger building on University Ave in Palo Alto.

Among other moves, in 1961 Fisher moved to a larger production facility in Belmont, California, and in 1974, Fisher Research Laboratory moved about 90 miles southeast to a building on I St. in Los Banos.

In 1990, Fisher Research Laboratory built its present plant in the Los Banos Industrial Park, where the world's oldest metal detector business resides today.