Newbie and the Tesoro Tejon

[James007]

Howdy folks

First off, thanks for these forums and for the active participants. Some of what has been written in these forums has really been beneficial to me in my research.
I've always been interested in this hobby and after many years of doing nothing about it, I decided to dig in (pun intended)
After a couple weeks of research, reading reviews, watching videos, reading forums, etc. I went from wanting to buy a Fisher F2, to investing in a Tesoro Tejon.

I found an awesome buy on a Cibola but in the process of wrestling with myself and if I wanted to spend that kind of money, someone else made the decision for me. The only thing that was throwing me about the Cibola was no Ground balance feature, which had me concerned because I'm not sure of my local soil composition.
Well after the Cibola deal fell through I found a freshly posted Tejon for about half the price of a new one...I jumped on it, not wanting to lose it.

So assuming I don't get burned (the guy had 100% positive feeback) did I do the right thing? 320.00 shipped to my door.
I'm a little freaked out because it's a lot more than what I initially wanted to invest.

Anyone care to weigh in with their opinion?
Has anyone here used one? What's the learning curve for a newbie?

Thanks for your help,
James

 

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[tabman]

GREAT BUY!

So, stop your worrying. You're going to love the Tejon. If not, it's worth a lot more than you paid for it.

tabman

 

[James007]

Thank you Tabman.
It seemed like a great deal, I just wanted some confirmation to make me feel better about it
I'm so looking forward to learning how to use it. Since finding out my house was built in 1870, I'm thinking I may not have a bad hunting ground, right in my own back yard.

James

 

[A/CMan]

Hope you have a pass port you might found your self digging a hole to Bangladesh super deep machine!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[James007]

Thanks for the encouragement, A/CMan.
I think I'll be taking my son along so he can do the digging!

 

[Sandman]

You made a wise choice in getting the Tejon!! Even if it arrives broken, Tesoro will fix it. I use mine when I hunt the land for coins and what ever. It has a second disc setting that you can activate to see if it is a pull tab and you can decide if you want to retreive it or not. The VCO setting is great for pinpointing down to a dime sized target. A couple freq setting if you need them to run stable around other detectors. You'll love it..

 

[James007]

Thank you Sandman.
I'm feeling much better about making this purchase and I can't wait to get some dirt under my nails.
Hopefully I'll have it mastered before the snow starts flying

 

[Swartzie]

The Tejon kicks a$$. Especially for relics (all metal mode). The learning curve is not bad at all. It's a simple machine. But it does take time just learning how to metal detect in general. Be patient and learn the machine and how it speaks. With the Tejon it's all in the sounds. It will take a couple months to get comfortable with it.

-Swartzie

 

[James007]

Thanks Swartzie. I've been trying to absorb as much out of the manual as I can, while waiting for it to arrive. I'm really hoping it gets here by this weekend. I can honestly say that I've not been this excited about a hobby in a while.
I'll take your advice and just go slow and try to get a feel for the machine. There is a site I can't wait to get at (if I can get permission) There used to be a town there back in the middle 1800's. I've lived in the area for all of my life and just found this out a couple of weeks ago (it's actually what sparked my interest in this hobby)
Cheers!

 

[U.K. Brian]

Sounds like you can't go wrong at that price but I would say that to get the best out of it your going to have to work that little bit harder than with the other Tesoro's.

If your after the older/deeper targets then discrimination should be kept low where you can just hear small iron giving clicks.

The discrimination range (unless you have a Pro or UK black finish machine) is a little tight down the lower range. Take care when setting.

Some find it more of a problem in setting the G.B. correctly. Just practise/experiment it won't worry you after you have a few hours under your belt. There is a modification that provides a fixed G.B. setting which is handy if you want to lend the detector out to a beginner but it shouldn't really be needed.

Don't worry re "beep plus overload" type signal on near surface targets its normal.

Iron will sound loud and large in pinpoint. Another check is to do a fast pass with the coil and see if there's an iron give away of a click sound at the end of the signal. If audio is slightly broken its usually an iron target.

Don't try to overpower a site. Its a powerful detector and you will find you can often get better results by running the sensitivity lower than you would at first think.

Don't know if they have changed things but the first thing I had to do with Tesoro's was to put rubber "o" ring under the knobs to provide a little more resistance to movement.

Nearly forgot. Work slow and out in the field find a deep/weak signal and sweep it at various speeds so you can get a feel for the best speed.

 

[James007]

Brian, thank you for the great advice.
I very much appreciate it!

Take care,
James

 

[shawngrey16]

I'm new as well
Which one are you going to
Go
With? I wanna find gold
As well

 

[James007]

Hi Shawn
Since I'm new, I can only share what I've found in my research.
The detectors that are supposed to be tuned for gold, generally have a frequency in the -12 kHz to -20 (or more) kHz
Most of the "all purpose" detectors tend to run around -5.8 through -6.8kHz or so.
Although it's my understanding that all of these can find gold, its just that some tend to do it better than others.
From the research I've gathered, you really can't go wrong with a Tesoro. Granted, you won't have a screen to look at,
but is that such a bad thing?
I've found that it isn't. I've just been counting on my ears and I was surprised at how simple yet effective it is.
Most of the Tesoros that I've looked at run a frequency of -10kHz through -18kHz or so.
I went with the Tejon which has a -17.6kHz frequency.
Now I could be wrong about my research, as I just did a lot of reading and drew some of my own conclusions.
I'm not sure what your price range is but Tesoro seems to make a MD for everyone's budget.
I hear the 160.00 Compadre is an outstanding detector and it only has 1 knob on it. You can't get more simple than that

Since I have only tried two MD's at this time (my Tesoro and Bounty Hunter Tracker IV) my experience level is low.
The Bounty Hunter seems a bit less sturdy but it seemed to find things in the 5 to 6 inch range without any problem.
The reason I went with the Tejon is because everything I read or watched about it mentioned how deep it goes.
Since I'm mostly interested in relics, it seemed like the perfect machine for me and so far it has been.
The lifetime warranty just sweetens the deal.

Good luck in your search. I hope you find the perfect machine for yourself.

James

 

[shawngrey16]

Hi Shawn
Since I'm new, I can only share what I've found in my research.
The detectors that are supposed to be tuned for gold, generally have a frequency in the -12 kHz to -20 (or more) kHz
Most of the "all purpose" detectors tend to run around -5.8 through -6.8kHz or so.
Although it's my understanding that all of these can find gold, its just that some tend to do it better than others.
From the research I've gathered, you really can't go wrong with a Tesoro. Granted, you won't have a screen to look at,
but is that such a bad thing?
I've found that it isn't. I've just been counting on my ears and I was surprised at how simple yet effective it is.
Most of the Tesoros that I've looked at run a frequency of -10kHz through -18kHz or so.
I went with the Tejon which has a -17.6kHz frequency.
Now I could be wrong about my research, as I just did a lot of reading and drew some of my own conclusions.
I'm not sure what your price range is but Tesoro seems to make a MD for everyone's budget.
I hear the 160.00 Compadre is an outstanding detector and it only has 1 knob on it. You can't get more simple than that

Since I have only tried two MD's at this time (my Tesoro and Bounty Hunter Tracker IV) my experience level is low.
The Bounty Hunter seems a bit less sturdy but it seemed to find things in the 5 to 6 inch range without any problem.
The reason I went with the Tejon is because everything I read or watched about it mentioned how deep it goes.
Since I'm mostly interested in relics, it seemed like the perfect machine for me and so far it has been.
The lifetime warranty just sweetens the deal.

Good luck in your search. I hope you find the perfect machine for yourself.

James

What an amazing response thank
You so much my friend that helps extremely. I wish you tons of luck on your upcoming voyages

 

[Mzjavert]

Tesoro Metal Detectors - Official company web site with metal detector models for treasure hunting land or water.

That's the link for the manual.

 

[James007]

Excellent!
Thanks Mzjavert.

I have dug so much junk out of my backyard. My house was built in 1870 and I believe it used to be a farm house. (now in the middle of my town) It's obvious they used to use the backyard as a junkyard.
If I have the Tejon set to Iron, even with the sensitivity set to where I get no chirps on the sidewalk, when I run the coil over about anywhere in my yard, it sounds like morse code

It has never lead me on a false dig but tonight I wasn't sure. Unless I was hitting something very big, I gave up at about 26 inches and called it quits (if I had another half an hour of daylight, I may have kept going) It was still hitting on it when I gave up though.
I'm actually going to try and get most of the junk out. I figure it's good practice, even though it can be frustrating sometimes. I did manage to find 2 dimes, a '65 and '96. (I so badly want to find a Mercury dime)
I'll just keep on digging

James

 

[roaddust66]

I will help you if I can. I'm in the same boat as you with a new Tejon. Except one difference . Ive owned tesoros in the past and loved them. My Tejon is doing everything you say yours is. I'm getting better with mine. I bought the small concentric and that seemed to help stabilize the machine. I have cut the gain / sensitivity back and I'm practicing in less trashy areas. I know how to set the ground balance but with only 4 or 5 sweeps... its seemes to go out of tune on the g. b. So what do I do ? I tune it the best I can and I go on and hunt. I have read where people say they dont like the 4 turn ground balance and are changing that tuning pod to a 10 turn pod. Makes sense to me. Contact me anytime. I may begin to look for a used Fisher F-5

 

[Sandman]

I will help you if I can. I'm in the same boat as you with a new Tejon. Except one difference . Ive owned tesoros in the past and loved them. My Tejon is doing everything you say yours is. I'm getting better with mine. I bought the small concentric and that seemed to help stabilize the machine. I have cut the gain / sensitivity back and I'm practicing in less trashy areas. I know how to set the ground balance but with only 4 or 5 sweeps... its seemes to go out of tune on the g. b. So what do I do ? I tune it the best I can and I go on and hunt. I have read where people say they dont like the 4 turn ground balance and are changing that tuning pod to a 10 turn pod. Makes sense to me. Contact me anytime. I may begin to look for a used Fisher F-5

If the Tejon is seeming to be out of tune often it is maybe to minerals in the ground changed an a new GB is needed. Then a few feet farther it can change again.. Tejon doesn't have auto ground balance like huger priced machines.

Sent by SANDMAN