Conquistador umax Hunting Tips

[Gary66]

So it seems as I get used to this Conquistador umax the more I think I know, the more it proves me wrong...

Soooooooo

I bow humbly before you...the masters of Tesoro and come to you in an effort to be blessed by some of your vast knowledge of this machine.

or any that hunt just like it.

Feel free to just run off at the fingers and type whatever...I'm listening and waiting patiently.

Thank ya mucho
Gary

 

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[CWnut]

A great machine. One of Tesoro's best kept secrets.

 

[bigtim1973]

If this is your first detector then I would make sure you do not turn up the discrimination past half way, because a tesoros disc can tune out silver dimes. MAtter of fact maybe keep it under the halfway mark. I would raise the sens knob up to where the detector was stable. I put the threshold to where it was an audible hum in all metal which one mine it was like 2 or 3 o'clock. Make sure you do not search in all metal when you start out learning this machine. If your in a cornfield or something then I would try it in all metal. I had one and I wished I had kept it. I loved that machine. It is really a great machine so be patient and it will payoff for you. I am a coin shooter and for the most part I would not dig anything that was not a good signal. If your new to the machine I would dig everything that would beep until I got the idea of how different targets react. Make sure you wear headphones with this machine. On mine I kept on moving the disc knob without my knowing when I first got it and I am sure I missed some things, so be sure if you wear gloves like I do that your not turning the disc knob up while swinging without knowing it. Just check it from time to time.

Remember this too that all sites are just not going to put out good stuff. That is just the way it is. The good stuff is out there but you just have to be patient. I ask everyone that I strike up a conversation with about looking and alot of times you do get permission to go hunt. If your looking for relics from old houses or civil war sites there is no doubt about it, you just going to have to dig up alot of old plow points, rusty cans, beer cans, weird junk and iron parts from old wood burning stoves that makes a tesoro just go haywire when ran over them. Just give it a chance and you will love it!!!

Here is another tip you might want to try since this detector has one tone while coin shooting;
If your in an area that has beer or coke cans and you had already dug a few, to avoid this before I dug the next signal that blew my ears off, I would raise my coil off of the ground and if it still had a strong signal about knee height I would avoid digging that for the time being and moved on. Even a silver dollar 1-8 inches deep will not make a sound with the coil 2 feet off of the ground. This may work for you and you may not like it, but it certainly saves from digging up those danged old cans!!!

Maybe this will help you out, Tim

 

[Gary66]

Thanks Tim,

Sad to say but I don't have headphones...how much difference do they make with this machine?

I'm starting the learn the sounds of the machine as it reacts to different items but there have been times when I have dug a signal that only sounded good in one direction and clipped a tad in the other and it was a coin. (pennys mostly)

I've put about 50 hours into learning this machine so far and have yet to find any silver coins yet I've found 2 nice silver rings. The Wheats are few and far between...maybe 4 so far but I have gotten around $25 in clad.

I'm not sold on this detector yet tho...

Pros are : it's light and cheap on battery's.

Cons so far : Limited Depth ... single tone is hard to get used to.... pin pointing is close to dead on but knowing how deep things are is a guessing game at best.

It's easy to swing all day and just as easy to get frustrated with because it likes iron so much...heck I might as well be swinging my old CZ6...lol.

I think I'm going to send it into Tesoro and have it checked out.

What coils should I add to my wish list?

again...thanks

 

[GibH]

You shouldn't have a problem with iron. If you are hunting in all metal and get a hit, switch to disc and check it again. With disc set to about 3-4, it will eliminate iron.

Headphones make it easier to hear differences in threshold volume in all metal mode. They will help you ground balance it better as well as hearing fainter signals.

 

[Gary66]

Well

I'm not much meaning small nails and such....just the big iron and even with the disc turned to tabs I can still hear the small stuff poppin and being disc'd out.

This detector isn't a manual GB...it's set. But will the headphones also help with battery life?

 

[bigtim1973]

Yea headphones will make batteries last twice as long. As far as old coins go you got to be in a place that has silver too. Remember a silver dime was worth much more back then too and when people dropped them they got down on their knees and looked for them, unlike they do today. This time of year I do not go out detecting with all of the chiggers and stuff. Also the groung is too dang hard for me. You might be surprised waiting until fall when seasons change and it starts to rain and keep the ground moist. Man it really makes a big difference on depth of your detector, plus alot easier digging.
As far as the coils go, if your coin shooting I would get the small coil. You would be surprised at what is left at a sight with a small coil. I have found numerous coins with a small coil after I thought I had hunted a site out with a regular sized coil. It was like the site was new again. Go find old housess out in a farmers field to look around. FArmers are the the best bet when it comes to hunting good places. Do not give up on your tesoro. I agree about swinging all day long and pinpointing. If you rely on target ID and tones then this may not be the one for you. If you got your conquistador used then it may not be a bad idea to have them check it out for you. My very first find with my conquistador was a civil war sharps bullet, about 1 hour later I got an 1882 Indian head penny. Then some more bullets. I know alot of people who find their first silver coin with the particular machine they are using at the time think, that is the best name brand on the market. I know she will do better on depth because I have dug coins in the 8-10 inch range with my conquistador. Remember, the threshold setting has alot to do with how the detector reacts in the disc mode. You can get a good pair of headphones with a volume off of ebay. You do not need the 80-100 dollar set of phones. I would not spend more that 25.00 on a set if you can spare the bucks in this economy we have going on. Plus you would be surprised at how much of a difference you can hear signals with the headphones on, especially walking through leaves on the ground, near streets with traffic and noisy neighborhoods. Man these are just my opinions and maybe they can help you out a little. Tim

 

[Gary66]

You're helping ALOT and I appreciate it!

Let me ask you..

First how does the threshold help in Disc when you set it primarily to help in pinpointing or if you are using all metal mode to detect?

Second....since you know this detector....lets say I have it set just above Foil and not as high as nickels and I get a hit on a deep coin....will it give me a good hit in all directions and just show as a small target or will it break up like it is a small bad target that it is trying to ignore?

As far as it killing me with rusty items....I was in the middle of the woods near a small pond (or mud hole like 20' across)...I got my first hit in 30 mins that wasn't a shotgun shell brass and started digging....I got down to about a foot and hit rust...to make a long hot, root infested sweaty dig story short...it was the head of an old coal shovel. Now there's some irony ehh. I was both laughing and torqued.

And yeah I know what you mean about the bugs, heat and hard ground.....none of the aforementioned have been treating me kind....believe me.

I've gotten permission to hunt some land and buildings that were owned by GW. As far as I know there have not been many people that were allowed to detect this area so I'm set on that account. I do have to wait till some of the vegetation dies off to get at a lot of it but I'm waiting patiently.

I will tho keep an eye out for a smaller coil and headphones....Which umax coils should I get?

Thanks again

 

[bigtim1973]

Man you know I really cannot tell you exactly how threshold works but it has to do with setting the unit so it will respond correctly while searching in the disc mode. If there is not enough(threshold) it will not be as responsive to smaller targets but it will still ring out on bigger ones. And I do not care what you have read about sensitivity, I always ran mine as high as I could without it making false signals. Alot of guys will tell you that it does not matter and the sens knobs do not have to be turned up all the way to find dimes and stuff. It makes a difference to me, so be sure you turn that sucker up on sensitivity!!! There is kind of a way similar to super tuning it and that will be turning up the threshold all the way and searching in disc mode. It kind of makes your detector run on the hot side. In other words it will be sensitive to deeper stuff. I myself do not reccomend this setting. The best way to get the most depth out of your machine is to run it in all metal, with the threshold audible, then when you have a good signal go and put it in the disc mode. If it is still giving a signal or if the signal is fainter I would go ahead and dig anyway. You just never know what is there.
As far as the deeper coins go it would ring out a good tone but it will be fainter or less audible while swinging in both directions, with headphones you would really be able to see what I am talking about. Also as you mentioned before about a coin being on edge, how it reads solid swinging one direction then sputter on the other direction, the same goes with deep coins too, it just is not as loud. The best way I can describe what you need to hear is just take out a coin and put it on the ground and swing your detector over it slowly getting higher listening to how the machine responds to the higher you go with the coil. Obviously it will eventually fade out and you may not hear it at all without a pair of headphones, but you will be surprised that you can still hear it with headphones on.
I started out detecting with my brother back in the early eighties, since I was the little brother I was his digger. When I turned 21 or 22 I moved to TN. I got my own detector and started looking for myself. It took me about 10 years to find my first silver coin but it was my favorite when I did find it, a mercury dime 1944!!! Wow I could not believe it, then about 2 or so weeks later I got another one 1917 and a few more. Tell you the truth I dug countless wheat pennies and clad, boy scout badges, toy sheriffs badges and so on but no silver for 10 years. I hated it too, it really discouraged me. I would sell the unit I was using and buy another name brand one. Just because I thought it was the machine. Heck I knew how to run one too, I thought. Then my brother told me what I said in a previous paragraph to you about back then they would get down and find that old dime or quarter they dropped. It finally made sense to me so I just kept digging wheats and all until that day the merc popped out. So do not get frustrated into thinking the unit sucks or is not as good as a minelab or fisher or whatever. The key to detecting is knowing your machine and take time to learn that baby. That tesoro is a great unit and like I said I still wished I had mine. I am fixing to buy another tesoro from my brother (eldorado) it has a ground balance but otherwise just like the conquistador.
Let me tell you, when you finally come across a silver dime or something silver or an old civil war bullet, there will be a good solid sharp tone, it will be different from how even a wheat penny sounds and you will learn that sound like I did. It (tesoro detectors) are hot on silver, brass and lead big time. You can really tell, once you have found some ole bullets and silver coins, what it just might be before you dig, even though it only has one tone.
About the uMAx coils, If your hunting old houses and all or ever go to a park I would get the 4" concentretic coil for sure. There is one on ebay at the moment right now that ends in less than 3 days at 36.00 right now. If you have an account with ebay I would be all over that like a duck on a june bug!!! I would get that one first. I would consider the bigfoot one but tell you the truth if your not hunting in big open areas I would just stick with the 8" that came with your unit and that 4" one for sure in trashy areas.
As far as nature goes and detecting in the summer months, I am a "chigger magnet!!" Man all I have to do is just walk around my house one time or weed the ditch and they are on me like stink on $h!t and I hate it so much cause I have some places to check out right now too!!! Even off and deet and stuff like that doesn't do the trick for me either, that is why I go in the winter, fall and spring!!! I do not know what part of the country you live in but take my word and ask anyone else on here, moist ground lets you detect deeper objects. Try it next time it rains in your area. Hey as far as getting to brushy areas I used to take a weedeater or trimmer with me and fire that baby up around old house sites and buildings and all for about 15-20 minutes to get rid of that tall stuff and get my coil close to the ground. I am sure some of the owners would not mind you doing that either. Where do you live anyhow? Just curious hope you do not mind me asking, Tim

 

[Gary66]

I drank a whole cup of coffee reading all that...

LOL

I'm back home in PA now....I had spent the previous 10 years in Memphis and moved there from Maine where I was stationed in the Navy. I'm not new to the hobby and have owned a CZ6a, XLT, Compass XP Pro, Ultra GTA 1000 and a couple of Bounty Hunters. My first detector was a Whites TR Disc that I got from a pawn shop. The first two things I ever found were a mans gold anniversary band with 7 diamonds and a white gold wedding band...I knew then I was hooked. Of all the detectors of which I previously owned I wish the Compass XP Pro was still in the closet. I found more stuff with that thing...sheesh

In Maine I did a lot of riding around and stumbled across an old cellar hole in the middle of this field. I went to the library and looked at maps. Found out that place was an old tavern. I went back, got permission and proceeded to dig 27 coins from the 1700's. Spanish 8 ...4 and 2 reales. French silver...colonial coppers and early large cents. I found tons of early buckles and musket balls. That was all years ago. While in Memphis I did find my share of CW stuff as well. I used to go to Lagrange TN and had permission to hunt quite a few spots. Life being as unpredictable as it is tends to be, I soon found myself without a detector and gave up the hobby.

That was about 4 years ago and now here I am back in SW PA and had the itch again so I picked up this detector. Except for that Whites TR Disc...I've never had a beep and dig detector like this Tesoro.

I'm picking your brain on it because you are a previous owner of the beast and after an easy 50 hours use it still has me scratching my head. There are times when I get a good signal one way, switch directions and get a crackle or pop and think it's good. I dig it and it's trash...so thinking to myself that the crackle means trash...I get the next one that responds the same way..think to myself it's trash and dig it anyway and it's a coin.

This thing has the white 9x8 spider coil on it. I do wish it had the 8" coil I think just because of all the junk that's around here. The thought of facing a tot lot or yard with a 4" coil makes me shudder even tho the detector will work a lot better in between trash.

I know that I do need headphones. Getting the cash for them, even the cheap ones is a problem as I am unemployed at the moment and can't spare a dime.

Enough babble for the minute as I must go refill my cup...lol

Thanks

 

[bigtim1973]

I sent you a PM.

 

[CWnut]

you may have already seen this, if so but i'll post it for those who haven't.

http://www.tesoro.com/info/faq/

 

[jorge del norte]

you may have already seen this, if so but i'll post it for those who haven't.

http://www.tesoro.com/info/faq/

direct link

http://www.tesoro.com/info/fieldtests/older/conquistadorumax/

 

[Tnmountains]

Enjoyed the knowledgable people on this post. I have the older Conquistador with the frequency shift modes. Before I hunt and depending upon the area I carry and test my machine against silver nickles lead copper and brass. I have a small piece of each. When digging a lot of lead I carry a bullet to constantly test my machine. I have found everything with this machine and deep small targets as well. I love it can not imagine having to use another. Tried the fancy machines but spend too much time reading the displays and not digging. Enjoyed this post and giving my 2 cents worth.

 

[digluv]

I owned the Conquistador uMax but it's been some years ago. I hesitate to offer advice because I could be confusing it with one of the other models of the time.

But really, in my opinion you really can't lose with any Tesoro if it is tuned right. I never owned one I could call "junk."

My last Tesoro was the Tejon which even the word awesome doesn't do it justice.

digluv

 

[SvenS]

Here's a post Monte made to my thread on another forum:

The first Conquistador was rather short-lived. It was produced from Feb. 2000 to Feb. 2001 whereas the Conquistador µMAX was released in March of 2001 and was produced a bit longer.

Both models were in the popular µMAX housing and had similar weights, with the difference being the standard coil. The Conquistador came with the brown 8" open-center coil and the Conquistador µMAX sported the 8X9 spoked coil. Both the Conquistador and Conquistador µMAX, according to Tesoro's literature, used a 630 Hz audio frequency which is that nice "high tone" than many of us appreciate.

The main differences that are obvious relate to the operating Frequency and Frequency Shift, location of the Frequency Shift, and Mode selector/battery Test. The Conquistador was the first Tesoro model with a Frequency Shift control and they located in on the right-hand side of the rod on the bottom of the control housing. It operated at 10 kHz and you could off-shift to 9.8 kHz or 9.6 kHz. On the Conquistador µMAX they moved the location from the less appealing underside to the control panel with a smaller 'bat' (toggle handle), and this model used the then newer/popular PCB and operated at 10.6 kHz with the two shifted selection going to 10.4 kHz or 10.2 kHz.

The first Conquistador had the automatic Battery Check at turn-on with the several-second audio blare to suggest battery strength, whereas the Conquistador µMAX featured the newer approach with the Mode Selector having a Battery Test position. This allows the operator to check the battery life 'at will" and it reported the battery condition with a series of very quick beeps. Also, I liked the VCO audio of the Conquistador µMAX.

What isn't obvious to the eye, or even to many who haven't messed with the Conquistador, is a "glitch" in the circuitry design that causes the Ground Balance to shift when the Discriminate level is adjusted. I found this boo-boo early on with a friend's Conquistador that had a factory preset GB that was not functional with a 10X12 concentric coil.

When tweaking the GB trimmer to be functional with the stock coil as well as the 10X12 I left the Discriminate level set where the operator had it, just a bit less than iron nail rejection. Once I had a good, functional GB with both coils over the soil at their site, I carefully put the control panel back on and re-checked. Then was were comparing the performance o f that new model with the 10X12 coil over an assortment of trash, and in doing so I increased the Discriminate level to see how well it knocked out screw caps and zinc cents and still reported a copper cent or dime.

After I increased the Discriminate level I re-swept the targets and listened to the audio response on dimes or silent rejection audio over trash. I then checked the air depth on these targets on top of the ground and switched to All Metal to see how that mode functioned. Doing so I noted that it had a very positive GB setting! I had just tweaked it to be almost spot on with the 10X12 (that was mounted) and slightly positive with the stock 8" coil (in order for the two coils to work with the preset GB). I also noted that I had either no good response at depth, or terrible response to a big silver dollar at a reasonable coil-to-coin height due to the way too high GB setting!

Sometimes when repacking all the innards into the housing and replacing the faceplate on these fragile little circuit boards and cramped wiring you can experience a little change, but this was quite dramatic! Before I opened it up to re-adjust the GB trimmer I wanted to test the stock coil and in doing so and adjusting the Discriminate level I found the problem. While I had a functional GB for a low discriminate setting, by increasing the Discriminate level it resulted in a much too positive shift in the GB. Enough that is became nonfunctional on bigger, higher-conductive coins and lost depth and/or responsiveness.

My mission then was to establish a working GB that would allow the use of both search coils AND not be such that it would either impair performance with a high discriminate setting, or allow falsing from a too-negative GB when the discriminate level was reduced to minimum. I tweaked that particular using to be functional with those two specific search coils over that somewhat mineralized dirt.

That experience kept me from wanting to add a Conquistador to my personal battery at the time, mainly due to the glitchy GB/Disc. circuitry, and the location of the Frequency Shift toggle. I did, however, get a Conquistador µMAX and enjoyed it quite a bit. It didn't have those problems and would hold my set GB, and the control panel frequency shift was small and less "in the way." I also felt they had just a little 'edge' in depth of detection over the first unit, but both were very close.

Monte