cybercop106
Hero Member
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2005
- Messages
- 632
- Reaction score
- 13
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Back in the MO Ozarks
- Detector(s) used
- Tesoro Cortes; Garrett GTAx 1000, Bounty Hunter Tracker 2D/707 and a pair of Tracker II models
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
- #1
Thread Owner
Bought a Cortes...... now it's time to learn the machine
Been using BH Tracker IIs for the last few years mostly, waiting to retire before I spent much on a higher end machine. Don't get me wrong, I've found a whole lot of silver and gold jewelry and coins, and some pretty unique stuff too. Other than the depth capabilities not being optimal and it's dislike for being near salt water, the T2 does a good job if you know how it works. And the fact I never paid more than $50 for any of the Trackers doesn't hurt either. They were a lot of fun on the cheap!!
Anyway, I finally settled on a Cortes as my selection for a 'better' detector. Snagged one cheap on eBay, like new in the box, for under $425 incl S&H.
I grew up using a Whites Coin Master and then various Bounty Hunters when I got back into the sport a few years back. Got Dad a Pioneer 505 and used it a couple times, along with his Discovery 3000, but pretty much all my experience is with "knobs and noises"....... so now I have to "learn the screen". I've gotten accustomed to telling a lot about a reading by the tone, when compared to the Mode and Discrimination settings. I mostly ignore the Sensitivity Meter, on one of my T2's it stopped working anyway......
I've read quite a bit about the Cortes on different TH sites and in all the reviews I could find, and I figure I can go back over the areas I covered with the BH and get the deeper stuff. Comparing the tones with the screen readings should make determinations about the source more accurate too.
Any advice or info on nuances about the Cortes would be welcomed. I selected it because it has control knobs, I'm not ready for 'programming' a detector and I figure the company that offers a lifetime warranty makes a superior product.
Thanks in advance for any assistance. -Jim
Been using BH Tracker IIs for the last few years mostly, waiting to retire before I spent much on a higher end machine. Don't get me wrong, I've found a whole lot of silver and gold jewelry and coins, and some pretty unique stuff too. Other than the depth capabilities not being optimal and it's dislike for being near salt water, the T2 does a good job if you know how it works. And the fact I never paid more than $50 for any of the Trackers doesn't hurt either. They were a lot of fun on the cheap!!
Anyway, I finally settled on a Cortes as my selection for a 'better' detector. Snagged one cheap on eBay, like new in the box, for under $425 incl S&H.
I grew up using a Whites Coin Master and then various Bounty Hunters when I got back into the sport a few years back. Got Dad a Pioneer 505 and used it a couple times, along with his Discovery 3000, but pretty much all my experience is with "knobs and noises"....... so now I have to "learn the screen". I've gotten accustomed to telling a lot about a reading by the tone, when compared to the Mode and Discrimination settings. I mostly ignore the Sensitivity Meter, on one of my T2's it stopped working anyway......

I've read quite a bit about the Cortes on different TH sites and in all the reviews I could find, and I figure I can go back over the areas I covered with the BH and get the deeper stuff. Comparing the tones with the screen readings should make determinations about the source more accurate too.
Any advice or info on nuances about the Cortes would be welcomed. I selected it because it has control knobs, I'm not ready for 'programming' a detector and I figure the company that offers a lifetime warranty makes a superior product.
Thanks in advance for any assistance. -Jim