Buying a new Tejon or Vacquero

[Timecop67]

Have a few questions about the Tejon

Most of my hunting will be old parks and occasionally farm fields. My old Treasure Baron is out of date now and no coils available for it since the company isn't in business.... so may be buying a new Tejon to replace it. That or the Teknetics T2 but have heard 1st Texas build quality isn't as good as Tesoro units and don't have that lifetime warranty.

What is the major difference in performance between the 9*8 and the 11*8? I'm guessing the round 9*8 will work the best in parks and trashy areas.......and the 11*8 will be the ticket on fields but thought I'd post on here.

Is this unit as easy to pinpoint with as the Vacquero? And will the signal area get smaller with each press of the toggle switch like some of the old machines? The Vacquero from what I've read is very accurate to pinpoint with and you don't really need a separate pin-pointer with it. I would however like to stay with AA cells as I have some good rechargeable ones. Don't think there are any good 9v rechargeable options.

Have also heard Tejons don't work around Iron as well as the Vacquero is that true?

One last question: this Tejon has been out awhile.....anyone know if they expecting a refresh soon like a Tejon 2?

 

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[pinenut]

just my opinion, of course..

If you're detecting in trashy parks, you'll want a smaller 5.75 concentric coil, but the 9x8 concentric will do very well in less trashy spots. 11x8 is a DD coil which is better for area coverage than the 9x8, but you may find that you'll be digging more trash with the DD coil, as they don't discriminate as well as a concentric does.

Though some folks will disagree, I would choose Vaquero over Tejon for detecting in parks; their disc setup is better suited for rejecting the park trash and finding coins, than Tejon's. That's just my opinion, of course. I see Vaquero as the better all-around detector, even though I really like a couple of the Tejon's features (adjustable audio tone and dual disc). Tejon is more relic oriented, though it will find deep coins.. but I think the disc spread isn't as nice as Vaquero's. I can't disc out bottlecaps with my Tejon, without also losing nickels (and small gold).

Tejon with a DD coil should be perfectly suited for open fields though, where you have less trash and you want to dig everything that sounds good. Tejon will be a little deeper than Vaquero, but not much; Vaquero also has good depth. Pinpointing with Tejon is just as easy as with the Vaquero, and concentric coils make it even easier. Tejon has a "trigger" toggle that you pull back to pinpoint with. The 11x8 DD coil will pinpoint OK by "X-ing" the target, but it's not dead center like with the concentric coils.

As far as "working in iron", some say they're both great..but I'm not one of those. I have both Vaquero and Tejon, but if I'm detecting in iron trash (nails, screws, bottlecaps, etc..), I prefer a different Tesoro.

If you're set on either Vaquero or Tejon, pick Vaquero if you're doing mainly old parks. While I do like the 11x8 Widescan coil, it doesn't discriminate or pinpoint as well as the 9x8 concentric.
Tough choice on the coils.. 11x8 is light, well made, sensitive, and it covers more area than the 9x8. 9x8 discriminates and pinpoints better..

My choice for parks (of the two you asked about) would be the Vaquero, and the 9x8...then I'd get a 5.75 concentric for the trashier areas.

Oh - just thought I'd add.. If your ears are getting older and you hear high pitch sounds better than low, Vaquero is also offered in a "high-tone" version.

 

[DiggerinVA]

Not to say Pinenut is wrong.....I just have a different opinion. I owned nearly all the Tesoro maCHINES except the Golden Umax and the newest Mojave......and I will take the Tejon over any of them anywhere in the country except on a salt water beach. In a trashy park the two of them (Vaquero and Tejon) will perform similarly. But with the dual disc of the Tejon you can do some pretty cool stuff depending upon what you are hunting for. Tejon is deeper and I don't care how many people say its close....TEJON IS DEEPER. The 9x8 coil will do a little better at rejecting bottlecaps but the 11x8 DD is better in every other way. Trashy hunting the 5.75" concentric is the best coil for either machine and Tejon will still get really deep with it. Tejon is a little more touchy on GB settings and uses more batteries. Tejon has an adjustable tone for your preference. Trigger switch alone is enough for me to choose the T over the V. Probably my favorite machine out of 30+ detectors I have owned but has a little learning curve....

 

[Bill G]

Not to say Pinenut is wrong.....I just have a different opinion. I owned nearly all the Tesoro maCHINES except the Golden Umax and the newest Mojave......and I will take the Tejon over any of them anywhere in the country except on a salt water beach. In a trashy park the two of them (Vaquero and Tejon) will perform similarly. But with the dual disc of the Tejon you can do some pretty cool stuff depending upon what you are hunting for. Tejon is deeper and I don't care how many people say its close....TEJON IS DEEPER. The 9x8 coil will do a little better at rejecting bottlecaps but the 11x8 DD is better in every other way. Trashy hunting the 5.75" concentric is the best coil for either machine and Tejon will still get really deep with it. Tejon is a little more touchy on GB settings and uses more batteries. Tejon has an adjustable tone for your preference. Trigger switch alone is enough for me to choose the T over the V. Probably my favorite machine out of 30+ detectors I have owned but has a little learning curve....

I agree with you my friend on this... The Tejon for the same reasons as you followed by my Vaquero.

Happy Hunting,
Bill G

 

[DeepseekerADS]

My hunting partner Indian Steve swings the Tejon and I swing the CTX. He knows that Tejon, and subsequently kicks my butt every time we hunt. I will say though that I move slowly, and he's pretty quick. He has a donut coil on his Tejon and does not nearly have the pinpointing problems I have the the CTX.

 

[Timecop67]

On the Vacquero and on other deep silver detectors most manufactures use anywhere from 12 to 14khz.....any guess as to why they chose to go with 17khz for this model? Or is it just a carry over of parts from the Lobo Traq model? Maybe in a future machine they will put that high output transmit oscillator on 14khz and give this model some sort of dual tone break that some are asking for.

If hunting in an area where there is another similar Tejon will it interfere with their unit? Any way to change the output freq slightly?

It looks like my best option is the 5 inch coil for parks and the 11*8 for open fields.....probably best to have all 3.

 

[doggoneitdignit]

On the Vacquero and on other deep silver detectors most manufactures use anywhere from 12 to 14khz.....any guess as to why they chose to go with 17khz for this model? Or is it just a carry over of parts from the Lobo Traq model? Maybe in a future machine they will put that high output transmit oscillator on 14khz and give this model some sort of dual tone break that some are asking for.

If hunting in an area where there is another similar Tejon will it interfere with their unit? Any way to change the output freq slightly?

It looks like my best option is the 5 inch coil for parks and the 11*8 for open fields.....probably best to have all 3.

The Vaquero was made with the idea replacement for the Eldorado, but with 14 KHz instead of 10KHz so it can hit gold better, first thing and deeper with respect to smaller objects for the detectorist, it did fill the gap between the Lobo indeed at 20KHz and the Tejon at 17KHz all good all around range of detection you get. The Vaquero 11x8 and 5.75 con is the most popular coils you can buy for this machine that will work for you in most cases. Super Tuning and GB impecable with the Vaq. The Tejon is for relic hunting and deeper all around but by a bit. For Junk areas Outlaw at 10 KHz (True No-Motion) and the Bandido II uMax are King detectors in the line up of providing what you need to get done. Dual tone break is what I would expect from a new release for a Vaq2. We are waiting to see if Tesoro would make a noticeable frequency output but this is unlikely, as it treds away from their philosopy of detectors they produce...I think. Your right have all three the 5.75" con, 8" donut, and 11x8 RSD, nothing else needed and go a hunting.

Regards.

 

[DiggerinVA]

As stated above the Tejon is more aimed at the relic hunter with its high freq....it loves low conductors like lead, small brass, gold and nickels. Dont be confused...it is still a great coin machine also. The Vaquero is more aimed for "all purpose" use with its 14khz range making it good for most applications and a great detector aswell.

 

[Timecop67]

Found this chart from the Deus manual and detecting frequencies. Applies to other detectors like the Tejon as well. Seems that the higher the frequency the smaller the object one is looking for like gold nuggets, small jewelry etc., reason why the Lobo a gold unit is on this frequency.....and Fisher Gold Bug pro at 19khz.
XP Deus Operating Frequency Explained

from the chart:
18 kHz - this frequency makes the Deus highly sensitive to the smallest gold, copper and silver coinage such as thin-sectioned hammered coins (an example is shown below) even in high-mineralized and iron contaminated ground.

The 18 kHz operating frequency is the most practical for "vacuuming" any hunt site to the last non-ferrous signal; however, with this frequency, the Deus' depth penetration is minimal. Using the 18 kHz frequency, one may find lots of small desirable targets, but would have to dig a lot of small iron as well. If too many small pieces of iron are present at the hunt site, the Silencer setting (described on page 12 of this article) should be increased. This frequency can be also suitable for freshly ploughed farm fields with dry and "fluffy" surface because tillage usually causes some enhancement of the ground mineralization effects.