Can I add a little here? - well alright, a lot!
I have never had a Cibola, but I have a Vaquero and have owned nearly every progenitor of the current line up. Here's what I had to say a while back about the Silver Sbare line of detectors. Nearly all of it will apply to the Cib...
My very first detector was a Silver Sabre II and it was a goodie. Still is. The only one I like better is the SS uMax. Or the Bandido, or the Eldorado.... okay, any uMax format!
Here are some tips that will help you with your Cibola. They were written for the uMax series, but they directly apply to the Cib, as well:
- Keep the SENS down. These units are deep enough for 80% of usage and will sound off cleanly over good targets. There is little mistaking when you have gotten over something good. Conversely, they are good at discerning trash, but will get squirrely enough if you drive them too hard on a trashy site. You dont need it as high as you think you do. You'll find 6-9 is adequate for most uses.
- Save the upper limit SENS Boost for cleaner areas.
- Dont bother with the pinpointing. All you need is to slow down a bit to pinpoint in the DISC mode, as it works well at pinpoint speeds. When they say "slow-motion VLF" at Tesoro, they mean it. This saves time and is another benefit of using a Tesoro.
- The DISC is razor edged, as are all Tesoros and with a little usage, you will learn where things ID at.
Practice this by placing a nickle, both a square and ring pull tab and a zinc cent on clean ground.
As you sweep over these targets, increase the DISC control with your thumb (Tesoro fans call this "thumbing," and it's why Tesoro puts the control where they do.)
As you do this, you will learn where your detector cuts out on each of these. When you have that down pat, mark the spot on the DISC dial for each of these targets with a little dot of bright nailpolish.
You have just created a reasonable TID detector! This is the way I learned before I had my first graphic TID unit. This ensured I dug more, instead of peering at some screen all the danged time.
- For general hunting, set your DISC around the pre-set below nickel. Test this on foil bits and wads. For relics go lower to "IRON or even "ALL Metal". Even at lower DISC settings, it is very good at discerning small iron bits, up to bottlecaps.
- However it will readily signal on large iron, and seems to love steel washers. But it gives a scraggy, chop-edge sound, not at all like good targets - which always sound smooth. With practice, you'll get it.
- Slow down to "process" signals as you pinpoint sweep over them in DISC. We're not talking a hover or crawl here, mind you. It's going to be about half to a third of normal hunt speed.
Trash will come through with choppy edged sounds as mentioned above and the DISC, when thumbed up as you do this, will let you know what the target ID range is. You should strive to establish a flowing sequence to this, as it will improve your hunt efficiency.
- You will find the the Cib to be subtle, with nuance to the single tone - but, you have to slow over targets and "process" them as told above to learn what it is telling you. After a while and some experience youll begin to predict targets well. All long-time Tesoro users understand this and do it instinctively, but it can be lost on a newcomer if no-one tells them.
- You have the ability to "SuperTune" your Cib. Others call it HyperTuning and I first learned of this in an article by Bob Stricker, some years ago. Here's how to do it:
Set the threshold at the usual low hum, per the instructions. Once you've done that and have established the normal "hum", mark that point also with a dot of nail polish. Now, crank it up into the higher ranges, all the way to max if you want, and then switch back into the DISC mode.
Once "SuperTuned" this way, if you get over a really deep target, the detector will overcome the DISC lower signal threshold and signal on that deeper target.
However, there is a trade off. Several actually:
1. This will kill the ability to pinpoint in AM or even use the feature. Switching back to all metal from silent search when hyper tuned is a real ear blaster!
2. It will hit harder than needed on shallow targets, making it harder to discern depth.
3. It will make your detector noisy and "chirpy," especially in a target rich environment.
But in cleaner areas with the potential for deep targets, such as in farmfield relic hunting or in the dry sand at the beach (this is an OPTIMUM place for it), it can be a boon. Also, if you aren't sure about an "iffy" target, which might be deep, you can go into this mode and check it out. Cool, huh?!
- Save your clad finds until you can afford the small 5.75 inch "sniper" coil for the Cib. Or just splurg and get one. Get a replacement lower rod for it, too. In trashy sites, like a park or school, this really helps to separate out targets.
And here is my final tip to you...
- Buy the best, long trowel you can afford and make it your goal to wear it out.
You're going to like your detector. You can find lots of stuff with it and you have a nice useful detector at not a lot of money. That's a bargain, these days.
Happy Hunting,
David
