Finally ordering my first machine-Cibola

[hat_man]

Hello everyone,
I am going to be ordering my first machine on Friday. I was looking through the forums and happened onto a place called Badger Metal Detectors in Madison WI. After talking to them I found out they had a used Cibola and could ship it to me for a very reasonable price. I am so excited, and can't wait to start learning how to use it. Do any of you experienced Tesoro owners (especially Cibola users) have any tips that might help move me along the learning curve? I know I am going to have to practice and dig everything at first, but anything specific to the Tesoros would be very much appreciated. I was thinking about taking some different types of metal and burying them in the back yard at varying depths. Then marking them with colored golf tees and searching them out. I thought it might be a good way to learn the different tones. What do you think? Any other ideas would be great, too. I can't wait to get this detector ordered and I'm sure I'll be driving home from work every day wondering if it showed up yet. Boy this MD bug really bit me hard didn't it?

 

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[l.cutler]

Not much of a learning curve with the Cibola, it is pretty simple. Once you get used to it you can get into supertuning to get a little more depth. Your idea of burying different objects is a good one, just make sure you do it in an area with no other metal. Scan the area with no discrimination first to make sure before you bury your objects.

 

[Gribnitz]

I thought it might be a good way to learn the different tones. What do you think?

Technically, you aren't going to hear different tones. The machine is a singal tone machine. What you will learn with practice and patience, is how to intrepet that tone. If it is a scratchy sound, it's probably junk. If you get a real good sound one direction, but swinging from the opposite direction you get a scratchy sound, it's probably junk. You are best off just digging everything to start until the sounds come natural to you.

 

[hat_man]

Thanks for the info. What do you mean by a scratchy tone Gribnitz? Like a tone with static in it maybe? Each type of metal doesn't have a different tonal freq. then, just maybe a better tonal quality? Would larger pieces sound off louder? I will definitely be digging everything that sounds off at first. Can wait to fill my first coffee can with rusty nails and pull tabs and other assorted junk. I'm sure my wife will just love the condition of our yard after my first week. Another skill I will have to master then, eh? Digging and "replacing my divots". I'm sure I will learn this machine with practice. Thanks again for the advice.

Hat_man

 

[BamaBill]

I've got a Cibola and I would characterize the junk sound as a kind of flatter sound. You'll start to recognize the difference once you start picking up some iron targets, pop-tops etc. I haven't been using my Cibola long and still dig most of my signals, especially since I've been using it for relic hunting. But, soon I'm going to buy a Tejon and that Cibola will act as my backup.

 

[Gribnitz]

Thanks for the info. What do you mean by a scratchy tone Gribnitz?

It's just "scratchy". The tone is not a smooth sweet sounding signal. Once you get it and use it for a while, dig a bunch of junk, you will understand what I am talking about. With time, you will start thinking to yourself, "Hey self, that's junk", but you will dig it anyway because you aren't trusting the machine yet. Eventually you will learn to trust what it's telling you, have less trash, and more neat stuff in your pocket. You will ALWAYS dig trash, I still get my fair share of the stuff, but the ratio will get better over time.

 

[birdman]

I have a cibola and it has done very well for me. I Got it for a back up and ended up getting spoiled by the lite weight and it became my main detector. I have just up graded to a vaquaro but I am sure not going to get ride of the cibola. I have found some very small coins with it and lots of relics . I think for the money you can't go wrong. It is a very easy machine to use and has good performance. Good luck.

 

[recshooter]

Good info here...I just got a Vaquero. I was pretty excited at first in my yard but since I've went a couple of places I've learned that its going to take me awhile. Maybe the places I've went are just extra junk filled but I can't seem to move 3 feet without a ton of signals. I'm pretty much digging everything right now and boy it gets old in July with the sweat pouring off of you. I'm digging and digging watching those sweat droplets fall down in the hole and finally pull out a tiny peice of some twisted up can. LOL I like it in the finds section when folks show all the junk they dug up too....makes me not feel so bad.

 

[hat_man]

Thanks everyone,
I drove to Madison yesterday (about 2 1/2 hours) and picked up my Cibola from Gene at Badger Detectors. What a great guy. He really took the time to talk me through the machine and even offered me to go out in his back yard to show me more but we had to get on the road home. After I mow the lawn this morning I am heading out there to see what I can see. I turned it on last night and just played around near dusk, but it seemed like I was getting tones about every 12 inches no matter where I was in the yard. I probably have some knob turned too far one way or the other. That or someone put a new roof on our house and threw the old shingle nails all over the yard. I'll be around here a lot probably searching the forums for more advice and such. Thanks again to everyone.

Hat_man

 

[gregl01]

You'll do well with the Cibola. I love mine and it really is a great machine. It is a good idea to practice with some known targets so you can learn what its telling you. You'll figure out what the audio sounds like over certain targets this way. Good luck
Greg

 

[SaginawIan]

congrats on the Cibola! I love the fact that you had a face to face with the dealer, sometimes that makes all the difference in the world. They will give you wonderful tips. the cibola is awesome according to just about everyone that owns one. I personally have the silver Umax ( a step down from your cibola) and boy that thing is awesome. I can only imagine that the Cibola will be that good and better. I have dug so many good things with the silver umax. If you are getting signals every 12 inches you need to turn your discrimination up a bit - probably to around 5 cent. Most of the time that is just small pieces of foil - also, sometimes higher sensitivity isn't always better. When you get used to the machine you MUST get the 5.75 coil - that thing is amazing on my Tejon.

Ian

 

[dahut]

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

 

[findit]

question for dahut have you found the umax series to outperform the vaquero? you mentioned it you like them the best.