Mojave and Siler umax for dummies

[TC024]

So what is the main advantages of one over the other considering the price is almost spot on? Im not up big on the spec lingo so.....lol

 

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[Stoof2010]

Ok. So here's the differences:
Silver:10 khz. Slightly better at higher conductors like silver and aluminum. Ed120 disc so at lowest point it block out smaller iron.

Mojave: 12khz. Magic khz by Tesoro for small gold and fine jewelry. Ed180 so at minimum it will still ring in smaller iron.

The point to really make between the two besides the edge on the frequency the Mojave runs at for smaller jewelry is the ground switch. In harsher ground, the silver will become erratic because of the inability to change the ground balance. The mojave however has a "simplified" ground balance settings of high and low. At low it runs like the silver and other non GB units in mild ground, but in harsh ground you can switch it to high and it will run super smooth without losing much depth, which is a surprise.

So in the end it depends more on the ground you plan to hunt and it's level of mineralization. If you have highly mineralized ground the silver won't be of any use to you. I'm not familiar with Tennessee ground so I can't comment and will leave that up to you.

 

[steve1357]

And the Silver has an all metal setting that will get you a couple more inches.....

I have both.

I prefer the Silver.

So flip a coin lol

Or get a used Cibola or Vaquero lol

 

[jld66]

If you could get a Vaquero with the 8x9 coil, you'd be all set. I chose it for my first, it is so simple to operate if you can follow basic instructions, has all you need on it, and will never really need to upgrade. Other than getting another coil two, I've never found a need to upgrade. Between the two you mentioned, though I have never used either one, I'd say the Mojave just because of the low/high GB switch. But, having a fully adjustable ground balance, you are able to dial in any coil for it's best performance in that soil. The few extra buck's now will be worth it in the long run if your planning on having only one machine for awhile and again, it is really easy to use.

 

[TC024]

Thanks for the explanation I was kind of thrown off that they had two right at same price point! This is kind of where i need to be money wise unless I wait another summer. I narrowed it down to these to beep and digs or the Tek Liberator if it hits the $219 price point anytime soon. i really like the Mojave and would like the Cibola or Patriot.

I mostly hope to get to go to fields, farms and homesites with parks sprinkled in for quick little hunts. and eventually travel to some organized hunts!

One thing I didnt think about tho is we go on cruises so would these work ok for dry sand no water?

 

[jld66]

Well, if you are pretty sure your going to like the the hobby. Wait the extra summer and get a mid-priced machine with more adjustments. Coil upgrades are much less expensive than a whole other detectors down the road. Not bashing the Mojave or Silver. But, they are what they are and probably the best machines for the money in the Tesoro tradition.

 

[Stoof2010]

Well I can't completely agree with all the above, I understand the thinking. We all will have an opinion and rarely will most have the same opinion.
I've had most of my machines for a couple years. Before the mojave came along there was (and still is) the compadre. My dirt is mild.
Funny part is, with all the detectors I own, when putting around or tot lot hunting, I always grabbed my compadre.
I have the vaquero, and it's a great machine.
But I still am more likely to grab the mojave or Compadre. They're just simple and great performing.
Don't get me wrong, I still hunt with my modded Cibola, vaquero, bandido II micromax, and my Deleon alot. But there's something about the compadre (in my soil) and the Mojave that just makes me smile to use them.

The reason I don't have the silver is because I have the cutlass umax. Not to be confused with the cutlass II micromax that preceded the silver. Mine is essentially a silver umax but operated at the "magic" 12khz, has sensitivity knob, and kick down all metal (like the vaquero's click down on disc knob), and has the higher freq audio like my Bandido II Micromax. This machine was only produced for 1.5 years before they changed to the cutlass II micromax at 10khz.
To be honest I got it instead of modding a compadre, but now that the Mojave is here it's actually easier to say it's a mojace without the ground switch. It was purchased before the mojave was available.

So I don't have anything against the silver, but for the cost, ground switch and the 12khz I still say Mojave is a better buy right now than the silver. But that's without ever using the silver, just going on specs and what I know about my 10khz vs 12 khz machines.

If you were only going to buy one machine and could afford it, I can see going for the vaquero.
But given what you've stated, the mojave is a great buy and even if you don't get into the hobby you aren't out much money. You won't be disappointed with the mojave.
Also, later if you get a more expensive machine, the Mojave can be what you let others use when they are interested and want to hunt with you. It's dead simple to use. But even then, you'll still use it I'm sure.

 

[jld66]

I agree 100% Stoof2010. I just went with the Vaquero for my first detector, without even touching one before, because I did not want it in the back of my mind, "I should have got that one instead." With it and the 3 coils I have, i'm confident at any site, soil, ground, etc. for the best all around performance without a need for multiple machines. Hey, it's darn simple to set up, operate, and is every bit a "grab and go" machine. The very simple task of ground balancing is not a major thing to do. Anyone who is able to adjust the volume knob on a radio should have no problems. Even Terry has a youtube video showing how it's done. How hard could it be? haha. I'd rather have a few more simple adjustments than not for just a few hundred more now. Instead of wanting them down the road and having to buy a whole other machine to get them. As far as having a loaner. Well, most of the time when I go detecting is to get away from people. Not have one to loan someone so they can tag along.

 

[Nomad NJ]

I agree

 

[bleeohio]

My vote goes to the Mojave between the two. I've had both and still have the mojo. The stock 7 in. Coil is aaawwsome.

 

[digger27]

Here in Birmingham Alabama. we got the southern mineralization problems...and more.
We have all kinds of extra iron here too, tons from all the buildings that have been torn down in most of our public sites plus way extra because of our geographic location.
All the ingredients needed to make iron and steel are here in the ground so not only is the red clay stuff problematic but so is the black dirt.
Plus because the iron and steel industry has existed here for so long slag and so much more garbage has been mixed into the landfills and dirt and that dirt has been moved all over the city and spread everywhere as the city was built up for way over 100 years.
It is not just bad here...it is really bad.
My first good detector was a Vaq and I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours with it here and enjoyed it for years and did pretty good with it although it never got super deep here but then again nothing that isn't a PI unit can in this crazy devil dirt.
It's not that we can't get deep with some detectors but more about the signals get really skewed and screwed up as you get deeper.
I moved out west to Kansas and used it there too along with my Compadre and of course they both worked even better there in that almost perfect dirt and way deeper.
Then we moved back to Bama and I found that as much as I enjoyed using that Vaq in the past here now it became problematic because of all the iron.
It worked still as good as it ever did but over the years I changed...I just didn't have the patience I used to have to dig all the extra targets I did in the past and the iron falsing into the high ranges and also coming in fairly solid and fooling me way more than I was happy with became a real drag for me.
The Compadre likes iron too but not quite as much as the Vaq does and it wasn't a big problem using it.
Using an F2 that iron wasn't an issue and using my F70 I have a lot of ways to ID iron pretty accurately but that Vaq was just no longer a lot of fun to use around this place because of all this iron we have that it liked little too much and because I changed so much.
Any other place none if this would have been an issue but eventually I just quit taking it out to hunt here.
Then an opportunity came by to trade that old friend to a dealer that wanted it for personal use in Missouri and in turn he sent me a new Nel coil for my F70 and a brand new Mojave.
It was a gamble, I had no idea if that Mojave would work any better in my strange dirt than either my Vaq or the Compadre or if it would get any deeper than that Compadre or even be able to deal with the iron here at all.
Luckily I found after I got it I was shocked to find out this thing was well suited to this dirt way better than I ever hoped.
It definitely beats the Compadre in depth by a few inches and actually seems to beat the Vaq here too...or at the very least seems to ID targets a bit better at deeper levels than I ever seemed to be able to do with the more powerful Vaq.
It also has a few niggling issues with iron but not close to what I was going through with the Vaq.
The upshot was it became way fun to hunt around here with that Mojave again...I found some great targets deeper than the Compadre could reach and several great ones severely masked that I missed with all my detectors...as had so many others over the many decades.
Now I am not saying the Mojave is better than the Vaq, more powerful or anything else, what I am saying is it works better and is way more fun to use here in this maddening part of the country...for me.
I never held a Silver and swung it around here so I have no idea how that would compare in my dirt but after seeing what the Mojave can do and being shocked several times I have no interest in finding out.

I am a huge fan of the Compadre and all its superpowers...for me the Mojave is that one plus way more.
Again my dirt is way more than just weird so your mileage may very.

 

[Mojave1]

I have both and have had success with each of them. I use the Umax on mostly larger hunting sites because of wider coil. I use Mojave in the woods and house lots.