Need tips on ground balancing Tesoro Vaquero in wet sea sand!

[dirtfisher]

Going to be getting a Vaquero soon and heard that it was not quite so easy to ground balance in the wet salty sand! I would like to hear anyone's tips on how they got it ground balance if possible. Any help would greatly be appreciated.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Sorry, the Vaquero is a single frequency VLF detector running at 14.3kHz, so it sucks in wet saltwater sand just like the AT Pro or Tesoro Lobo Super Traq. Your best bet is to run iot in ALL metal, sensitivity as high as you can without chattering, and hope for the best. Run the ground balance just a hair negative (when you raise the coil the signal gets stronger as you ground balance - as opposed to getting stronger as you pump the coil down to the ground or positive balance).

In the dry sand the Vaquero is the ultimate killer! Supertune that sucker, set your discrimination just below nickel, and get some!

Saltwater Beach Detecting 101: Will One Detector Do It All?

 

[dirtfisher]

Sorry, the Vaquero is a single frequency VLF detector running at 14.3kHz, so it sucks in wet saltwater sand just like the AT Pro or Tesoro Lobo Super Traq. Your best bet is to run iot in ALL metal, sensitivity as high as you can without chattering, and hope for the best. Run the ground balance just a hair negative (when you raise the coil the signal gets stronger as you ground balance - as opposed to getting stronger as you pump the coil down to the ground or positive balance).

In the dry sand the Vaquero is the ultimate killer! Supertune that sucker, set your discrimination just below nickel, and get some!

Saltwater Beach Detecting 101: Will One Detector Do It All?

Thanks Terry! But....But I will dig EVERYTHING in all metal! Will it be much difference in ground balancing it in Dry Sand first then running in wet sand? I don't know because I have never hunted at the beach before. Just at the lake with freshwater.

 

[atomicscott]

Yes you will dig everything, and yes there will be a difference as the dry sand will not suffer from mineralization as much! So, GB'ing to the dry sand won't help in this case. It may run ok in the dry sand but the wet sand is where you will have more problems.

 

[dirtfisher]

Yes you will dig everything, and yes there will be a difference as the dry sand will not suffer from mineralization as much! So, GB'ing to the dry sand won't help in this case. It may run ok in the dry sand but the wet sand is where you will have more problems.

What about the depth in all metal mode on wet salt sand though? What is the average depth you get with this detector hunting in that condition? Just curious.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Thanks Terry! But....But I will dig EVERYTHING in all metal! Will it be much difference in ground balancing it in Dry Sand first then running in wet sand? I don't know because I have never hunted at the beach before. Just at the lake with freshwater.

The Vaquero can certainly handle highly mineralized soil and sand, it is the "Conductivity" of the WET saltwater sand that is the killer. You need to balance the machine in the sand you're hunting. Sure, you can switch to Discriminate after ground balancing, but only discriminate iron!! Depth in wet saltwater sand? Five- to seven- inches will be about it on a quarter or small gold ring.