Sidewinder

[Rebel73153]

Well i just made a deal for the Sidewinder in the classifieds. It comes with a 4" coil, which is probably good, but i would like to get an 8" concentric for it as well. Tesoro says any Standard Umax coil will work on it. Do all the Umax's have the same number of pins on the connector. I assume a Silver Umax coil should work then, correct? Who has the best prices on Tesoro coils? thanks for any and all info on the Sidewinder as i had never even heard of that model before seeing this one in the classifieds.

 

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[dirt doctor]

Yes and yes . As far as the price on the new coil all the dealers sell them for the same price .
Used ones come up in the forums quite a bit . Also , coils from a Troy X-2 ( and only the X-2 ) will work on a Umax . If you didn't get a manual with your Sidewinder you can download one from the original Tesoro forum .

H H ,
George

 

[Cass]

Hi Rebel, You lucked up and got a Keeper. The Sidewinder is one of the Tesoros that the old hands like to hang on to and use now and then,some on a regular basis. It came out I believe in 97, listed for a buck or so less than 5, and if you snoop around some you will find some of those old hands like to use a 7" coil, preferably a Troy Shadow Super 7"(X2) or the Standard 7" Tesoro(white concentric) coil on their Sidewinders.(5 pin) The Super 7" coils are rare, dear,(but go as deep and are lighter than the 8"), but do show up now and then. I would also suggest that whatever coil you get, to send the machine and all the coils in to Tesoro and let them tune the machine, so you will get the most from your coils. Tuneup will likely be no charge except your one way ship to Tesoro. Cool Huh, and ain't you glad you lucked up getting a Tesoro?Almost forgot, if it is not a UMax, it will likely have A 1/8 phone jack. I would call and ask Tesoro if they could put you a 1/4" jack on it. You will be glad you did and that may cost you a little. Those models are earlier than the Umax and highly sought after also! HH, Cass

 

[Rebel73153]

Thanks George and Cass for the replies. This is not my first Tesoro. I had a Compadre that i wish i had kept as it was one of the ones with a 7" coil. But i sold off all my stuff about a year ago and thought i was done. WRONG. So now i am starting over. The Sidewinder i am getting is listed in the classifieds here so maybe you can look at it and tell some more about it. I thought all of the Sidewinders were Umax's? Not sure if it has a 1/8" or 1/4" headphone jack. Didn't think to as that as i thought they were all 1/4".

 

[Cass]

Go to the "Vintage Metal Detector Forum" and 'The Metal Detecting Equipment Forum" and ask some of those guys anything you would like to know about any machine you are wondering about. There are a bunch of old guys in there there and I believe they know it all, and are all a bunch of good guys that are always willing to help you with anything they can! I had a buddy that had a Sidewinder several years ago that had the 1/8' phone plug on it.That makes it an "Original"and some of the older hands say they descriminate better than the later one, but I may have my yarn balled up some with saying that. My memory ain't what it used to be. Any way,if that is the situation, you won't want to be messing with getting an adapter from 1/8 to 1/4 because they are always a pain in the butt! Cass

 

[Rebel73153]

Thanks for the info Cass, i will have to check that forum out. So you think it would be better to send it back and have Tesoro replace the jack if it is a 1/8" rather than just use an adapter?

 

[Cass]

If everything is in working order and you feel it is doing it's job as expected, there is no real need to send it back. The phone adapters usually with use get worn and don't make good connections, so just keep a new one in you gear bag. Go to the Tesoro Factory site and read all the info on the Sidewinders. I think there is a page from the first Sidewinder Manual that gives instructions on how to check your Threshold and see if the Factory set GB is reacting to your Ground with a hair bit of positive.Also tells you which "Pots", and how, to adjust if you need to make any adjustments to Threshold too. Be careful and make sure you have it right if you attemp any of that. It is simple enough , but if not done right you will be sending it to Tesoro for that tuneup. Hopefully you will not need to adjust anything. There was a whole series of Posts on Find's Tesoro Forum Last year about doing all that, so I would do some searching to see what I could find before I went inside the SW. I have 2 sidewinders (Grandkid's) and I had to reset the threshold and GB on one of them. Good Luck, Cass

 

[Rebel73153]

Thanks Cass. I PMed the seller and he said it is a 1/4" jack, so no concern there at least. I went to the Tesoro sight earlier today before i told him i would buy it and read up on it as i had never heard of it before. From what i read there and from reviews, it sounds like a good machine. Kinda a Compadre on steroids. The Khz of the Compadre with the Sensitivity setting like the Silver Umax, and a pin pointer button like the Cibola. Sounds good to me. Hope to have it here by the end of next week. can't wait to get back into the swing of things.

 

[Cass]

QK, Rebel I am back with one more VERY, VERY important piece of info. If you do need to reset any of your pots on the Sidewinder, make sure you go to Find's Forum and do a search for the series of posts (2), PAGE 4, for Nov. 25, 09, made by SkiWhiz. "it is ok to make adjustments", Then read all the posts in that series, paying particular attention to the one by "fowlercharles" concerning the location of the "pots" to be adjusted. They are in a different location on the newer UMax than the "original" non Umax. Since you are getting a Umax with the 1/4 plug you can likely be sure that the directions given on the Tesoro Factory site as to the location of the "pots" will not be located the same as on your Sidewinder. No problem unless you do not know what the situation is ahead of time. SkiWhiz found out to late and had a mess on his hands to straighten out. Hopefully no adjustments will even be needed, but if so, you will be prepared. HH, Cass

 

[Rebel73153]

Thank you for that info Cass. I am hoping it is ok now, but at least now i will know where to start if it isn't.

PS I found the thread you were talking about. thanks, good info.