Tesoro deleon, first outing

[robbor]

Just got out for the first time with my used Deleon. I found 63 cents this morning before it started to rain. Wondering if anyone had any tips. I did not seem to be getting great depth. WHile hunting on a soccer field i got what seemed like a few false signal so i tossed a penny i had found down on the ground and did an air test, i could only get maybe 4-5 inches even with the gain cranked. My detector beeps and sputters alot with unrepeatable signals. I love the open search coil for pinpointing though. I had atleast on target that showed 4" down and was no where near 4", almost no really good repeatable deep targets. I was getting alot of bottle caps/40ozr tops that the machine would not discriminate out, i guessing aluminum is a problem. Right now im wondering about a bigger coil for deeper and more consistant targets to hopefully find some older coins but not sure is i should go with the DD since ive seen reviews that it only gets about the same depth as the 8" mono. I need to go read the manual again. Another question is the gain, how do your tell how much gain you should be using?

 

[Shortstack]

Hello, robbor.
First, set the Disc at about the "O" in the word foil. Then, Sens. at a bout 5 to start with. Then, while scanning, allow the coil to slide on the ground. (THIS is why you should have a coil cover on ALL coils.) With these settings, dig everything to get a feel of what the detector is telling you.
If you want to catalog the specific ID numbers for YOUR particular machine, clear an area of ground in your yard and place a target, one at a time on the ground and scan it. Write down the ID numbers for each coin, poptop, and bottlecap AND note where the bar or smear is located.
Keep in mind that the ID meter will show ALL targets detected in each sweep whether or not it is discriminated out. That will help to find good stuff in the middle of a nest of trash, once you get used to coordinating your senses with the machine.

 

[robbor]

thanks Ill try it, ive read some of your post before i got my machine. I had my discrimination set just below the penny. I had a few targets that showed solid silver and as i pinpointed it got much worse and id get foil and tab and what not. Im thinking about getting a smaller coil to help find the targets to i guess try and seperate them out. Seems like with a discriminating machine you are still digging all targets. What kind of signals you for jewelry? Hopefully if it stops raining ill try it again in the morning.

 

[Shortstack]

Thinner rings will be in the same general area as poptops, but the rest of jewelry items could be anywhere; but most likely the "silver" area with definite black bars. Smears will usually be trash. For some reason, steel or iron washers will show up as a silver coin. Nickels, some poptops, and small rings hit on

As for other coils; all uMax coils will "work" with a DeLeon. If you'll notice, the uMax machines are 10khz like the DeLeon and my Bandido II. I can use the same coils on both machines. The only drawback is, when I'm using one and my son is using the other, we have to stay a reasonable distance from eachother to prevent interference.

 

[cavador del oro]

The DeLeon is capable of excellent depth but like all factory preset ground balance machines, if the soil is heavily mineralized you will need to turn the sensitivity way down. Some send their machines into Tesoro with a sample of the dirt that causes the unstable condition. Tesoro then adjusts the machine to that soil. With TID machines this is very tricky.

 

[robbor]

Well i went out last night and tonight. I found 1.29 last night and about 70 cents tonight. Last night i started really rubbing the coil against the ground to get better signals, i had to do this to get a few consistant 3-4" deep signals. The detector is really chattery and lost of unrepeatable signals. Then tonight same deal i tried rubbing to get a 4 and 6" deep signal and once dug there were no items in a 8"+ deep hole and it wouls still show the item in the middle. Ive decided to send the unit in and have tesoro look at it. I got quite a few solid 95 signals that were pennies. I used less power both nights keeping it right around 5 or less. So far the depth really sucks. My soil is not mineralized at all. And yes the ground balance seems to be way off. I had a few tonight that i god good signals one way and then when i turner 90 degrees to pinpoint i got no signal.

 

[cavador del oro]

Do you have any power lines near the place where you're hunting? My DeLeon would chatter for two main reasons.
1. electrical interference
2. low batteries
I really don't recall much chatter over high mineral soils.
Another thing to consider is your level of discrimination. If set too high the DeLeon will cancel out over deep trash iron (both solid and rust forms). In fact, most detectors do this.
My first test garden was made over deep trash and I was very angry when I tested my machines. Even my Nautilus IIb only got 4 inches on a silver half dollar. I sold the Nautilus and my Minelab Excalibur before I finally figured out it was the location of my coin garden. I moved it to an iron free area and started testing coins at 7-10 inches deep with my other detectors including a cheap ebay beeper.

Anyway I hope we have been of some small help.
--Snowy