A, I don't care how good or bad their website is or isn't, I don't hunt with the web, but I do hunt with several different machines with screens and without and I think the Tesoros are great for what they are, how they do things the way they do it and give me great fun while using them.
If you need something from these guys, info, advice repair stuff or whatever, just call them on the phone like the old days and someone helpful will usually answer.
B, Some people like certain kinds of tools or brands, some absolutely hate those same tools...such is life in the big city.
I would never knock someone that doesn't get along with Tesoro units or any brand for that matter, there are just too many different kinds of people in this world and the exact same thing goes on in just about every product category out there.
Kind of a Ford or Chevy thing, or maybe different strokes for different folks would be another way of saying it.
It sure could be that some never did give Tesoros the time needed to understand them like others have, but many did put in some pretty good amount of time trying to learn them, (and others), and just never clicked with them for whatever reason and this is a very normal thing that can be applied to all brands.
I myself would never enjoy swinging a few units that are extremely popular and well loved by others, even if they found me a ton I am in this for the fun and pleasure and using tools that give me the most pleasure as I use them is a big part of what I chose to swing.
I know me, I also would not be happy using absolutely everything out there, even the high end stuff.
C, Silverfinger, if you are looking for a unit that can give you a big clue about swinging over zincolns in my opinion you made a good choice, a great choice...if yours works anything like my 7" coil model.
You can set the disc where you want and dig all that beeps above it, you can thumb that knob up to the fade out point to get an idea what kind of target you are scanning like all the manuals say, including that one page wonder they include with the Compadre, but I have a different way that seems to work well for me that dirtynails alluded to and you might want to try it sometime.
I have written about this theory a few times so I will just paste one of them here...
I have also done a lot of experimentation discovered something.
On every target I come across, and I mean every one, I got in the habit long ago of NOT just turning that disc knob up till the signal fades out to see what area the knob is pointing to figure out target types like all the manuals say, but I always turn all the way past the area till the target fades out completely and then slowly turning down the knob to the point where the target comes in .
Except high tone targets like quarters that don't disc out, of course.
After several zillion targets acquired and dug I am convinced this is a much more accurate way to figure out just about every target.
I get so much more information out of not only seeing where that disc knob ends up when the signal is solid and full, but more importantly I get even more info when I hear precisely HOW that target comes in.
I noticed that and most good targets like coins, definitely on others like rings that are full and not broken, and surprisingly on most chains too, when I turn down that knob most good targets will just "come in"...solid and full...there is very little crackling or fuzzyness in that signal most of the time, not even one or two clicks.
Trash on the other hand usually does have much more crackling and clicks in that signal before it firms up and I assume this is because most detectors are designed to home in on solid round objects like coins and not irregular shapes like trash or objects with holes like tabs.
Now this is not true 100% of the time because the universe and life just doesn't work this way for us in this hobby.
There are some trash targets that do act like good coin targets and will come in full and solid and with no clicks.
Some beaver tail tabs with that tail folded over, foil that is thick like a coin, compressed and formed into a round coin shape, some small coin shaped pieces of can slaw and even a few sta-tabs do fool me me from time to time because there is virtually no difference between some of these and a real coin signal.
If those kind of targets are laying completely horizontal and flat in the ground this can compound this problem, but luckily most trash is not horizontal but turned slightly on edge to almost vertical, in my experience, and react accordingly with much crackling and clicks.
Conversely, sometimes good targets like coins do act weird and have some fuzzyness and at least a few clicks before solidifying, too.
I noticed this happen on a just few zinc pennies and sometimes nickels can be totally weird, sometimes.
Ok back.
I know I mentioned a few iffy signals on zincolns but 99.9% of the time the way I can use this tool to sense these is one of my favorite things about using my Compadre...and it works on my Vaquero, too.
Lots of users really seem to want to calibrate to nickels, they will take a little screwdriver and set that disc knob right on the nickel mark as a fade out point while swingin over one if it didn't come out of the factory that way.
For me out of all coins nickels have been the weirdest so I never saw the sense in doing that for myself.
I dig nickels that fade out, or actually come in at that mark a lot, but I also dig many that come in below and even some that come in high.
What I am really interested in calibrating to is zinc cents because I come across so many of these things out there, and by the way I am the kind of guy that digs every one of them too for several reasons.
On my Compadre when I dial up past the fade out point and then back down if the signal comes in clear and strong with a sharp end and no noise I usually dig up a zincoln...IF the disc knob is pointed exactly at the 3:00 area when I hear these things in this way.
This method has been so precise and almost foolproof for me that on the few times I am fooled, and that does not seem to happen much, I am actually surprised.
Most trash will come in a bit more iffy than that particular coin, irregular shaped stuff like can slaw usually does and that kind of trash might also have a kind of tinny sound to it too.
You might be able to sense that there are a lot of little things to learn about sound on these things, beep and dig is NOT what these things are really all about in my opinion, but you will learn these things with some practice and it is fun learning along the way.
There is one problem with listening for zinc cents this way in order to avoid them, there is one particular type of target that usually will also come in solid and clear at that 3:00 area, act like a zinc cent and might fool you and that is a big ole' piece of gold like a large men's class ring.
I would hate for you to miss one of these avoiding those zincolns but there is good news on this front.
All the small gold I have found with my Tesoros have all been those clear, solid sharp signals like coins no matter where they have been in the disc range from low end on up, and they all came in clean and sounded good but I never knew they were gold till I dug them and I only dug them because they came in this way and solid.
Some say they can tell they are swinging over these smaller gold targets but as yet that is something I can't do.
On the big stuff, however, things are quite different.
Ahhh...that is a sound that is so clear and solid and rings so true and long like the most perfect bell tone you have ever heard that if you come across a signal like this you should notice, or at least you will eventually be able to tell the difference after listening to a large amount of zincoln signals.
This particular sound is my holy grail, I have heard it a few times and it is so addicting that I long to hear it again every time I go out with a Tesoro, and on the few times I have heard it that sound actually rocked me back on my heals a bit.
Otherwise you should be good to go, and also keep in mind that the Compadre with its true 180 degree ED, sharp disc abilities and throwback circuitry that is not the high gain-low noise that most modern detectors now use also happens to be very good around iron.
Many great hunters, and I mean the really top notch sucessful types that use high end units like E Tracs and CTX's and others, also pull out a Compadre from time to time and go back over those hard hit fields and other iron infested sites and still find some goodies that they themselves or others might have missed.
At first they might have been surprised, after awhile they just become used to the fact that something so inexpensive can do such remarkable things and just look at the Compadre as another tool in the arsenal...a tool that they are glad they have.
Have fun when you get yours and as you learn it, trust me it is not like you will have much choice in the matter if you are anything like me.
about a machine I was interested in. And yeah, Tesoros web site does suck. Sorry, but I'm callin' it as I see it. They want to sell machines they need what every other manufacturer has - videos, specs, etc. I can't find one relevant video about their machines. And Adobe Distiller is FREE. Perhaps they should at least make their manuals available for download as a .pdf for off-line reading. There's another guy in here who rails about their products and I'm beginning to see why. T-net's a place I come to to escape the anger and hostility of the world and find some like minded people who enjoy t-hunting. I never expected to be attacked for asking some valid questions. Complicated? For ME? I'm a Unix security admin. Let's see what's more challenging - a one-knob metal detector or making sure web sites like Tesoro's can't be hacked into. Maybe I'll do just that and actually post some real information for potential customers.
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