The Truth About Tesoro!

[Treasure_Hunter]

I am fairly new myself to the hobby, but it is my understanding from what I have read and been told that it will detect items deeper the longer they have been in the ground. Your test may be flawed if you just buried the items then tested right away..

Good luck.

 

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[Merf]

That [longer in the ground] theory is debatable to say the least. I have not found a coin deeper than 6 inches with the Cibola.
As I stated , The Cibola is only 1/2 inch deeper than my $96 Discovery 3300 on a freshly buried dime or quarter. Way too many fish stories out there.

 

[Michigan Badger]

That [longer in the ground] theory is debatable to say the least. I have not found a coin deeper than 6 inches with the Cibola.
As I stated , The Cibola is only 1/2 inch deeper than my $96 Discovery 3300 on a freshly buried dime or quarter. Way too many fish stories out there.

Thanks for the honest report Merf. Sometime I'd like to have all the Tesoro machines lined up and check them side-by-side. That would be interesting. In fact, that would be interesting for any brand.

I've had company since last week and no time to even get my detector outside. So far it seems deep to me but I must admit it needs more testings in other areas to know for sure.

As for the long time buried object theory I've always wondered about it myself. The truth is probably soil conditions at the time of detecting.

Over the years I've read lots on comments in the magazines and now online about detector depth. Never did I own a detector that got the depths claimed until in 1983 I bought a Wilson Newman detector. In all metal mode that detector would find pennies at 6 or 7 inches. Nothing else could touch it at the time. But the darn thing was constantly breaking down.

The next machine I tried that matched most depth claims was the Nautilus IIB (2006). But after much use I found out it was unstable at many sites and sometimes nothing done would get it to balance. Now the Tejon also seems to match the depth claims and so far (knock on wood) I haven't discovered any real bad issues with it (so far).

But to be honest Merf, with about 95% of the machines made today I don't think we've made many serious advancements depth-wise over the detectors of the mid 80's. Back then the depth on a buried dime while in discrimination mode was 4-5 inches and I think it's that today with most.

I do see some advancements in detectors in the area of discrimination and pinpointing (Target ID), but other than those two it's mostly fluff (in my opinion).

If you can borrow a Tejon and try it out I think you'll like it's depth far better than the Cibola. Also that MXT is very good (so I'm told) but heavier. Some people swear by the Minelab Sovereign GT. I guess it's like we all have to find out for ourselves.

Badger

 

[Merf]

Thyanks for the feedback Badger. You posts are always interesting and informative.
I enjoy hunting with the Cibola and will probably upgrade to a Tejon or Vaquero one of these days. Do you think the Tejon is deeper than the Vaquero? Another good point about the C is that the shaft breaks down into 3 sections so you can put it in a backpack. I did this the last couple of days and biked deep into some woods. It saved a lot of walking. Best regards.

 

[Michigan Badger]

Do you think the Tejon is deeper than the Vaquero?

I couldn't say from experience. I've had a couple dealers tell me it is but I've had dealers tell me lots of things.

I'd guess the Vaquero gets the same depth but that's only a guess.

When I get the time next week I plan to test the Tejon some more.

But meanwhile you're doing very good with that Cibola. Few on here are finding as much as you are.

Badger

 

[Merf]

Thanks, I have had a string of good luck.
I think it is just the locations I have been hunting more than the detector I have been using. I have not been finding anything deeper than 6 inches.

 

[Michigan Badger]

Thanks, I have had a string of good luck.
I think it is just the locations I have been hunting more than the detector I have been using. I have not been finding anything deeper than 6 inches.

You are exactly correct, location is 95% of the game. Take a cheap detector to a hot site and you'll dig great stuff.

I think this is largely why some shoddy machines are rated so highly. They're so expensive to begin with that their owners work very hard at research and the research work is what makes those detectors look extra great.

If I were rich I'd do a little mock deal. I'd take a certain model Chinese detector (costs under $150 if ordered out of China) and put it into a Minelab, Whites, Fisher, etc., marked box and present it as a new American or Australian made $2000 machine to some top detectorists to test. There would be top magazine/internet coverage plus opportunities for TV appearances. Oh my! I'll bet that would be a hoot! I can see it now: "Minelab comes out with detector to beat all detectors!" It would be the same if this spoof were done in a Whites, Tesoro, Fisher, and even Garrett case.

SUM: Research is the big daddy in this hobby and working those sites with a reasonably deep machine.

Lots of people seem to think that just because someone finds a lot with a certain brand machine that everybody who buys that brand/model is also going to have that kind of luck.

Those low cost Bounty Hunters are often made fun of here but gold coins and just about everything else has been dug with them.

The big finds that are real here come from working good sites.

Badger

 

[Merf]

Right on Badger---Excellent post.

 

[Ron B]

Hey,
Good to hear it!

I'm anxious to hear what you think about the TeJon; I see one in my future (maybe).

Good luck finding!
GRB

 

[Michigan Badger]

Hey,
Good to hear it!

I'm anxious to hear what you think about the Tejon; I see one in my future (maybe).

Good luck finding!
GRB

Thanks.

With the Tejon I'm trying to be more cautious in regard to praising it up. I've made this mistake before and would like to stop that.

It's so easy to brag a new machine up to the heavens after only 20 or 30 hours of use at a limited number of sites only to later discover some very big shortcomings while hunting other types of sites.

At this point I am staying with what I wrote on the Review for this machine, that is, I see it as a nearly perfect coin/relic/jewelry detector.

For Memorial Day we went down to the more southern part of lower Michigan and I was able to test the Tejon on totally different soil. The result was the ground balance I had set for northern Michigan exactly matched that of southern Michigan.

I only had less than a hour to hunt due to parties, etc, so it was a short test. During this short hunt I dug coins as fast as I could. I also found an AVON gold plated ring. The oldest coin was a wheat cent and I don't know the date yet. Everything had fill dirt dumped on it so they were deep. It was like shooting ducks in a barrel.

I have complete confidence in this detector but I need to travel more with it to see how it works elsewhere.

HH,

Badger

 

[Gribnitz]

Thyanks for the feedback Badger. You posts are always interesting and informative.
I enjoy hunting with the Cibola and will probably upgrade to a Tejon or Vaquero one of these days. Do you think the Tejon is deeper than the Vaquero? Another good point about the C is that the shaft breaks down into 3 sections so you can put it in a backpack. I did this the last couple of days and biked deep into some woods. It saved a lot of walking. Best regards.

Yes, it is. I have both and the Tejon is my primary machine. I use the Vaquero when I don't feel like swapping coils on the Tejon and the Vaquero is already set up for what I want to do, plus its a tad lighter. I have the 8x9, 5.75 conc, 8 inch Widescan, and 12x10 widescan coils. You can super tune the Vaquero, but it still won't match the depth of the Tejon on lead, brass and gold. On silver I reckon it is about as deep as any other high end machine, but the relic range is where it gets its reputation.

If the Cibola is only getting 5 inches on a dime, I would say that is less than average, but I always super tune my Vaquero (turn the threshold all the way up after you ground balance and run sensitivity until it starts to chatter then back off a hair). It may just be the coil you have is a cold one. Try turning the threshold all the way up and sensitivity just below unstable and see what happens.

 

[Merf]

Thanks for the info Gribnitz. I run my Cibola with the sensitivity and threshold all the way up and don't get any chatter. Do you think I have a defective machine? I get a few extra pops and clicks while hunting this way but can tell the good signals. Best luck, Merf

 

[Michigan Badger]

Thanks for the info Gribnitz. I run my Cibola with the sensitivity and threshold all the way up and don't get any chatter. Do you think I have a defective machine? I get a few extra pops and clicks while hunting this way but can tell the good signals. Best luck, Merf

Yes, I agree with Gribnitz, 5 inches on a dime seems pretty bad for any Tesoro other than the Compadre. But I must also admit I've heard reports like this before.

Merf I don't know if the Tejon will be a miracle machine for you but I know I like mine better every day. It's so smooth and nothing at all like some reviews I read on it.

Like I wrote before I've driven a dime down 7 inches into the ground glued to a wooden dowel and got a very loud signal. It would easily sound off at 8 inches. When testing any detector's depth I only consider loud signals I would notice while actually hunting a new site rather quickly. If I were listening for those tiny little slow hunt weak signals in mild soil I guess I could detect a dime at 9-10 inches. To find dimes and small gold rings at these depths with the Tejon (and most other top brands) one must hunt very very slowly and dig all signals over foil that have any smoothness at all to them. The signal may be blunt or slightly clipped sounding but this is how one has to hunt for 3-ringers and mega deep buttons, etc.

Badger

 

[jeffHershey]

Here is some info. about the depth my Cibola gets. The Cibola is not my main hunting machine. I bought it for competition hunting. However, I have some chances to detect with it under other circumstances a lot of times just goofing around and taking up some time. I had some time to burn at a friends and I started to detect. Besides a handful of coins, I found a brass 30-06 shell in low mineralized soil at 9" with it. I measured the depth with a small tape measure I carry with me. I was pretty impressed with it and still am.

I was at a beach competition hunt and didn't bring any of my other detectors with me. (Why I ask myself) Anyway, I went back to the place I was staying and saw some detectorists working their way up the beach out back. I couldn't resist and had to get out there. I went out and started swinging over the same sand. I got a hit, so I dug a scoop of sand, swept over it and the target wasn't in my scoop. I thought well maybe I didn't pinpoint it well enough. So, I scooped on either side of the hole and the target still wasn't in my scoop. I decided that it must be deeper and took another scoop. Still no target in the scoop. Finally, I took the third scoop and I got the target. The depth of that target had to be well over 6". I repeated this several times and took great satisfaction in picking up coins with a $300 machine that others missed with $800+ detectors. The HOT series of detectors really go deep!

Since the Cibola has a preset ground balance, I would send the main unit and the coil back to the factory to have it tuned. If the ground balance is not correctly set or the coil and main unit not properly tuned, you will not get the depth. However, you will still easily pick up shallow targets. The only other reasons could be the way you are setting up the machine and the way you hunt like the way you swing the coil and your swing speed.

Even though the Cibola has a factory pre-set ground balance, I still ground balance in All Metal. I am not sure this makes a difference but I do it anyway. To do this, I set the sensitivity about 9 o'clock, push the pinpoint (puts the machine in All Metal), turn up the Threshold until I can start to hear it and it is still stable, (keeping the pinpoint pushed in) lower the coil to the ground and try to get a steady sound (no increase or decrease in volume) as it is lowered (not raised from the ground). Some like it HOT so a little increase in volume as you lower the coil isn't a bad thing.

 

[Merf]

Thanks for the info Jeff. I will be sending it back and hope for better results this time.
All the best. Merf

 

[Gribnitz]

Thanks for the info Jeff. I will be sending it back and hope for better results this time.
All the best. Merf

It may be your coil too. If it isn't wound perfectly it may cause you to lose depth. If you know someone else with any of the hot type coils, you could test that out. The 5.75 is almost as deep as the 8x9.

 

[Michigan Badger]

Like I wrote above in regard to the Tejon, all Tesoros get the really deep stuff by way of a very slow swing speed. In fact almost all deep VLF machines are this way. If one uses any Tesoro too fast one will be limited to coin finds about 5-6 inches deep. A too fast swing speed means surface feeding for most detectors. Deep coins and rings require time for the detector to respond. Swing too fast and a beep turns into a click.

Today I went back over some ground I've pounded to death and dug 18 cents in clad and Mems plus an odd dime sized thing I need to get IDed. Due to these coins mostly being on edge I had missed them in previous hunts.

Coins on edge are easy to tell. You either get no signal or a broken signal one way and a weak but good coin signal from the other direction. Then you dig the coin at less than 6 inches deep. The same coin laying flat at 6 inches will blast-off loud and clear from all direction when using the Tejon. Many coins are on edge or masked by trash.

I know you know all this Merf but I thought I'd throw this in for whomever.

Badger

 

[Merf]

Right on about the swing speed Badger. On a weak or broken signal I will raise the coil a couple of inches and if I still get the weak signal I know it is shallow trash. If the signal goes away when I raise the coil I will take out about a two inch plug and check the signal again. If the signal becomes good both ways I know it may be a good target and dig it.
The Cibola is going back to Tesoro tomorrow for a tune up. I hope for better results this time. Merf

 

[Michigan Badger]

Right on about the swing speed Badger. On a weak or broken signal I will raise the coil a couple of inches and if I still get the weak signal I know it is shallow trash. If the signal goes away when I raise the coil I will take out about a two inch plug and check the signal again. If the signal becomes good both ways I know it may be a good target and dig it.
The Cibola is going back to Tesoro tomorrow for a tune up. I hope for better results this time. Merf

Right on. This trick can save a lot of time and turf.

Merf, do you think the official Tesoro forum will ever get its act together? What's with them anyway? That forum is down now more than it's up. This is very bad PR for them.

Badger

 

[Merf]

That Tesoro forum is not working again today. It is bad PR like you say.

You would think that they could do at least as good as the Bounty hunter forum.