[size=small]...went to the fairgrounds today to do a little more marking before the seasons obliterate signs of the fairs presence.
while there I hauled out my Vaq, with the sniper coil and did a little bit of comparing, apples to oranges. Here's what I got - -
1. SENSITIVITY.
I ran the Ace at half throttle, as that is about all thats needed; and all that can be used effectively, due to the trash. SO, I ran the Vaq at the same level, ie, half SENS (not counting the MaxBoost). In my opinion, the Ace and the Vaquero were on equal terms at this setting. At higher settings, the nod goes to the Vaq, as the Ace gets squirrely. Mind you, the Vaq didnt appear to go deeper at similar level settings, it was just smoother to operate.
2. TARGET RESPONSE/SEPARATION.
This isnt really a direct comparison, in that the Ace and Vaq coils are different. In this case, the nod goes to the Vaquero due to its separation abilities with the 5.5" coil. However, honorable mention must be made of the Ace. Even in the trashiest spots, if there was something good to be had in the midst, the Ace would sniff it out - and do so resoundingly.
Here again, we are talking different units. The Vaq is monotone and the Ace is multi-tone - the Ace is quite a bit more "talky" than the Tesoro. The Vaquero has what I would label a "tight" audio response and thanks to the smaller coil and tighter audio, it DID allow the Vaq to separate targets well.
The Ace, on the other hand, would signal plenty all over the place. This can be confusing to newcomers, yet each target CAN be discerned if you slow a bit and work to pick them out.
I DO like the response of the Vaq, as it is smooth and tight as mentioned, yet I gotta say, too, that in a few cases, the Ace signalled clearly when the Vaq did so only in a small way. It's probably no secret that it takes a trained ear to run with a Tesoro - not so much with the Ace 250. **
** I once learned this in a painful way years ago. I had gone over a spot with my Tesoro Silver Sabre II and had noted a small little signal, which wasnt much, so I went on. A bit later, my son who was using my Garrett CXII at that time said, "Hey dad what does it mean when this thing goes "BOING" real loud and the meter locks on dime?"
Well, you guessed it - an 1842-O dime surfaced from the very spot I had just gone over. The Tesoro signalled on it, but the Garrett hammered it! Big Difference and one of the pivotal reasons I use a Garrett today.
3. PINPOINTING
Okay all you Garrett fans, gather round and take a deep breath. Here's the bad news - the one fly in your collective ointment.
The Vaquero puts the Ace to shame in the pinpoint department.
The 5.5" coil and tight audio combination of the Tesoro is the best thing about it. PP'ing is spot on and s-i-m-p-l-e. The Ace, as so many know, takes something of a masters touch and an understanding of target depth to get good pinpoint results. Shallow targets PP one way, deeper ones another way and it is for you to determine all this and then develop a smooth method with the ACE. Not so the Vaquero - spot on all the time. This holds true for the larger coils on the Tesoro units, too. Hit your target, "x" and dig. ALL Tesoro's share this trait, in my experience.
4. DISCRIMINATION
Accurate on both models - but vastly different. The Tesoro has a razor edged cut-off to the DISC control - like all it's cousins. That's one of the things I like about Tesoro's; theyre concisely accurate. If you test it beforehand, as you should, and make a nickle and zincer mark on the dial - well, there is little doubt when it cuts off at nickle that you have a nickle range target. It has one drawback, though: It is progressive DISC. To wring any sort of ID out of this sort of machine, you must dial that control.
The Ace, by comparison, has notch DISC, which is quite different. When it says its a nickle range target, it, too is right on...but you dont have to twiddle a knob to find out! At most practical depths this is reliable and dead on, too.
I proved it today on the nickles you see in the pics and the gazillion lightbulb bases which litter the fairground. The two nicks were found, one with each detector. Each was dead accurate. BUT, the bulb bases were jumpy the majority of the time with the Ace, and didnt lock hard on nickle. You had to work the knob carefully with the Tesoro to determine the same thing.
NOTE: At anything over 4"+, you should consider digging regardless of the ID === especially if there is the remotest chance at something old. TID is notoriously innacurate as depth increases, regardless of your detector make.
5. EASE OF USE
Both are simple to operate. The "scary" ground balance that so many people fear on the Vaq is a kids game and the light weight is no-brainer. It is accurate and easy to get used to. The tight target response also adds to efficient hunting.
The Ace is also light and easy to operate. It has no GB to fuss over, so that's that. The target response is "bigger" and a little more demanding to master with the Ace. I feel it's a little slower in use than the Tesoro, especially in trashy sites.
Each of these will take some getting used to, if you are considering one or the other. The Vaquero is smooth in use, accurate, deep as you need and all day light. The ACE has all of this, that lovely notch DISC and signals loud over targets! There is little doubt when you have passed over a target and the ID feature is sweet. If I could only have one, I'd take.....drumroll please..........
The Ace 250!
The notch DISC makes the difference, all things being equal.
[attachment 40401 fair01.JPG]
See all those litebulb bases? All read around nickle - so do nicks themselves and most gold rings. You do the math. The oblong item in the middle is brass and looks like the blade from a fishing lure or a "dangly" from an earring - except there is no hole to attach it. Also, notice the little round thingie above it. That tiny thing wore me out with the ACE - when I finally found it, I turned the air blue for cussing.
[/size]
while there I hauled out my Vaq, with the sniper coil and did a little bit of comparing, apples to oranges. Here's what I got - -
1. SENSITIVITY.
I ran the Ace at half throttle, as that is about all thats needed; and all that can be used effectively, due to the trash. SO, I ran the Vaq at the same level, ie, half SENS (not counting the MaxBoost). In my opinion, the Ace and the Vaquero were on equal terms at this setting. At higher settings, the nod goes to the Vaq, as the Ace gets squirrely. Mind you, the Vaq didnt appear to go deeper at similar level settings, it was just smoother to operate.
2. TARGET RESPONSE/SEPARATION.
This isnt really a direct comparison, in that the Ace and Vaq coils are different. In this case, the nod goes to the Vaquero due to its separation abilities with the 5.5" coil. However, honorable mention must be made of the Ace. Even in the trashiest spots, if there was something good to be had in the midst, the Ace would sniff it out - and do so resoundingly.
Here again, we are talking different units. The Vaq is monotone and the Ace is multi-tone - the Ace is quite a bit more "talky" than the Tesoro. The Vaquero has what I would label a "tight" audio response and thanks to the smaller coil and tighter audio, it DID allow the Vaq to separate targets well.
The Ace, on the other hand, would signal plenty all over the place. This can be confusing to newcomers, yet each target CAN be discerned if you slow a bit and work to pick them out.
I DO like the response of the Vaq, as it is smooth and tight as mentioned, yet I gotta say, too, that in a few cases, the Ace signalled clearly when the Vaq did so only in a small way. It's probably no secret that it takes a trained ear to run with a Tesoro - not so much with the Ace 250. **
** I once learned this in a painful way years ago. I had gone over a spot with my Tesoro Silver Sabre II and had noted a small little signal, which wasnt much, so I went on. A bit later, my son who was using my Garrett CXII at that time said, "Hey dad what does it mean when this thing goes "BOING" real loud and the meter locks on dime?"
Well, you guessed it - an 1842-O dime surfaced from the very spot I had just gone over. The Tesoro signalled on it, but the Garrett hammered it! Big Difference and one of the pivotal reasons I use a Garrett today.
3. PINPOINTING
Okay all you Garrett fans, gather round and take a deep breath. Here's the bad news - the one fly in your collective ointment.
The Vaquero puts the Ace to shame in the pinpoint department.
The 5.5" coil and tight audio combination of the Tesoro is the best thing about it. PP'ing is spot on and s-i-m-p-l-e. The Ace, as so many know, takes something of a masters touch and an understanding of target depth to get good pinpoint results. Shallow targets PP one way, deeper ones another way and it is for you to determine all this and then develop a smooth method with the ACE. Not so the Vaquero - spot on all the time. This holds true for the larger coils on the Tesoro units, too. Hit your target, "x" and dig. ALL Tesoro's share this trait, in my experience.
4. DISCRIMINATION
Accurate on both models - but vastly different. The Tesoro has a razor edged cut-off to the DISC control - like all it's cousins. That's one of the things I like about Tesoro's; theyre concisely accurate. If you test it beforehand, as you should, and make a nickle and zincer mark on the dial - well, there is little doubt when it cuts off at nickle that you have a nickle range target. It has one drawback, though: It is progressive DISC. To wring any sort of ID out of this sort of machine, you must dial that control.
The Ace, by comparison, has notch DISC, which is quite different. When it says its a nickle range target, it, too is right on...but you dont have to twiddle a knob to find out! At most practical depths this is reliable and dead on, too.
I proved it today on the nickles you see in the pics and the gazillion lightbulb bases which litter the fairground. The two nicks were found, one with each detector. Each was dead accurate. BUT, the bulb bases were jumpy the majority of the time with the Ace, and didnt lock hard on nickle. You had to work the knob carefully with the Tesoro to determine the same thing.
NOTE: At anything over 4"+, you should consider digging regardless of the ID === especially if there is the remotest chance at something old. TID is notoriously innacurate as depth increases, regardless of your detector make.
5. EASE OF USE
Both are simple to operate. The "scary" ground balance that so many people fear on the Vaq is a kids game and the light weight is no-brainer. It is accurate and easy to get used to. The tight target response also adds to efficient hunting.
The Ace is also light and easy to operate. It has no GB to fuss over, so that's that. The target response is "bigger" and a little more demanding to master with the Ace. I feel it's a little slower in use than the Tesoro, especially in trashy sites.
Each of these will take some getting used to, if you are considering one or the other. The Vaquero is smooth in use, accurate, deep as you need and all day light. The ACE has all of this, that lovely notch DISC and signals loud over targets! There is little doubt when you have passed over a target and the ID feature is sweet. If I could only have one, I'd take.....drumroll please..........
The Ace 250!
The notch DISC makes the difference, all things being equal.
[attachment 40401 fair01.JPG]
See all those litebulb bases? All read around nickle - so do nicks themselves and most gold rings. You do the math. The oblong item in the middle is brass and looks like the blade from a fishing lure or a "dangly" from an earring - except there is no hole to attach it. Also, notice the little round thingie above it. That tiny thing wore me out with the ACE - when I finally found it, I turned the air blue for cussing.
[/size]
). Mind you the last one can be a bit more painful.