Any Tips For A New Silver uMax User ?

[E-Trac-Ohio]

I read many times that Tesoro's are excellent at picking out good targets heavy iron area's - so I just ordered a new Silver uMax - it should be here any day.
We are still in a deep freeze here in Ohio - but Spring's just around the corner... maybe.

I wanted to ask you guy's if you had any tips for a new Tesoro user ?

Thanks for your replies in advance and Good Hunting !

 

[Rainyday101]

Check out Kaolinwashers videos a little way down in this forum. He has made some good vids on the Silver. The Silver is a simple effective design that just flat out works well. The key is the audio. I assume by your id that you have been using an E-Trac. It will probably take a little time to get used to just having a single audio tone, but once you get a handle on it you see how effective a Tesoro can be. If you are trying to pull coins out of the trash you need to set the disc just shy of penny. Bear in mind that you will miss nickels doing so. The key is slow the swing speed down in a trashy area and listen for a clean audio sound that is not jagged/scratchy at the beginning or end of the audio. Once you get this check the signal from two directions and if it is nice and clean sounding from two directions- dig it!

Also size the target up when you sweep over it. By tightening up your swing while passing over the target you can determine if the target is coin size or something larger. Coin size will have a real small sweet audio spot as the coil passes over, larger junk, (cans, large washers, etc) will give audio over a larger area of the sweep. Next you can lift the coil while sweeping to get an idea of depth. I hardly ever do this because I can tell by audio loudness pretty much how deep it is on coins. Larger metal will still give you louder audio as the coil is raised and swept.

At first dig those iffy targets. By slowing down my sweep and centering over the coin I can usually do a good job of separating the coin to get a clean sound from the nearby trash.

With your disc set at just short of penny when you are in a trashy area you will here pops and clicks that are trash items not being fully discriminated out. This is the time to slow the swing speed down and work the area good from several directions. The clean audio of the coin will stand out from the trash.

Pin pointing is just a matter of "X ing" the coin from two directions until you are centered on it. The coin will be smack in the middle of the coil every time. I have become so used to doing this that I never use the pin point button on my Tejon.


Headphones are a big help. I have used the cheapo's and now use Grey Ghost Originals and am quite happy with them.

It will be a change of pace from looking at a display and seeing bouncing numbers in a trashy area. After you get the hang of the audio and learn to focus on it, coins will pop out of the trash. It is my belief that having only audio to focus on will make you a better hunter in the long run.

You bought a great detector and will love how efficient it is once you get the hang of it. I gotta give an E-trac user credit for trying something different as most would never consider it. I think after a while you will be pleasantly surprised! Once you get the hang of it, consider trying a Tejon or Vaq. and you will see just how deep these Tesoro's really are.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Thanks for the detailed reply Rainyday101 - I'll check out the videos you mentioned.

My primary machine is the E-Trac - got the Silver uMax for my Wife to use now and then and for double checking to see if I missed any good targets in iron patches.
I think using two machines on some sites is kind of like going to the doctor - sometimes it's good to get two opinions.

Good Hunting !

 

[metalfun]

The best tip I can give you is ta ask all these guys on this forum.I just purchased a Vaquero and THESE GUYS ARE THE BESTHH

 

[kaolinwasher]

don't be afraid to use it at a 1 gain Cuz it will agnor lots of trash that way and just hit the nice gold rings & tabs of course . if you want to change coils it would be best to get a GB installed on it or stick with the stock coil when using the all metal put the gain into the red for like relic hunting and turn the Disc knob at least past foil or to zinc penny and you will get 10" deep on a shot shell and 8" on a dime if I hunt a saoccer field i would use a 1 gain and hunt in all metal with Disc just left of foil it a great machine ,

 

[oneguy]

It'll be just like the Etrac without all the extra info from multi-tones along with all the visual info. Just like you do with the Etrac....listen for "round", consistant, repeatable from several angles targets.....dig!

If you haven't had the pleasure of PPing with a concentric you're gonna love that but sacrifice a little coverage on the deeper stuff but may also help you in the thick trash in certain situations? Using both on a site should be a real benefit.........

 

[Lakota]

The deeper silver will have a smooth sweet mellow sound. Where zinc and a lot of ( the few targets that fool the awesome disc on these machines) crap targets will hit louder and the sound is more abrasive sounding.

I have the Grandfather to the silver ( cutlass uMax) have loved the 8" coil and done great with it, added a 10.5 and 7" coils during the recent holidays. Really loving the larger 10.5 concentric. All the goods of the 8" with extra depth and the deeper silver are easier for my damaged hearing to lock onto.

Also use your disc knob as your VDI, try running at "Foil" or a hair above it and once a good solid signal is found rotate the disc with you thumb, once the signal breaks up or is gone, you will have a pretty accurate ideal of what is going to be digging up.

The boys have already gave you a lot of good info. Your ears and digging targets will help with the rest.

Congrats on your new gold hound,

Lakota

 

[Furious T]

If you're not used to using a concentric coil, makes sure that you overlap your swings so that each swing is about one half of the coil width apart...if you are only going for shallow targets, this is not so important, but if you are going for deeper targets (as well), overlapping coil swings is important for complete ground coverage. As was said above, dont be afraid to use low sensitivity, particularly in trashy areas...you'll still get reasonable depth for shallow targets, and target ID will be much more accurate on shallow targets than if you are running on high sensitivity. HH

 

[slingshot]

Even though it's fast response, a slower, relaxed sweep will add another inch