Bandido II uMax

[lovepulltabs]

I used to have a Bandido II uMax. It was a great detector and I'm sorry I sold it. Since they no longer make this model what would be the closest model that they make now? Would it be the Vaquero?

 

[dahut]

Yep, as good as the Bandido series ever was.

 

[tabdog]

First off, the Vaquero is a good choice. It is one of my four Tesoro's.

But.......They don't make anything like the Bandido II uMax now.

The Bandido II has a wider range of acceptance of conductive materials.

In other words, it picks up small iron that the Vaquero would not respond to,

or would respond with a broken sound.

The Bandido II operates at 10 kHz. The Vaquero operates at approx 14 kHz.

The Bandido uMax, Eldorado uMax and Euro Sabre are 10 kHz machines

that have been discontinued. They can still be purchased used.

There are some differences between the Bandido uMax, Bandido II uMax,

Eldorado uMax and the Euro Sabre. But they are somewhat similar.

Some would notice a lot of difference but they are similar.

The Tejon has a range of acceptance that is wider than the Vaquero also.

It is another class of detector. Maybe in a class of it's on.

I have a Vaquero and a Euro Sabre, and I did have an Eldorado.

But I have not owned a Bandido in any model. I'm going on what I've read

on this forum and els where to compare with the Bandido.

HH,

 

[lovepulltabs]

Thanks dahut and tabdog, that's very interesting. I was looking at the Cebola and the Vaquero. I'd really like something with manual ground balance, but I've read many good reviews on the Cebola. Is the Vaquero worth the extra money in your opinion? I want a good machine for coin and jewelery hunting, I've got a Fisher F2 which is a good machine for the price but I think I want to upgrade and give the F2 to my son.

 

[dahut]

Wellllll, that depends. I think it is worth whatever money you spend on it and would engcourage you to get one used if you can.
The F2 is very much different than the V and you are gonna have an adjustment period to wade through. Heres what you have gotten used to with the Fisher:

- Display with Numbers from 0 to 99.
-Battery meter
-Depth meter
- Target groups for Notch
- Tone ID
Adjustable settings:
- Notch

The Vaquero has none of thse features; it is bare bones basic and suits a "beep and dig" user. If you have gotten used to "process and decide" detecting, this will be a hurdle that must be overcome. I personally like the trade off of a notch circuit, for those times when it can be of use.

SO what does the V have going for it? It is more receptive to lower conductive items, like jewelry due to the frequency and the ED-180 DISC.
It does have a manual GB, as opposed to the preset type. This is realy not the big deal many people make it out to be. For most areas it requires little adjusting - once set it is stable. When you move to a new area it gives you the chance to adapt, so it CAN be of use in maybe 10% of the hunt sites you might visit.
It is more rugged than the F2 IMHO, especially the coil.
It uses 1 nine volt battery - this is splitting hairs, I admit.
I suspect it is more sensitive than the F2, giving better response to deeper items. In the "casual" world of coin/jewelry hunting, this can be as much a curse as a blessing

All this means you may not like the V and will want to get something else. You will find it depreciates roughly 40% in the used market and that is a bitter pill for something new you may not like. This is why I advocate you get a used model as your first Tesoro.

So what about the Bandido II? Not much different than the Vaquero, at least not enough to matter to you. It isn't quite as smooth, if you ask me, the Vaquero being more silky in it's response. Ditto the Eldorado. These are first generation uMax instruments, with the older chip sets. BOTH are excellent models and if you can find one used, get it!

They all three have the ED-180 discrimination, which means they have an expanded midrange. Iron targets will tend to cut out further down the dial, closer to the bottom, opening up the response to lower conductivity targets. This is why relicheads like them so much. They all have this ED-180 feature and it could be of use to you on gold filigree and chain. It wont matter on US coins.

The choice is yours. I say go for it. You may like the V. If not there is always another ready to buy it from you. I hope this helps you make a decision.

 

[lovepulltabs]

Thanks dahut, it's been awhile since I've used a Tesoro, but I've owned a Lobo ST, old Lobo, Diablo umax, and the Bandido umax. All very good machines, so I'm just curious to see how much better these new technology Tesoros are and may have to get one soon!