Bandido uMax to Vaquero

[Kapok]

I have been using a Bandido uMax for a while now and am getting a Vaquero. I read that this 3rd gen. Bandido (the uMax) is the worst uMax Tesoro made in regards to depth. Can anyone confirm that?

But I am looking forward to the Vaquero anyway but wonder how much of a learning curve I'm looking at. I'm used to manual ground balance but not multiple freqs.

 

[BarberBill]

Don't know about the Bandido umax, but the Bandido II umax is supposed to be one of the best. You should get along well and quickly with the Vaq. You don't need to concern yoursself with the adjustable frequency switch unless you need to use it to eliminate cross talk with another detector or to offset electrical interference. For general detecting it doesn't serve any great purpose.
BB

 

[dan b]

I have a Vaquero and my suggestion would be to make sure you have good headphones. Good headphones that block outside noise will allow you to hear the subtle differences in the tone. Technically it's a single tone, but in reality, it's far from a single tone. You will learn to hear what trash sounds like by digging lots in the beginning. You will learn to recognize a smooth tone from a harsh tone that signifies can slaw and, amazingly, you will start recognizing bottle caps (aluminum non-crushed). The flattened steel beer caps are still a plague as they don't seem to have a distinctive sound, at least I haven't noticed the difference yet. Once you can hear the sounds and recognize them, you will start leaving the discriminator alone and digging by tone recognition. Up until a couple weeks ago I was using TDK wireless headphones but I couldn't really hear the distinctiveness of the tone because they allowed too much outside noise. I though I could, but boy was I wrong. Now with a pair of Jolly Rogers, it's like a whole new experience. I dug 90 coins at an old ice rink in town today and very little trash.

Dan

 

[Kapok]

I have a Vaquero and my suggestion would be to make sure you have good headphones. Good headphones that block outside noise will allow you to hear the subtle differences in the tone. Technically it's a single tone, but in reality, it's far from a single tone. You will learn to hear what trash sounds like by digging lots in the beginning. You will learn to recognize a smooth tone from a harsh tone that signifies can slaw and, amazingly, you will start recognizing bottle caps (aluminum non-crushed). The flattened steel beer caps are still a plague as they don't seem to have a distinctive sound, at least I haven't noticed the difference yet. Once you can hear the sounds and recognize them, you will start leaving the discriminator alone and digging by tone recognition. Up until a couple weeks ago I was using TDK wireless headphones but I couldn't really hear the distinctiveness of the tone because they allowed too much outside noise. I though I could, but boy was I wrong. Now with a pair of Jolly Rogers, it's like a whole new experience. I dug 90 coins at an old ice rink in town today and very little trash.

Dan

Thanks for the tips, Dan. I do have good headphones--not expensive but workable and block out the sounds adequately. I can almost always tell can slaw sounds on my Bandido, including those crazy aluminum siding trimmings that plague home sites. It's almost like a harsh ping or something. Pull tabs and zinc pennies sound alike for me. Copper pennies and silver on the Tesoro just have a richer, "rounder sound". Hoping the Vaquero sound patterns are somewhat similar.

 

[dan b]

I'm noticing a smooth tone with a slight echo for copper pennies. You have to listen closely, but it's definitely there. I was predicting my digs this morning with my 7 year old son tagging along (with the Compadre) and he was getting a kick at how accurate my calls were. I would find a target then have him scan with the Compadre and tell me if he would dig or not. Good training for him, and interesting to see how effective the Compadre is. I wouldn't make the Compadre my main machine, but for a quick hunt it will be very effective. I'm finding that if I run the Vaquero semi-supertuned, the coins sound out loud and clear. By semi-supertuned I mean that I run the sensitivity at 10 and the threshold at 3 o'clock. I wasn't doing that up until recently, as I was using the pin-point button. But by ignoring the pin-pointer, which is completely unnecessary anyway, and running the thresold at 3 o'clock, it really becomes distinctive on a good coin target.

Dan

 

[Kapok]

I'm noticing a smooth tone with a slight echo for copper pennies. You have to listen closely, but it's definitely there. I was predicting my digs this morning with my 7 year old son tagging along (with the Compadre) and he was getting a kick at how accurate my calls were. I would find a target then have him scan with the Compadre and tell me if he would dig or not. Good training for him, and interesting to see how effective the Compadre is. I wouldn't make the Compadre my main machine, but for a quick hunt it will be very effective. I'm finding that if I run the Vaquero semi-supertuned, the coins sound out loud and clear. By semi-supertuned I mean that I run the sensitivity at 10 and the threshold at 3 o'clock. I wasn't doing that up until recently, as I was using the pin-point button. But by ignoring the pin-pointer, which is completely unnecessary anyway, and running the thresold at 3 o'clock, it really becomes distinctive on a good coin target.

Dan

Dan, what you semi-supertune, what's your Disc setting?