even if it doesn't have "VDI." ( <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="
"> couldn't resist!)
Actually, the Tesoro Silver µMAX is a decent turn-on-and-go model that has it's roots in the 'original' Silver Sabre and Cutlass series from Tesoro.
<STRONG>"I bought a used, supposed to be a 2004 Silver uMax, with the box, for $100."</STRONG>.... The suggested retail is $299 and the lowest allowed dealer sell-price for a new Silver µMAX is $239.20. $100 is a decent price, to be sure! <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="
">
<STRONG>"Took it to the park and seems to work alright."</STRONG>.... Great!
<STRONG>"Is the all metal mode for pin pointing? Seems to work just like the disc mode except of course it picks up all metals."</STRONG>.... In some instances the "All Metal" mode of the Silver µMAX can assist in pinpointing in that it will sometimes give a cleaner signal, especially in very mineralized ground.
But, as you noted, it works just the same as the Discriminate mode because that is essentially what it is. The All Metal mode of the Silver µMAX is simply a motion Discriminate mode without any iron rejection (or at least very little) and thus it is responsive to <EM>all</EM> metals, iron and non-iron.
It is not a more conventional, threshold-based, All Metal mode that can aid in pinpointing and in target sizing & shaping. You don't get that feature in the Tesoro line until you move up to the Conquistador µMAX with a suggested retail of $399.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Tesoro with the newer releases from White's (the Prizm II & Prizm IV, especially) and even the upcoming Garrett Ace 250. With the Ace $250 and Prizm II priced close to the suggested retail of the Silver µMAX it makes for some tough competition because these models DO have visual Target ID! The new Garrett will have pinpointing and the Prizm II offers both the conventional pinpointing as well as selected threshold-based All Metal for $50 LESS than the suggested retail for the Silver µMAX.
Back to your Silver µMAX for a moment. If you are going to use the Silver µMAX as a "support" unit for another up-scale model, you might want to consider getting a 4" coil for it. Combined with a 4" coil you will have a dandy little unit for working dense trash and close to metal objects. Since you got it for only a hundred bucks, it seems to me that would be a useful way to put it to work.
<EM><STRONG>Monte
