I'm a coin and jewelry hunter (where great depth capability isn't usually required). There have been a lot of great detectors made in the 2000's (e.g., Compadre, Golden, Cortes, Eldorado, Silver uMAX, DeLeon, Cibola, Vaquero, Outlaw, etc.), but I'm wondering whether there are any 1980's/1990's era machines that can compete with the 2000 era machines when it comes to coin and jewelry hunting.
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Can 80's/90's Technology Compete with 2000 Era Technoogy
- Thread starter berryman
- Start date
Rainyday101
New member
In the mid 90's I had a Garrett GTAX 450 or 500, can't remember which for sure. I made some incredible finds with that detector. I have looked at them on ebay and have considered buying one again. Why would I do that? Because I think it could complete. Maybe not all detectors can, but a good operator can level that playing field regardless of the vintage used.
Rainyday101
New member
berryman said:
My Garret was a 95, that is a 90's era. Do you mean 1980-1990?
Sven
Well-known member
If your not concerned with depth let's say over 5-7". There's a heck of a lot of machines from way back then that can compete with todays tech.
Don't be afraid to look at them, many will surprise you in their performance.
Only thing you'll have to deal with is the extra weight and or unbalanced detector that will make it feel heavier than what is is.
Take note some of those all metal/ disc mode machines require a faster sweep speed as well.
As you already know older Tesoros still get the job done.
Smaller than stock coils seem to separate multiple targets much better on older units. 6" is a good size.
The small size such as White's Black Max commands a premium price over the stock coil these days.
I think many ID machines from today are not much better than from years ago. Just more refined.
And what the ID machine said was foil, could have been a gold ring..............................and you walked right on by.
Older machines can be cheap on the pocketbook and actually fun to use.
Just take a look at my website and take a gander of what you might be able to purchase.
http://www.treasurelinx.com/home1.html
Don't be afraid to look at them, many will surprise you in their performance.
Only thing you'll have to deal with is the extra weight and or unbalanced detector that will make it feel heavier than what is is.
Take note some of those all metal/ disc mode machines require a faster sweep speed as well.
As you already know older Tesoros still get the job done.
Smaller than stock coils seem to separate multiple targets much better on older units. 6" is a good size.
The small size such as White's Black Max commands a premium price over the stock coil these days.
I think many ID machines from today are not much better than from years ago. Just more refined.
And what the ID machine said was foil, could have been a gold ring..............................and you walked right on by.
Older machines can be cheap on the pocketbook and actually fun to use.
Just take a look at my website and take a gander of what you might be able to purchase.
http://www.treasurelinx.com/home1.html
Rainyday101
New member
berryman said:
Sorry, for some reason I did not see that you were asking about Tesoro in particular. I guess I should read slower!
berryman,
I did the field test on the Outlaw last winter for Tesoro, check it out on their website. I received it when it started getting cold in the last part of Oct, 2013 and returned it in May, 2014. As I explained in my field test, I got a loaner from Rusty Henry and not the company. I made about a dozen field hunts with the Outlaw through the coldest winter we have had here in Kansas in a long time. At the end of the test, I decided not to purchase the loaned out Outlaw because I had the best three of the four different models of the Bandido. I really like the first two early Bandidos, not the µMax ones. These are a little heavier and hold two 9 volt batteries, they have a real nice threshold based all-metal mode, 10 turn ground balance control for better operation in mineralized dirt and they run quieter in the iron nails.The Outlaw comes close to the performance of the early Bandidos in the Disc, mode in nasty iron nail infested sites , even better than the Bandido ll µMax.
I did the field test on the Outlaw last winter for Tesoro, check it out on their website. I received it when it started getting cold in the last part of Oct, 2013 and returned it in May, 2014. As I explained in my field test, I got a loaner from Rusty Henry and not the company. I made about a dozen field hunts with the Outlaw through the coldest winter we have had here in Kansas in a long time. At the end of the test, I decided not to purchase the loaned out Outlaw because I had the best three of the four different models of the Bandido. I really like the first two early Bandidos, not the µMax ones. These are a little heavier and hold two 9 volt batteries, they have a real nice threshold based all-metal mode, 10 turn ground balance control for better operation in mineralized dirt and they run quieter in the iron nails.The Outlaw comes close to the performance of the early Bandidos in the Disc, mode in nasty iron nail infested sites , even better than the Bandido ll µMax.
Hombre said:
Randy, I've never used the older heavier models of the Bandidos, but can attest to the fact that the Outlaw does runs smoother in nails than the Bandido II uMax.
It just amazes me how much performance and power is packed into those tiny µMax control boxes. Especially the Vaquero and Cibola.
tabman
I used my GSII ('91-92?) for 21-22yrs until I moved on to Minelab. It has dug gazillions of coins and at lightning speed, never any problems, built like a battleship, PP's like a lazer with donut coil, and the notch can be a beautiful thing. Only thing it lacks is depth, 4-5" dimes, quarter at 6".... Problem today (if you are a coinshooter after OLD coins) is targets are deeper/masked and most low hanging fruit on public ground has been hit. You need to go deeper and imo a guy needs a little more info when going deeper as this old guy can't be digging 6-9" plugs all day long without the odds in my favor. That notch on the GSII is a great feature and can really help when cherry picking, it can be set to accept or reject. A lot of guys are very happy hunting newer coins, tot lots, etc. and imo the older machine can do just as well as any newer beep & dig if depth is not an issue for your style of hunting......
Mike Hillis
Well-known member
In some aspects but not really. The Inca is an early model I like, that has about the same performance as the Golden Sabre II, but the Golden uMax has better depth than both of them.
Then you have the HOT models, Tejon, Vaquero, Cibola, that have even better depth.
The new Cortes and Deleon both have better depth than the all the older models.
So while the older models were ok, the newer models are deeper, if deeper is what you are after.
I decided to go forward with the Golden Saber II because the feature set is more useful to me than the feature set of the Golden uMax, but that came with a price....less depth, no iron resolution.
HH
Mike
Then you have the HOT models, Tejon, Vaquero, Cibola, that have even better depth.
The new Cortes and Deleon both have better depth than the all the older models.
So while the older models were ok, the newer models are deeper, if deeper is what you are after.
I decided to go forward with the Golden Saber II because the feature set is more useful to me than the feature set of the Golden uMax, but that came with a price....less depth, no iron resolution.
HH
Mike
JASONSPAZ1
New member
Funny how some of you jumped the gun and assumed that the OP was referring to Tesoro tech compared to the other guys tech.
I guess the most recent blow out has everyone still jittery.
HH
Jason.
Berryman I almost forgot to answer..
I think the newer Tesoro's like the Vaquero, Cibola, and Tejon have a little bit more punch with the High Gain Circuitry. H.O.T is what Tesoro refers to it as
I guess the most recent blow out has everyone still jittery.
HH
Jason.
Berryman I almost forgot to answer..
I think the newer Tesoro's like the Vaquero, Cibola, and Tejon have a little bit more punch with the High Gain Circuitry. H.O.T is what Tesoro refers to it as
pulltaber
Member
oneguy said:
I got my golden sabber 2,in 1992 it may not be as deep as some of the new tec.but but had no problem getting I.H.s and silver dimes at seven to eight inches.my deepest coin was a v nickel at a mearered nine inches.some of the areas that I hunt has a lot of red hot clay that that I have to lower the sen to about 4 but I still can get a dime at seven inches.You have to run with notch off and disseminate at min.you can still check a target by flipping the toggle switch to reject,you will lose a lot of depth if you hunt with high dis levels or with notch on.I found a lot of coins and gold rings with it and sill use it when things get trashy it has a lighting fast recovery speed,its my favorite for a competition hunt
I have also sniffed out some deeper stuff than I mentioned with the GSII. BUT...with that said, I am (or was) very guilty of running very high disc and used the notch all the time (hate digging pulltabs) and basically cherry picking copper and silver. Hadn't dug nickels or gold in years until just recently after switching to Minelab. Forgot how much fun it is to dig OLD nickels...
That GSII served me very well when silver was a little shallower and more abundant........ I also don't think there's anything that could beat it in a competition hunt, they are so fast!
That GSII served me very well when silver was a little shallower and more abundant........ I also don't think there's anything that could beat it in a competition hunt, they are so fast!
I have the GS ll's older brother, the Pantera, the GS ll has the Pantera circuit board without the manual ground balance feature that the Pantera has. Mine looks old and a little worn and worse for wear but it doesn't act old. It is one of my deepest Tesoro models, I run it with Sensitivity set at 7 or 8, minimum Disc. and the Notch switch Off. I set the Notch control to split tones on a zinc penny, anything above zinc produces a high tone and below, of course is low tone. With it set this way, a person could cherry pick higher conductive coins all day and hardly ever dig pulltabs. Or you could take an old beavertail pull tab and have the notch control set to break tone on it. and dig all low tones if searching for gold jewelry. When set up this way, you are really hunting as deep as the machine can hunt because of the low primary Disc. mode setting.
machineman
Member
Some times new tec is just that new, not better. I think from my limited experience that the major differences between old and new detectors are. Lighter weight, Lower power use, and better ergonomics. Also not new but much improved DD coils on most machines. The major improvements with most tec is that it is now smaller and uses less power.