Confused about the Cortes

[WV62]

I was looking at some of the dealer info that is out there about the Cortes.

I was stated about Ground Balance

Fixed =yes
Manual =yes
Automatic =yes

Also it said Target ID = No

Of course I don't have a Cortes yet, but I did pull up the manual and the only thing I could find there was about Manual GB, and it seems to have some type of target ID.

I have been kind of looking to see if the Cortes would be a good choice for my next detector. I like my Tejon but I would kind of like a little more information about my targets.

I am pretty much a coin and jewelry hunter.

Ron in WV

 

[Weekend Warrior]

I am not sure but believe the only two detectors in the tesoro line up that have target ID are the Cortes and Deleon. The cortes can be manually ground balanced in the AM mode only as I believe the disc mode is fixed. The Deleon has a fixed ground balance but does have a bigger screen which may be a consideration if you have bad eyesight

Weekend warrior

 

[Hank68]

Have thought about the golden umax it has tone ID, it does use all the umax coils, a fun machine to use and has the notch feature, hank

 

[Habanero]

The Cortes and Deleon are great coin and jewelry hunters as long as you have the patience to dig all good signals in the "gold range". That goes for most any detector though if you are after gold jewelry. Having used both the Cortes and now owning a Deleon, I give the nod to the Deleon for ease of use and larger screen; it's about the easiest detector to turn on and start hunting with right away with decent results. Both have same depth in my opinion; not depth demons but are still respectable. Cortes has no auto ground balance, has external knob for all metal mode gb only. The disc mode has a seperate internally set ground balance set at the factory. Your manual gb from AM mode will not carry over to the disc mode. Why Tesoro ever decided to do that is beyond me but there you have it. Deleon preset gb just like the Cortes in disc mode. Again, I prefer the Deleon but your mileage may vary.

 

[BarberBill]

I now have both the D and the C. Several years back I was wanting a Cortes, but ran into a good trade on a clean used D, and thinking it's almost a C made the deal. Picked up a clean used C last summer late but the jury is still out as I haven't had a chance to use it enough. However, at this point I can say that the C hasn't out performed the D and I'm thinking I might have been happy enough with just the D. Most of my hunting is in fairly mild ground so the preset machines perform quite well although the all metal ground balance may come in handy now and then.
BB

 

[WV62]

Guys some pretty good info posted here, starting to get a good understanding of what is going on with the Tesoro meter machines.

I think the biggest tool I miss on the Tejon is the depth, my other machines tell me a lot but when I dig past the depth I will pretty much stop digging and would like to do the same with the Tesoro.

I will keep watching for more post.

Thanks to all,

Ron in WV

 

[BarberBill]

That makes a lot of sense cw(sc), but after this many years I'd think they'd have redesigned that in order to compete more directly with the competition that does include the disc side with their (usually) true auto ground balance/tracking. That said, the DeLeon and Cortes have worked quite well for me in my soil so maybe it isn't always that much of an issue. I will say that my DeLeon seems to perform very competitively with several other TID machines from different companies that I've had the chance to use and is generally lighter to swing. I'm generally coin shooting in fairly moderate soil which is worth noting.
BB

 

[litrfree]

Hi,
I am not sure if you looking for any comments about Cortes or Tejon. First of all, some tricky info about Cortes. If you have f.e.one of aftermarket 13" DD coil, you can be easily in front of fact: sound - yes, ID - missed. Reason: good discriminated target in the border depth. And now, it is up the situation nice lesson learned in consequence to Tejon. If is sound really strong, and larger than typical one 1/4 square inch target only, what could it be it? If is not target in 2", it is probably deep big foil, piece of metal sheet, or industrial iron. You can try number of tricks with your Tejon. 1. If is sound in front or back of coil wrong, it is iron. 2. If you move with coil upper, to 2-3-4 inches and sound is still nice, strong, it is iron&its brothers... 3. Turn disk higher and swapping. If you did not lost signal over 75% of range, over TAB, it is iron. 4. If is signal longer or wider over 1", it is probably trash or other iron. For me, is Tejon the best in the "known" forest, or for working for historians institutes (relics are a target). I am running Lobo ST also, for infected fields or stone areas (medieval artifacts, buttons, seals, etc). And my Vaquero is, field&universals coins sniper).
So, about Cortes: Number of my friends running with this tool, somebody better, somebody worse. This stick is a bit slower than analogs, and you have to have use it in patience and thinking about separation. This is No.1 on list of Cortes hunters problems: They do not listen adequate, read too much... .

Regards

 

[daddyflea]

I have Cortez and everything above is true. I have also had a Deleon. The biggest difference is the Notch Discrimination and the fact that Cortez has Manual Ground Balance in the All Metal Mode only.

Here are some facts you can take to the Bank.

1. Some advertisements say Cortez has Non Motion Pinpoint. This is not true. In fact I hate the All Metal Mode because it tunes out targets fast. The Ground Balance in this Mode is fast and easy but it picks up way too much junk. In fact Cortez and Deleon have no real Pinpoint feature at all.

2. The Sum Mode to me is useless as well as the Tones which only work in Sum mode. Put the Tones in Discriminate Mode and it would be great.

3. My Cortez can pick up a Nickle Deep if you remember to set Discrimination to a bear Minimum. I usually tune my Machine to hit Nickles by turning up sensativity almost all the way then I back off Discrimination to get at least 6" on a Nickle. If you set Discrimination at just under a Nickle you will cut your Depth on Nickles and Rings to right at 3-4 inches sometimes even less. If you get a Size reading of a Nickle on my Machine and a TID of 24 you can bet on a Nickle. If your Size is Nickle and TID is less than 24 you have a Ring. A reading of 31 or above and you are looking at a Tab. I run my Cortez on Narrow Notch where it still does not like Zinc Pennies. Zinc sometimes will not give a Repeatable signal but you can still tell it is a Penny. On Wide Notch Zincs are tuned out as well as Screw Caps. You can still get Nickles and Rings on Wide Notch. The Deleon is nice but it does not have this Notch feature and I feel like I have to have it, Notch is not adjustable on the Cortez like it is on some of the other Tesoro Machines.

4. Cortez and Deleon both can use any of the UMax Coils but there is a big hitch. You must send them back to the factory to get the Ground Balance checked and tune the Discriminate to the Coil otherwise your TID settings and Meter readings will most likely be off. You really can not swap Coils at will unless you just use Beep and dig.

5. Tuning your Threshold on the Cortez at a good hum will cause the Cortez to Chatter like a Queer Squirrel. You need to set it at almost Null.

6. My Cortez hits dimes and Quarters pretty deep and IDs them but you must set that Discrimination low, just over Iron, to get Nickles at a good depth.

I like my Cortez and I have been tearing up Coins and Rings with it. I would not trade my Cortez for a Deleon because of the Notch. If I beach hunted the Deleon would be OK because the Targets are separated. I like the Cortez because it has good separation even with the Stock Coil which to me is a little big and I must have the Notch. Sometimes it is just too Trashy to look at every signal and figure out what it is. I have my Cortez figured out if you have questions get back with me. To me a Deleon is just a Cortez without a Notch and a bigger Screen. I say you will be happier with the Cortez.

 

[BarberBill]

One thing not discussed in this thread about the Cortes is an issue I've thought about a bit. If the ground is such that setting a working ground balance is somewhat crucial, the Cortes can run in all metal and with the TID, one doesn't really need discrimination all that much. As to changing coils, I haven't had a problem with that, but I've usually gone smaller rather than larger and as I've mentioned above, I hunt pretty forgiving ground.
BB

 

[litrfree]

Hi,

I am (we are...) not from Russia, and we are pretty proud that we are not from Russia.... And about Tesoros, own hunters are splited, part of them are Tesoros fans, and second part dislike Tesoros, from number of reasons. The bigger one is, that Tesoros are focused to indexed all targets, in great ability of separation, and with excellent depth. And this is point of liking or disliking, because a decision is your, based on ability use moderate sound. I know, is not easy to do it, you need any daily practice. I like other sharp sabres too, E-trac is the great gun, easy CS3MXi is the fastest stick what i know, and I have been enjoying my Tesoros still. With big pleasure. If you want running with Cortes, to do it. Only one comment is, my friends what know use Cortes have been using worn 13" aftermarket coil from Bulgaria, and Cortes is at this moment in practice comparable with Tejon in depth.

Regards (not from Russia )

litrfree