First Twenty Hours with Cortes

[RLOH]

After twenty hours with the Cortes, it has earned my respect. I have tried every ID detector made over the last 13 and 1/2 years, but never tried the Cortes. You just don't hear alot about this detector. I will tell you, this detector is a sleeper and in the short time I have used it, I have found coins with some very deep. The meter is as accurate as any detector I have used and it remains accurate to the 8 to 9 inch deep range. It has a great all metal mode. The sum mode is an added feature that most will really like, but I have found the meter to be so accurate, I don't have to use the sum mode. I have used it on about 1/3 of the coin targets just to get a feel for it. It works great. Pinpointing is spot on and I almost never use the all metal to pinpoint, but again, I have tested it on about 1/3 of the coins I dug to see how it works. Like most detectors, you can size a target in all metal, but the Cortes has a very distinct whoosh, type blip over a coin when in all metal. Hard to explain, but a coin sized target is very recognizable in all metal. I have been using the stock 8x9 coil and it works great. In one of my earlier posts, I found the Corte's preset ground balance in disc mode to have a hard time in a couple of lakefront parks I hunt. I just bought a widescan coil for these spots and I am hoping for an improvement that the dd coil should bring. I have had trouble with hot rocks sounding like a coin, but with some time in the field and the all metal mode, I should be able to ignore these. This is not unique to the Cortes, but almost every detector I have tried has trouble with these demons. I got a set of lithium batteries with the detector and after 20 hours or so, the battery gauge is still full. PS, I have found another 15 wheat pennies and one silver quarter in the last two days. All were 6 to 9 inches deep, with the silver quarter the deepest. I have had several of the new, expensive detectors that I could not hunt with if I was within 75 feet of an overhead power line. I had to get rid of them because of how they limited where I could hunt. This is not the case with the Cortes. I can hunt right under them. The Cortes is a fantastic detector that has made a believer out of me. R.L. Johnson

 

[pjroo3]

I have to agree with your analysis. I just recently acquired a used Cortes and took it out for it's first hunt. My main unit has always been a Minelab Explorer II and I love it. My first impression of the Cortes was it's weight difference from the Exp II. It is light as a feather. It is really a machine you can swing all day. The Cortes is a fun detector and I made some decent finds on its maiden voyage. My first plug had a 1964 silver dime. Good sign!!! Also dug a very worn and bent King George II or III copper 17??, and a bunch of wheaties. It's pretty obvious when you have a coin under the coil which I love. I had the descrimination set pretty high because I figure I will use the Cortes as a coin shooter and my Exp II as my relic hunter. The coins I dug were mostly 3-6 inches. I think the KG was at about 5 or 6 inches and in a very hard clay-like dirt. TID seems very accurate at depth. Overall, I'd have to say it is a fun detector that I will keep around for a long time. I'll try and post a pic of the KG later tonight.

 

[rmptr]

RL, glad to hear you're having fun with the Cortes !

One day I'd like to complicate my life with electronic meters.
Learning the Tesoro sounds works very well.

It all comes down to basics, though... gotta dig 'em all !
(That's how you get more gold jewelry !)

Best
rmptr