Initial impressions of the Golden

[dan b]

I received it last week and have had a couple of opportunities to take it out. I thought I would post my first impressions in case anyone is interested.

First thing I noticed was how small and light it is. It is significantly smaller than my Tejon, which surprised me. First thing I checked was the ground balancing. Fortunately it is almost perfect for my soil. There is a very, very slight rise to the threshold as the coil approaches the ground. With my Tejon, I set the ground balancing slightly more positive, but the Golden is close enough that I'm not going to adjust it. They say there are 6 tones, but I think the way the Golden "speaks" to you with a combination of tones, that saying there are only 6 tones doesn't do it justice. I happened to notice a very distinctive sound for a copper penny, which was a high tone that ended with very small fragment of another tone. Zinc pennies don't sound the same. I can't wait to spend lots of time with this machine. It is going to a have a language even more complex than the Tejon.

As for pinpointing, it seldom seems necessary, but to do it, just flick the switch to the center position and you are in a VCO all metal mode. I do notice that the range of tones from low to high in the VCO mode is not nearly as broad as the Tejon. I use the VCO mode on the Tejon to judge depth, but that's probably not going to work so well with the Golden. That's my only criticism of this machine.

I'm still experimenting with the notch settings. After digging up a pull tab, I swung over it and flicked the switch to narrow. I then tuned the dial until the pull tab started to crackle. I think that's what you are supposed to do. Anyway, I turned the notch off until I got a signal that sounded like a slightly lower tone, but not the low tone for foil. I switched over to narrow notch, and the signal broke up. Sure enough, it was another pull tab. I will need to do a lot more testing to determine when or why I would use the wide setting.

I think overall, this machine is going to be a "winner".

Dan

 

[tabdog]

Sounds like you and Golden are hitting it off real good.

I've heard a lot of good things about the golden.

Keep up the good work,

 

[markg]

I also thought about getting a Golden as a backup to my Tejon. The notch feature would be neat to have where I live.

 

[Pap]

I'm still learning with the Golden as well. There is never a doubt when your coil passes over a penny, dime, etc. Depth is better than I had expected, and I actually like the VCO on the Golden. Like you the GB here in my area was slightly positive.
The notch mode requires some exploration as it has a wide variety of settings. Referring back to the tones I do believe that it takes practice to separate the changes in pitch and they do, at times, blend one into another.
Pap

 

[rmptr]

I really like the idea of a control for notch width, as I use the notch frequently on my machine.

Good review... will watch for more!

Thanks,
rmptr

 

[Gunnar of bradford MN]

i think you get difrent sounds whith the zinc pennys because they are all in varing states of corosion but dimes quarters ect should be consistant

 

[dan b]

continued...

I wrapped up hunting at the old school that I have been working since last fall. The last couple of visits were with the Golden only (left the Tejon in the car). This morning I pulled another 82 coins out, but very little scrap. The Golden's ability to differentiate between coins and crushed pop cans has the Tejon beat hands down. Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time with crushed pop cans and the Tejon. I was pretty pleased that I found a nice assortment of coins, including dimes and nickels. That's always a good sign that things are working well.

I find that thumbing the disc knob is just as easy as pushing the trigger on the Tejon. It already feels instinctive.

I will be adding a third Tesoro to the arsenal. I couldn't pass up a Cortes that was a demo, still with the warranty card for $150 less than new. I should have it in a week, so I'll start another topic on "Initial impressions of the Cortes".

Dan

p.s. My total for that school was 946 coins, the oldest being a 1911 "Wheatie".

 

[Pap]

Dan, like you I am just getting acclimated to the Golden but it has surprised me already. The tones are, to me, the most difficult to discern. One thing I like is running the discrimination very low and having the tones give me a clue as to what the target is. The high tone is a dead giveaway pretty much all of the time. Zinc pennies generally give themselves away by flicking the notch switch to "Wide".
Good luck in your hunting!
Pap

 

[tabdog]

Hay Dan,

I have been wanting a Tejon for a while.

But not being able to tell an aluminum can

would deffinately suck.

I have owned six different Tesoro models.

Each one with a single tone.

It is easy to tell an aluminum can with them.

That's if it's most of one. A crushed piece of a

can may be a different matter.

HH,

 

[pulltab]

so the difference between the Golden and the Vaquero are the tones and notch feature. Is this right? I assume they both weigh close enough not to matter. What would be the advantage of one over the other?
I ask cause I notice they are very close in price.

 

[Beale]

[quote pulltab]so the difference between the Golden and the Vaquero are the tones and notch feature. Is this right? I assume they both weigh close enough not to matter. What would be the advantage of one over the other?
I ask cause I notice they are very close in price.[/quote]


The Vaquero also has a manual ground balance. The golden's is preset. If you live in an area of high minerals the Vaquero will do better, Beale.

 

[Pap]

Manual GB as opposed to Fixed GB. However, the Fixed GB on the Golden can be altered internally by someone who knows the procedure which isn't all that difficult if you are careful. Mine was almost spot on when it came back from Tesoro. Just a slight bit positive with the 7 inch coil and the 9x8 coil. I will say I think the Vaquero is slightly deeper.
Pap

 

[dan b]

Hi Tabdog,

It might just be me. Perhaps I'm just missing a specific blip or crackle at the end of the beep, but I do know that with the Golden I can hear the difference loud and clear. I have one particular place that has been a nightmare with the Tejon, so I'm going to take the Golden there tomorrow. It is littered with crushed cans, and not much else from what I can tell. I don't think I will find much of value, but it will be a good testing place for the Golden. Last time I took the Tejon there I filled my pouch with scrap aluminum.

One place I think that the Tejon trumps the Golden is in all metal. The Golden seems a little vague in that mode. By that I mean that the signals don't seem as crisp and definitive as they do with the Tejon. I'm beginning to see why Tesoro categorizes their machines the way they do. I think in a farmer's field looking for relics, the Tejon would kick the Golden's butt. I'm pretty sure the Tejon would be far superior in depth too, but all the coins I find are under 6" so both machines do fine with those.

Hi Pap,

I use my Golden the same way. I keep the disc low (around the arrow) and listen to the tones. If I'm not sure about the tone, I will thumb the disc up a bit to see if it starts to crackle. I'm still not using the notch very much yet. I still need to wrap my head around that concept.

As for the Vaquero, if Tesoro gave it the tones of the Golden and kept the manual GB and superior depth, they would one of the best machines ever made, IMHO.

Dan

 

[tabdog]

Hay Dan,

I can always tell an aluminum can because I can hear the size of the target.

When it has the conductivness of a large silver coin and the size of your fist

and the screaming tone, it's almost always a pop can.

I don't dig them unless I want to remove masking or just clean a site.

I don't know when I learned that, but it just happened over time.

HH,

 

[Pap]

with those additions the Vaquero would be hard to beat!
Pap

 

[dan b]

Today I took out the Golden for a few minutes before the thunderstorms hit. I found my deepest coin to date at a measured 9". It was a 1956 "Wheatie". The soil was loose and intermixed with bark and slightly moist. I would guess that there was once a tree there. The signal was weak but consistent. It was smooth from every angle but very faint. I thumbed the disc up and lost it, but that didn't stop me. I had already decided to dig. I was, and am, very impressed with the Golden. Since originally starting this topic, I have dug close to 500 coins. I do dig pulltabs too, but we all know the deal with that. I could easily skip them, as the tones give away what is beneath. But I do want to find that elusive gold ring!

Dan

 

[trueblue]

can always tell an aluminum can because I can hear the size of the target.

When it has the conductivness of a large silver coin and the size of your fist

well Ive only been using the Tejon for a few weeks but I can pick em with relative ease just as you do tabdog

 

[dan b]

The Golden continues to do well. That little park where I dug the deep penny has given up close to 300 coins so far. The Golden loves Canadian dimes! No silver yet, but that should be just a matter of getting the coil in the right place. As far as the can slaw issue with the Tejon, it's those pesky little pieces that caused me grief. I find the Golden much better in those cases. Interestingly, I returned to the old school where the Tejon whooped my yellow fella's butt last fall, and the Golden produced more coins. I think it may be worth returning there with the Golden and reworking more of it.

Mike, if you are still following this thread, is that pdf you have of the Golden's notching still available? If so, can I get a copy of it? My e-mail address is cncdanb@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Dan

 

[dert]

I have also just started with the Golden and so far I like it , but it is taking some getting use to , I'm a coin/jewelry hunter , as far as coins are concerned it is great , for me the vertic is still out as far as it finding gold I know it will find it I'm just going to need more time with it , the notch works very well when air testing but everyone knows thats not the same as in the ground , I hope to master this machine because I think it is one of the best park/school detectors out there IMHO . If you figure out any more secrets to this machine please post them . Thanke Bert

 

[Mike Hillis]

The .pdf is to large to email but I sent you the .jpg which works just as well.

Mike