I've Never Owned A Tesoro, So Enlighten Me

[MarkCZ]

Here is the deal,
I've own a few different detectors over the years but I've never owned a Tesoro. I have a list of current detectors in my signature area that is a place to start off with. I'm not a new user by no means.

Lets start with something that would do the same job or better than the Fisher 1266. If I was looking at the Tesoro line up where would I be starting off at model wise?
How would that model compare in depth?
Are the Tesoro's better relic detector's or coin hunters?

Any other information about them that would help a new buyer out in buying this brand would be helpful also?

Thanks
Mark

 

[grouser]

Well it may be hard for a die hard Tesoro member to help you with your question,,,how the heck do we know what your "other" MD's are capable of doing ? Without knowing what your machine is like I can't help you find the comparable Tesoro machine. If some one here can help I'm sure they will chime in. Take a good look at the Tesoro catalog and see what they say each model is designed for. They have one for every type of hunter.,,,,one thing I can assure you of,,,, the customer service and lifetime warranty is simply UNBEATABLE on Tesoro's.

 

[fowlercharles]

Hi Mark ,I would not attempt any comparison/comments on any of the machines you have in your crew,though having used a 65 and a 66 for period of time, and having a friend with 20 years on his 66,who frequently smokes butts with it, I would say you are very familuar with finding the goodies, having used the 65&66. Then I would have to suggest that you study up on the Tejon. Some say it is similar in some ways to the 65,66. It is in several ways, though much quieter. Cool thing about any Tesoro is that, like "grouser", and any other Tesoro user,they will tell you that Tesoro Service and Warranty IS UNBEATABLE,and it has been from their beginning. Tesoro has been doing right by their customers for years, when ALL the other detector Mfg.. Companys have only now recently begun to realize just who makes their payday. That speaks a world of good for not only their product, but for their concern for those using them.That comes into play bigtime when you send that dirt hog home for some tune up and repairs. HH Charlie

 

[slingshot]

Tejon-Relics
Silver umax, Cibola, Deleon, etc-Coins
Compadre-Small gold

 

[MarkCZ]

Well, the fisher 1266 has been around sense about 1992 - 2000 and was thought of by a great number of relic hunters to be a Top Notch relic machine.
Its a land machine, (does have a water proof coil for shallow water hunting)
Its audio target ID ONLY,
Two discrimination controls, (it normally runs in Disc One and has a user toggle for switching to Disc Two)
Two levels of sensitivity (an adjustable low and an adjustable high via ONE push, pull knob)
Auto ground balance,
Comes Standard with an 8" spider coil,
LOVES deep iron,
And has a LONG record of being a VERY DEEP SEEKER!
People who have spent a lot of time running one of these claim it takes some time to learn the detectors language but after you do, it will treat you right with good finds.

The other machines I have is a different breed, but all of those have VID's systems and are geared more towards coin hunting.
The Teknetics factory named (Coin Computer from 1983)
The Fisher CoinStrike (says enough)
The Fisher F2's main Target VID system and its four tone audio is around coins.

But we can forget about the other detectors I have, I was mainly interested in a Tesoro as a more modern replacement for the Fisher 1266X (title post)

I don't really relic hunt, a mini ball, a belt buckle, barn door hinge, a rusty 57 chevy hood emblem is not things that make me all warm and fuzzy.
But I am interested in DEEP coin hunting, (Silver ones are VERY NICE)
Gold jewelry,
Not much on beaches seeing how I live in west Virginia.

And the first thing that brought me here is the talk about Tesoro's service!

Most of the pictures I've seen of them and the controls reminds me of the 1266x basic stuff with a speaker.
The reason I didn't just take off to a Tesoro's web site is I thought rather than get taken in by possible market hype FIRST, that I would come here and start with what the users say. I don't fall for marketing hype very easy, the companies always say the same crap! our detectors are the finest detectors built!
40% deeper than any other brand of detector at ANY PRICE!
I love this one!
If you get one of these you can go back and hunt those old places that you knew were hunted out and it will be like virgin ground, you will be amazed of the gold and silver YOU left behind! (You have to love that). In 1984 they said that about 1983,
1985 they said that about 1984,
86, about 85,
87 about 86,
so on and so on.
Every year the new model is INCHES deeper than the previous year (starting around as I remember 1983) and those increases pre year for near 30 years and we should be digging 1400's 1/4 cents at about 25 feet! LOL!
Company claims do not move me, users do!

So, now that I've introduced you all to my 1992 Fisher 1266x what does it sound like in Tesoro replacement?

P.S Just to note! I don't do brand bashing! That's not why I'm here.
Thanks
Mark

 

[joe dirt_1]

Mark, you have some top notch detectors already in your stable. I love the old 1200 series Fisher detectors and have used them all over the years. My experience with Tesoro detectors includes a Golden Saber, Cibola, Deleon, and Silver

 

[amcjavelin]

well i've owned quite a few of the 1200 series and if your a silver hunter do to your low freq i think the 1266 would over take the tejon because it runs at 17khz and i've owned the 1270 cz3d 1236x2 1225x and id edge, now the only thing that i'm not sure of and eventually going to try is a S.E.F coil on a tesoro and then we'll see how much depth they really add, but thats down the road, i will say with the 12 x 10 coil on the tejon is very deep it is closest built to your 1266 dual disc as well but has much better disc than the 1266, if your a coin hunter though the 10 khz tesoro machines are really good or at least in my ground and the use of all metal mode on my deleon i had you could really tell hot rocks from the good stuff

 

[MarkCZ]

Well, the fisher 1266 has been around sense about 1992 - 2000 and was thought of by a great number of relic hunters to be a Top Notch relic machine.
Its a land machine, (does have a water proof coil for shallow water hunting)
Its audio target ID ONLY,
Two discrimination controls, (it normally runs in Disc One and has a user toggle for switching to Disc Two)
Two levels of sensitivity (an adjustable low and an adjustable high via ONE push, pull knob)
Auto ground balance,
Comes Standard with an 8" spider coil,
LOVES deep iron,
And has a LONG record of being a VERY DEEP SEEKER!
People who have spent a lot of time running one of these claim it takes some time to learn the detectors language but after you do, it will treat you right with good finds.

But I forgot to include that the user's toggle switch is three position,
push it forward to toggle to disc two,
pull it back for All Metal Non Motion Pin-Point mode.

Also, I forgot about the CZ-7a Pro in my list and saying anything about it because I have it on loan to one of my brothers. But it's also coin driven as well.

I had figured that there would be a few Tesoro users here that had at lest some Fisher history.

Thanks a bunch!
And keep the information coming!

Mark

 

[Canewrap]

There's a very simple answer, a New Tejon. Don't buy used. I bought one used and it was used so hard that even after refurbishing it, it wasn't as good as the new one I now have. It gets great depth on targets and because it has such a tight pinpoint its easy to figure out if what you have is a small, deep target or not. I bought mine to relic hunt with, but now I'm coinshooting more and with its dual disc (like your 1266) its easy to use. One advantage is the manual ground balance that, if I recall correctly, is not an option on the 1266. Its real easy to check the manual gb too. Simply pull the trigger toward you once in a while and bob the coil and push the gb knob a little positive or a little negative and you're good to go. Great option in an area with real changeable ground. Also, it has more coil options than the 1266 did. But, like the 1266 you will need to spend some time with the machine and get to know the sound, but once you do figure it out, lookout as it will tell you what you need to know. I've had 4 different TID machines and 3 Tesoros, but now I'm back to using a Tesoro, because its advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages (you will dig more trash until you really learn its language, but you will dig more good targets too). I have no financial interest in this at all and I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm gushing but the Tejon is the only machine I've owned that I don't think I would trade or sell anytime soon.

 

[BarberBill]

My first thoughts for you would be either the Tejon or the Vaquero. If you have any doubts or concerns as to the mineralization in the areas you hunt, go for one of the models with manual ground balance, which both of these models have. It'll never hurt you in mild soil and can make a tremendous difference in the heavier mineralized areas.
My two bits,
BB

 

[MarkCZ]

I have no financial interest in this at all and I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm gushing but the Tejon is the only machine I've owned that I don't think I would trade or sell anytime soon.

Hey, no need to be sorry! you stated your view without bashing and you did it very well (I had to look up the meaning of "Gushing" LOL )
"Uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm"

Mark

 

[MarkCZ]

Here is a picture of the 1266x for the interested. Its an old design, but it shows the relative control layout.
It operates at a single frequency = 4.8KHz

Mark

 

[Sven]

Buy a Tesoro Tejon and let us know how many other detectors you own you decide to sell off.

Welcome to Tesoro Island, you can never leave.

 

[ByroninTn]

I have been using a Tejon since they first came out. I use a 10"X12"DD coil and get fantastic depth with it. The Tejon is a relic hunters metal detector.

One thing everyone forgot to mention is the Tejon and Cibola have a "Boost" mode.

 

[bulletman]

I'll agree with Sven! Buy a Tejon - it is the most sensitive and deepest monster out there. A joy to use as all Tesoro detectors are. What I do know is this - if I see someone out detecting, and they are using a Tesoro, then I know they are fairly serious with detecting. They just work superbly, and the learning curve is minor compared to some other brands. I've owned them all over the past 2 decades, but Tesoros are my mainstay.


Bulletman

 

[MarkCZ]

Buy a Tesoro Tejon and let us know how many other detectors you own you decide to sell off.

Welcome to Tesoro Island, you can never leave.

LOL!
Well the short of how I came to have all these detectors.
A long time ago I had a Teknetics 9000/B (LCD display) one problem those old 9000's had was the displays would go bad and by then the original Teknetics company had gone out of business. I really liked that detector, but it was going bad so I sold it and bought the Fisher CZ-7a Pro and I set on that for a number of years (I get in and out of detecting)

A little History about Teknetics...
(The new Teknetics is just an up-rise from the name but is really First Texas, they have the rights to the Teknetics name because the last thing that Teknetics did before they went under was to buy Bounty Hunter, Teknetics fell, First Texas acquired Bounty Hunter and the rights to Teknetics)

Well I have two brothers that are now both retired, my oldest brother is the biggest on detecting and has kept some kind of high end detector sense the early 80's. The other brother had a detector (only one) back around the mid 80's but sold it and dropped out of detecting. Well being retired he starting talking about some places that he would like to hunt and being the good sport I am I decided to let him use my CZ. So my two brothers starting making plans to hunt.
Well, I got the itch again. But I never got over my love for that old 9000/B and how good it was. Well I ran across the 8500 on ebay and had to have it, if nothing else to see for myself how the old detectors stacked up to the more modern ones (the 8500 is basically the same detector as the 9000 was except the 8500 has an analog meter)

That got me shopping again, I starting liking the VID (numeric ID's) so I liked the CZ7, and the Coinstrike is supposed to be an upgrade for the CZ and it has Numeric ID, that's how I ended up with the Coinstrike.

During the shopping I ran across the coolest little detector for around $200.00 that I thought would be good for "Cherry Picking" and maybe for the grandson to use. And so I ended up with the Fisher F2.

Oh, the fisher 1266! My neighbor who I help out from time to time with his computer and his car seen that I was into metal detecting and one day he came across my yard carrying a metal detector, that was the 1266, he said I could have it!

The detector that I will probably sell first is the Teknetics.
If I get the CZ back that would most likely be the next to go.

Mark

 

[Furious T]

I agree with several others; the Tejon is a great machine with very good depth and a wide selection of coils. If you are after a TID metered machine, the DeLeon would be a good start. No ground balance and no frills, be power and accuracy. HH

 

[Furious T]

I agree with several others; the Tejon is a great machine with very good depth and a wide selection of coils. If you are after a TID metered machine, the DeLeon would be a good start. No ground balance and no frills, but power and accuracy. HH

 

[joe dirt_1]

Mark, keep the cz and dump that coinstrike. The engineers at fisher had their heads up their asses when they designed that detector.

 

[MarkCZ]

Mark, keep the cz and dump that coinstrike. The engineers at fisher had their heads up their asses when they designed that detector.

Hey Joe dirt_1
I sent you a PM looking for more information about the CS, didn't want this thread to wonder to far off topic!

Mark