Just In Case You Didn't Already Know - This Is Why Tesoro Compadre Users Are So Happy:smile:

[tabman]

Take a sip of Tesoro Kool Aid. It taste really good.

tabman

WOW----I thought all you guys was talking it up about how great the Compadre is---and now you would rather have a small coil for the Vaq than a Compadre??

I also own and hunt with both, a Vaq and the 5.75 coil AND a Compadre.
I could not even wrap my head around the thought of not owning and using both, and if you tried to take either one away from me I would be forced to hurt you bad with my sharpened up Lesche digger.

From the day I first swung my Compadre I have tried to get the point across to everyone that no matter what you swing or how many types and sizes of coils you have adding a Compadre to the arsenal is going to be one of the smartest thing you could ever do in this hobby.

Here are my reasons why I Have to own both and I hope this will help in your decision.

Vaquero and the 5.75" coil.

Depth.
I do own a 7" coil Compadre and the sense is turned up to max internally and this is a surprisingly deep unit set up this way as is the 8" coil model that I borrowed and tried for a few weeks this summer.
However the Vaq and the sniper coil is a little deeper, just about as deep as the Vaq and my standard 9X8 and even my 10X12 DD coil which beats my Compadre depth by a bit more.
Not only that, but by using the Vaq you have the extra ability to manual GB, an asset even if you hunt in low mineralized soil, and also the option of going super deep hunting in all metal and using the threshold.

Compadre.

Extreme sensitivity.

Because of the throwback circuitry that the Compadre has on board, old style that is not the high gain-low noise type that most others use nowadays, the sensitivity is sometimes so amazing it is hard to believe.
I have only been hunting with my Vaq and sniper coil for about a month and I have not come across any teeny-tiny chains with it yet so I could not tell you how good this thing is with those, but I do suspect it is going to be pretty darn good on these target types...better even than when using the bigger coils.
On the other hand the Compadre I own has found me many chains including some so thin and small it is almost unbelievable that they can be picked up at all...and in air testing with other detectors and larger coils they can't.
I am hoping the Vaq and the sniper is Compadre good at doing this and I think it might be but until I find and dig a small chain up I don't know for sure.
The Compadre is proven in this area and finds me chains of all types, sizes, configurations and metals so easy and effortlessly it is like it is from another world.

Regarding the sensitivity, the Vaq is supposed to be 180 ED but in the real world it is not.
It is something more like 165 ED.
The Compadre on the other hand is a true 180 ED unit, I believe this one and the Tejon are the only 2 units that Tesoro makes that are.
In all metal both will certainly pick up, well...all metal, but the Vaq's compression in the range that it picks up is different than the Compadre and I think also is a big reason the Compadre is such a sensitive unit in both all metal and in disc and especially at a site with iron.
Check out Goes4ever's post here.
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?17,1963234

We all know how good he is with an E-Trac, and how many great things he can find, but the blazing speed of the Compadre, (like all of the Tesoros), PLUS its non-compressed iron area will still will still make it a bit better than the Vaq and its slightly compressed iron range I would think.

Discrimination ability

They are both great in this area, pretty much sharp as a razor and I am the type of hunter that thumbs that knob up and down big time to try to figure out the target before I dig.
Love the Vaq and its disc, I really do, but the Compadre is just a little bit sharper and better and a tiny bit more accurate in my opinion.
Some might not notice this tiny difference if they use both...but I do.
Almost like surgical precision when using the Compadre.
The Vaq is very close using the standard 9X8" and when the sniper coil is mounted, but there is still a slight difference.

Hunting next to big iron.

If there is one thing that I could zero in on that would be the best reason to use a Compadre it is this.
My Compadre is so hot that I can't get near a fence post, tot lot iron or bench legs without it going off at least a foot away.
I have seen videos about how close people can get to these things using all sorts of detectors and small coils and read about techniques that are used by many hunters with many detectors to do this, but I am of the opinion that nothing out there is as good or can get as close to or as deep to find targets next to these as the Compadre...nothing.
If you swing at just the right speed there will always be a double beep to let you know there is a target in the vicinity...even something virtually leaning on one of these iron objects.
My hyped up Compadre will do it, the 8" coil Compadre can do it and they will both do it very easily.

I have been trying like crazy to see if my Vaq and the sniper can do it to but no matter what I try, lowering the sensitivity, swinging at all different speeds, moving the coil toward these large iron objects from all angles I just can't get the Vaq to do this at all.
I will keep trying but the Compadre has the ability to do this as easily as it can pick up a shallow coin in the open...it is that good.

Most of my tot lots are hunted out in my area, they are usually so clean it is scary and I suspect there are hunters around here that comb these things well.
As good as they are I always can find plenty of targets next to the big iron in these super clean sites because evidently none of these guys use a Compadre to hunt them or even if they do they don't know about this double beep ability.
I once found a Canadian Loony that was 1/2" away from an 8 foot diameter piece of iron holding up a large tot lot structure and this coin was also about 4-5" deep.
Who knows how long this thing was laying there, who knows how many others missed it and never suspected it was even there, but it is not there anymore because my Compadre found it efficiently and easily.
I wonder how many great jewelry items like gold rings are laying right next to big iron like this out there.
Probably a lot, but unless someone comes by with a Compadre I believe they still are and will always be laying there...forever.

I have several detectors and not only do I love switching around and using them all I bought each one for specific reasons.
No golfer has just one club, no detector can do it all 100%.
These detectors and coils we use are tools and the more tools you have the more chance you have to find that next great thing if they are used correctly.

Buy the sniper coil for the Vaq and find something great with it, then cash it in and buy a Compadre.
Then and only then will you have the best of all worlds at your disposal.

 

[tabman]

Beep and dig huh? Take another sip of the Kool Aid.

tabman

Hi all, I'm basically starting new to metal detectors. The last detector I used was in the 70's that I bought from Radio Shack, Now I just bought a Compadre, I went though the manual and I was reading and looking for what all the settings were. the manual needs to go though them better. I took it out in my yard to experiment, I took a gold ring, quarter and a nickel to start with. It has good depth. Then me and my daughter took it in the front yard at All Metal, we had a great time and dug a lot of junk! My questions are what setting do I use to find gold or silver at?
If I move the dial to Pull Tabs will that remove all reading them and what else? Any help or tips would be appreciated.


Ken

Man. I can't even list all the the things I have learned using my Compadre and what it can do.
It is one of several detectors I own and use and one of my greatest assets in my arsenal especially for specific sites, circumstances and conditions.

To answer your silver and gold question I will post a few pics because they really are worth 1000 words.
Keep in mind most silver rings and larger items won't disc out and will act like dimes or quarters depending on the size, but smaller items like small silver earrings could easily disc out lower at the zinc area.
Chains are always strange, something called Eddy currents and physics will make these show up nowhere near the top end like rings and silver coins and could come in anywhere from iron to zinc so be aware of that.
Gold can come in anywhere and everywhere from iron up to zinc also depending on size, position in the ground and alloys and in rare cases higher if it is large or pure.


Also this is something I wrote awhile ago trying to help out someone new that was confused when they first got their Compadre.
Maybe this will give you an overall view on how to hunt the Tesoro way.
Correlate this info with the picture below that shows the VDI scale and where different metals show up for all detectors in our little universe and learn these positions well.

Here is where metals will show up on your dial.

The way you figure out what you are digging before you dig it, which is never 100% by the way, is to "thumb" that disc knob and figure out where the metals in the range you see in the picture go away or "disc out".

*Tip*....It is more accurate to turn the knob way up and then turn it down slowly as you are swinging over the target and stop at the area where you hear a tone come in, than to turn it up until it fades out.

Now you have done this and lets say it was silent till you got to the zinc mark.
Now you have a clue, and this hobby is all about taking all your clues and putting them together to make an educated guess.
From studying the picture, you remember that this zinc area should sound off if you have a zinc penny or other zinc item, an Indian head penny, a screw-cap or gold.
Might be some other things like can slaw, but it could be one of the first four, too.
Maybe you want to switch to all metal, now, and run your coil around the target area and try to size the target.
Where does the tone sound loudest and then fade out?
Hit it from a different angle and try to get a picture in your mind on how big it is...coin size, maybe a little bigger?
In all metal or turning it back below zinc on the disc knob, how loud does it sound when you scan it?
Really loud, maybe medium loud or softer?
This gives you a clue on the depth.
Another depth trick is lift the coil and swing over it.
Do you lose it at 3 inches above the ground, 4-5?
If you know your limit of your detector, and subtract the height of your coil above the target where it goes silent, this can give you approximate depth.

Now you decide to whip your coil over the target real fast and see if the tones stay solid from all angles or breaks up.
If it breaks up it could be trash, if not, still might be a good target.

All of these techniques are aimed to give you clues, and those clues will lead you to an educated guess and that will lead you to digging a hole...or not.

As you put in your time, you also start to hear slight differences in that tone.
A zinc penny might sound very solid and full and the same all the way through, but a screw-cap might not sound so full.
Maybe you noticed after locating and scanning hundreds of these that a screw-cap doesn't stay full, but maybe breaks a little right at the end.
It gets a little fuzzy.
You never could tell the difference at the beginning, but now, after much practice, you can hear that difference, and so you have another good clue as to what you might have sitting in the ground below you.

Solid tone, rings true, no breaking of the signal, small like a coin, really loud tone, can raise the coil pretty high before it fades out...I think this is a zinc penny that is about 1 inch down...then you dig it...and it is.
Or maybe not, like I said, not 100% in this hobby...ever...but you cut your odds down some on digging trash, and you made a good guess.

It's a process.
As you progress, your guesses get better.

The universe must be laughing at us that do this hobby because it made so many bad things ring up in the same areas as so many good things.
Aluminum hangs out where the high tone coins do.
Nickels and gold live in the same neighborhood as pull tabs...as a matter of fact, gold seems to live in almost all the neighborhoods.
Nobody is perfect, we all dig lots of trash, but the better you get the less trash you dig and the more treasure you find.

Study the picture, know your metals and where they line up in relation to your disc knob.

Then practice, practice practice.
Really listen and try to remember that tone you hear before you dig a target, then remember what target you dug after that specific tone.
It takes time for your instincts to kick in and this stuff becomes second nature, but it will eventually happen.
Once you dig enough holes.

That's how I do it.

HH

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?17,1964419

 

[REVIER]

Thanks for the re-post, Tab.
A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, some say, but in this hobby it can only be an asset.

Also, I guess I really am a happy sort of fellow.

 

[D&P-OR]

Where Monty "tha man" at in all this???

 

[hunter12]

Amen , on the compadre. Makes you get into the machine more.

 

[REVIER]

Where Monty "tha man" at in all this???

Tabdog is the one that I wish was still on the forums.
He is the best one ever with the Compadre, hands down.

 

[slingshot]

Where Monty "tha man" at in all this???

Tabdog is the one that I wish was still on the forums.
He is the best one ever with the Compadre, hands down.

Yeah-he got his info from Monte and then used his skills as a contractor and locating things electronically to take the Compadre to the next level. I especially liked his posts on "Compadre finds prehistoric dollar", and dollar bill ID for his Vaquero. Most enetertaining were the photos attached to each post. I really enjoy the fact that I don't see ONE Compadre in my area, and I'm hoping you guys will quit posting this so much.

 

[ken ward]

That sure is a great post. I hope more people read it. Should put it on the Mine Lab form.... KEN

 

[BarberBill]

The Compadre is the perfect justification for the statement "Less is more".
BB

 

[slingshot]

That sure is a great post. I hope more people read it. Should put it on the Mine Lab form.... KEN

LOL. But it's legal and respectful on the forum it's posted on. And I've found out no matter what, there's gonna be those who have different needs for different locations and they're just not gonna agree. But we can all agree it's a great hobby.

 

[D&P-OR]

Yes siree----That's the ONE THING we can ALL agree on----"IT'S A GREAT HOBBY"!!

That sure is a great post. I hope more people read it. Should put it on the Mine Lab form.... KEN

LOL. But it's legal and respectful on the forum it's posted on. And I've found out no matter what, there's gonna be those who have different needs for different locations and they're just not gonna agree. But we can all agree it's a great hobby.

 

[tabman]

Now this is really interesting.

Since most detectors can't detect within a foot of a metal pole there should be lots of goodies accumulating over the years next to those poles and fences.

People naturally put stuff next to something when they lay things down.

A good place to look would be next to goal posts, basketball goal posts, volleyball net posts and metal fencing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmWzTo4GCak

tabman

 

[REVIER]

Yea, this is testing I did with a borrowed 8" coil model, my 7" coil works just as great and I assume the 5.75" coil will do it easily, also.
I can't get my Vaq and any coil I own including the sniper to do this.

Swing at just the right speed and you can find targets not just near big iron but actually leaning right up against this big stuff, something that amazes me every time I see it in the field which has happened to me a couple of times.

 

[richbat]

Yep the 5.75 will give off that same sound,been there and done it many times.

 

[wv digger]

Great video Tab, thanks

WV

 

[tabman]

Dan just bought his 9 year old daughter a Tesoro Compadre: http://www.findmall.com/read.php?17,1968633

tabman