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new silver umax
- Thread starter newbe
- Start date
Can I add a little here? - well alright, a lot!
I have owned nearly every progenitor of the current line up, including Silvers. My very first detector was a Silver Sabre II and it was a goodie. Still is. The only one I like better is the SS uMax. Or the Bandido, or the Eldorado.... okay, any uMax format!
Here are some tips that will help you with your uMax model, including the Silver uMax. They were written for the uMax series, in general, but they apply to all of the units in the series. They apply to the current crop, too.
- Keep the SENS down.
These units are deep enough for 80% of usage and will sound off cleanly over good targets. There is little mistaking when you have gotten over something good. Conversely, they are good at discerning trash, but will get squirrely enough if you drive them too hard on a trashy site. You dont need it as high as you think you do. You'll find 6-9 is adequate for most uses.
- What about that MAX BOOST range, so tempting with it's nice bright orange highlight?
Save it for cleaner areas. Seriously.
- Dont bother much with the pinpoint button.
All you need is to slow down a bit to pinpoint in the DISC mode, as it works well at pinpoint speeds. When they say "slow-motion VLF" at Tesoro, they mean it. This saves time and is another benefit of using a Tesoro.
- The DISC is razor edged, as are all Tesoros.
With a little usage, you will learn where things ID at. Practice this by placing a nickle, both a square and ring pull tab and a zinc cent on clean ground.
As you sweep over these targets, increase the DISC control with your thumb (Tesoro fans call this "thumbing," or "twiddling," and it's why Tesoro puts the control where they do.)
As you do this, you will learn where your detector cuts out on each of these. When you have that down pat, mark the spot on the DISC dial for each of these targets with a little dot of bright nailpolish. A bit of flourescent sticky tape works well, too.
You have just created a reasonable TID detector! I call it "ID Ranging." This is the way I learned before I had my first graphic TID unit. This ensured I dug more, instead of peering at some screen all the danged time.
- For general hunting, set your DISC around the pre-set below nickel.
Test this on foil bits and wads. For relics go lower to "IRON or even "ALL Metal". Even at lower DISC settings, it is very good at discerning small iron bits, up to bottlecaps.
- However it will readily signal on large iron, and seems to love steel washers.
But it gives a scraggy, chop-edge sound, not at all like good targets - which always sound smooth. With practice, you'll get it.
- Slow down to "process" signals as you pinpoint sweep over them in DISC.
We're not talking a hover or crawl here, mind you. It's going to be about a third of normal hunt speed.
Learn the old fashioned "x" method of pinpointing - - and then practice to smoothly transition in and out of that mode as you process targets. Trash will come through with choppy edged sounds as mentioned above and the DISC, when thumbed up as you do this, will let you know what the target ID range is. You should strive to establish a flowing sequence to all of this, as it will improve your hunt efficiency.
- You will find the the uMax Silvers to be subtle, with nuance to their single tone.
BUT, you have to slow over targets and "process" them as told above to learn what it is telling you. After a while and some experience youll begin to predict targets well. All long-time Tesoro users understand this and do it instinctively, but it can be lost on a newcomer if no-one tells them.
- You have the ability to "SuperTune" your detector.
Others call it HyperTuning and I first learned of this in an article by Bob Stricker, more years ago than I care to mention. Here's how to do it:
Set the threshold at the usual low hum, per the instructions. Once you've done that and have established the normal "hum", mark that point also with a dot of nail polish. Now, crank it up into the higher ranges, all the way to max if you want, and then switch back into the DISC mode.
Once "SuperTuned" this way, if you get over a really deep target, the detector will overcome the DISC lower signal limit and signal stronger on that deep target.
However, there is a trade off. Several actually:
1. This will kill the ability to pinpoint in AM - or even use the feature. Switching back to all metal from silent search when hyper tuned is a real ear blaster, so watch it!
2. It will hit harder than needed on shallow targets, making it harder to discern depth.
3. It will make your detector noisy and "chirpy," especially in a congested target matrix (that's fancy talk for a trashy site).
But in cleaner areas with the potential for deep targets, such as in farmfield relic hunting or in the dry sand at the beach (this is an OPTIMUM place for it), it can be a real boon. Also, if you aren't sure about an "iffy" target, which might be deep, you can go into this mode and check it out. Cool, huh?!
- Save your clad finds until you can afford the small "sniper" coil.
Or just splurge and get one. Get a replacement lower rod for it, too, while you're at it, so you have a modular unit. In trashy sites, like a park or school, this really helps to separate out targets.
And here is my final tip to you...
- Buy the best, long trowel you can afford and make it your goal to wear it out.
You're going to like these detectors. They are simple beep/dig progressive models, but that simplicity is to your advantage. They are often overlooked and so can be had for fair prices. If you can get your hands on either a Sidewinder, Silver Sabre, or Eldorado uMax...well, you have some of the best in the bunch!
You can find lots of stuff with them, they are sheer joy to use for hours on end and you have a very capable detector at not a lot of money. That's a bargain, these days.
(C) dahut, 2008. All rights reserved.
I have owned nearly every progenitor of the current line up, including Silvers. My very first detector was a Silver Sabre II and it was a goodie. Still is. The only one I like better is the SS uMax. Or the Bandido, or the Eldorado.... okay, any uMax format!
Here are some tips that will help you with your uMax model, including the Silver uMax. They were written for the uMax series, in general, but they apply to all of the units in the series. They apply to the current crop, too.
- Keep the SENS down.
These units are deep enough for 80% of usage and will sound off cleanly over good targets. There is little mistaking when you have gotten over something good. Conversely, they are good at discerning trash, but will get squirrely enough if you drive them too hard on a trashy site. You dont need it as high as you think you do. You'll find 6-9 is adequate for most uses.
- What about that MAX BOOST range, so tempting with it's nice bright orange highlight?
Save it for cleaner areas. Seriously.
- Dont bother much with the pinpoint button.
All you need is to slow down a bit to pinpoint in the DISC mode, as it works well at pinpoint speeds. When they say "slow-motion VLF" at Tesoro, they mean it. This saves time and is another benefit of using a Tesoro.
- The DISC is razor edged, as are all Tesoros.
With a little usage, you will learn where things ID at. Practice this by placing a nickle, both a square and ring pull tab and a zinc cent on clean ground.
As you sweep over these targets, increase the DISC control with your thumb (Tesoro fans call this "thumbing," or "twiddling," and it's why Tesoro puts the control where they do.)
As you do this, you will learn where your detector cuts out on each of these. When you have that down pat, mark the spot on the DISC dial for each of these targets with a little dot of bright nailpolish. A bit of flourescent sticky tape works well, too.
You have just created a reasonable TID detector! I call it "ID Ranging." This is the way I learned before I had my first graphic TID unit. This ensured I dug more, instead of peering at some screen all the danged time.
- For general hunting, set your DISC around the pre-set below nickel.
Test this on foil bits and wads. For relics go lower to "IRON or even "ALL Metal". Even at lower DISC settings, it is very good at discerning small iron bits, up to bottlecaps.
- However it will readily signal on large iron, and seems to love steel washers.
But it gives a scraggy, chop-edge sound, not at all like good targets - which always sound smooth. With practice, you'll get it.
- Slow down to "process" signals as you pinpoint sweep over them in DISC.
We're not talking a hover or crawl here, mind you. It's going to be about a third of normal hunt speed.
Learn the old fashioned "x" method of pinpointing - - and then practice to smoothly transition in and out of that mode as you process targets. Trash will come through with choppy edged sounds as mentioned above and the DISC, when thumbed up as you do this, will let you know what the target ID range is. You should strive to establish a flowing sequence to all of this, as it will improve your hunt efficiency.
- You will find the the uMax Silvers to be subtle, with nuance to their single tone.
BUT, you have to slow over targets and "process" them as told above to learn what it is telling you. After a while and some experience youll begin to predict targets well. All long-time Tesoro users understand this and do it instinctively, but it can be lost on a newcomer if no-one tells them.
- You have the ability to "SuperTune" your detector.
Others call it HyperTuning and I first learned of this in an article by Bob Stricker, more years ago than I care to mention. Here's how to do it:
Set the threshold at the usual low hum, per the instructions. Once you've done that and have established the normal "hum", mark that point also with a dot of nail polish. Now, crank it up into the higher ranges, all the way to max if you want, and then switch back into the DISC mode.
Once "SuperTuned" this way, if you get over a really deep target, the detector will overcome the DISC lower signal limit and signal stronger on that deep target.
However, there is a trade off. Several actually:
1. This will kill the ability to pinpoint in AM - or even use the feature. Switching back to all metal from silent search when hyper tuned is a real ear blaster, so watch it!
2. It will hit harder than needed on shallow targets, making it harder to discern depth.
3. It will make your detector noisy and "chirpy," especially in a congested target matrix (that's fancy talk for a trashy site).
But in cleaner areas with the potential for deep targets, such as in farmfield relic hunting or in the dry sand at the beach (this is an OPTIMUM place for it), it can be a real boon. Also, if you aren't sure about an "iffy" target, which might be deep, you can go into this mode and check it out. Cool, huh?!
- Save your clad finds until you can afford the small "sniper" coil.
Or just splurge and get one. Get a replacement lower rod for it, too, while you're at it, so you have a modular unit. In trashy sites, like a park or school, this really helps to separate out targets.
And here is my final tip to you...
- Buy the best, long trowel you can afford and make it your goal to wear it out.
You're going to like these detectors. They are simple beep/dig progressive models, but that simplicity is to your advantage. They are often overlooked and so can be had for fair prices. If you can get your hands on either a Sidewinder, Silver Sabre, or Eldorado uMax...well, you have some of the best in the bunch!
You can find lots of stuff with them, they are sheer joy to use for hours on end and you have a very capable detector at not a lot of money. That's a bargain, these days.
(C) dahut, 2008. All rights reserved.
TonyTX(MXT)
Member
[quote newbe]my wife bought me a silver umax for my birthday;i'm new to the hobby and am dieing to try it out.does anyone out there know where i can hunt in east tennessee without getting into trouble?thanks[/quote]
You've got a great wife! The Silver is a great detector and you should do well with it. I hunt public schools, playgrounds, ball fields, rodeo areas, parks that are not prohibited. All kinds of places you can hunt, even your own yard! Keep us posted and you can always ask questions as there are plenty of good detectorist on the forum. HH TonyTX
You've got a great wife! The Silver is a great detector and you should do well with it. I hunt public schools, playgrounds, ball fields, rodeo areas, parks that are not prohibited. All kinds of places you can hunt, even your own yard! Keep us posted and you can always ask questions as there are plenty of good detectorist on the forum. HH TonyTX
Congrats!
You are gonna have loads of fun with that Silver uMax!
Most start with an icepick or sharpened skinny screwdriver for a probe/shallow digging tool.
Might as well, but they will scratch valuable coins and render them to pocket change!
A non-marking probe is excellent idea.
The Lesche is VERY popular and effective for cutting a flap, but you could also try an Ames 7 in 1 garden trowel or the Fiskar's garden knife.
Where to start?
Your own back yard is always best.
When you are able to recover a target, and leave the grass as you found it, move to the front yard.
Then the neighbors. Do NOT pass up the opportunity to do the neighbors yards!!!
From there, you can move on to parks, schools, and playgrounds.
After that, well, it's a big world out there!
HH
rmptr
You are gonna have loads of fun with that Silver uMax!
Most start with an icepick or sharpened skinny screwdriver for a probe/shallow digging tool.
Might as well, but they will scratch valuable coins and render them to pocket change!
A non-marking probe is excellent idea.
The Lesche is VERY popular and effective for cutting a flap, but you could also try an Ames 7 in 1 garden trowel or the Fiskar's garden knife.
Where to start?
Your own back yard is always best.
When you are able to recover a target, and leave the grass as you found it, move to the front yard.
Then the neighbors. Do NOT pass up the opportunity to do the neighbors yards!!!
From there, you can move on to parks, schools, and playgrounds.
After that, well, it's a big world out there!
HH
rmptr
I've written this elsewhere(non TID machines) and nobody commented. To make your silver a "notch discriminator", grab a few regular tabs(not the ones that ID as nickels) and swipe them one by one in front of your coil (make sure you're NOT wearing a ring or other jewelry). Slowly increase your disc knob until you find the point where the majority of these tabs "crackle" (break up) and carefully mark this spot on your detector-it is the only mark that has to be precise. Now, place your disc knob to just below nickels(or at low foil,your choice) and begin to hunt until you get a good signal. Now,rotate the disc knob to your mark and
1) If the target is now silent-it's in the nickel range,(2) if it breaks up-it's in the pulltab range,and (3) if it's still a good signal-it's in the coin range(zinc and above). Just in case you get in a rough area. The good thing about this method is that you don't have to move the disc knob very far or as many times. Good luck-and remember this is only for really bad areas-I would hate to cause you to miss rings because this was relied on too much-it knocks out some rings just like a regular notch detector. However, since it is not quite as accurate it will probably find MORE rings than and standard notch detector and for certain will find more coins next to junk than the standard notch detector. Whew! sorry for the long post
1) If the target is now silent-it's in the nickel range,(2) if it breaks up-it's in the pulltab range,and (3) if it's still a good signal-it's in the coin range(zinc and above). Just in case you get in a rough area. The good thing about this method is that you don't have to move the disc knob very far or as many times. Good luck-and remember this is only for really bad areas-I would hate to cause you to miss rings because this was relied on too much-it knocks out some rings just like a regular notch detector. However, since it is not quite as accurate it will probably find MORE rings than and standard notch detector and for certain will find more coins next to junk than the standard notch detector. Whew! sorry for the long post