NEW VAQUERO ON THE WAY

[joe dirt_1]

After trying a few different metered detectors I decided it was time to return to a beep and dig machine. After much thought on which detector I wanted, I decided on the Vaquero. From all the posts I have read about its performance I think I made the right choice.
Although the Vaquero will share duty with my CZ5, I believe the new Tesoro will see lots of use because of its light weight. The CZ5 is a great machine but it can get a little heavy.

I'd like to hear what other Vaquero owners think about their detector....is it one of the better detectors for silver coins and gold rings since it runs at 14 khz? What kind of depth can I expect from the Vaquero on a silver dime or quarter?
I have read it is important to get a precise ground balance to get the best performance out of it. Any tips would be helpful and appreciated.....thanks.

Roger

 

[hardrockminer]

joe dirt 1,

I to just bought a Vaquero to, haven't been out with it yet because I'm making a modification to the discrimination knob so it can be operated one handed (for right handed people), with your thumb so it can be rotated to check out where the object drops out or take it out of allmetal.

There was an Tesoro artical about how to use the discrimination knob to give you more information about a target + I found a picture of a knob somebody used. Theirs looked heavy, so I designed better one.

I'm making the special knob out of aluminum on my lathe to keep it lightweight.

I will report later this summer on how it works after I learn how to use the machine better at some parks & schools. (+ I'll post some pictures of the mod)

Good Hunting ______________ HaRM

 

[Minas man]

Most of my hunting is done with the pinpointing button pressed making it all metal mode as it is so sensitive and when I find a target I release the button and detector is quickly in discrimination. Other Vaquero tips use strong batterys, slower is better once in discrimination mode do not wrap coil cable too tight.

Minas man

 

[amcjavelin]

roger if your a coin hunter focus on small signals but smooth if its clipped and then smooth at times might be a deep one thumb your disc it helps alot or it does for me,

 

[Craig]

I recommend this you tube video to anyone just getting a Vaquero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L10NQcT7YDo He also has a video on super tuning the Vaquero

 

[fwcrawford]

I have a Vaquero also and it is a very good machine.
I usually just set the disc. where I feel comfortable and dig any signal that sounds decent.
It is a good idea to recheck your ground balance periodically to make sure that it is balanced and the ground is not changing on you.
You can do this by simply pushing the pinpoint button which is easier than turning the disc. knob to all metal and then having to readjust it to your previous setting.
Killer B headphones work great with this detector if you are looking for a set to use.
Later down the road you may want to invest in one of the smaller coils.. they work great and get very good depth too.
Hope this helps some,
Felix

 

[oldcoon]

I'd like to hear what other Vaquero owners think about their detector....is it one of the better detectors for silver coins and gold rings since it runs at 14 khz? What kind of depth can I expect from the Vaquero on a silver dime or quarter?

I have the utmost confidence in my Vaquero. It works very well on silver and does quite well on gold provided you remember to keep the discrimination turned down. Of course this would be true with any detector. A heavy hand on the discriminator kills the gold.

Depth? You can expect the same depth as any other top-of-the-line machine. The depth of a machine is not determined by its purchase price.

Good luck and happy hunting.

 

[joe dirt_1]

Good information guys...thanks. I was tempted to go back to a Silver

 

[locusman]

Roger, I think you will be happy with the Vaquero. It is a very stable, easy to use machine that can easily deliver the goods. Personally, I prefer concentric coils to the 8x9" elliptical that comes with the machine. The 5.5" little coil is a nice accessory for super junky spots - I would highly recommend getting one. I am also looking to get the 7" or 8" concentric next to compliment my 5.5" coil. I have been using the Vaquero for about 1 year, but other Tesoros for over 20, so I took to its abilities and characteristics very quickly. My feeling is that depthwise, the Vaquero is on par with the Silver sabre, silver umax, and any of the Golden sabre, Royal sabre models that I have used. The Tejon might have a slight edge in depth (others have posted), but I can't confirm this since I haven't owned one.

You asked about GB, and does it affect depth. The answer is that it does very much. Good ground balancing is essential for maximum depth. The GB procedure is easy to do on the Vaq though. The Vaq is really good on gold rings, other small gold items and nickels, as you would expect from any Tesoro. It also gets good depth on silver and coins. What more could we want? But I warn you, get ready to dig a lot. The Vaquero is really sensitive, and picks up just about all targets well (except iron). I wouldn't run the sensitivity above the preset level for a while, until you get the hang of its power. I often run my disc at one tick below nickel in really junky spots, and often will put the disc down to the iron level in cleaner areas - and this has served me well in the gold/nickels dept so far.

My only complaint about the machine is that I prefer AA batteries to the single 9V, battery life is much better on AA's in my experience due to their increased mAH rating, plus 9V's are getting expensive these days. I wish the Vaq had the option for AA batteries rather than just the single 9V. I do admit the single 9 is much lighter to swing all day, but I just don't like worrying about the battery running down all the time.

Anyway, I hope my comments have helped you decide whether the Vaquero is right for you or not.

Mark

 

[joe dirt_1]

Mark, thanks for your post. I'm positive the Vaquero will work great for me. Like I said earlier, I tried a few metered detectors recently (Omega 8000, Cortes, and a Minelab X-terra 305) and wasn't happy with any of them. I seem to find more with a beep and dig detector and I have had my fill of digital
metal detectors. The Minelab 305 sounded like R2D2 on acid....lol. The Cortes was nice but the meter was too jumpy for my liking. The Omega 8000 was not any better than the others. Build quality on the Omega was lacking in my opinion for the price. My Fisher CZ5 along with the new Vaquero should handle any treasure hunting I would ever want to do. The BBT is scheduled to be here on wednesday, so I will post my thoughts after my first hunt with it. Happy Hunting.........

Roger

 

[locusman]

Rog, the CZ-5 is a good choice as a second machine. I'm not much for metered machines either. The only metered ones I have owned are the CZ-7, White's DFX and the sovereign. DFX meter was very jumpy and the depth sucked, plus way too many settings to worry about...no fun to use, sold it many years back. Sovereign is a pseudo-meter machine, since the meter is optional. But the difference is the sov's meter actually works, and is stable. I still have my sov Xs-2a pro with 180 meter combo...a very, very deep coin machine...absolutely kick azz on deep silver. CZ's are deep also, I have the CZ-7 and a CZ-20, both are quite deep and are dependable, well-built machines.

As for finding coins, some fancier machines (like the CZ-5 and Sovereign) can save you time and energy because they can id pretty well, and that makes them fun to use. However, for finding gold jewelry, the beep-and-dig machines like Tesoros are king. No metered machine I have owned is what I would call "good" on gold jewelry. They are only fair at best for this use. The Sovereign is probably the best metered jewelry machine I have used. CZ would be second best. In my book, nothing can beat a tesoro for gold jewelry though.

 

[tabman]

My only complaint about the machine is that I prefer AA batteries to the single 9V, battery life is much better on AA's in my experience due to their increased mAH rating, plus 9V's are getting expensive these days. I wish the Vaq had the option for AA batteries rather than just the single 9V. I do admit the single 9 is much lighter to swing all day, but I just don't like worrying about the battery running down all the time.


Mark

I use rechargeable 9 volt batteries in all my Tesoro detectors. I start out the day with a freshly charged battery and hunt all day with it. I've hunted many a long day and have never had to change a battery. Rechargeable batteries is the way to go. I use these batteries, because they're 9.6 volts and have a low self discharge. Once charged, they hold the charge for months. PowerEX Imedion
I use this charger with them. Charger

I never worry about running out power or not getting good depth by running on a low battery.

tabman

 

[joe dirt_1]

Gold jewelry is the reason I got the Vaquero. All the gold I have found has been with a Tesoro except one 10k gold basketball charm. I figured my CZ5 with a 10 1/2" coil will get the deep old coins and the Tesoro can sniff out the gold for me. I still need to get a small coil for the Vaquero sometime soon.
I do believe the CZ5 with its operating frequency of 5 and 15 khz should be as capable finding jewelry as the Tesoro. My only wish is the Vaquero had 3 tones like the CZ5. The BBT will be here tomorrow with my new detector and I'm getting anxious.........

Roger