One last issue I'm having with the Vaquero

[USArmyParatrooper]

Sorry, lots of questions.

OK, discrimination mode.....

In air tests the disk is still giving an audio signal for a copper penny (pre-1982) and an iron skillet, even with the discrimination knob maxed out. Is it a defective unit or am I misunderstanding the way it's supposed to work?

 

[Jerry Ga.]

Feel free to ask questions, we are all here to help. The discrimination circuit of almost all detectors will not blank out coins except for zinc pennys.

And large iron, like the skillet overcomes the disc even at the highest setting. This is not a bad thing. In the field you might detect an iron box which could very well contain

coins or something else of value. Relic hunters do not want to disc out large iron either. Your Vaquero is a great detector and has a very high rating.

With practice and experimenting everything will fall into place.

 

[USArmyParatrooper]

Thanks, Jerry. I'm not doubting my purchase as I've read nothing but great reviews on the Vaquero. I'm more or less trying to make sure I bought a properly functioning unit and learn how the controls work.

So if I'm understanding you correctly a copper (not all are copper) penny will still trigger an audio signal? A silver Morgan did the same.

Here's what I'd like to find...

Silver, copper and nickel are my priorities. And though I don't think it's realistic if I happen to hit gold that would be good, too.

As you might have guessed coins are my focus, so what discrimination level would you recommend?

 

[Jay Evans]

Use a small nail when air testing. Always remember that all targets when in the ground for years, will develop a halo of some sort..... some worse than others and the worst one is Iron. a small nail having been in the ground for years will have a considerable rust halo built up in the soil around it. this can make the nail detectable and can be as big as a small saucer plate in the ground after all that time there in state of decay. It will be seen by the Vaquero but the sound it will make will be distinct, and after your ear has been trained to understand what each target sounds like you'll know when you've hit those types of targets. Myself I know that Iron targets can mean a few things that can be good.... is it an older square type nail? that means you're into some areas that can hold some precious relics........ for now I'd say to gig it all.... I'd hunt with the discriminate just above Iron and dig repeatable signals and try to train your ear on what each target sounds like when the Vaquero hits it. It's really the only way you're going to develop that ear for what the Vaquero is saying to you.
Good Luck, you have a very capable detector ....... & don't get discouraged there are no dumb questions when you start out in this hobby.

 

[Jerry Ga.]

You will need to keep your disc set below nickel. At this setting you will have to contend with pulltabs, large foil and aluminum junk but you will get all but the very smallest gold items also.

Remember, the lower you can run your discrimination the more good targets you will find and at better depth. But some sites are so trashy that some folks elect to turn the disc up and just go after coins.

A small coil is a great choice to use in heavily trashed sites like yards and parks.

 

[mattw]

Also, bear in mind that you are in the air. Disc is designed to work in the dirt. My golden is the same way in the air.

Matt

 

[oldcoon]

I n 40 years of metal detecting I have found most guys who run a large coin count run on minimum discrimination, and dig all or most all signals.

They come home with bags full of trash.

Their coin pouches are usually full too.

When I am strictly coin shooting I run with Senor Vaquero's discriminator set on the lower regions of iron.

Having previously ground balanced, I crank my threshold way up to better hear any faint signals.

By using these settings I am hunting in silent search discriminate but when the coil passes over a target the signal comes across loud and clean.

This is better for tone analysis and interpretation.

 

[locusman]

USArmyParatrooper, I have been reading your various posts about the Vaquero. I have actually only owned a Vaquero for about 1 month, but I've also owned about 15-20 different detectors the last 20 years I've been detecting. The Vaquero is a little bit different than some other Tesoro machines I agree. It is quite sensitive, but believe me, I can see the potential for good finds with it. I have found it to be very sensitive on gold jewelry and quite good on getting coins at impressive depths.

One thing I've noticed is that all the UMax tesoro models are very sensitive units, and some new users are overwhelmed by this. So, my advice while you are "getting your feet wet" with it, back off the sensitivity level to about 7-8 or even lower according to your preference and put the disc control up a little bit (definitely above iron but below pulltab) and listen for clean, distinct signals for your first few hunts to get comfortable with the machine. This is much easier to do if you have the smaller coil (5.75") on it rather than the 8x9" elliptical stock coil. I don't agree with Tesoro offering this coil by default - I like the concentric coils much better for pinpointing ability and depth. The 8" donut coil is also a good choice. I hear there is also a 7" concentric, but I don't see much difference between 7 and 8 - so I would recommend the 8.

I feel that the elliptical coil is much more susceptible to "false" signals and does not pinpoint nearly as well as a concentric coils - and to be honest, is not the best coil to use until you have some experience with the machine. In my case, I started with the 5.75" coil almost exclusively for the first 3 weeks, and just now I am starting to use the elliptical coil. When I bought my unit used, the guy I bought from was offering both coils as part of the package. I'm really glad he did that. Currently, I'm actually considering trading the 8x9" coil for the 8" donut - I have the ad on the classified forums, but so far there are no takers.

Large iron is a problem with just about all machines - just about all of them would pick up a skillet or larger iron piece with a large signal no matter what the disc setting used was. Smaller iron, though, you will begin to notice the tell-tale "crackly" hits that nails and rusty bottlecaps will produce, and this should help you avoid digging them with the Vaquero. Coins, tabs, rings, and other normal-sized targets should give a distinct, strong response on the Vaq, the exception being deeper dimes, which give a softer hit than most coins, at least in my experience with it. All pennies should hit hard on the Vaq at almost any setting used (even max disc). Rings you will see can pick anywhere from iron (really small, thin rings) to foil (small/medium rings) to pulltab and nickel (medium/large rings) to coin (large/very large rings). I have noticed a good degree of overlap on discriminate points on the Vaquero - for instance, even if you set the disc at nickel doesn't mean that you will never find nickels - a few always seem to hit higher on the scale than they should and will still be found. This effect is more evident for tabs - probably because there are so many varieties of them and they all pick up a little bit different than each other.

Anyway, I'm rambling on here. You have a good machine, and I don't anything is wrong with it. Just take some time and keep using it often, and with experience, your finds and your level of confidence with the Vaquero will improve. I would strongly consider getting the 5.75" coil though, it is very easy to pinpoint with and recover targets with, especially in really junky areas. And it can still get plenty of depth - coins/tabs/rings at 6-7" are no problem with the small coil, but you must have your ground balance set properly to get max depth with this machine. I cannot stress the GB settings enough - they are very important for optimal performance with the Vaquero - the manual explains this process pretty well, but if you get stuck, I can give you some tips on it.

Anyway, I hope these tips help you.

Sincerely,

Mark

 

[mrwilburino]

This is how a lot of tesoro owners set their discrimination level: get a nickel and a pulltab; start detecting over the nickel with the disc knob at the iron setting. You should be getting a strong signal. While you're doing that, slowly turn the disc knob clockwise until the signal cuts out. Mark that spot on your detector. Now do the same with the pulltab and mark the spot where it cuts out. When you're out hunting, set the disc at the first line above iron (unless you're relic hunting). If you're in a really trashy area you might want to start at the second line. When you hit a target, begin turning the knob clockwise. If the signal cuts out at the nickel mark then there's a good chance that it's a nickel - dig it. If the signal continues on but cuts out at the pulltab mark then you probably have a pulltab (or possibly a ring) - dig it or don't dig it. Anything beyond that point could be a good target. As locusman said, there's a lot of overlap and jewelry can fall just about anywhere in the spectrum so choose your targets carefully.

 

[Jay Evans]

I'd say dig it all till you develop your skills with it.... it's the only sure fire way you will become proficient with it anyway.......

 

[synthnut]

Good advice Jay .......Dig everything but before you do , get the sound of your detector in your head so you will remember next time what you dug .....This is the learning curve you will deal with in the beginning ......The more you dig, the more you'll learn ..... Beep , Dig , and learn !!.....Jim