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DeepTech

Which used detector to buy

J

Jamesb

New member
Hi,

I have been out of the hobby several years now, and have seen a few used machines on the different websites I would like to try out, original Bandido and Bandido II and the Conquistador. Wanting to keep it within $250 for used detector and headphones and hand trowel. I live near Knoxville tn where the soil is clay and in the past have gotten false signals alot in these areas with that soil. Have found civil war relics only a few inches deep I assume because of the clay stopping it from sinking. Also plan on coinshooting again. Would like to get recommendations on detectors in this price range and also what mods if any can be done on the older machines to gain depth. Thank You, James
 
I would reccomend a Tesoro Cibola you can find them at that price occasionally. Then later on get a ground balance mod done to it. I live in N.Georgia red clay soil and have dug bullets at 10" easy with one not having the ground balance mod. done to it. The older Bandidos are great machines to.
 
James,
Based on your location, clay, and your experience with a lot of falsing; I'd only recommend a detector that has a manual ground balance knob on the front panel. Need to ground balance to the soil you are hunting to reduce the falsing. That takes the Conquistador and the Cibola off the list.

Some of the forum sponsors post offers in the classifieds. Contact them and tell them what you are looking for, what your ground conditions are, and I am sure they will keep their eyes out for a good deal on a suitable detector for you.
Cheers,
tvr
 
Hi tvr,

Thanks for the info. It seems like somewhere I read something about a Conquistador being modded with manual GB but don't know where to find the info on that. I mentioned this to somebody and they told me it would void the Tesoro lifetime warranty. Hopefully I can find a used machine with manual ground balancing and keep within my budget. Thanks again, James. In the past I had a White's IDX with Mr. Bill's mod made to it, I did notice a difference in depth between that and a regular IDX.

James
 
James,
Have not had a Mr. Bill modified IDX. I hear they are pretty good detectors.

If the Conquistador is similar to the other fixed ground balance Tesoro's I've seen (Cibola, Compadre and Silver
 
For the money you can't beat the Silver umax simple to used yet it can run with the big boys with a 10x12 concentric coil, just read the reviews, 5 star enough said!
 
88junior said:
I would reccomend a Tesoro Cibola you can find them at that price occasionally. Then later on get a ground balance mod done to it. I live in N.Georgia red clay soil and have dug bullets at 10" easy with one not having the ground balance mod. done to it. The older Bandidos are great machines to.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Do you get a fair amount of false signals down in north GA? In the harder clay soil areas here that I have hunted I get a fair amount of false singals. Usually in the soil that is almost all clay here, minie balls or buttons I have found have been less then 3" deep. In soil less clay around here, I have found three ringers several inches deep.
 
I'm sure you could find a nice used Tesoro that will work swell in your area...
 
Jamesb,

When I got the used Conquistador uMax, I to inquired about putting a GB on it, as it makes a more flexable machine (better depth being one) in mineralized soil. I considered it a easy project if I did it.

After getting the information & mulling it over, I dicided to get a machine with the feachers I wanted : Tesoro Vaquero.

Why destroy the great warrenty & worth of the Conquistador uMax.

The type of hunting/soil conditions your are doing dictates the level of the machine you need. Each added feacher requires a longer learning curve to get to its full potential. That is why this great forum/arkives is such a help for everybody, weather your a Pro or a Nubie.

Good Hunting

HaRM
 
Just my humble opinion, but if were going to have just one detector, I'd definitely go for one with either true auto ground balance or manual ground balance. My preference would be for manual so that it could easily be tweaked a bit depending on conditions. However, I can also state that I've done quite well in moderate ground with several different preset ground balance machines and enjoy their turn on and go convenience for many of the areas I detect. If you look through many of the post on this forum you'll see that many have been very well served by the Bandito II
 
Just remember mod a unit and you kill the warranty...Certainly keep this in mind especially when dealing with Tesoro..A wise man thinks before he acts and this certainly fits the situation...
 
If we are talking about used detectors here, it is my understanding the warranty is only good for the original owner. I hope I am wrong on this one because I just bought a used Tejon and it is on its way. I really had to think long and hard about buying used because of the warranty.

Ron in WV
 
WV62 said:
If we are talking about used detectors here, it is my understanding the warranty is only good for the original owner. I hope I am wrong on this one because I just bought a used Tejon and it is on its way. I really had to think long and hard about buying used because of the warranty.

Ron in WV
Click to expand...


Ron you are exactly correct. It will not transfer from one owner to the next. But let's really look at what we are talking about. A used cibola, 250 give or take , mod parts +25.00

So really if it just died you would be out that much.... I found that much after one summer of detecting. So really not that big of a deal. Also with the mod you will get better porfomace too as long as its working,which could lead to better finds.

Their are too many people so scared of voiding your warranty , who cares? Its yours do as you will, and if it all goes bad just buy a new one. It's not etrac money?..... Shoot , my pinpointer , shovel, Lesche , pouch, cost just about as much as a used cibola.


I plan to mod my cibola and make a video on how to do it... If people mess up their detector trying to mod it , I bet they will learn from the mistake( humm maybe I should not have done that) ect. Thier are some comments about don't mod it because their will be a bunch of messed up used detectors going around. That's true, their will be.. Try to buy a used Xbox,iPhone,kindle fire or any android phone or tablet anywhere in the world used. Very good chance it was hacked at some point.

The best part is its perfectly within your rights and legal to do. At least the metal detecting mods anyway. :)

mike
 
I live in N Georgia too with red clay. You don't have to put a pot on your Cibola. The board is the same as the Vaquero but the GB is a trimmer inside. I ground balance the Cibola the same as you would the Vaquero. Only I hold down the pinpoint button while I bob the coil up and down. Then adjust the trimmer inside untill I get no change. It has worked wonders here. Also the disc and depth is much better.
 
DiggerDug said:
I live in N Georgia too with red clay. You don't have to put a pot on your Cibola. The board is the same as the Vaquero but the GB is a trimmer inside. I ground balance the Cibola the same as you would the Vaquero. Only I hold down the pinpoint button while I bob the coil up and down. Then adjust the trimmer inside untill I get no change. It has worked wonders here. Also the disc and depth is much better.
Click to expand...

Very good call Digger!!
 
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