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GB_Amateur on 11-11: Just a few more questions, I promise! ... Okay, unless you have more as they can always be welcome.  Be careful when you say "I promise."  What if I was to say something like,  I'll keep all my Forums posts and replies short.  I promise!  There's a good chance no one would believe me. :laugh:

 

GB_Amateur on 11-11: I just (quickly) read the Vaquero manual on the Tesoro website.  A couple things I noticed which I'd like clarified/confirmed:

1) Is the all-metal mode really non-motion?  If so, is there a difference between actually switching to all-metal (temporarily) when hunting in discriminate mode and just using the pinpoint button?  And does the pinpoint button even do anything (extra) when you're in all-metal already? ...No.  The Vaquero's All Metal mode does require motion because it employs a fast Auto-Tune circuitry.  Most Tesoro's, such as the Silver Sabre microMAX, have Auto-Tune in their selected All Metal more or in a Threshold-based All Metal Pinpoint function, but it is a little slower threshold-retune speed than the Vaquero which has a faster Auto-Tune in either the selected All Metal or the momentary Pinpoint function.

No, not really.  If you are in All Metal mode and you select the momentary Pinpoint button, you may experience a very tiny bit of thumb joint and muscle exercise, but accomplish nothing else by doing so.  When the vaquero was first introduced I bought three of them, for me and two friends, and I checked them all in-the-field on some located targets just to see if there was any difference.  There wasn't.  Nothing I or my fields could perceive.

 

GB_Amateur on 11-11: 2) The manual says 10-20 hours battery life (for the single 9V).  Is that your experience?  If so this sounds like a great application for rechargeable 9 volt batteries.  The non-rechargeables ain't cheap.  ... I never use rechargeable batteries for a few reasons:

 I prefer a decent alkaline battery, and that doesn't mean it has to be Duracell or Energizer.  I never use Ray-O-Vac, but that's due to poor experiences with them and consumer magazine reported testing from the latter '80s and early '90s.  I will use the two brands I mentioned, and I also have had good battery duration from 9V batteries I have bought from Lowe's, Tractor Supply, and my local Western Family Thriftway store brand.

Many times, I have found rechargeable batteries that are just a bit over-sized than most alkaline batteries.  Some are too long, maybe too wide, and too thick, and if too thick they can prevent a battery door from fitting.  When too lengthy they over-compress the + & - contacts in the detector, and that can lead to a standard-size alkaline battery cutting on-and-off from improper contact.

 I also don't care for most rechargeable batteries that have a shorter run-0time than alkaline batteries, and also seem to quit or die out almost suddenly and without warning compared to a good alkaline battery.

 Good alkaline batteries always give me 20 hours of run-time or more.  Often much more!  I use headphones always and that benefits battery operating time a little, too.

Monte

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SteveJJ on 11/11: I'm curious if the Black and Standard are the same circuitry and only differ in the color and coil they come with. ... Black or Gray rod version, both use the same circuitry and the only difference in performance from one to another would be attributed to the coil mounted and settings used.

 

SteveJJ on 11/11: I looked to see if the black coil was sold separately on Tesoro.com but they don't list any separate coils, so I couldn't get an answer to that. ... It's listed on the Tesoro website as: ...

11X8" Widescan (includes scuff) S-11X8W-SC-D 3' $159 $12

And the 'SC' in the description describes it as the standard Short Cable offering.  It can also be purchased with the Long cable, the 'LC' coil, if you have a good reason for the extra cable length.  Finding one ios more up to the dealer who does or doesn't stock Tesoro's accessories.

 

SteveJJ on 11/11: I was thinking of selling my (gray) Vaquero once I got the F75, but it may just live in my trunk as a quick grab machine. It certainly is nice and light! ... ALWAYS have a good Tesoro in your personal detector arsenal, that's been my opinion for 34 years now since I took I  the Tesoro line for personal use.  I have several all-time favorite Tesoro models, and I'll hope to get my Bandido II µMAX back, but for now I have the non-TID detector needs covered with my Mojave, Silver Sabre µMAX and Vaquero.  If I am making a short trip somewhere, out shopping, running to visit someone, going bird or game hunting, etc., etc., I like to have at least one favorite Tesoro with me.  The Vaquero can serve you well when the time is right.

Monte

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RickUK on 11/12: Interesting topic especially as i also have a Vaquero but its the UK version called the 'Laser Trident11 Extreme' the difference here is that the normal UK Vaquero ie Trident 11 is basically the same as the US Vaquero.

What makes the 'Extreme' version which is a modded version made by the UK service/repair centre Pentechnic is that it has been slightly modified inside and also a few other additions,fine tuning and basically its a 'steroid' version of the standard Vaquero,the freq is 18.5khz or possibly 19khz i stand too be correct on the 19 khz comment,but this is mainly aimed at our small silver hammered coinage and that is the main reason over the 14khz of a normal version of the machine,also it has the higher tone modification and also has a fixed and manual GB facility,one other major visual difference is that they also have the 'Tejon' battery box on which is 8x1.5v rather than the 1 9v battery. ... Rick, I had heard about an operating frequency difference and just checked a Pentechnic as that reads as follows:

New features include:
12v Battery System - 14Khz search frequency
Hi-Tone audio and more.......

 MicroMAX design - All metal mode - Microprocessor technology - Frequency shift 
 Silent search Disc mode - Ground Balance Control - Fixed or adjustable ground balance

11"x 8" 2D Widescan Searchcoil OR 8.5" 2D Widescan Searchcoil


Price includes Coil Cover, Batteries & UK delivery

I think someone made an error at some point because most of what I have heard from people over in the UK, as with this Pentechnic ad, is that the Trident II Extreme works at a similar frequency to the USA offered Vaquero.  That would be 14.5 kHz in the center toggle position, and 14.3 or 14.7 if it is off-shifted to the left or right.

Also in their ad the said they modified it to the ED-180 Discriminate rather than the standard ± ED-165

 

RickUK on 11/12: Mine came with the 11x8 coil on although you can of course stipulate the 9x8 Concentric coil or even any other coil combination as you wish,but i was not sure about the 11x8 coil for some time,but it has grown on me over time,i also have and use alot the NEL Snake coil 6.5x3.5'' for really trashy roman/saxon sites this combination on the trashy sites makes it a deadly combination,especially when you have a field that has roman hob nails on from the roman shoes,but the small coil allows you too pluck decent roman coinage from between these beds of nails.... I like the 8X11 DD  in wide-open areas, and it can achieve some respectable depth-of-detection.  Most often, however, I prefer the smaller 6" round Concentric coil.  I have used some of the mid-sized coils from NEL and CORS, and have a CORS Fortune, new in the box, to go with a new Vaquero I am going to sell.  I know a lot of folks like the mid-sized DD coils, but I don't use them on any Tesoro models.  Only the 6" Concentric, the 7" Concentric on the Mojave, and the 8X11 DD on my Vaquero.

 

RickUK on 11/12: One of the main reasons that i bought a Vaquero or UK variation is that its ultra lightweight even with the 11x8 coil on it,i have wrist problems with my detecting arm and it makes no odds how hard i try with the other arm which is good,it just aint happening,the left arm just does not do the same as my regular detecting arm.Also of course the legendary Tesoro/Laser discrimination albeit its really optimised when using a Concentric coil but its pretty good also with the WS coils as well.... For over half-a-century I have used many detectors, and as light as the newer Tesoro models can be, I just can't get my left arm & hand to work a detector and coil like my well-trained right arm and hand do.   As I mentioned, I use Concentric coils most of the time, and prefer them in trashier sites I hunt.  The 8X11 RSDD coil isn't too bad, but my aging and falling apart old self does limit the duration I can work the Vaquero with that coil.  If you have the Trident II Extreme in the Tejón rod and battery configuration, that little extra battery housing and weight might help with some of the nose-heavy feel I get from the 8X11.

 

RickUK on 11/12: It will never be my main machine,no Tesoro will ever achieve that for sure,its a site specific use machine in my book and its good for that use only really,do i have other machines ?? yes i do infact i have many many machines once again some are for everyday use like say my Deus and T2,but i also have site specific use machines as well for depth ie hoard hunting that crown belongs too my Nexus machines and also Pulse machines for a couple of very highly mineralised sites,and a tremendous selection of coils for these detectors that i own/use,are they all used the answer is 'yes' of course some are used many times during the year and other's just a few times but the all earn there keep in some way.... Like you, my Tesoro models serve more specific applications for me.  I parted with my T2 and White's and other makes and models in January of '15 when I switched my Target ID/Tone ID detector team over to the Nokta FORS CoRe.  I still have a White's MX5 in my Specialty-Use battery where I assigned the Makro Racer 2, but my Primary-Use Detector team is made up of my CoRe, Relic and two Impacts by Nokta along with my three Tesoro models.

 

RickUK on 11/12: The Vaquero is a good reliable lightweight workshorse and brings a smile and alot of enjoyment factor when i use it,does it find me anything ?? yes' of course it does,with our rich historical heritage in the UK it has found me some very nice finds as like all my other detectors as well.We are very luck in having as much history as we do here,if i am honest we tend too take it for granted.... Yes, you do have some long-time history of lost or buried finds to search for compared to here in the USA or many other countries.  I wish I could spend a detecting season over there just hunting away.  And I agree, the Vaquero or its UK cousin, can serve us all very well in the right location at the right time with the right settings and coil.

Monte

 

 

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Had about 30 minutes at lunch today, decided to hit a quick and close tot lot.  $0.14 in clad, a Tow Mater toy car (not pictured), and my Vaquero's first gold!  A child's 10k ring.  Came in like a wadded up gum wrapper (of which I have many in my pocket as well).  Not sure my Minelabs would have picked this little guy up (will do some testing when I get a chance at home).  Viva Vaquero.  Hopefully the first of many gold finds.  HH.  Tim.

20171120_125646-886x617.jpg

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  • 9 months later...

I had a Vaq and a Tejon and really liked them even though I was not up to par on detector operation while I had them. Probably why I let them go (ignorance). Since then I have jumped on the digital readout, all powerful, can't detect without one bandwagon. BUT, I have also become far more knowledgeable about detector operation. Unfortunately not-so-old parks are about all I have to hunt in so the so-called powerhouse detectors aren't being used to full potential. But I enjoy them anyway. If anything they have taught me the seldom-mentioned weaknesses of the digital detector world.

I came across a you tuber called Wildcat Creek Survival. He only uses cheap detectors and hunts just for clad and jewelry. He used to be a treasure hunter and has 50 years experience but he sees that, compared to when he started, what silver is left out there just isn't worth the effort in his opinion. Anyway he primarily uses the Harbor Freight 9 function detector which, with coupon, can be bought for $40.00.  Now here's the part that will make you wonder about me. Out of curiosity I bought one and I am amazed at what it can do. Two tones that break on whatever the disc setting is, auto GB, ratcheting pinpoint, 6" depth, very quick recovery and more..

The thing about it is that it's fun,  just like Tesoros. In fact it now has me looking for another Tesoro (for a little more depth). And I found a fellow who can make most Tesoros into two tone machines. I really like the tone break at whatever the disc setting is because I discovered that (after a LOT of experimenting) I can ID about half the aluminum trash by quickly adjusting the disc and noting where and how the signal starts to "spit". I also like hearing targets that are disc'd out so that I can tell where the crowds gathered. You could set a digital machine up to be similar but I don't know of one the you can "thumb" the disc quickly and also have the tone break follow the disc setting.

SO......due to what is considered a kid's detector I am now a potential Tesoro customer. What a fascinating hobby.

BTW, I am not connected with Harbor Freight in any way, directly or indirectly.

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