Differences between Tesoro Compadre and Tesoro Vaquero

[cher]

Besides price obviously, what are the differences in these 2 machines?
I am considering one of them and i'm leaning to the Vaquero but want to make sure it's worth the considerable diff. in price. I did find a used one but not sure I want to buy a used one.

[DIGGER27]

Originally Posted by cher

Besides price obviously, what are the differences in these 2 machines?
I am considering one of them and i'm leaning to the Vaquero but want to make sure it's worth the considerable diff. in price. I did find a used one but not sure I want to buy a used one.

Vaquero:
Manual ground balance to get the deepest possible in all situations.
Threshold tone to get the absolute deepest.
Pinpointer.
The ability to supertune in disc to still hear deep signals.
Ability to change coils.

Compadre:
A little more sensitive to the smallest targets.
Full 180 ED, (Expanded Discrimination), the Vaq is supposed to be also, but in real life it is more like 160.
This means it is a little better at discriminating iron, and the smallest gold and lots of chains will come in at iron.

(See link below for more about this stuff).

Honestly, you have good soil in Indiana, and any of the Tesoro's should work well for you.
As you go up the line, you can add more knobs for more money, and each knob translates to another feature.

I love my Vaquero, and you might too, but if you want to try a beep and dig unit, any of them might work well for you from the Compadre on up.
The Compadre is just a little more special in what it can do if you are a jewelry hunter, like me.
They all shoot coins like mad, they all pinpoint by Xing like a laser, and they all have good points and abilities all the way up the line.


More info here about the Compadre and Tesoros.
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?17,728080

[cher]

Threshold tone to get the absolute deepest.
Pinpointer.
The ability to supertune in disc to still hear deep signals
Could you explain please Does this machine have different sounding beeps for diff. targets? (vaquero)

[sllingshot47]

Originally Posted by cher

Threshold tone to get the absolute deepest.
Pinpointer.
The ability to supertune in disc to still hear deep signals
Could you explain please Does this machine have different sounding beeps for diff. targets? (vaquero)

To pinpoint with the Compadre, you "X" the target but with the Vaq you push a pinpoint button to narrow the target and you can hold the coil still. The Compadre operates in a silent-search mode-which means the audio is constantly just below sound or "threshhold". The Vaq can be adjusted manually to just barely hear a tone-normal setting-or "supertune" by having a much louder sound in pinpoint-which makes it unusable in pinpoint. However, it allows the detector to go deeper in discriminate mode, even though it is in a silent search mode just like the Compadre.. For most sites, you don't even need to do this-only where you suspect older,deeper targets. I'm constantly finding stuff in the 5" range with the Compadre, so it's kinda hard for me to let go of the money for the Vaq as I hunt mostly totlots and parks.

[cher]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa1sT...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFSkM...hannel&list=UL
53 silver sure makes me want the Vaq

[DIGGER27]

Originally Posted by cher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa1sT...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFSkM...hannel&list=UL
53 silver sure makes me want the Vaq

So get one.
You can't really overdo it in this hobby unless you buy a unit that is too technological for you.
The Tesoros are some of the simplest detectors to swing, on most the knobs are for fine tuning, the way you hunt with them is usually the same...the lower end units, anyway.

If you watch 53 silver's videos about the Vaq, you can see how good it is.

Here are a few more.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showt...10#post1197310

Originally Posted by cher

Does this machine have different sounding beeps for diff. targets? (vaquero)

Technically one tone...but there is a huge amount of information and differences in that tone once you learn the Tesoro language.

[cher]

My only problem is the Vaq is over twice the cost of the compadre so i'm trying to see if its worth it. I'd really like a Garrett propointer too but if i get the Vaq I prob. will have to skip that item.
My birthday is coming up so i'm going to work that angle to the hubby.

[sllingshot47]

I would say get the Vaq and you'll automatically have a pinpoint function. The only problem is you may beat your partner in finds!

[cher]

I'm def. leaning towards the Vaq. Now to find a great deal!

[Michigan Badger]

The Compadre was meant to be a beginner level machine. Depth for U.S. penny sized targets is about 4 inches deep.

The Vaquero is more in Tesoro's upper range and will detect a penny about 6 inches deep. This is partly due to ground balance and partly to coil size (it's bigger than the Compadre).

A Compadre with an 8 inch concentric coil and with a ground balance knob wired into it would be the same depth as a Vaquero.

All metal detectors are limited by FCC rules to a micro power transmitter. This transmitter's depth is determined by the receive section of the metal detector. The higher quality the detector's receiver, the deeper the machine.

The search coil is basically an antenna for both transmitting and receiving. The larger the coil (antenna), the deeper the detector will be on large targets. If a coil is made too large it will no longer detect coin sized targets due to a loss of sensitivity to small items.

So what do people pay BIG bucks for? Mostly for a higher quality receiver (greater sensitivity). A receiver that hopefully can filter out junk signals better, report (beep) on the slightest bounced-back signals from the micro transmitter, and yet be stable (not erratic). The micro signals from the transmitter hit metallic objects in the ground and bounce back to the receive antenna. How the detector handles those bounced back signals is the whole ballgame.

Again, all the Tesoro machines potentially get the same depth due to basically the same quality of receivers. What makes for greater or lesser depth is the frequency, coil used, and ground balance (or the absence of it). In fact this is true of most other brands and models.

Other alleged advances such as multifreqency, special coil designs, meters, etc., have not yet been scientifically proven to be what the manufacturers claim. Some manufacturers have conducted their own tests but as we all know sometimes manufacturers can be a little.....well, you know.

[cher]

It looks to me like the Vaq has the ability to filter out more junk!?? And I suppose the ground balancing thing is important. This stuff is so new to me being a big newb! lol

[Michigan Badger]

Originally Posted by cher

It looks to me like the Vaq has the ability to filter out more junk!?? And I suppose the ground balancing thing is important. This stuff is so new to me being a big newb! lol

Basically, the Vaquero will do everything the Compadre can do plus get much better depth.

[DIGGER27]

Originally Posted by Michigan Badger

Basically, the Vaquero will do everything the Compadre can do plus get much better depth.

Basically, on paper, but not really in the case of chains and some other very small objects.
Depth on the Vaq is better, definitely.

[cher]

I'm not the most patient person so getting alot of junk is going to probably really frustrate me ( i know it's inevitable to get some).
What I am most interested in finding is COINS!! I am pumped to find some really old ones. Whatever will get me coins is the machine I want.

[Dig-on]

I can tell you that with my Compadre I can max the disc. and JUST find coins at about 4". With that said the V should be able to find JUST coins at a deeper level maxed out. So you should be covered. Just my theory

PS. I don't think I have ever seen where anyone had regrets after buying a V.

[Ictinike]

Originally Posted by cher

I'm not the most patient person so getting alot of junk is going to probably really frustrate me ( i know it's inevitable to get some).
What I am most interested in finding is COINS!! I am pumped to find some really old ones. Whatever will get me coins is the machine I want.

I've had my Vaquero now a few months and absolutely love it but the whole idea of being impatient and frustrated at digging "junk" may have you selling it quicker than you'd imagine.

It's part of what you must do. Sure you can discriminate out high but the Vaquero loves aluminum and aluminum pull tabs; lots of them. The same similar range as other various good target objects so you better start adjusting before you get your detector that you will pull junk a high % of the time if you really want to find something good. (which I haven't yet but upwards of a few hundred pull tabs already)

Just sayin..

[DIGGER27]

Originally Posted by Ictinike

I've had my Vaquero now a few months and absolutely love it but the whole idea of being impatient and frustrated at digging "junk" may have you selling it quicker than you'd imagine.

It's part of what you must do. Sure you can discriminate out high but the Vaquero loves aluminum and aluminum pull tabs; lots of them. The same similar range as other various good target objects so you better start adjusting before you get your detector that you will pull junk a high % of the time if you really want to find something good. (which I haven't yet but upwards of a few hundred pull tabs already)

Just sayin..

Dimes, quarters and pennies, copper and zinc will be no problem with a concentric coil.
A coin sound is something you can learn.
Steel and aluminum pop tops should disc out just before top end so you will know these.

A few older tabs will come in around zinc, so will some zinc pop tops but they usually sound different from coins.
The nickel section is where you will have the most trouble with tabs, foil and canslaw.

[Milhaus]

I think it's been said, but just to be sure, get a machine with manual ground balance, in this case the Vaquero.
I did not get a machine with manual ground balance, and am regretting it.

[Ictinike]

Originally Posted by DIGGER27

Dimes, quarters and pennies, copper and zinc will be no problem with a concentric coil.
A coin sound is something you can learn.
Steel and aluminum pop tops should disc out just before top end so you will know these.

A few older tabs will come in around zinc, so will some zinc pop tops but they usually sound different from coins.
The nickel section is where you will have the most trouble with tabs, foil and canslaw.

Yep 100% .. You even gave me pointers as such but being new and still learning, even in that Iron-5c range on the V I still dig much in fear of missing something

I guess it's possible to never dig a tab or junk but in my opinion what fun would that be?

[Tim71]

I own a Vaquero. I like it. It took spending time with it to build a relationship with it, and lots of reading and watching all things Vaquero. Great little machine.