A Tesoro Silver Umax & Compadre Question

[beephead]

I took my Compadre out for the first time to the local park. God have mercy I'm now hooked on metal detecting. My little Compadre finds coins like there's no tomorrow. It pinpoints fast and narrows the search spot down to the size of a golf ball in nothing flat. With only a few hours of using it I'm able to operate the discriminate dial quickly on the move with my thumb and pretty much tell what I'm about to dig. I can't image anything being any simpler.

I'm thinking about getting a Silver Umax to go with my Compadre and using it with the 8 inch standard doughnut shaped coil to be able to cover more territory and to get a little more depth. Is it anywhere near as easy to pinpoint with and does the discriminate dial work the same way with your thumb as it does with Compadre? How about the 9 x 8 coil and the 12 x 10 coil. I like the ideal of having a hole in the middle so I can stick a golf tee into the ground to mark the spot dead center.

[Nad]

I like the older 7 inch Compadre coil over the new 5.75 coil..Depth comparison is such that the Silver will average an inch or so more than the Compadre..If you want to play with coils, get the power to drive them. Go to a Vaquero.. Then you can stick anything Tesoro makes on it for coils and not wonder about depth...I am always a little leery about swapping coils when you have to depend on "average" factory settings..For example, same spot, different coils, I need to reset the Ground balance..I use a ten turn GB pot, and the change may not be that much, but I want a razor's edge when hunting.. Vaquero depth vs Compadre on a dime, figure about double with both stock coils..I just ran the Compadre,silver dime, discrimination @ N in IRON, repeated solid signal at 5 to 5.25 inches in air..How does your 5.75 inch coil compare?

[beephead]

Originally Posted by Nad

I like the older 7 inch Compadre coil over the new 5.75 coil..Depth comparison is such that the Silver will average an inch or so more than the Compadre..If you want to play with coils, get the power to drive them. Go to a Vaquero.. Then you can stick anything Tesoro makes on it for coils and not wonder about depth...I am always a little leery about swapping coils when you have to depend on "average" factory settings..For example, same spot, different coils, I need to reset the Ground balance..I use a ten turn GB pot, and the change may not be that much, but I want a razor's edge when hunting.. Vaquero depth vs Compadre on a dime, figure about double with both stock coils..I just ran the Compadre,silver dime, discrimination @ N in IRON, repeated solid signal at 5 to 5.25 inches in air..How does your 5.75 inch coil compare?

Around 4 1/2 inches, but I wasn't trying really hard though.

[Nad]

Went back and changed where I had the coin.First time was on the shaft side, second time, as you would hunt, ground side, and could get closer to the 6 inch mark..This was a dealer demo, so I wonder if it were "adjusted for the area"?

[sllingshot47]

I have both and have no problem pinpointing with either. The disc works exactly the same on both with the exception that min. disc. on the Silver is around small iron like washers, nails,etc. while the Compadre can really get down there and nearly

get close to true all metal while the a/m mode with the Silver will still be really close to iron reject, but will still pick up nails,etc. Just FYI, and this is from Monte, the Compadre is a different circuit design without the low-noise, high gain circuitry of the Silver and has a retuning feature and enables the Compadre to find targets other detectors, including the Silver, can't find because of iron or mineral infestation in certain areas. I kinda proved it today by going back to a ballpark that I had searched before and several of the coins gave a hesitation at normal sweep speed and became clearer with a slower speed because of the iron content. What's so great about this? I have been over it before with the high gain, low noise circuits of several detectors and they were overwhelmed by the iron.

[That1Guy]

Sorry just not in typing mode today so making a couple of video responses and showing a comparision of different detectors. Showing differences in this vid of Tesoro Compadre and Tesoro El Dorado.

Also I highly suggest if your going to upgrade don't do a small upgrade do one that will make a bigger difference and you will save money because I can promise you after you get silver you will want to upgrade again soon and end up spending more and more money.




Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR46vx8E2QE

[beephead]

Thanks everyone. I think that I'm going to hold off getting another detector until after I put some miles on my Compadre to figure out better what I want in a detector. I found lots of pull tabs today and I can honestly say that I have obtained a strong dislike for pull tabs. I'm thinking seriously about just digging for silver and let others dig for all the gold and pull tabs.

[That1Guy]

Yeah, I don't dig everything and don't worry about what I miss. I would rather have healthy knees and hips and enjoy just being out and detecting then beep dig beep dig beep dig beep dig.

Also

I wa stationed Milington yearssssss ago and graduated from Overton yearsssssss ago. I love Memphis...good times good times.

[notatallsvelte]

Hi guys, just joined and am about to buy my first detector.
I was hoping someone could help me decide between these two models

I assume they are pretty much equivalent, with the silver perhaps detecting a greater depth?

Do both models come with all the needed kit when I purchase them new?
Or do I have to buy coils seperately? Thanks.

[notatallsvelte]

Originally Posted by sllingshot47

I have both and have no problem pinpointing with either. The disc works exactly the same on both with the exception that min. disc. on the Silver is around small iron like washers, nails,etc. while the Compadre can really get down there and nearly

get close to true all metal while the a/m mode with the Silver will still be really close to iron reject, but will still pick up nails,etc. Just FYI, and this is from Monte, the Compadre is a different circuit design without the low-noise, high gain circuitry of the Silver and has a retuning feature and enables the Compadre to find targets other detectors, including the Silver, can't find because of iron or mineral infestation in certain areas. I kinda proved it today by going back to a ballpark that I had searched before and several of the coins gave a hesitation at normal sweep speed and became clearer with a slower speed because of the iron content. What's so great about this? I have been over it before with the high gain, low noise circuits of several detectors and they were overwhelmed by the iron.

Cannot turning the sensitivity down elimate this problem? I do not understand.

Thankyou

[frankiefry]

I don't have the Compadre, but I DO have the Silver uMax and can honestly say that the pin-pointing is spot on using the X technique. I frequently dig nickels and dimes at 7+ inches and quarters as deep as 9-10 inches. You just have to listen for the smaller beeps. I usually run my machine just above the I in foil and avoid most iron unless it's BIG iron. Yes pulltabs are a pesky part of the hobby, but finding gold is AWESOME! Good Luck with your choice. Oh, I have the stock coil and so far am very happy with it. : )

[hubbit]

Originally Posted by That1Guy

Also I highly suggest if your going to upgrade don't do a small upgrade do one that will make a bigger difference and you will save money because I can promise you after you get silver you will want to upgrade again soon and end up spending more and more money.

I agree, at this point, you already have a great machine in the Compadre, so hold off on the minor upgrade (yes, having interchangable coils is nice, but...) and save a few more months and get a nicer machine, perhaps a Vaquero. My Vaq is my perferred dirt 'tector, but I still use the Silver uMax once in a while. I plan to use the Silver this weekend for example and hope to report my awesome finds on this forum later!

[Hotel71]

Someone mentioned on this forum that the Compadre's nickname should be "Drunken frat boy" cause it hits on everything!!!

truer words have never been spoken...!