Tesoro compadre

Greeting fellow dirt diggers. I've had the compadre for nearly 3 weeks now,but have been crook with glandular fever most of that time.
I have done about 6 hours with and it does go deep,and picks up shoe eyelets etc, at 6 inches plus. so dig,dig dig.
foe some reason, in my mind I thought it may have had a variable tone for different metals etc, I guess that would be VCO ?
even the cheap jaycar detector I have been using for 6 months has a variation of that feature and it is helpful. I will be looking for
a Tesoro with that feature when I can up-date. I have had 4 detectors and have been able to get pin pointing down to a fine art,but so far
I find it harder with the compadre.more practise I spose. never needed a dedicated pin pointer before, but may look at the new White's model.
I found the m/l 305 easier to use but that was $175 dearer. the vdi was usually spot on,tho the depth was seldom right.
I will see how it goes.

The trick with all tesros is the discrimination as none really have a variable tone, you need to get a test bed and put in a bottle cap and a ring thing and some coins so you can tell when you wont get bottle caps or ring things and then you know when you get a repeatable signal it is worth digging that is why they are good when you work out what to take out every signal well almost will be a keeper
You will still get aluminium bottle caps and some alloys i have never had a compadre so i cant tell you what settings but discrim at about 10 oclock is what i would call an open search and at around 2 oclock should be keepers only

Oh but if you live in south australia it may not work as the people over there hurt there backs a lot ride kawasakis and hang around with ducks lol

If I get another tesoro in the future, I prefer to have a pinpoint button, or at least a true all-metal mode. Had a VCO setting on the Whites GT, but still prefer the all-metal setting on the Vaquero I owned. I see the Tejon has both, and you can vary the pitch of the tone as well. Which do you prefer Duck, Vaquero or the Tejon for coins?

the duck said:

The trick with all tesros is the discrimination as none really have a variable tone, you need to get a test bed and put in a bottle cap and a ring thing and some coins so you can tell when you wont get bottle caps or ring things and then you know when you get a repeatable signal it is worth digging that is why they are good when you work out what to take out every signal well almost will be a keeper
You will still get aluminium bottle caps and some alloys i have never had a compadre so i cant tell you what settings but discrim at about 10 oclock is what i would call an open search and at around 2 oclock should be keepers only

Oh but if you live in south australia it may not work as the people over there hurt there backs a lot ride kawasakis and hang around with ducks lol

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thanx for that Mr. Duck. danged if I can hear the difference between targets. to me, they are either scratchy or crisp/full on.
I will try your advice on those discrim settings. oh, and I only ride kwakas when they are going, both basket cases at the moment [ I can see an opening there ].
the early 900's had a ducktail,imagine that. :lol:

The compadre is a good detector. It found me a gold wedding band at a tot lot a while
back. Mine has the smaller coil though.

Wolfau said:

The compadre is a good detector. It found me a gold wedding band at a tot lot a while
back. Mine has the smaller coil though.

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:| hi Wolfau, thanx for that. everything I read suggested this would a good entry model Tesoro. it justs needs time spent and experimenting with the descrim.
I'm getting better at pin-pointing,just practice really. I saw a guy with a silver umax and cs coil, he did very well, heaps of gold coins and found a small gold ring too. he knew how to use it. I've dug a lot of ring pulls, 6 inches plus. jeeezzz. it seems to be a matter og digging all targets firstly,until you get used to the type of tone. cheers.

slipped disc said:

Wolfau said:

The compadre is a good detector. It found me a gold wedding band at a tot lot a while
back. Mine has the smaller coil though.

Click to expand...

:| hi Wolfau, thanx for that. everything I read suggested this would a good entry model Tesoro. it justs needs time spent and experimenting with the descrim.
I'm getting better at pin-pointing,just practice really. I saw a guy with a silver umax and cs coil, he did very well, heaps of gold coins and found a small gold ring too. he knew how to use it. I've dug a lot of ring pulls, 6 inches plus. jeeezzz. it seems to be a matter og digging all targets firstly,until you get used to the type of tone. cheers.

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One great Tesoro for park detecting and tot lots is the Tesoro Golden Umax.



Remember though these are no longer made.

I suggest you do some depth tests with targets with and without the use of the discriminator and check your results.

Tesoro build a good detector. Don't be fooled because it only has one knob and no digital id meter. Be patient and keep digging.

My fav is the vaquero but im warming to the tejon, tejon is a bit chattery where there is a lot of rubbish but in a park with shallow coins the vaquero rules supreme
Ill have to get used to my cortes soon or i will end up selling it

the duck said:

My fav is the vaquero but im warming to the tejon, tejon is a bit chattery where there is a lot of rubbish but in a park with shallow coins the vaquero rules supreme
Ill have to get used to my cortes soon or i will end up selling it

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blooming heck DUCK, so many tesoros. including the top of the range lobo. more I read the more confusing it seems.why not just get a waterproof p.i. with coil choice for everything ? bugga it, I'm gonna try two coathangers, a crystal , and a compass.

Vaquero is an all purpose machine
Tejon is a deep seeking relic machine
Cortes is a coin machine with vdi
Sand shark is an underwater pi dig everything
And the lobo is a gold machine but can discriminate so handy in iron filled environment and for relics

Waiting to see what the Cazador is going to be cant be far off now

the duck said:

Vaquero is an all purpose machine
Tejon is a deep seeking relic machine
Cortes is a coin machine with vdi
Sand shark is an underwater pi dig everything
And the lobo is a gold machine but can discriminate so handy in iron filled environment and for relics

Waiting to see what the Cazador is going to be cant be far off now

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YES, some talk on Findmall forum. not a lot of interest as yet it seems in the ol.U.S. should be a winner.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?17,2055399 see cladcanada post
An interesting discussion on the Compadre's sensitivity to tiny pieces/targets. this also makes me think twice about the viability of a pin pointer.
it would be an interesting test to try a p/p on a small gold earing stud etc. I have some success in isolating the hard to see/find target in piles and then running handfuls over the coil. mbe a fine plastic sieve type kitchen basket mbe the go. I use one on the beach. I just pile all the sand around the target into it.check hole til signal is gone, sieve the sand out to leave the target. with dirt digging, older targets usually tarnish/stain to the shade
- color of the dirt.

My Minelab Profind will hit on an earing stud at about 1.2 cms, the Nokta RS gets nearly 2cm on the same stud. Although the stud is gold plate, it is mainly copper which is more conductive than gold.

The Profind will only hit on a 0.3 gram nugget if it is literally touching the tip, the Nokta picks the same small nugget at 0.5cms.

They both will pick up on fine gold chains as well.

It would be one thing to pick up on a small target with the Compadre, but to actually find the target amongst the soil is another thing. My pinpointers have always managed to pick up on the smallest of targets when out detecting, even if it is just an odd beep or two to give you an idea of where it is located. A pinpointer is a must for all types of detecting in my book.

Goldpick said:

My Minelab Profind will hit on an earing stud at about 1.2 cms, the Nokta RS gets nearly 2cm on the same stud. Although the stud is gold plate, it is mainly copper which is more conductive than gold.

The Profind will only hit on a 0.3 gram nugget if it is literally touching the tip, the Nokta picks the same small nugget at 0.5cms.

They both will pick up on fine gold chains as well.

It would be one thing to pick up on a small target with the Compadre, but to actually find the target amongst the soil is another thing. My pinpointers have always managed to pick up on the smallest of targets when out detecting, even if it is just an odd beep or two to give you an idea of where it is located. A pinpointer is a must for all types of detecting in my book.

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thanx GP. that's pretty good. I think the compadre is so sensitive that ''empty holes'' were actually mineralisation or tiny fragments that disintegrate when dug. I think I will need to get p.p. I tend to favour the whites .

I've had a compadre for 5 months, got the hang of it now,pretty well. I had 3 entry level tectas before, with v.i.d. readout etc.
I never really thought they were that accurate, so I went with the Tesoro. good entry level unit at about $250 posted. battery -9v, lasts ages even without using headphones. only one tone for all targets, but using the descrim. and listening to the loudness, break up/chatter of the signal is the go. light enough to swing all day. I can pin point very accurately with the X method and coil on it's edge. finds very small pieces 6 inches plus,so quite sensitive. i think they are as good as the reviews, users, say.

I have a compadre as well they are such a good detector for the price so easy to use!

taylors3030 said:

I have a compadre as well they are such a good detector for the price so easy to use!

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Yes, especially since, at $225. they are not much more than a Pin Pointer, to buy. took me about 4 months to really get used to it, and understand the beeps, pops, crackles etc, of a target. Just for a comparison, I would like to see a m/l 305 and an ace 250
in the same hunt, it would be interesting.

I agree would be a good comparison to do always wanted to try the garrett ace250

Good stuff guys. I like the Compadre too. Surprisingly good for an entry level detector.

Yep got a say I like the tesoro silver (same as compadre but with gain control) as well' very simple to operate Disc does work very well' very light and easy to whip out and have a quick scan for $1 & $2.