Tesoro Forum

hi wanting some input from you tesoro guys on wich tesoro is the best for small gold jewelry the compadre or silver umax looking for a good backup machine and a go to unit for totlots. also open to other machines although not looking to spend a whole lot thanks hh

Small gold jewlery? The Compadre hands down.

The Silver uMax is a good detector, but it is no the best on small gold jewelry like the Compadre.

I have owned both and the Silver was unable to pick up some pieces unless you practically rubbed it against the coil. The Compadre nailed the target as long as it was fairly shallow.

If you are hunting gold, you'll appreciate having the smaller coil that is hardwired to the Compadre.

So yes, I'd buy the Compadre.

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De-activated at members request

I found a couple heavier gold rings with the silver but it wouldn't scratch on any smaller gold jewelery.

I have not used the silver umax, but there are a lot of satisfied people with both machines. I currently own the Compadre and will for all my detecting days. I have had it less than a year and it has paid for itself 25 times over with things I have found with it. You will never go wrong buying this detector. It is my detector that I find myself grabbing for the most. I even used it to field hunt and it is the best when the ground is frozen or you are tired of digging deep pull tab or trash targets. It is just an amazing detector. Monday night was a two silver jewelry night. I found a silver ring and dolphin charm, both 925 silver. My best finds are with this detector. It does not go deep, but hits small jewelry and coins within 5-7". The only downfall is you cannot change the coils unless you modify the detector. With the silver umax you can change coils. No matter which detector you buy, it will be a Tesoro and you will be more than satisfied. Good luck and hh.

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Dirtdigger33

Eldorado Umax, Bandido II Umax, Tesoro Compadre
Pinpointers: Vibraprobe 580 (2 of them, because they work).

Owned previously: Silver Sabre Umax, BH Pioneer 505, Discovery 3300, Vibratector 730.

I don't think there is a better detector for jewelry (big,small,gold,etc.) known to man woman or beast than the Compadre. It is so much fun to use at the tot lots, if you end up getting one don't forget to take the batteries out of your other detectors it might be along time before you put the Compadre down

I just started using the Compadre and I'll agree that it's a great detector!

Very lightweight - turn and go! Just an all around fun detector to use.
And a darn good one too! Alot of bang for the buck!

I'm also looking at rebuying the AT Pro - had one and sold it.
Only reason that I want it is because of it being waterproof and the larger coil.

HH

No contest.
Compadre.

Check out the pictures of my finds with my Compadre in this similar thread.
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?18,1665139,page=2

I have only owned it since August of last year.

Not only small jewelry, this thing finds chains and necklaces easier than most.
They call the Compadre a tot lot killer for a reason, but it is actually good for more than just that!

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Vaquero, F2, Compadre, Compass Judge 2 and 2 Propointers in case I lose one!
2013 totals...$123.45...4 gold rings, 1 gold chain and 5 pieces of silver!

Does coil size on the Compadre make any diffeernce or is it in the descrimination circuits between the machines?

Sorry! I am referring to the older 7" versus the current 5.75" coils.

It's not the coil size. It's the circuitry. Compadre doesn't use the high-gain, low-noise circuitry the Silver does which is great for coins and larger targets, but limits the ability on small gold. I found a thin 14k gold chain with the Compadre and RUBBED it on the 5.75" coil on my Silver umax with only an occasional scratch sound- and then it was balled up. The two sides of the coin are: you get quieter operation with the Silver umax and find most gold still. On the other hand, you put up with a little extra noise on the Compadre to find the teeny gold. And I don't mean by that bad noise-just noise from teeny targets the Silver might not sound off on.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2012 10:24PM by slingshot.

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slingshot
It's not the coil size. It's the circuitry. Compadre doesn't use the high-gain, low-noise circuitry the Silver does which is great for coins and larger targets, but limits the ability on small gold. I found a thin 14k gold chain with the Compadre and RUBBED it on the 5.75" coil on my Silver umax with only an occasional scratch sound- and then it was balled up. The two sides of the coin are: you get quieter operation with the Silver umax and find most gold still. On the other hand, you put up with a little extra noise on the Compadre to find the teeny gold. And I don't mean by that bad noise-just noise from teeny targets the Silver might not sound off on.

Same on chains...silver or gold.
Found a nice silver necklace easily with the Compadre.
Missed it with 2 other detectors several times, probably because I knocked out iron on those trips.
A friend who was hunting with me had an E-trac with the small DD coil.
He went right over this, never knew it was there, and when I hunted the same area right behind him and found it, he took it and actually had to scrape it on the bottom of his coil just to get a slight reading.

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Vaquero, F2, Compadre, Compass Judge 2 and 2 Propointers in case I lose one!
2013 totals...$123.45...4 gold rings, 1 gold chain and 5 pieces of silver!

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thump7
I found a couple heavier gold rings with the silver but it wouldn't scratch on any smaller gold jewelery.

Seems like you have to switch to all metal mode for the disc to drop down enough into the range to pick up the small gold when using the Silver.

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Detectorpro Wader
Self built PI's --- they work great!!
Free Vintage Metal Detector Catalog Downloads
http://www.treasurelinx.com/home1.html

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Sven

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thump7
I found a couple heavier gold rings with the silver but it wouldn't scratch on any smaller gold jewelery.

Seems like you have to switch to all metal mode for the disc to drop down enough into the range to pick up the small gold when using the Silver.

I was detecting a beach the first year with my silver. I looked down and seen a goldish looking butterfly about 1" square and fairly thin. I swung the silver umax over it and it didn't make a sound, flicked it in AM, still nothing. I started walking away but that piece really bothered me, so I turned back and picked it up. I was quite surprised to read 10k stamped on it. In AM it would give a small scratchy signal if I rubbed it on the coil, but nothing that I would dig.

After this I went and tested the silver on multiple pieces of gold including small women's rings. I spent the first year detecting with a lot of ambition, digging every signal that beeped with disc on foil. Only to find later that I could have walked over many smaller gold items and never known.

I don't know what it was about the silver umax, but it had a way of sniffing out the good stuff. totally got me hooked on the hobby. In some ways I prefer it over the Vaq just because it was so easy to use with very nice sounds. The silver is an absolute killer on coins, it hits on dimes and nickles better than the Vaq. By sound I could discriminate clad from pennies and tabs. I had a lot of fun with that machine.

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Sven

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thump7
I found a couple heavier gold rings with the silver but it wouldn't scratch on any smaller gold jewelery.

Seems like you have to switch to all metal mode for the disc to drop down enough into the range to pick up the small gold when using the Silver.

OK. Ready for this? I WAS in a/m with the Silver when I checked it, but found the thin gold chain at small iron nail disc! Right at the "i" in iron.