Cibola

[Eddie(AL)]

Hi all,
New to this forum. Just got my Cibola and was doing some air testing. I set it up on the bench and put a yard stick up to the coil to measure depth. I was impressed that as simple as it appears to be, I thought it did very well.

11 in. - small 10K ring
14 in. - my 14K wedding band (not too big)
13 in. - wheat penny and dime
14 in. - quarter

Now, the machine was set pretty hot, sensitivity all the way up and gain almost all the way up to the point it was starting to get a bit unstable. Anyway, I was impressed with the numbers. I bought it planning to use it for competition hunts. My Whites XLT is a great machine but it's heavy and a bit slow to respond to targets compared to this Cibola.

Anybody else want to comment on the Cibola? I'd appreciate it.

Eddie

 

[GT]

Hi Eddie,

I recently purchased a Cibola and it's a great machine. It discriminates very well around iron and goes deep as you found out, sweeps fast, and is lightweight.

I have four metal detectors to date, two Minelabs (an Advantage and a Quattro), a Fisher ID Excel, and the Cibola. My favorites are the Cibola and ID Excel. The Quattro has slow recovery times and is a slow, and I mean SLOW, sweeping machine and heavy too. If it sees more than one target during a sweep it often gets stuck on the first target "ID" and either doesn't show the second ID unless you sweep a few more times, I find this the most annoying aspect of the Quattro.

One thing I did notice was if you Super Tune your Cibola or set your threshold too high a loss in discrimination will occur. I avoid using my Cibola in the Super Tune mode for this reason.

I ran a test with three of my detectors where I placed a new galvenized nail on top of a dime and checked to see if my detectors could see the dime. The Cibola could easily see the coin in normal mode with the discriminations set at around the 11 o'clock position once in Super Tune mode the dime was lost. With the Excel ground balanced and the discrimination set at 0 (to eliminate iron) I saw the dime occasionally if I swept multiple times in different directions but most often I could only see negative numbers indicating iron (Note: although I had discrimination set at 0, but I can still visually see target ID numbers.)

With the Advantage manually ground balanced or with a fixed ground balance (it didn't matter which) and the sensitivity set all the way up and the discrimination set to the 4 o'clock position (this discrimination position was selected because that's what it took to make the nail null out) I could not see the dime. These were all air-tests and I haven't tried the same tests in dirt.

The Advantage is a fast machine, goes deep, and is much more fun to use than the Quattro, but the Cibola is deeper and more fun yet. As fast as the Advantage is, in respect to sweeping speed and recovery times, it gets fooled more often by rusty iron more so than the ID Excel or Cibola. Both the Excel and Cibola are fantastic machines in all respects but especially in there ability to iron discrimination and their low weight.

The Cibola goes a few inches deeper than the ID Excel but the ID Excel gives you more of a hint of what you're finding with its target ID system. Also the ID Excel has a depth indicator which the Cibola does not.

I like faster sweeping machines which the Cibola, Excel, and Advantage all are. As far as ground balancing goes, the Cibola has a pre-set ground balance. I find it to be the quietest and easiest machine to use and it is my deepest machine so a pre-set balance isn't hurting me one bit. My soil is moderately mineralized. The Cibola is also the most immune to RF interference, in second place with respect to ground balance and RF noise is the Excel. The Quattro and Advantage make lots of noise no matter how will you try balancing them.

Most the time I have to turn the sensitivity down to 4 on the Excel to prevent chattering. I run the Cibola at max sensitivity (past 10) without a problem in the same soil. The Advantage and Quattro are the most sensitive to RF noise and both machines chatter even when ground balanced With the Minelabs it's something you just have to get use to.

As far as weight goes the Cibola is the champion but the Excel is almost its equal for lightweight operation. The Advantage and Quattro are heavyweights in comparison and will wear you out faster.

The Excel is clearly the pinpointing champion, it always right on the mark. The Cibola comes in next but as you approach the target the frequency increases until the sound disappears. I like the way the Excel pinpoints much more. The Quattro and Advantage come in third place (both about a tie.)

I am considering getting a CZ-5, but the Cibola is such a great machine I'm not sure if I would gain anything with a CZ-5? I'm hoping I will get responses to a post I made in this regard.

Hope I've helped with your question,
Gus

 

[Monte]

You only have one Sensitivity/Gain control on the Cibola? Were you referring to the Threshold or Discrimination control?

Monte

 

[rentasquid]

Excellent post! I thought you make some insightful points about each detector. I dont usually grade peoples posts, but in this case, I give you an A+.

J

 

[Woods Walker]

n/t

 

[GT]

Thanks rentaquid, I've just updated my post and added more detail since I was time limited on my first post. It's worth a re-read. Now if I can only get an answer to my Cibola vs. CZ-5 post then I'll be a happy camper!

 

[Eddie(AL)]

You are correct. Threshold was all the way up and sensitivity almost all the way.
Eddie

 

[Eddie(AL)]

Good review. Thanks Gus.
Eddie

 

[rentasquid]

I wish that I could help you on that front (cz vs Cib.) I had thought a couple of time about trying out a fisher, but have been steered away from them by a couple of people for the main reason of their inability to disc. out rusty items. That and they are quite a bit noisier. This is of course hear-say, and havent experienced it first hand. It sounded as if you experienced that a bit up here in the Northwest

J.

ps. what part of Wash?

 

[GT]

I'm about an hour north of Seattle living out in the country. I have a friend nearby with 50 acres that use to have an old lumber camp on his property. We've found a few 100 year old items such as an axe head, old stove tops, and a paper cartridge shotgun shell dating back to 1901. The Excel ID and Cibola are great detectors on his property.

My friend lives near a river and has lots of glacial till soil which is laced with highly mineralized pebbles. The Advantage and Quattro go crazy in this, sounding off profusely. Where the Excel and Cibola are tame and mild-mannered mostly sounding off when there is a real target of interest.

I am still baffled at why so many people rave about the Quattro, I'm guessing they live in areas were the soil conditions are more mild than mine. I've heard the Quattro does near salt water, I've yet to test it near a beach environment.

But it does seem that lots of people do like the CZ-5, but I haven's seen a good side-by-side review of it next to the Cibola. I was corresponding with Tom of Michigan for a while, Tom is a smart guy and really knows his stuff. His testing techniques are much more rigorous than mine, having his own test bed. He is the reason I picked up the Cibola. I was considering a Vaquero at first but Tom's input was he had to constantly readjust the ground balance with the Vaquero. He traded it in for the Cibola and loved it, as I do.

Tom wasn't the only one that had to constantly retune the Vaquero, I've heard this from various reputable dealers too.

Gus

 

[Carol]

Where you been Monte?

 

[rentasquid]

its interesting that you have done so well with the preset GB of the Cibola. I had a Cortes (with its preset GB) that I took hunting in Port Angeles, and the detector went nuts, where ever I took it. Lots of falsing. I have taken my Pantera there, and it did much better. There were a lot of mineralized rocks there, like you have around your place. You were speaking of logging camps...my grandfather grew up around Anacortes(sp?), and his father logged around there in some of the camps. He said that he used to row his boat through Deception Pass.

J.

 

[GT]

I think the stability and improved stability of the Cibola has a lot to do with the new ED180 discrimination circuitry that's new in Tesoro's latest metal detectors. Anyway whatever Jack and Vince did to improve the circuitry they did it right.

 

[Monte]

Working on back-logged E-mail after I got back from a ghost town jaunt last weekend I was up to 127 E-mails. I've had some come in since then, naturally, but as of 10 minutes ago I am down to 60 even.

Been working with a prototype, and with a couple of newer models, foreign models, and some after-market coils this past few months. All this while trying to accomplish a little work (ick!) and deal with health problems.

For the most part, I am only responding to posts when directed to me, or when I feel I might be able to contribute something worthwhile. I have been doing some E-mailing, too, to try and get a pulse on what many devoted (aka serious) detectorists are looking for in the way of new products, and talking about coil and detector selection.

Hope you have had a chance to get out and find some good stuff!

Monte

 

[Bill G]

My Vaquero ground balances fine. I do not have to spend a lot of time re balancing it.( to many people do not understand the procedure for manual balancing) I would go with and prefer the manual balance over a pre set ground balance any time.

Take Care,

Bill G

 

[GT]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the input on grond balancing the Vaquero. What type of soil do you hunt in? I'm in fairly mineralized stuff. We have pockets of iron oxide all over the place.

Thanks,
Gus (WA)

 

[Bill G]

Hi GT,
my area is normal to medium. We do have some spots that are heavily mineralized here and there throughout the county. I find the Vaquero balances well, but the trick on my machine is to make a small move on the GB knob when fine tuning. I keep pumping the coil and wait for it to level out. It seems to take a second or so for the GB circuitry to stabilize or catch up and become smooth or neutral. Sometimes I choose to run the GB a hair positive depending on the ground.

Take Care,
Bill G