compadre question!!! gold disc setting??

[Rocknut88]

Ok so i finally settled on getting one... i hunt beaches for jewlery and coins... what is the recommened disc setting for find small deep gold on dry sand cause im hearing and reading that setting to iron may still be to high to pick up good solid small gold signals... any thoughts from the experienced folks????

 

[Neil]

What you want to do is get the smallest piece of gold from your wife or girlfriend and test it with the compadre. That could mean the smallest charm/bracelet/earring/necklace.....something like that. forget rings, rings are a perfect shape for a detector and they are fairly easy to hit, you want the small odd shaped stuff.
Those settings on the disc are general settings and should always be used as a starting point rather than an actual setting.
YOu have to understand also, that to get small gold your gonna dig some small iron also along with alot of small foil. Small foil can be a real nightmare in some spots.
Try this: cut a small piece of paperclip, maybe an inch or so long. set the disc to ignore it and then try that setting on your smaller gold.

 

[Rocknut88]

Ok thats a good way to determine proper return signal i had never thought of trying it that way.. i figured any good signal if set by presets would be a solid signal but i was concerned about the smaller stuff being missed or broken but still want to disc out larger iron. Thanks a bunch for the info

 

[ken ward]

When I hunt and think that there might be small gold or silver chains, I will turn my dial below iron. Many times I will hunt in A/M. You will not get the deep fine chain. On the picture here I was in A/M. The items were only and maybe 1 or 2" deep. ON bigger chains you will get deeper. Just go slow and take your time. If you get a funny beep, dig it. In time you will learn that the compadre is telling you what is down their.
You can also turn your disc knob up until it is going. Than slowly turn it back down until the beep comes back again. When you hear the beep, look at the knob to see where it beeped. At first it is a little funny doing this. You will keep doing it. In time you will know what is in the ground before you dig. Try different coins and jewelry to see where they disc out at. That detector will be an extension of your body. You just do not want to put it down. The more you use it the better you will get. It really does talk to you. I talk to mine all the time. My friends I hunt with always ask me who are you talking to. I don't tell them. But, yes,, My detector and I really talk to each other. That is what this hobby does to you. I hope I have helped a little.. KEN

 

[REVIER]

Here are some testing results on gold, and some in the ground areas on the knob a few targets came in...silver too.
Silver coins will be high and won't disc out.
Some silver rings, too.
Smaller silver objects might come in at zinc.
Chains in silver and gold all bets are off.
Those will come in from iron on the small thin ones to mostly zinc on the larger ones.

I usually set the knob at just below "I" in iron or even lower at all metal to get the deepest, clearest signals and then thumb the knob no matter where I hunt.

 

[khouse]

I run with the knob pointed at the "I" on iron. I find very little iron at this setting and the Compadre will hit on ultra non ferrous targets the Propointer has a hard time finding. If your looking for jewelry and especially GOLD - fight the urge to "thumb" the disc knob to see where your target falls out. Just dig and you will be surprised. If your going to "thumb" every target then buy a target ID machine and save some time. Otherwise in a lot of the cases you can have your target in your pouch in the time your "thumbing" and trying to decide to dig or not. I use the Compadre in tot lots, sand Volleyball courts and fresh beaches. In other words "easy digging" areas. Now that I've waterproofed my Compadre this will extend into the water as well.
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc182/mowerdog/PB271184_zps4663b3a2.jpg

 

[HateTabs]

I run with the knob pointed at the "I" on iron. I find very little iron at this setting and the Compadre will hit on ultra non ferrous targets the Propointer has a hard time finding. If your looking for jewelry and especially GOLD - fight the urge to "thumb" the disc knob to see where your target falls out. Just dig and you will be surprised. If your going to "thumb" every target then buy a target ID machine and save some time. Otherwise in a lot of the cases you can have your target in your pouch in the time your "thumbing" and trying to decide to dig or not. I use the Compadre in tot lots, sand Volleyball courts and fresh beaches. In other words "easy digging" areas. Now that I've waterproofed my Compadre this will extend into the water as well.
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc182/mowerdog/PB271184_zps4663b3a2.jpg

I agree, if I wanted to try and figure out what it was I would have bought a VID machine. I can usually pop out the target quicker than I can thumb the disc. The way I look at it the Compadre (and almost any Tesoro) is either a dig it all or set your disc above tab and coin shoot (and silver of course) If beach hunting just use all metal because it's easy digging and you just never know. Good luck!

 

[flysar]

I notice the Vaq operates at 14+kHz and the Compadre at 12kHz but yet the Vaq wouldn't pick up the gold clasp that the Compadre would at 3".

I guess in this case the higher freq made no difference and your Compadre is hotter on small gold. Why would Tesoro set up their entry $190 machine to be hotter on small gold than their $500 machine... maybe I should sell my Outlaw. Can you mod the Compadre to make a one time GB adjustment. Tesoro said I wouldn't be happy in my soil without a GB machine.

Here are some testing results on gold, and some in the ground areas on the knob a few targets came in...silver too.
Silver coins will be high and won't disc out.
Some silver rings, too.
Smaller silver objects might come in at zinc.
Chains in silver and gold all bets are off.
Those will come in from iron on the small thin ones to mostly zinc on the larger ones.

I usually set the knob at just below "I" in iron or even lower at all metal to get the deepest, clearest signals and then thumb the knob no matter where I hunt.

 

[khouse]

You can add a panel mount GB poteniometer. You'll need a 10K linear Potentiometer. Plus some desoldering and soldering skills.
You could adjust the GB trimmer on the circuit board for your soil and not panel mount a Pot. I think the trimmer is rated for around 25 cycles so you wouldn't want to adjust it a lot.

 

[HateTabs]

It's not the case of kHz's it's the fact that the Compadre has a true all metal setting and the Vaq does not, even at min disc the Vaq still knocks out some iron. I'm sure REVIER can explain it better than me. Just look up some posts on ED180 & ED120 discrimination.

 

[khouse]

Also Monte Vaughn knows Tesoros guts as well as the engineers. Search right here on Findmall for Monte's posts on the subject.

 

[cladcanada]

I know the compadre is an 180' ed machine , is it the only one that is? Is that the reason it works so well?

 

[Neil]

It's not the case of kHz's it's the fact that the Compadre has a true all metal setting and the Vaq does not, even at min disc the Vaq still knocks out some iron. I'm sure REVIER can explain it better than me. Just look up some posts on ED180 & ED120 discrimination.

That is correct Hatetabs and youve already explained it well

 

[REVIER]

I notice the Vaq operates at 14+kHz and the Compadre at 12kHz but yet the Vaq wouldn't pick up the gold clasp that the Compadre would at 3".

I guess in this case the higher freq made no difference and your Compadre is hotter on small gold. Why would Tesoro set up their entry $190 machine to be hotter on small gold than their $500 machine... maybe I should sell my Outlaw. Can you mod the Compadre to make a one time GB adjustment. Tesoro said I wouldn't be happy in my soil without a GB machine.

1. I hunted in Birmingham ham Ala. with maybe the worst soil in the country and found plenty with my compadre...coins silver and gold.
2. I now live in an area with much better soil...some of the best and mildest...and I am still finding coins galore, silver and gold with that same Compadre.
I am a very happy hunter, but I would never consider using it if I was just looking for deep, deep targets in hot soil.

3. The testing was done with a 7" coil compadre and the sense turned all the way up vs. a Vaq with the standard 8" coil at the lowest disc setting but not in all metal.
After this testing I got a sniper coil for the Vaq and I can say with confidence that the Vaq is definitely more sensitive with this coil mounted so I should actually get some different and better results if I re-tested that small stuff I would assume.

4. The kHz does not have as much to do with it as 2 other aspects of the Compadre, I believe.
The Compadre is a throwback model with older circutry that most of the other Tesoro's do not have and has a true 180 ED range including down into the low end iron area...an area the Vaq cannot reach in disc, only all metal.
The Vaq is supposed to be 180 ED but in reality it is a little less than that.
Not as low as 120 ED but not the full 180 ED range either.
The Compadre also does not have the high gain/low noise circutry that most detectors have on board nowadays including my Vaq and the Outlaw, and that all started when everyone started screaming for more and more depth.

As good as my Vaq is with that small coil and as sensitive it has become, and that goes for your Outlaw, also if you mount yours...the Compadre STILL is going tp be more sensitive than either of them to a slight degree on really small targets and probably chains, also.

There is a reason I have always suggested that no matter who you are no matter what or how many detectors you own if you really want a shot at everything including that really tiny stuff, chains and jewelry of ANY kind, ya gotta add a Compadre to the arsenal.

Here are some testing results on gold, and some in the ground areas on the knob a few targets came in...silver too.
Silver coins will be high and won't disc out.
Some silver rings, too.
Smaller silver objects might come in at zinc.
Chains in silver and gold all bets are off.
Those will come in from iron on the small thin ones to mostly zinc on the larger ones.

I usually set the knob at just below "I" in iron or even lower at all metal to get the deepest, clearest signals and then thumb the knob no matter where I hunt.

[/quote]

 

[REVIER]

I agree, if I wanted to try and figure out what it was I would have bought a VID machine. I can usually pop out the target quicker than I can thumb the disc. The way I look at it the Compadre (and almost any Tesoro) is either a dig it all or set your disc above tab and coin shoot (and silver of course) If beach hunting just use all metal because it's easy digging and you just never know. Good luck!

Actually, after doing this thumbing thing on just about every target I have ever had since I started swinging them a few years ago, I have gotten very fast and efficient at this...just about as fast as I am when using screen units.
Not at first, but this figuring out the target thing has always been a game I have played with myself, and overtime blazing speed and very good accuracy at guessing target types eventually came to me.
That is me, not saying it is the same for others, and it took hundreds of hours doing it this way to reach this level of speed.
For me this is just become the most natural and efficient way to hunt and I still beat most others I hunt with by a wide margin and I am still pretty darn accurate on those guesses on most targets I dig or scan.

That setting the disc at one level and digging everything above it without figuring it out method just frustrates me to no end and absolutely drives me crazy on the few times I have tried it.

 

[REVIER]

Regarding taking a lot of time to thumb that disc knob....

Actually, after doing this thumbing thing on just about every target I have ever had since I started swinging Tesoro units a few years ago, I have gotten very fast and efficient at this...just about as fast as I am when using screen units...sometimes even faster.
Not at first, but this figuring out the target thing has always been a game I have played with myself and overtime blazing speed and very good accuracy at guessing target types eventually came to me.
That is me, not saying it is the same for others, and it took hundreds of hours doing it this way to reach this level of speed and thousands of targets dug good and bad checking that accuracy.
For me this is just become the most natural and efficient way to hunt and I still beat most others I hunt with by a wide margin in volume and I am still pretty darn accurate on those guesses on most targets I dig or scan.

That setting the disc at one level and digging everything above it without figuring it out method just frustrates me to no end and absolutely drives me crazy on the few times I have tried it.

 

[khouse]

I could see where you would get fast at thimbing. I just use the Compadre for easy digging sand and bark chips. When I go dirt digging I have another machine I use.

 

[Hombre]

I have found that thumbing the disc. on the Compadre is not reliable on targets more than 3 or 4 inches deep.

It just looses too much depth to ID on higher disc.settings, for instance an indian head was a weak signal at 7" moved the disc. knob to allmost the "nickel" position and lost the signal.

I just run mine to knock out a common 3

 

[REVIER]

I have found that thumbing the disc. on the Compadre is not reliable on targets more than 3 or 4 inches deep.

It just looses too much depth to ID on higher disc.settings, for instance an indian head was a weak signal at 7" moved the disc. knob to allmost the "nickel" position and lost the signal.

I just run mine to knock out a common 3

 

[slingshot]

Learning to "size" the target by the sound of the signal helps eliminate some of the frustration.