Re-conversion to Tesoro???

[Anonymous]

Hi folks. I started off with a Silver Sabre 2, which I used to great effect for 8 years. The time came though, when I figured it would be good for me to upgrade. I decided to go for the Whites DFX, and have been using it for nearly 2 years now. I have to tell you that I'm pretty dissapointed with it, as I fully expected my finds rate to increase as it's supposed to be one of the top machines available. Not so! if anything, my finds rate has actually dropped off! So anyways, now I'm giving serious thought to coming 'back home' to Tesoro! I like the sound of their latest UK release, 'The Hawkeye'. I have heard that it is selling like hot-cakes, and getting great reveiws from those who already have it. It would suit me fine, as after nearly 2 years of self inflicted mental cruelty with the DFX, I feel the time is right to get my ass back to the blissful joy of analog turn-on-and-go simplicity! Any hints, tips or advice/words of encouragement would be appreciated! I will hang on to the DFX for the time being, just so I can compare the two machines. I used the DFX on the fields at the back of my house, and had a nightmare time with iron ... I then went out on the same fields with my old Silver sabre 2 .... IRON? WHAT IRON???? !!!!!!
and if I needed to make an adjustment, it was simply a case of extending my index finger and turning a knob, non of the button pushing going into a menu scrolling down and going into a sub-menu time consuming crap! I'm looking to go and pick up a 'Hawkeye' this Friday.
Oh yeh, Hi Art SC, I didn't know you posted on here as well!

 

[Anonymous]

My first detector was a Silver Sabre II. I think every one of us who starts out with an "entry level" machine like the SS2 gets the itch sooner or later to upgrade. Myself included. However, my experiences with my upgrades and guys with some very formidable and deep Minelabs and Fishers hunting the exact same dirt I did compared to my SS2, I really didn't NEED to upgrade because they didn't find anything at my neighborhood sites that I didn't
I think we all start thinking upgrade because we look at everyone else's finds that supposedly get dug at the depths they do and begin to think that we're certainly less-equipped with our "starter" machines and if we had a "better" one, our finds would certainly increase. But see, that's one spectacular advantage of having a Tesoro: No matter how cheap you buy one, Tesoro builds in the same exact quality **where it counts** as it does on the mid- and high-line models. You're just settling for fewer bells and whistles, that's all.
And that's *exactly* why I'll keep my SS2 until the day I croak no matter how much more I may decide to upgrade further than I have.
Screw what "everyone else" reports in the forums because, well, it's nt completely unheard of for people to lie like rugs, and prety much EVERY detector sells like hotcakes until most people wise up and get far more realistic about things. YOUR experience tells you that your SS2 is a friend to be trusted when it comes to basic performance, so why even bother looking elsewhere right now?
Scott

 

[Anonymous]

I know many top hunters love the DFX and are very successful with it. I'm sure it is a great machine, but my experience of 3 months hunting was similar to yours. Terrible falsing much of the time, reduced sensitivity, scrolling and hair-pulling and scrolling and hair-pulling and lack of deeper finds.
Crazy thing is I'm considering getting another one maybe. One thing I love is its great Tone ID and the concept of Mixed Mode intrigues me.

 

[Anonymous]

I had one and didn't care for it at all.
I used a number of MXT's after they were first released and decided that the performance was there that appealed to me and I got one. Later, based on the fact that there are some features of the XLT that I like/liked for certain applications, I got another DFX.
The first DFX I had came with the stock 950, a 5.3 and a 10" elliptical Double-D. Since I had all of those plus the little Mini Shooter 3x6 for the MXT, I had all the coils I needed to work with the DFX again.
Well, for me and the type of hunting I do, it just didn't cut it. The MXT worked far superior in overall performance and in the way of inovative operating modes.
I used to like the Tone ID, and I still do but I appreciate the fact that it works fine in low-to-moderate mineralizationa and/or with targets that are relatively shallow. On deeper targets, some of the features and adjustment options of the XLT & DFX just do not work all that well.
I am certain that many hobbyists who are less knowledgeable about the "how to's" of detector operation and detector function will often get a lot more performance (aka Find More) with a simple and easy to use model such as the Silver Sabre series and others.
Let us know what you think about the Hawkeye after you get a little time in. I think you will be pleased.
<EM>Monte

 

[Anonymous]

The fish gets bigger and heavier.
The targets get nicer and deeper.
There must be some formular to figure it all out.
HH
Dan R.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with EVERYTHING you said! I am SOOOOOO looking forward to getting my hands on this new Laser! I hope to be posting stories of my success with it very soon! and also look forward to making a lot of new friends on this forum! HH to y'all!
charlie(UK)

 

[Anonymous]

On paper, the DFX sounds like the ultimate detecting machine but, (and I stress this is only MY experience of it), it just didn't deliver the goods! my finds rate has actually decreased, and I do not enjoy my detecting with it. I just seem to spend a whole bunch of the time worrying about have I got it set up right for 'This site'!!! I dont want to knock it too much, as there are Thousands of satisfied customers/ users out there who would never part with their DFX's.
I came to the conclusion that, in order to get it to run stable, I had to knock down the 'pre-amp' and 'AC sensitivity' to more realistic levels (contrary to what the folks on the DFX forum were recommending)and also, pump up the 'bottlecap reject' to crazy levels, in order to shut up all the iron targets. I figured that if that's what I have to do to get it to behave like my Silver Sabre, I might as well 'cut the crap' and just get me another Tesoro!
Seems to me, some of the guys on the DFX forum just don't realize what a problem iron is over here in the UK! we have over 2000 years worth of it rotting away in our soil! and that's why I'm so impressed with my old Silver Sabre 2, even with discrim set at 0, it kicked the DFX's butt as regards iron rejection!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Scott, what you say is right of course! like you, I still have my trusty SS2 and will keep it until me (or it) croaks! my reasoning for getting a 'Hawkeye' is that I figure the Tesoro technology has advanced somewhat since the SS2! and after nearly 2 years of computerised button pressing, I'm looking forward to a good old reliable 'analog' just turn the knob and it's done kind of machine!

 

[Anonymous]

Well Dan, the formulae is very simple, and it's applicable to detectorists as well as fishermen ... it's known as B.S.! and you could probably power a small city on it for 10 years!

 

[Anonymous]

[No message]

 

[Anonymous]

My ignorance of the technical qualities of detector circuits doesn't stop me from having formed the opinion that detector manufacturers need to design their coin machine discrim. circuitry as a sort of sensitivity trade-off.
We detectorists want a very sensitive detector that will find that 10" dime in discriminate mode with a nice signal and ID. So they crank up gain and/or increase coil size. However, we want a machine that is insensitive, just the OPPOSITE, when it comes to ground minerals and trash. That's their quandary.
I suspect that the various makers design and test their circuitry with some bias toward their conditions in their own region. For example, perhaps Whites' coin machines have something of a bias to better performance in the mild soils near Sweet Home, Oregon, and may do poorly in another region's soil? Minelabs seem to be made for harsh soil conditions such as their native Australia, maybe? This is my theory on why some have success with a machine like the DFX and some want to wrap it around a tree. It IS very sensitive, but perhaps unfortunately to the wrong stuff in your particular ground. I'd love to hear any other opinions or theories.
I've had a very interesting experience comparing this summer to last. Last year I used both the DFX and Explorer XS extensively. The DFX was plagued with falsing from interference and/or ground quite a bit. The XS was definitely smoother, and any erratic operation was usually helped by doing a "Noise Cancel". No question the XS was making more and deeper coin finds than the DFX all summer. "Noise cancel" was needed to run stable fairly often.
I sold off the DFX and used only the same XS this summer. To my surprise it has run beautifully stable all summer and I have barely used "Noise Cancel". I do tend to use lower sensitity this year, but still I can tell it's much smoother and more stable than last year hunting in the EXACT SAME LOCATIONS. The threshold has been basically perfect all summer.
So to make a long story short, the only thing I see that could explain why these sites were all plagued by interference in one year and not in the next year is weather conditions. This summer was very unusually dry but not hot. The ground was often hard dry digging and the little rain we had would not penetrate the soil much. Apparently that made for much less electrical activity and the soil and much stabler detecting. Does this theory hold water?
I wish I had the DFX this year to see how it would have done in these conditions.
Doubt I'll get one though. I REALLY want to try a Cortes.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, what you are saying makes sense to me! over her in the UK, we have had a very dry summer too. Perhaps that is one of many reasons why I got P***ed off with it? as I have said from day one, I know FOR A FACT that I would not have had this problem with the Tesoro! my feelings about the discrimination facilities between these two machines is; the DFX has discrim set WAY TOO LOW for conditions here in the UK, whereas the Tesoro's discrim is pre-set at a much more user friendly level, even when you have it set at 0! it's hard to figure out where you need to set the DFX's bottlecap reject to match the tesoro's discrim setting at 0. If you happen to detect in one of the 'Global Zones' that is 'DFX FRIENDLY' then it's cool ... but if like me, you are detecting in an 'unfriendly zone' then you're in for BIG TROUBLE! Tesoro on the other hand, seem to have covered all the bases as regards their discrim settings! I would recommend a Tesoro / Laser to anyone, experienced or beginner, as for the DFX, I can't say that I'd recommend it to anyone ... too complicated, too many things to get wrong.