Tesoro discriminator ED ranges??

[Druid]

Which of the current Tesoro machines have ED 180, which have ED 120, etc. ?
What are the advantages, strengths and weaknesses of these various range discriminator systems?
Are some designed specifically for relics and others for jewelry hunting, or coin shooting purposes?
Thanks for any insights,
Drew.

 

[kittlitz]

I think the current ED-180 models are the Compadre, Mojave and Tejon. The Vaquero is somewhere in between -- ED-165 or so. Most of the rest are ED-120.

In theory, ED-120 should be better for coinshooting, because small bits of iron and other low-conductors are ignored, even when discrimination is set to minimum. ED-180 should be better for relic hunting, and probably for gold chains.

That said, I own both ED-120 and ED-180 machines and haven't noticed a significant difference in how they respond to various targets. I'd be really interested to hear about the experiences other folks have had, though.


-Ken

 

[Druid]

Thanks Ken,
I had a vague understanding about the lower limits of the scale but no actual knowledge of what is in or out on the and where Tesoros.
I am in Canada and I am thinking of picking up a Tesoro for clad & jewelry hunting modern sites.
Apparently they are some of the best machines for our crappy current coins, bright side is the coins come in 1$ and 2$ denominations.
Cheers,
Drew

 

[kittlitz]

I'm in Canada, too, and our steel coins is what made me try out a Tesoro They do better on our coinage than most other brands seem to. Some folks recommend ED-180 for hunting the steel clad, but I've found that my ED-120 machines seem to do OK as well.

If you do get one, be sure it comes with a concentric rather than a widescan (double-D) coil. The widescan coils seem to have trouble picking up the steel coins, but the concentrics hit hard on them.

-Ken

 

[Whimpster]

I'm in Canada also...I have several Tesoro detectors and love them all...rule of thumb when digging Canadian clad is to setup your machine and see if you can hit a Canadian dime on edge at ground level...if you can you will never leave Canadian clad in the first 6" of ground.
You may find that the ED 120 struggles hitting a Canadian dime on edge...my Bandido2 MicroMax is ED-120 and struggles with that test...on the flat it's a piece of cake

 

[Druid]

Thanks Bob & Ken!
I am exploring some possibilities right now.
First is to see if I may be able to buy back my Eldorado with three coils.
Don't think it has seen daylight since I sold it.
Oh, and Bob, you have mail...
Cheers,
Drew.

 

[kittlitz]

You may find that the ED 120 struggles hitting a Canadian dime on edge...my Bandido2 MicroMax is ED-120 and struggles with that test...on the flat it's a piece of cake

Thanks for the tip, Whimpster. I've noticed that I have to set the discrimination pretty low to get dimes on edge... around Iron on both my Mojave and DeLeon. The DeLeon has to be set a little lower than the Mojave, maybe because it's ED-120? Lots of other stuff gets accepted with the discrimination set so low, so I have to be in the right mood to use it.

-Ken

 

[REVIER]

I sure don't envy you Canadian guys and your steel coins.
Glad I live south of the border, I used to live north of the border when I lived in the Detroit area but I got smart and moved way south.

I have found several steel clad coins in my career, they mostly came from foreign countries like Saudi Arabia and others, most were found in tot lots and I only found them because I always hunt those in all metal or really low disc.

 

[kittlitz]

I sure don't envy you Canadian guys and your steel coins.

The steel coins are certainly challenging. I'd like to say they've made me a better detectorist, but that's probably wishful thinking

Life would be so much easier if our mint used copper as the primary metal like the U.S. does, but I guess steel is cheaper.

But one unexpected benefit of switching to Tesoros to get the steel clad has been that my gold ring count has gone up from 0/year, for many years, to 5 in the past 15 months (!). In fact, the only other gold ring I've found, a long long time ago, was with another analog-style machine, the Compass Magnum 320. I think having a VID on my other machines made me cherry-pick too much.

-Ken

 

[Kraemer]

Which of the current Tesoro machines have ED 180, which have ED 120, etc. ?
What are the advantages, strengths and weaknesses of these various range discriminator systems?
Are some designed specifically for relics and others for jewelry hunting, or coin shooting purposes?
Thanks for any insights,
Drew.

Where is Monte when we need a definitive answer?

 

[Monte]

Drew asked the same question on the Tesoro Forum elsewhere and I gave a lengthy answer there.

"Seek and ye shall find."

Winter's close so it back to working on the AHRPS coordinated Welcome-to-Hunt Outings for 2019, and you can participate in those organized Outings with any detector you want ... and I use my Tesoro's as well as others.

Monte

 

[Druid]

Yep, those steelies do present a challenge. There are some "tells" when they are present, just a somewhat schizophrenic report to and from the detector.
Learning to dig those bouncing signals takes some practice, kind of like many years ago with the first Explorers and their characteristic coin bounce as explained by Mike Moutray.
At least our older than 1980's coins, which, let's face it is what we really want most report as expected on pretty well all machines.
Thanks to all who responded!
An especially giant thank you to Monte who sent me the book on Tesoro discrimination.
Cheers,
Drew.

 

[Druid]

That response was the best information ever on Tesoro discrimination Monte.
I think you did an outstanding job and should consider re-posting it.
Cheers,
Drew.

 

[Dancer]

The guys up north. Are those steel coins subject to rusting? Our modern Zinc pennies are rotting almost in our pockets. And Druid, I believe you have a Deep Tech Gold, does it hit harder on the steel coins?

 

[Druid]

Hey Dancer,
Yes the steel coins do get rust blooms coming through the surface coating.
Vista Gold will hit extremely tiny targets and it will hit considerably deeper targets than my old Eldorado, can't comment on other Tesoro machines.
On near surface targets its a wash in my opinion.
Cheers,
Drew.