Vaquero problems

[atomicscott]

Hi Everybody!
Just wondering if anyone has some input on this. I was doing some practicing in my test garden with my Compadre and I realized I couldn't really find a dime at 6". So i pulled out the Vaquero just to see how much better it would pick up the dime. Nothing with sensitivity set at 6. Turned up sensitivity past 10, still nothing. Supertuning would give me an intermittent beep that I would not normally dig, and it was so chattery at that point that I would have not been comfortable hunting with it. I decided to do some air testing and comfirmed the poor depth (for a Vaq at least). A dime was about 6" in the air. A quarter and penny were about 7", with a nickel being a bit less. When supertuning, I could get another 1"+, but too unstable to hunt. Has anybody heard of or experienced any of these problems? Is it necessary to supertune just to find a dime at 6"? This didn't seem right to me. Also, it seems as though the pinpoint function cuts out after holding the button over 2-3 seconds, requiring me to push it again and put the coil in motion to get a signal again. I was under the impression the Vaq had a 'no-motion pinpoint feature'? Thanks so much for any input, I was hoping to get some info before I ship it back to Tesoro today. Scott

 

[DigDugNY]

My Vaquero doesn't really have that huge a depth problem that you are referring to, but mine is definitely not working the same as when i first got it....I strongly stand by the machine though, it can go deep when setup correctly, but I believe I may have gotten dirt or something in the speaker vent..i mean I still get good "air tests", but on the field I'm not getting much over 6" and my DISC knob seems to be off. However, my last few hunts of the year did produce some good finds with all that said.

I did start to have the Pinpoint problem you are having though. I will hold it down for a few seconds and then it will cut out, requiring me to have to readjust. This was not the case for the majority of the time I've used it. It never seemed to have a problem before. My plan is to just send it in and see what they say..who knows, maybe it has something to do with the depth loss if circuits aren't working correctly

 

[allcav]

This is what I can tell you. In an air test not super tuned, the quarter should be reached at about 9" and the dime about 7". I wont talk about pennies or nickles at this point. I tried this both with too + and too - and just right in the air. When you are too +, it looses depth considerably. These test are all with the disc level at min. We all know max disc will loose depth so I wont even test it that way.
I can also tell you that if your coil is out of tune, it could have the same effect. It could also be something in the circuitry but my guess would be the coil.
Please, before you decide to send it in. Even in an air test. Ground balance the machine properly or your results won't be right. You can also test this your self. If you are indoors, use a hot rock to balance the machine. If you don't have a hot rock, take it out side and balance it and do your tests out there.

 

[DigDugNY]

This is what I can tell you. In an air test not super tuned, the quarter should be reached at about 9" and the dime about 7". I wont talk about pennies or nickles at this point. I tried this both with too + and too - and just right in the air. When you are too +, it looses depth considerably. These test are all with the disc level at min. We all know max disc will loose depth so I wont even test it that way.
I can also tell you that if your coil is out of tune, it could have the same effect. It could also be something in the circuitry but my guess would be the coil.
Please, before you decide to send it in. Even in an air test. Ground balance the machine properly or your results won't be right. You can also test this your self. If you are indoors, use a hot rock to balance the machine. If you don't have a hot rock, take it out side and balance it and do your tests out there.

My reasoning for wanting to send it in is more for the pinpointing problem. After pressing it down for a few seconds it cuts out and stuff and then has to readjust for me to get a signal again

 

[atomicscott]

This is what I can tell you. In an air test not super tuned, the quarter should be reached at about 9" and the dime about 7". I wont talk about pennies or nickles at this point. I tried this both with too + and too - and just right in the air. When you are too +, it looses depth considerably. These test are all with the disc level at min. We all know max disc will loose depth so I wont even test it that way.
I can also tell you that if your coil is out of tune, it could have the same effect. It could also be something in the circuitry but my guess would be the coil.
Please, before you decide to send it in. Even in an air test. Ground balance the machine properly or your results won't be right. You can also test this your self. If you are indoors, use a hot rock to balance the machine. If you don't have a hot rock, take it out side and balance it and do your tests out there.

That is a bit surprising to hit 9" on a quarter. I realize it's apples and oranges, but my F2 would hit about 9" on a quarter. I assumed the Vaq would be deeper.

 

[allcav]

It is deeper when supertuned!

 

[SpiritRelic]

I air test all my detectors with a quarter.The vaq supertuned is one of the deepest.12"stock coil.You can get the ground balance out of wack and the detector will not perform in a air test. :O

 

[Tee1up]

Please, before you decide to send it in. Even in an air test. Ground balance the machine properly or your results won't be right. You can also test this your self. If you are indoors, use a hot rock to balance the machine. If you don't have a hot rock, take it out side and balance it and do your tests out there.

Robert,
Just to make sure i understand you, are you saying that we should ground-balance even for an air-test?
I usually do air-tests up on a bench but you're saying do a GB where ever you are? Would this apply to the Outlaw as well?

Thx in advance.

 

[SpiritRelic]

I do believe for a air test you should be in the neutral position of the ground balance control.The manual talks of this.How to get neutral (middle position)I know i stay near the middle of the ground balance control because my ground is neutral.

 

[tvr]

Also, it seems as though the pinpoint function cuts out after holding the button over 2-3 seconds, requiring me to push it again and put the coil in motion to get a signal again. I was under the impression the Vaq had a 'no-motion pinpoint feature'?

The pinpoint is NOT a no-motion all metal. It requires motion. If you hold the coil still, the detector retunes to the target and the detector goes silent until you move the coil. When you move the coil away from the target, give it a second or two to retune to the ground then sweep slowly over the target again and you should be hearing it again.

A couple of direct cut and pastes from the manual:
"Your Vaquero is equipped with an automatic Threshold Retune circuit in the ALL METAL Mode. While searching in the ALL METAL Mode, the circuit is constantly adjusting the threshold to maintain the steadiest possible audio tone. The Threshold Retune circuit can also be used to help the pinpointing of targets. Hold any target over the coil somewhere between four and six inches away from the coil. You will get a strong audio target signal. After a few seconds, the audio signal will drop to the preset threshold level. When this happens, move the target one or two inches to either side of the center of the coil. You will notice that the audio signal will go silent or null and that the target will only beep directly over the center of the coil."

"When you are hunting in the DISCRIMINATE Mode, the PINPOINT button will allow you to momentarily switch back into the ALL METAL Mode. "

Cheers,
tvr

 

[KVM2]

I had "depth" issues with my "V" where I could not find a dime at four inches in the ground..To check , make sure your coil lead connection to the box is hand tight...not over done, but tight. Then the battery, can you test with a load.. Sometimes new batteries are not cutting it...I ran my "air depths" with a yard stick. Thresh maxed, sensitivity at 10, actually slightly under..Batteries in about a year, running 12V in a battery pack Dime , Indian cent, nice signals at 8.5 inches. Quarter, slightly over 9..Into the super tuned range, too much electrical noise, but double digits..No phones, so the speaker is away from me and these can be considered minimum numbers..And, there was another 2/3's of the super tune area to go..If you go back a bit within the last 3 to 4 months, I published air distance numbers..The "V" is a nasty little beggar.It will mess with your mind, but it will hit deep...I love the clean sweep coil, The 10 turn pot, really noodles it in..Also your speed of the target may be way too fast...I may have done start, mid range and finish as far as tweaking the pot goes. Not exactly a bell curve, but there is a difference in air depth, center being best..The Dime, quarter, half dollar were all silver.........The half was not much further than the quarter.....stock coil...Would like to see an 8 inch concentric super coil's numbers...

 

[atomicscott]

Also, it seems as though the pinpoint function cuts out after holding the button over 2-3 seconds, requiring me to push it again and put the coil in motion to get a signal again. I was under the impression the Vaq had a 'no-motion pinpoint feature'?

The pinpoint is NOT a no-motion all metal. It requires motion. If you hold the coil still, the detector retunes to the target and the detector goes silent until you move the coil. When you move the coil away from the target, give it a second or two to retune to the ground then sweep slowly over the target again and you should be hearing it again.

A couple of direct cut and pastes from the manual:
"Your Vaquero is equipped with an automatic Threshold Retune circuit in the ALL METAL Mode. While searching in the ALL METAL Mode, the circuit is constantly adjusting the threshold to maintain the steadiest possible audio tone. The Threshold Retune circuit can also be used to help the pinpointing of targets. Hold any target over the coil somewhere between four and six inches away from the coil. You will get a strong audio target signal. After a few seconds, the audio signal will drop to the preset threshold level. When this happens, move the target one or two inches to either side of the center of the coil. You will notice that the audio signal will go silent or null and that the target will only beep directly over the center of the coil."

"When you are hunting in the DISCRIMINATE Mode, the PINPOINT button will allow you to momentarily switch back into the ALL METAL Mode. "

Cheers,
tvr

Thanks, guess I should have read the manual again before i asked. I thought it was the case and it's never been a real issue, just though I would ask.

 

[TimNC]

Since the question of problems with the V has come up I have one that baffles me (along with the mystery metal I recently posted). My V loves iron. This is my 6th Tesoro in the last 10 years and the only one that hits on iron like the old CZ5 used to. It will ring on a cut nail like a quarter and in most instances it will fool me. I am determined to give it some more time but it does get frustrating. Also, another thread on this forum complained of the V's insensitivity to silver. I have found one 1926 dime at about 4 inches in very mild soil that was a very faint signal. The only reason I dug it was it was repeatable. The battery was new, the gb was correct and it was supertuned. What's interesting is air tests on the same dime are about 7 inches with a much better signal.

t

 

[atomicscott]

I do believe for a air test you should be in the neutral position of the ground balance control.The manual talks of this.How to get neutral (middle position)I know i stay near the middle of the ground balance control because my ground is neutral.

Actually I tried a neutral gb where the pot was almost directly at 12:00 of the - and + and I also had a nice even response when pumping the coil, very stable threshold. I also tried running slightly pos and slightly neg to see if that would change the results. If it did it was not very discernable. I tried this with 2 coils and I'm constantly checking ground balance as I mostly use my V in all metal (for prospecting). That's one of the reasons I just noticed the lack of depth. I havent hunted in disc mode much with the Vaq until recently, as I've been using the Compadre in parks, schools, etc..
Thanks, Scott

 

[DigDugNY]

The one big thing i don't understand is how some people say the Vaquero is really deep on silver and then others have trouble finding silver over 6". After all the research and posts i've seen about the detector since getting one almost 2 years ago, that is the biggest discrepancy i've seen

 

[SpiritRelic]

You should air test a quarter very close to 12"supertuned.The vaquero and tejon are world known for being deep detectors.Why you think they are so popular in England.They got there own electronics outfit over there that will build you a Tesoro your way.Tesoros range of frequencies seems to be from 10-18 khz range.The Vaquero did great on silver for me.Scott are you supertuned,threshold all the way to the right?This is why i choose one coin.And test every detector with the same coin.A quarter.If you get near 12".You got a kick butt air testing detector.I had two of the deepest minelabs .A sovereign and musky.Vaquero can outdo them both. :O

 

[allcav]

Please, before you decide to send it in. Even in an air test. Ground balance the machine properly or your results won't be right. You can also test this your self. If you are indoors, use a hot rock to balance the machine. If you don't have a hot rock, take it out side and balance it and do your tests out there.

Robert,
Just to make sure i understand you, are you saying that we should ground-balance even for an air-test?
I usually do air-tests up on a bench but you're saying do a GB where ever you are? Would this apply to the Outlaw as well?

Thx in advance.

Yes, test it yourself in the air. Turn your ground balance knob completely clock wise. You will see a loss in depth. Now turn it 5 times clockwise and 2 turns counter. See the difference.

 

[atomicscott]

Spirit, yes I have tried supertuning a few times. It seems if I set the threshold past about the 3:00-4:00 position, I get chatter that makes it difficult to hunt with. I've tried supertuning in different areas. Some of the areas were pretty far off the beaten path, so I didn't think it could be emi, or at least not emi from cell towers or phone/power lines. Robert stated that I should get about 9" air testing on a quarter when properly ground balanced without supertuning (sens at 9 or 10). You said that I should get about 12" when supertuned. Does this mean that supertuning will add 3" of depth? When I was air testing, I only seemed to get about 1.5" more depth when supertuned. I sent it back in yesterday, so we will see how it works when I get it back. Thanks, Scott

 

[atomicscott]

Spirit, yes I have tried supertuning a few times in the field. It seems if I set the threshold past about the 4:00 position, I get chatter that makes it difficult to hunt with. I've tried supertuning in different areas. Some of the areas were pretty far off the beaten path, so I didn't think it could be emi, or at least not emi from cell towers or phone/power lines. Robert stated that I should get about 9" air testing on a quarter when properly ground balanced without supertuning (sens at 9 or 10). You said that I should get about 12" when supertuned. Does this mean that supertuning will add 3" of depth? When I was air testing, I only seemed to get about 1.5" more depth when supertuned. I sent it back in yesterday, so we will see how it works when I get it back. Thanks, Scott

 

[atomicscott]

I had "depth" issues with my "V" where I could not find a dime at four inches in the ground..To check , make sure your coil lead connection to the box is hand tight...not over done, but tight. Then the battery, can you test with a load.. Sometimes new batteries are not cutting it...I ran my "air depths" with a yard stick. Thresh maxed, sensitivity at 10, actually slightly under..Batteries in about a year, running 12V in a battery pack Dime , Indian cent, nice signals at 8.5 inches. Quarter, slightly over 9..Into the super tuned range, too much electrical noise, but double digits..No phones, so the speaker is away from me and these can be considered minimum numbers..And, there was another 2/3's of the super tune area to go..If you go back a bit within the last 3 to 4 months, I published air distance numbers..The "V" is a nasty little beggar.It will mess with your mind, but it will hit deep...I love the clean sweep coil, The 10 turn pot, really noodles it in..Also your speed of the target may be way too fast...I may have done start, mid range and finish as far as tweaking the pot goes. Not exactly a bell curve, but there is a difference in air depth, center being best..The Dime, quarter, half dollar were all silver.........The half was not much further than the quarter.....stock coil...Would like to see an 8 inch concentric super coil's numbers...

Now you've got me thinking KVM, I have been using some off brand batteries for awhile. They are an alkaline chinese brand, but I was getting them for .50 each so I would buy about 10 at a time and just change out early, as they don't last as long as the name brands do. I wonder if the batteries are not handling the load?