Frustrated Cibola owner

[eyemustdigtreasure]

I own a Cibola, and used it exclusively for four years in a row, almost weekly, so I have mastered it pretty well.
Yes, I dig trash, but who doesn't?!~
I suggest you doing a careful air test, away from any electrical and large metal objects, to figure where the good stuff shows up.
Pay attention to where each (coin) starts being heard on your discriminator dial, and with a good, repeatable signal - you got it!
So, you have to thumb the dial for each target, mostly, but can sort out trash alongside goodies.
I found a nail alongside the dime I dug yesterday - great discriminator!
Pretty soon, you will be able to call what you are getting, before being dug.
Silver is found at the end of the dial, and (on mine) pennies are at 3 o'clock position,
but your machine might be just a bit different,
so don't rely totally on the positions of stuff, printed on the face of your machine.
"Practice makes perfect"!

 

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[DiggerinVA]

Mainly it was the grassy area (always damp soil) of an elementary school where alot of kids gather waiting for their parents. Found a few bucks with the V & thought I had cleaned it out. Found 59 more coins there with my F2, some down to 10" or so (deep as the Lesche). Granted the sens on the V was usually around 9 or so, but stable thresh. Found nothing over 7-8" with it at this particular school, I just assumed the V found it all. Sorry, but I am really too busy to plot 'schemes' on how to dis Tesoro, lol. This was just my experience. Maybe if I would have cranked sens past the red and upped the threshold, I would have found those other coins. I would then have no disc, as it is so inaccurate when supertuning it is basically useless

My AT pro is still finding stuff in areas hunted by machines costing twice as much......This just means the other hunters missed them, not the machines. Obviously, you are happy with your xterra, i am happy with my garrett machines and i know alot of happy Vaquero users. I know that the Vaq will hit deeper targets than my ATP.....but for "ME" the ATP is the better machine.....and for you the Xterra is the better machine.....for someone else maybe the Vaquero is their machine....

 

[atomicscott]

My AT pro is still finding stuff in areas hunted by machines costing twice as much......This just means the other hunters missed them, not the machines. Obviously, you are happy with your xterra, i am happy with my garrett machines and i know alot of happy Vaquero users. I know that the Vaq will hit deeper targets than my ATP.....but for "ME" the ATP is the better machine.....and for you the Xterra is the better machine.....for someone else maybe the Vaquero is their machine....

Maybe deeper but the disc is so inaccurate, lots of trash will be dug in order to find any good deeper targets. Used it over and over on the same lots/schools. Found many, many good targets the Vaquero (not me) missed. After hitting the same spots so many times with 3 different detectors, you get to know what machine was better. I could not have missed all those good targets with just the Vaquero. One answer is; good targets that ID'ed like iron, that I left for trash.

 

[DiggerinVA]

I have not used a Vaquero....ii have used a Tejon, Cibola, Silver Umax and Compadre. And i know that in order to do well with any of them you have to "retrain yourself" from a multi-tone VDI machine. I never got it....but some do very well with them.

 

[atomicscott]

I have not used a Vaquero....ii have used a Tejon, Cibola, Silver Umax and Compadre. And i know that in order to do well with any of them you have to "retrain yourself" from a multi-tone VDI machine. I never got it....but some do very well with them.

True, but I learned on the Vaquero in all metal threshold hum, listening for the "zip" targets versus the "boings" as I bought it for prospecting, which it works well for. I ran the Vaquero & Compadre for over 1 year, 2-4 times per week. Of the 2, I felt I could trust the Compadre more. It was more honest & the slighty higher freq of the Vaq likes iron more. Thats one reason it likes relics & gold, so it is a trade-off.

 

[DiggerinVA]

Dollar for dollar and pound for pound...the Compadre may be their best machine.....only one i kept.

 

[ed1234]

OK, here is another puzzled Cibola owner. My story short -- was reading tons of statements how deeeeep Cibola is in air test, saw u-tube videos where people show even 12'' for a quarter and 6-7'' for a dime, loved what I saw and bought Cibola!! That is where fun ended. Air test on mine (late 2014 ) does not even get to 6''. In super-tune with Threshold and sensitivity to the max when it cracks and squeaks -- 7''. THAT IS IT, in air test, on 25 cent. Any ideas? Do I have a broken unit?

 

[DiggerinVA]

OK, here is another puzzled Cibola owner. My story short -- was reading tons of statements how deeeeep Cibola is in air test, saw u-tube videos where people show even 12'' for a quarter and 6-7'' for a dime, loved what I saw and bought Cibola!! That is where fun ended. Air test on mine (late 2014 ) does not even get to 6''. In super-tune with Threshold and sensitivity to the max when it cracks and squeaks -- 7''. THAT IS IT, in air test, on 25 cent. Any ideas? Do I have a broken unit?

I called Tesoro sometime back about a similar issue with the Silver Umax that i bought my wife. I was told that around 6-7 inches is all i should expect from any of their auto-GB machines....even with bigger coils or even if i traded up to Cibola...i am also very confused about these videos showing Cibolas getting massive depth Obviously they are fake, or they just got exceptional units....My advice to you would be to trade it in for a Eurotek pro.

 

[Dtektor]

WhiteTornado,
One thing I have learned by going through some of what you have experienced (and changing machines back and forth), there is some value in occasionally using the pinpoint feature on the Tesoros in that aluminum cans will SCREAM at you when passed over in pinpoint mode. It is essentially putting the detector into ALL METAL when you push the button and had you already been in that mode you would have known almost instantly you had found a can or larger piece of iron. Rainyday gave you some very good advice. I have owned Tesoro, Fisher, Garrett and Minelab machines but I just recently gave up the Minelab for another Tesoro Vaquero! I found way more stuff once I had put some hours cherry picking coins as he said. Good Luck and HH.

 

[atomicscott]

OK, here is another puzzled Cibola owner. My story short -- was reading tons of statements how deeeeep Cibola is in air test, saw u-tube videos where people show even 12'' for a quarter and 6-7'' for a dime, loved what I saw and bought Cibola!! That is where fun ended. Air test on mine (late 2014 ) does not even get to 6''. In super-tune with Threshold and sensitivity to the max when it cracks and squeaks -- 7''. THAT IS IT, in air test, on 25 cent. Any ideas? Do I have a broken unit?

Sorry man, either the videos are fake or someone got a "ringer" that somehow surpasses the depth that 99% of cibolas get. I fell for those videos with my Vaquero as well. Never got close to depths the videos showed. Sent it back to Tesoro, Rusty "retuned" it. I got approx 1/2" more depth after that. My lesson: don't trust the videos when making a detector choice.

 

[atomicscott]

WhiteTornado,
One thing I have learned by going through some of what you have experienced (and changing machines back and forth), there is some value in occasionally using the pinpoint feature on the Tesoros in that aluminum cans will SCREAM at you when passed over in pinpoint mode. It is essentially putting the detector into ALL METAL when you push the button and had you already been in that mode you would have known almost instantly you had found a can or larger piece of iron. Rainyday gave you some very good advice. I have owned Tesoro, Fisher, Garrett and Minelab machines but I just recently gave up the Minelab for another Tesoro Vaquero! I found way more stuff once I had put some hours cherry picking coins as he said. Good Luck and HH.

Or you can just do what most people do, & raise the coil about 10-12" to verify aluminum cans.

 

[Pointman]

I used a Cibola for almost 2 years. I never found anything older than a few wheats with it, but mainly I never dug anything real deep with it nor I tried to listen for deeper tones (even supertuned). I also didn't have the best headphones. With all this, I can say that I am not totally sure if it is a deep machine, but I also cannot rule out that it could go deeper than I have dug. I would be very, very surprised if someone can get a consistent signal 10 inches on a dime. (10 inches and we are talking about high end machine depth, or Fisher CZ depth.)

I know that it is a fast and excellent machine to pinpoint with. I currently have one on loan to someone, so I don't use it. I think it is a great machine, but if want deeper and more features, you just simply have to pay more for a higher end machine. I would still recommend it to anyone that is starting out, and unsure if they will jump head first into the hobby or as a competition machine where depth isn't an issue.

 

[Hobojo]

Well just check my wifes Cibola and with the "air test " method and I was able to get a .25 US at 10.5" to 11" and a US .10 at 7" to 7.5" , with the disc set at nickel and sens as high as i could get it without chattering, in the field my wife is often calling me over to help her dig holes that are deeper than she wants to dig. I have seen her pull out quarter at over the lenght of her pin-pointer which is around 7". I think it all depends on the soil conditions. It IS one of the deeper Tesoros that we have. The deepest by far is the Sand Shark. I HAVE pulled a small circut board at almost 18" with the Shark on the beach. Of course your results may vary!

 

[DiggerinVA]

Well just check my wifes Cibola and with the "air test " method and I was able to get a .25 US at 10.5" to 11" and a US .10 at 7" to 7.5" , with the disc set at nickel and sens as high as i could get it without chattering, in the field my wife is often calling me over to help her dig holes that are deeper than she wants to dig. I have seen her pull out quarter at over the lenght of her pin-pointer which is around 7". I think it all depends on the soil conditions. It IS one of the deeper Tesoros that we have. The deepest by far is the Sand Shark. I HAVE pulled a small circut board at almost 18" with the Shark on the beach. Of course your results may vary!

That is impressive.....these machines must vary greatly in performance. I would buy one today if I knew I could get 10.5" on a quarter with it! I have read that a Cibola wit the GB mod is hotter than a Vaquero....

 

[ed1234]

Well just check my wifes Cibola and with the "air test " method and I was able to get a .25 US at 10.5" to 11" and a US .10 at 7" to 7.5"

Here we go. One gets 7'' on a dime, I get 7'' only if I swing my Citizen watch with metal bracelet.

Mr Hobojo, what coil do you use? Standard? If you do not mind, can you please measure resistance on it? There are 4 contact, 2 for each inner coil. I get 4.3 om on one, and about 67 om on another. Electronics are so standard, I would suspect the coil.
All other folks, just for curiosity, if any has access to basic multimeter, do you mind to share coil type and resistance. Maybe my coil is flooded or something...

Thank you so much

 

[atomicscott]

Well just check my wifes Cibola and with the "air test " method and I was able to get a .25 US at 10.5" to 11" and a US .10 at 7" to 7.5" , with the disc set at nickel and sens as high as i could get it without chattering, in the field my wife is often calling me over to help her dig holes that are deeper than she wants to dig. I have seen her pull out quarter at over the lenght of her pin-pointer which is around 7". I think it all depends on the soil conditions. It IS one of the deeper Tesoros that we have. The deepest by far is the Sand Shark. I HAVE pulled a small circut board at almost 18" with the Shark on the beach. Of course your results may vary!

Wow! Upon speaking with Robert (former Tesoro rep Allcav) I was told that my Vaquero should get 9-10" IN AIR on a quarter with stock coil. Never got near that in ground, even in good moist ground I was only able to find 1 quarter past 8". So I question these 13" air test videos. I could get better air test when supertuning, although it was barely useable in the field with all the popping and chatter.

 

[DiggerinVA]

This is the main reason I dont own a Vaquero right now. If you read enough reviews you will hear everything from 5-15 inches on a quarter. 5 is pathetic. .15 is hard to believe. I would be happy with something in the 10" range, but I just dont like gambling on a machine with such a wide range of reviews. Guess thats the only way to know forsure though.

 

[Hobojo]

" your results may very " !! As far as that we are VERY happy with all our Tesoros . She uses the stock coil, why ? because my understanding is that she would need to have any other coil ground balanced to the machine. Also im not an electrican, and dont even play one on TV so "Ohms well that ends well".
I do have to say she loves her Cibloa. Her ONLY complaint is that she doesn't like having to dig the holes. I would agree with Atomicscott , the ground is a whole another story Vs the airtest that I have seen. Im sure 7" to 7.5 " is a good bet in good soil with the machine on a $ .25 . To be honest in the year and a half the that we have been digging holes I seldom dig a coin out past my pin-pointer, which is the Whites TRX. Cans and larger objects will be deeper . We also dont hunt in all metal with our machines , too much trash in my parks and schools. We trend to keep the disc at just past foil or right at nickel until we get tired of digging CRAP. At that point is where the Tesoros shine ,crank it past zinc and just dig Coppers , Dimes and Quarters , silver and LARGE gold rings will also sound off very well with the Tesoro when set past zinc.
Again this is JUST MY experience with MY Tesoros others may have a different one. I still love them and HOPE that they bring out the Cazador soon.

 

[ed1234]

I contacted 2 more people with relatively new Cibolas, and both report same thing - hardly gets 7'' in air test. At the same time people who bought them before 2010-2011, easily get 11'' on a quarter. Statistically speaking It is a very poor data set to do an analysis on, but the impression develops that in last few years Tesoro may have changed something in design/production of Cibola that made it much less a performer.
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Just in case, for all owners, a kind word of attention: if you got an old Cibola -- do not sell it. New one may not replace what you had.
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[l.cutler]

Hm, I just tried mine with a dime. With full max sensitivity and disc at nickel, I get a clear repeatable signal at 10 inches. Cutting the sensitivity back down to 10 and it still gets the dime at eight inches.