Lobo SuperTRAQ

[Ranger1]

Hey folks, I am fairly new to detecting and after all the research and reviews I have decided on a Tesoro. I had just about decided on the Vaquero because of the manual ground balance but, since I located an Lobo SuperTRAQ locally I have a couple of questions first.

* The Lobo SuperTRAQ is (new in the box) that was purchased around 1997 or 1998. Has there been any changes over the years as it looks identical to the current LST?
* How well does the Computerized Ground Tracking System react to different soil types especially here in Georgia?
* It also has the reputation of being an all around detector. Whats your thoughts on this?

* Also, he also has a Sidewinder uMax (new in box) purchased in 97 or 98 that I was thinking of getting for my daughter to use. Not much info out there on this one. Any info is appreciated.

 

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[Adrian SS]

Hey folks, I am fairly new to detecting and after all the research and reviews I have decided on a Tesoro. I had just about decided on the Vaquero because of the manual ground balance but, since I located an Lobo SuperTRAQ locally I have a couple of questions first.

* The Lobo SuperTRAQ is (new in the box) that was purchased around 1997 or 1998. Has there been any changes over the years as it looks identical to the current LST?
* How well does the Computerized Ground Tracking System react to different soil types especially here in Georgia?
* It also has the reputation of being an all around detector. Whats your thoughts on this?

* Also, he also has a Sidewinder uMax (new in box) purchased in 97 or 98 that I was thinking of getting for my daughter to use. Not much info out there on this one. Any info is appreciated.

The LoboST is an excellent metal detector and the Ground tracking is pretty good even by todays standards.
It can be used in most ground types with the exception of extreme iron mineralisation where it will be difficult to control the threshold. Wet salt beach sand will require the sensetivity to be turned down a bit but combined with the three position mineral switch you will be able to get reasonable operation at the beach. I have used my LST in the water and have been able to find coins 8 or more inches down. The disc mode is fine for parks n gardens coin and jewelery hunting and the detector has excellent sensitivity to small items like chains and ear rings etc.
The LST has not realy changed since the begining but now has a better selection of coils.
The Lobo pre LST did not have Auto Ground Tracking.

The Sidewinder is a nice light weight detector that is great for the ladies.
It is a great little coin shooter.
The detector is a 12khz Silent Search discriminator with fixed ground balance and an All metal pinpoint mode.
This was a detector that found favour with the competition hunters.

As for the Vaquero; It is a fine detector and if you like manual GB then this detector will keep you satisfied for a while.

 

[Keppy]

If i was you the first Lobo to come out was just the Lobo......... And i think the lobo Super Traq came out after 1998 but i could be wrong ...... Just make sure it says lobo Super traq on the detector and not just Lobo.........You do not want a Lobo you want the lobo Super Traq............. The original lobo did not have Auto ground tracking.... and you had to manual ground balance it.. here is a picture of the lobo it does not say ......Super Traq on it any were so it is not the newer lobo Super Traq......

 

[Adrian SS]

If the Classic SL handles the ground well, it will be a walk in the park for the LST. At 250 bucks grab it NOW!!

Make sure the Ground tracking is working. It should take only around 3 pumps of the coil to get it balanced.

 

[U.K. Brian]

Latest version of the Lobo Supertrac is the Wolftrax Gold Wolf. Not to different from the Supertrac but the audio is now better and the stock coil is a 10 x 5 inch. ED 180 discrimination. I can't remember if they had that on the early Supertracs.

 

[Adrian SS]

The Lobo was a 20khz detector and the LST operates at 17.5khz.
The LST has 180 degree disc which is an extended lower range down to All Metal.

 

[Keppy]

Is the new gray lobo super traq .. like the wolf trax ? I don't see any dealer i looked up that sells the new gray Lobo super Traq..........

 

[Allcav]

Is the new gray lobo super traq .. like the wolf trax ? I don't see any dealer i looked up that sells the new gray Lobo super Traq..........

We do not make the Gold LST at all. It may be that the dealers have not called me for a gray LOBO to update their webpage. As a matter of fact, I think only 3 dealers emailed me or called me for the new LST picts.

 

[Monte]

Ranger1:
Hey folks, I am fairly new to detecting and after all the research and reviews I have decided on a Tesoro. I had just about decided on the Vaquero because of the manual ground balance ...
Welcome to a great outdoor sport.

My word of caution, and I bring this up in every seminar I do, in monthly meetings we host, and frequently on forum posts, is this:

"There is no perfect detector made."​

There are some good detectors for certain applications, there some specialty detectors, plenty of lower-end, less featured models on the market, some more expensive and difficult for mot to learn to adjust, .... and then we also have several that could qualify as a good "general purpose" detector that can be used inn a variety of hunting tasks.

The Tesoro Vaquero fits closer to the "multi-purpose" class because it does provide a true manually adjusted Ground Balance for the Threshold-based All Metal mode, and a motion-based, silent-search Discriminate mode.


Ranger1:
...but, since I located an Lobo SuperTRAQ locally I have a couple of questions first.

* The Lobo SuperTRAQ is (new in the box) that was purchased around 1997 or 1998. Has there been any changes over the years as it looks identical to the current LST?
The 'original' Lobo and the newer Lobo SuperTRAQ both can fit the class of "multi-purpose" detectors.

The only factory change here in the USA to the Lobo SuperTRAQ is the recent package color change. Just a physical appearance thing.


Ranger1:
* How well does the Computerized Ground Tracking System react to different soil types especially here in Georgia?
The Lobo SuperTRAQ has a very efficient Ground Tracking circuitry to handle almost all ground mineral environments. I am not a big fan of constant auto-tracking, preferring either an automated Ground Balance that adjusts and then locks that setting, or a manual Ground Balance which leaves me in control of the best functional setting.

The caution to consider here is that the Ground Tracking circuitry works ONLY for the Threshold-based All Metal mode. The Lobo ST relies on an internally preset Ground Balance for the motion Discriminate mode. I hunt in some rather challenging locations and, for me, I prefer to not use a constantly tracking circuitry, and really like to have operator control over the Ground Balance function.


Ranger1:
* It also has the reputation of being an all around detector. Whats your thoughts on this?
The Lobo St can do an all-around job, but not with the stock coils. When I used the Lobo SuperTRAQ as my primary search detector in '99 and into 2001 I decided to stay with the round 8" concentric coil. I used them all, but favored the concentric coil because it balanced well, and it also discriminates better than a Double D coil.

Overall it was an 'PK' detector for general use, but I did run into a few situations where the preset GB in the Disc. mode was not sufficient for the terrible ground mineralization where we were.


Ranger1:
* Also, he also has a Sidewinder uMax (new in box) purchased in 97 or 98 that I was thinking of getting for my daughter to use. Not much info out there on this one. Any info is appreciated.
The Sidewinder µMAX was popular, but it also suffered from a factory glitch in the circuitry design. There were a few models that had the same problem, like their first Conquistador, too.

The glitch? These models have an internal trimmer to preset the Ground Balance adjustment. The 'glitch' is that on most that I have handled and recalibrated for others, the GB is changed when you adjust the Discrimination control!

If the Disc. control is set way high when the GB trimmer is adjusted, then reducing the Disc. level to maybe iron nail rejection at the minimum setting could result in a too-negative GB setting and falsing would occur.

If the Disc. level was set at the minimum position and the GB trimmer was set a little more positive than needed, then some increase in the Discrimination level will also shift the GB setting up more positive. It could be so positive that you might not detect a big silver dollar or even a half-dollar coin.

The last one I tweaked for a detector dealer here in Oregon so that it should probably handle most higher mineralized ground enough that it will work okay, but not too much to reject high-conductive targets. He said he uses it as a loaner unit so it will maybe be okay. In the past it falsed a lot for him. The problem was not just the GB trimmer, but the overall settings between the GB trimmer and the Discrimination level.

Monte

 

[Keppy]

Monte ... like i said before you give out some good information.. No..BS .. I like that.

 

[Alloffroad]

I have the vlf/discriminator. How is this detecror for gold in northern cali. Deserts

 

[Don in SoCal]

Ranger 1 and Alloffroad,
I once had a Tesoro Diablo Gold Demon II. It operated at the same frequency and used the same coils as the original Lobo. The Gold Demon II was produced just after the Lobo production and the difference was the discrimination circuitry was dropped. In my experience and comparing with my LST, the main problem is the lack of available coils for the older 20khz machines and in my soil a bit less depth.
The LST is much more versatile. Designed for use in All Metal Mode as a prospecting for gold MD'r especially with the stock 5X10 DD coil. It also serves well as in Discrimination Mode as a coin hunting machine with the 8X9 Conc. or 8X11 DD coils and for trashy areas the 5.75 Conc. is fantastic. Personally I like the ground tracking feature in AM mode and if at any time I'm in doubt about the ground balance, three quick 'pumps' to the ground and I'm assured I'm good to go.