Tesoro Lobo vs. Whites GMT???

[jdubnc]

I am wanting to purchase a gold detecting machine. I live in NC, near Greensboro. I have been gold prospecting with a 2" dredge and want to add a gold detector to my collection. I want one that could be used in shallow water (no deeper than 2 feet). I am thinking of the Tesoro lobo. Mostly, because of the lifetime warranty, and i could do a lil coin hunting as well. However, I am mostly into gold prospecting. I would like to hear from people who own these machines and get the pro's and con's. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jeremy

 

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[johnedoe]

I would choose the White's.... it is an excellent machine and as far as warranties go you can NOT beat white's customer service.
I can't really give you any advice re the Tesoro.......... As to a lifetime warranty it looks good on paper.

 

[jdubnc]

John, thanks for the input! I found the istructional video on youtube for the GMT. Seems like a simple MD for me. I have not found any videos on the Tesoro though.

I am getting a Whites Goldmaster V/SAT from my brother. He cound not find anything with it! LOL So, i thought i would give it a try. I know it is going to be tough to get used to it due to constantly keeping the ground balance right. Do you have any experience with this machine?

 

[jmoller99]

I have a GMT and a VSat - manual Ground Balancing is not a big deal, and you get used to it pretty quickly. I tend to run the GMT in manual Ground Balance mode to keep it from missing small stuff, so not haveing auto GB shouldn't be a big issue in the long run. They are both very good at finding gold (actually, they are both about equal in that capability). I use a 4X6 DD coil when I am detecting - its much better for the areas I hunt. DD coils deal with mineralization in the ground much better than the older stock concentric coil on the VSat.

I detect with people who have the Tesoro Lobo ST. They are finding gold with them. Lack of a meter is not really an issue - there is no consistency in gold targets, so reading a meter value is not often that informative when hunting for gold. Knowing if a target might be iron or not is good to know (Lobo, GMT and VSat will try to guess). You will want to hunt with headphones.

If you can find the book 'Zip Zip' (by Larry Sallee) which is basically an advanced user manual for finding gold with a White's Gold Master 2 and later detector - it will help a lot. It's out of print, but turns up online occasionally. It has information useful for other gold detectors as well.

The GMT (or VSat) is not great for coin hunting (it will work for it, but its not set up for that function and you will find it too sensitive for looking in parks and the like for coin hunting - you can't discriminate out anything on the GMT or VSat - its higher operating frequency goes crazy over aluminum foil, which seems to be everywhere in parks).

You might also want to look into the Whites MXT. It has Prospecting, Coin and Relic hunting modes. Its gold detecting capability is similar to a GMT, but it runs at a lower frequency, so it won't find as small a gold as the GMT.

 

[jdubnc]

Jmoller99, Thanks a bunch for all the information! I will keep an eye out for the book! Not sure what coil is on the V/SAT. However, when my brother gets it to me i will see if it is a 4x6 "DD" coil. I do know that mice have chewed on some wires near the coil. Im not sure how bad it is yet. So, i may need to purchase a new coil anyways. Again, thank you for your response! Hope you find some yellow!!!

 

[Hemisteve]

What JMOLLER said is 100% correct. I also have a V/SAT and that machine will find ridiculously small pieces of iron. Stick a good magnet on your digging tool or you will spend alot of time in one hole just for a piece of birdshot (Yeah, I have done that).
If you are water hunting seal the wire entrance with a big glob of silicone and if you are using a coil cover, take it off and get it squeakey clean, then re-install and silicone also to keep out any mud or iron.

Keep the ground balance slightly hot, it helps and find a copy of "Zip Zip" it is a must have.
Steve

 

[TerryC]

Zip Zip is good. So is Jim Straight's Detecting "bible". Chris Ralph's Fists full of Gold has an AWSOME section on geology of gold. Good luck. TTC

 

[jdubnc]

WOW!! You guys are great! Hemisteve, thanks for the tips as well! I can not find any MD clubs near me. So, its going to be left up to this forum to help me. I think i will be just fine with you all helping. Terry, Semper Fi Devil dog! What unit did you serve in? I was 3rd BN 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division OHH RAHH!

 

[TerryC]

WOW!! You guys are great! Hemisteve, thanks for the tips as well! I can not find any MD clubs near me. So, its going to be left up to this forum to help me. I think i will be just fine with you all helping. Terry, Semper Fi Devil dog! What unit did you serve in? I was 3rd BN 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division OHH RAHH!

Sorry for the long delay in responding. I did an extended tour (19 months) in Viet Nam. Started out up in Phu Bai and Hué in '67 and Tét of '68. Got our a**es kicked up there but then worked 'em over! A cap outfit then. Combined action platoon. After Nam, Gitmo Bay, Cuba. LOTS of war stories! I'll save them for another day. Sempre Fi, my friend. TTC

 

[nuggetshooter323]

I have an LST and a GMT, and I think both work great for finding gold. I hear that the GMT will find much smaller specks than the LST, but I think the average person needs a lot of practice sifting through handfuls of dirt to sucessfully find such small pieces without losing them. You will lose many before you get good enough to find them. If your going to do nothing else but look for gold then the GMT is for you. I have noticed that the auto ground balance on the GMT is faster than the LST, this might have something to do with the SAT adjustment on the GMT. The LST has a much larger selection of search coils, like huge, and they are compatable with three other models in the Tesoro line. Also, the LST has a disc on it, wich makes it more versitile.

 

[Terry Soloman]

I am wanting to purchase a gold detecting machine. I live in NC, near Greensboro. I have been gold prospecting with a 2" dredge and want to add a gold detector to my collection. I want one that could be used in shallow water (no deeper than 2 feet). I am thinking of the Tesoro lobo. Mostly, because of the lifetime warranty, and i could do a lil coin hunting as well. However, I am mostly into gold prospecting. I would like to hear from people who own these machines and get the pro's and con's. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jeremy

Love this review in Lost Treasure. I think the Lobo and GMT were designed by the same fella (?).
http://www.losttreasure.com/content/archives/tesoro-electronics-lobo-super-traq-gold-metal-detector

 

[Hoser John]

Tesoro LST still rocks the mining world BUT the new Gold Bug Pro model is REALLY shining at the moment up here in the Golden Crescent where heavy mineralization is the norm,still luv my GB2 and always will respect my old friend-tons a au 2 u 2 -John

 

[snakejim]

I am wanting to purchase a gold detecting machine. I live in NC, near Greensboro. I have been gold prospecting with a 2" dredge and want to add a gold detector to my collection. I want one that could be used in shallow water (no deeper than 2 feet). I am thinking of the Tesoro lobo. Mostly, because of the lifetime warranty, and i could do a lil coin hunting as well. However, I am mostly into gold prospecting. I would like to hear from people who own these machines and get the pro's and con's. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jeremy

Love this review in Lost Treasure. I think the Lobo and GMT were designed by the same fella (?).
http://www.losttreasure.com/content/archives/tesoro-electronics-lobo-super-traq-gold-metal-detector

They were designed by the same fella.

--Dave Johnson
Chief Design Engineer, Fisher Research Labs and First Texas Products (Teknetics and Bounty Hunter)

Designer of the following gold machines:

Fisher Gold Bug (no longer in production)

Fisher Gold Bug 2 (in production)

Tesoro Diablo Micromax (my personal all-time favorite gold machine, no longer in production)

Tesoro Lobo Supertraq (general purpose, in production)

White’s GMT (in production)

White’s MXT (general purpose, in production)


And also of the following general-purpose machines with serious gold prospecting capability:

Troy X-5 (no longer in production)

Teknetics T2 (in production)

Fisher F75 (in production)

Fisher F70 (in production)



And, the Fisher F5 and the Teknetics Omega (both in production), which offer good gold prospecting performance when equipped with the accessory 5 inch DD searchcoil (release to production spring 2009)

 

[Goodyguy]

Another vote for the Whites GMT

Just remember the faint signals are usually gold (got to listen close) and the strong ones are usually trash.
If your not finding gold then you are probably not digging the faint signals

 

[snakejim]

Another vote for the Whites GMT

Just remember the faint signals are usually gold (got to listen close) and the strong ones are usually trash.
If your not finding gold then you are probably not digging the faint signals

I agree 100 %. GMT

 

[Nitro 54]

You will be glad if you go with the GMT.. Just because of the frequency difference, the GMT will see much smaller gold.. I don't even bother trying to find flakes in my signals, much quicker to just pan the signals. I started with the V-Sat, but constantly having to manual ground balance got to be a real pain.. You can use the GMT in manual mode and just hit the grab button for a instant reground balance. Hit the positive button a few times and your ready to go again.. The GMT will find the smallest of gold specks..

 

[Hoser John]

Yes DJ has been doing it for many firms BUT the newer the machine the newest,latest greatest electronics is being utilized in the newest units and ya all Whites folks are in for a quite a su-prize when ya drop the brand preference and try something that works MUCH BETTER. Just like DJ changes companies so must you or perish in the technological void-- John

 

[Hoshnasi]

I own a Whites MXT Pro and Tesoro Compadre. I have never had a reason to call Whites for support but I have called Tesoro and they are wonderfully helpful in either email or on the phone.

While my opinion does not mean much in regards to a gold detector, I think I would buy the Lobo over the GMT. The Lobo is more than $100.00 cheaper and I don't think that the Whites for the extra money is that much better. As I understand from friends and people who nugget shoot, its primarily a sound game for the targets anyways.

Here are some good Youtube videos:

I want a pick with a rare earth mag in it now!
Good vids Bucket. Keep in mind that picker was picked up by the Lobo from about 5 inches.

 

[63bkpkr]

Here's my 2 cents worth..

I own a GMT and have found some nice gold with it. I'm in northern CA and I'm working some of the classic CA gold rush rivers. The smallest DD coil is my go to coil. {Look at some of my older posts like in 2010 on Tnet} I use the GMT for general searching as well as for checking over dirt I've dug to see if it has anything in it before I go any further with it. In 2010 I found about a 1/4 ounce using the GMT/pan/sluicebox, very nice 1/8" diameter and larger thick flakes. They looked lovely in a pan or in a sluicebox! The GMT takes some learning but so do all detectors. The biggest thing is to Learn the machine you are using by having good targets for it to work with. Also, headphones are a must. Also, read over some of Lannys posts and check out the sites he suggests, he covers a lot of Good Info.

Good luck, have fun.....................63bkpkr


A Sunday morning thought - In the GMT video Jimmy Sierra is using 'a' cup to sort the dirt, I have found that using two cups keeps me from throwning gold back on the ground as if the target is not in one cup then it is in the other.