Tesoro Sand Shark

[TORRERO]

Posted this on the Tesoro thread as well, but this might be more appropriate here...

Just got a Tesoro Sand Shark yesterday and was running some air tests today on some 18k
gold items dug in Spain years ago.

I was hoping that this machine would pick up the Rope Chain, but it will not.


I also noticed that I was told that the "pulse width" knob was to increase sensitivity, but in air tests
I can not see any difference at all...

Like swinging something in front of the coil does not seem to change in distance no mater what I adjust...

The machine seems to work fine.
picks up targets a long way off depending on the target...

Here is how it air tested on all this stuff.....

Big Gold Christ Head at about 10 inches
Small Gold Christ Head (solid) at about 8 inches
Big Gold Sharks tooth, (clasp & mount 18k) at about 6-7 inches
Small Gold Sharks tooth, at about 3-4 inches
the Gold chain clasp at maybe 1-2 inches
and the Chain itself would not respond no mater what I did...
stretched out, or piled up or even when I tied it in knots....
The Rope Chain is about 30 grams of 18k so worth today about $1800

Anyone know of a pulse machine that could actually pick that up ?
anyone can actually show air-test results?
I used to have a Tesoro Stingray that would blow your ears off on something like this..

any and all comments welcome.
Richard

 

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[OBN]

Re: Tesoro Tiger Shark

Anyone know of a pulse machine that could actually pick that up ?

So called invisible gold and thus thin chains can be detected by a pulse machine that can run a low pulse delay. Whites Surfmaster is 25uS, the Dual Field 15uS, Garrett Infinium 15uS/?, Headhunter 15uS, Tesoro Sandshark 22uS, Whites TDI 13uS/? Eric Fosters Aquastar II manages 10uS, The Minelab PI's run in the 10's uS I think.............problem with the lower pulse rate the unit will be harder to run stable with a smooth threshold because of the salt conductivity ( assuming hunting salt water beaches) ?
I do know a couple VLF that are good for small gold chains, the AT Pro, and the DFX with a smaller coil. My minelabs Excaliburs will go right past the small gold chains unless there is a pendant or lg clasps. I have heard the Stingray was excellent, but just for fresh water. I have a Gold scan may have to run a test...

 

[TORRERO]

Anyone know of a pulse machine that could actually pick that up ?

So called invisible gold and thus thin chains can be detected by a pulse machine that can run a low pulse delay. Whites Surfmaster is 25uS, the Dual Field 15uS, Garrett Infinium 15uS/?, Headhunter 15uS, Tesoro Sandshark 22uS, Whites TDI 13uS/? Eric Fosters Aquastar II manages 10uS, The Minelab PI's run in the 10's uS I think.............problem with the lower pulse rate the unit will be harder to run stable with a smooth threshold because of the salt conductivity ( assuming hunting salt water beaches) ?
I do know a couple VLF that are good for small gold chains, the AT Pro, and the DFX with a smaller coil. My minelabs Excaliburs will go right past the small gold chains unless there is a pendant or lg clasps. I have heard the Stingray was excellent, but just for fresh water. I have a Gold scan may have to run a test...

I used a stingray for several years on wet salt water sand, and that's what I meant on the other thread (Treasurenet/Tesoro) when I said that the stingray would blow your ears off on something like this, it was only slightly noisy, but the weight of the machine made it impractical to carry for long periods, after 10 years in my closet I traded it away.

I also have a DFX and seems to be pretty good in the wet sand also, but I'm looking for the top machine...
now that I have the Sand Shark, I may also get a Tiger Shark and see what it can do.

 

[DewGuru]

Re: Tesoro Tiger Shark

Your subject states Tiger Shark -- Tiger shark is not a PI machine. I assume you mean Sand Shark. I use the Sand Shark and do well with smaller chains. I'd found many smaller than the chain you have shown here. I wouldn't hold much confidence in air tests. I find them worthless myself. Accuracy is only found in the hole dug.

 

[TORRERO]

Re: Tesoro Tiger Shark

Your subject states Tiger Shark -- Tiger shark is not a PI machine. I assume you mean Sand Shark. I use the Sand Shark and do well with smaller chains. I'd found many smaller than the chain you have shown here. I wouldn't hold much confidence in air tests. I find them worthless myself. Accuracy is only found in the hole dug.

yes I updated it, Sand Shark...
Maybe it will pick them up in the sand...
maybe the wet sand will cause them to have a better return signal...
I don't know..
But this is also an 18k chain, which might make a differance with the composition..

 

[U.K. Brian]

Any P.I. that runs down to 15uS or lower should be O.K. but you have to watch coil size. The Headhunter does well with the small coil but not as good with the big.
Even my TDI when fitted with a large coil doesn't do as well. The old rule with any type of detector was the bigger the coil the worse the sensitivity.

Some coil designs like SEF's have improved things but sensitivity still drops off.

 

[Smoogle]

ok my 20c worth of opinion and tests,
I just put a fine gold chain with a small clasp / attachment loop at either end (my wife does not know about this and lordy don't tell her! ha ha ) in the bottom of a plastic pot plant at about 10 inches and filled it full of sandy soil - took three tests with batteries signalling 8 -
1st was when the chain was coiled up and the shark lapped it up and gave a great signal.
2nd I uncoiled the chain - layed the ends on the outside rim edges, buried it flat at the bottom and still got a great hit although I could no longer pinpoint it well and the centre seemed to be ... well not above the end clasps - I don't know.
3rd - I buried the chain uncoiled and made it lie through several layers of soil lifting and turning as I filled it - I was expecting a double blip but still got a hard signal - not screamy like a bottle top but sharp, together and loud.
The chain would weigh about 2-3 g's.
so from my noob position of early hard grind on the SS -
I say this - from all my forum research - air tests are unreliable and virtually useless for PI's
- so few chains are found on the beach compared to rings or flimsy bangles or earings (chicago-ron has a ripping pull the gold chain out video in part of those ripping searches he recently had - but it is the first I've seen) - and we could easily think / assume - "oh I must be missing them- when they may not be there anyway - when you sweep above I reckon they will sound! - and who cares about fine weightless chains anyway - if they had a decent hang on it would sound.
-people say the SS loves iron and this is true but I have seen it love tiny gold, copper, brass, stainless etc targets - my first gold was a tiny heart friendship ring and deep now I look back and the SS just caned it and signalled strongly.
Just get out there find the gold and prove it in the field.

I reckon Tesoro puts it's money where it's mouth is. Ripping machines for mine.

 

[surfhunter]

I've been using the SS on Florida's East coast for just over a years now. I have found there are just to many varitables to deal with. I've done the same air test at home, in the dirt, at the beach in salty beach sand, different beaches because the sand is made up of different concomerates. Some beaches I can't even hunt due to a cell phone tower on top of a condo. Some beaches I can find a dime, literally at 10" and others 4". My finds this year include a very small anklet but that was because I spotted it with my eyes. Found only two gold rings, one was on a chain with a pendant, and a fine gold chain with a heart pendant.

Other things that come into play are size of the coil, battery life, are you detecting in water or out, swing speed is huge if you want small gold,and coil shape. I have found the absolute very best settup for me is Pulse at just above 3/4, volume not blasting because I start to get crakles for the speakers, F adjustment tone at just above a low tone, and in reg mode not VCO. But the biggest difference was when I put on the eliptical coil. Huge difference. With this set up in the buried salty sand I can pick up a 14K earring back with a slow swing speed. I'm now finding necklaces with no pendants or even clasps on them. I also spot check the beaches I want to hunt. If there are no cuts, ripple troughs, or scalloped out areas I move on. One exception is if the beach was packed the day before i.e memorial day, 4th, land air sea showes. Hope this helped!

 

[MoTwister]

This summer I found a 24 inch 14kt white gold chain in 4 feet of water under 5 inches of river gravel with my 1280-X. The chain was balled up at one end and I could get a reading doing back and forth sweep. On the unballed portion I got a signal on only one direction, but it was a good signal.