Tesoro Bandido II µMax Setup Steps and Comments.

ToddB64

Elite Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
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Location
Georgetown, Ohio, USA
Hi All ! :tiphat:

I want to be sure that my Tesoro Bandido II µMax metal detector is setup correctly as one factor in favor of achieving my main goal of recovering Gold and/or Silver Jewelry. I'll also dig coins if and when encountered of course.

Whenever I go metal detecting, inland hunting at public parks has always been my preference. Water hunting doesn't appeal to me now at age 79 with health issues.

Below are Setup Steps I have arranged for my Bandido II µMax, and following those are a few COMMENTS of things I want to remember on hunts, and as time goes by I might add more, but for now those are all I have. After receiving replies to this thread, and making any changes necessary to the Setup Steps and/or COMMENTS, my plan is to make some Pocket Cards with final Setup Steps and Comments, to take with me afield for reference.

In conclusion, I would appreciate your review, and critique if any, and if these Setup Steps and COMMENTS appear to be correct, your reply one way or another will be appreciated.

Setup Steps in Sequence for Hunting in ALL METAL/NORMAL TUNE mode:
(Steps 1,2 and 3 can be set in any random order.)
1..TUNE: toggle set to NORMAL.

2..MODE: toggle set to ALL METAL.

3..DISC LEVEL: set to MIN (Ohio mineralization is not high, so wouldn't require 'POWER BALANCING'.).

4..SENSITIVITY: When hunting in AM mode, Sens. is designed to function at full Sensitivity in-circuitry, so I'll power ON and leave the dial near setting #1. (See COMMENT #5 below.)

5..THRESHOLD: Adjust dial for slight audible Hum.

6..GROUND BALANCE: Adjust dial ccw or cw while bobbing the coil until I have adjusted to "spot on" ....If ground mineralization allows., meaning no increase or decrease in the original Threshold Hum level as the coil is being raised & lowered over the ground.

COMMENTS:
1..When turning the Bandido II µMax 'OFF', it will turn back 'ON' with the settings for Threshold, Discrimination and Ground balance right where you left them.....unless those dials get bumped or intentionally moved.

2..Pinpointing a target requires no re-adjustment of settings when using the setup steps above, other than to flip the RETUNE toggle left (and allowing it to spring back.) to re-establish the Threshold Hum after encountering a target and X-ing it E-W and N-S. Also, RETUNE can be repeated to further narrow the target signal if desired.

3..When Ground Balancing, if you get an increase (positive) in the Threshold Hum as the coil is lowered toward the ground, or a decreased (negative) response as the coil approaches the ground, it should only take a few seconds to make a subtle adjustment of the control to establish a 'proper' or 'functional' GB and then get busy detecting. Seldom will the GB control have to be turned more than 1/4 to 1/2 turn from where it was last used. Just a very slight change is normally needed.

4..Remember that Jewelry spans a broad range of conductivity !

5..If you happen to be hunting in Silent Search DISC. mode with adjustable SENSITIVITY, increasing Sensitivity Lowers the Threshold, exposing more Target and Ground Mineralization signals, whereas reducing Sens. Raises the Threshold, masking these signals partially or entirely. In these instances the amount of lowering or raising the Threshold and exposing or masking targets and mineralization naturally depends on the Sens. level you set. (See the attachment for a graphic image that should help you to understand this.)


Thanks for reviewing and critiquing this for me.... sorry for the length.

HH.....ToddB64
 

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  • Graphic Image Depicting Threshold Bar Controlled by Sensitivity Setting, WITH TEXT, Word Pad Doc.jpg
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Almost all Tesoro’s, including the bandito II, will go deeper if it’s not perfectly ground balanced....after it’s balanced quiet, tune it to make some noise when raised off the ground....test garden as always is the best way to learn how to get the best depth...”you want a slightly negative response in all metal”....A guy known as Monte expanded on the subject of power balancing and ground balancing a Tesoro 35 years ago..I’m just repeating it.
 
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Almost all Tesoro’s, including the bandito II, will go deeper if it’s not perfectly ground balanced....after it’s balanced quiet, tune it to make some noise when raised off the ground....test garden as always is the best way to learn how to get the best depth...”you want a slightly negative response in all metal”....A guy known as Monte expanded on the subject of power balancing and ground balancing a Tesoro 35 years ago...I’m just repeating it.

Hi Joe !

Thanks for popping in with advice :yes:

I started metal detecting over 14 years ago, right here at my first registered Metal Detecting site, and after a couple of years into the hobby I was hooked on reading Monte's posts here and at other metal detecting websites he frequented and eventually I began posting questions to him.

When Monte started the American Heritage Research & Preservation Society as the Director in 2010 I continued communicating with him and he has increased my understanding on various aspects of metal detecting in the field, as well as operation of the detector console controls and the electronics inside the box.

I appreciate your sharing that a negative Ground Balance will give more depth in All Metal mode, however, since I primarily hunt for Gold and Silver jewelry at Parks where it's normally found anywhere from near-the-surface to 6" or 8" Max depth, I reckon Ground Balancing just for the Threshold Hum, sans Neg. or Pos. on the coil bobbing, will give me sufficient depth for my goal plus any coins as they present, and I'll always dig Pennies because they might occasionally be jewelry, although admittedly not very often, but there's always the chance ! ;)

ToddB64
 
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