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Tesoro Eldorado 1st. gen.

Price: $400
Avg. Score: 5 stars! 4.56
Based on 9 reviews
Submit your review for Tesoro Eldorado 1st. gen.

Great detector!

November 24, 2011
I got into detecting with the silver umax and had a great time with that detector. I unavoidably got the itch for a TID machine and opted for the AT pro and thought I loved it, but the ATP is not a quiet detector. I was considering the Vaquero and kept coming across comparisons of the Vaquero to the Eldorado in my research.

During my research phase I found a craigslist deal on an Eldorado, I bought it and now it's my goto detector. It is not as deep as the ATP but to me it's a nice stable quiet performer. I pinpoint in the discrimination mode only and it is very accurate.
The discrimination is very accurate also. To me thumbing the discrimination knob is so much more intuitive than dealing with a TID machine and coupling that with knowing what a "round" sound from a Tesoro is, I am very confident in what I dig.

My advice, don't get rid of your old detector when you upgrade, the one you upgrade to might be the one you wind up getting rid of. So now I'm happy with two super light Tesoro detectors.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

190

Saved cookies from trash

October 01, 2011
I bought Tesoro Elderado at least 20 years ago and love it. I was making cookies one day and lots of different kinds. As I was mixing the batter I noticed one of the screw was gone! I already had maybe 8 dozen baked and was ready for the last batch. I knew right away the screw was in one of those batches that were cooling. I sure as heck did not want one of my children choking or breaking a tooth.......then as I was trying to decide how to find the screw! I had a huge brain light come on! Metal detector.

I went out side and laid all the cookies on clean towels on our deck cause the deck is all wood! I got out my Tesoro Eldarado and started detecting one group at a time, I think it was the 3rd group I got the sound I needed to hear, as I started removing the "not chatter cookies" I put them in cookie jar and some where in the last ten cookies I pinpointed the cookie with the screw in it!
I pulled the cookie apart and "wha la" there was the screw the Eldorado by Tesoro saved all those cookies from being thrown in the trash!
I am no longer able to hold my detector in my right arm and hand, I had breast cancer and a loss of muscles, it is to heavy so I am now looking for a new lighter one!
We are both retired now, husband had to retire after 43 yrs at same job to be home with me, I also had brain surgery and then breast cancer but I am missing metal detecting it is a great hobby, just have to find the right one with right price! Would not have anything but Tesoro!

Thank you Tesoro from me and family says thanks for saving the cookies!

Overall Rating 5 stars!

164

Not made anymore

April 26, 2011
Well where do I start, this was a replacement for a lasor b1 & silver sabre, did not know if I wanted a bandido or eldorado, a prezzi for my birthday decided, as I was used to the bi the first thing I learnt quickly was that the discrim needed to be at 11 o'clock and not on zero.
The supplied coil was a spider coil, now in the mid 90's I tried this on the lasor and found it no good (wrong)it was me being set in my ways, any way, I always used the widescan so the first thing I did was put on the 81/2" widescan, hey ho the only real differance was the tone, but I quickly got used to it ok, great little detector, easy to ground balance, with the advantage of a 3 way switch-able freq. so if detecting near other tesoros I flick a switch with out stopping (strange that it does not affect the eld, only other machines)all coils work well 12" concentric and the silvers 8" concentric, although I don't use these as my preference is the wide scan.

I have tried them, the only coil I am waiting to try when I can afford one is the sef 12x10, like all tesoro's it is not overly deep, but it has found 3 scattered hoards, very responsive on silver, and relics, in England this machine is my preferred one for Roman sites, with a 8" wide scan coil, the recovery is remakable, with iron as a broken chirp or a one way broken signal, non ferrious it says dig me (but only if you listen) I have lovly coins and artefacts from amongst the iron contaminated ground on Roman sites, I even dig small shards of iron and nails amongst the soil to get out the goodies; easy to use all day, without getting tired, small light and easy to set up, not over balanced by a larger coil.

I use the spider coil on non comtaminated field sites with good results, and the widescan can be used on parks with massive results; Why is this machine good ? Because the machine is not fussy, it does what it says on the tin. 2 grumps, need a larger coil, and the fiberglass lower stem, when its dirty and you collapse it into the middle stem it soon becomes non responsive, and wont fold away, the answer is to get a metal one, I used a lasor one, as it is longer, and the problem was solved, if you see this detector for sale, buy it if you can, most of them are cheap, you wont regret it, especially on contaminated sites.

The two guys I detect with both went out and got tesoros becuase of what they can do. Thank you for reading this and I hope it is helpful.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

110

New Zealand meets Eldorado

September 16, 2009
Firstly me and my buddy mic, and his excalibur 1000 by minelab is a great machine, I have seen him pull silver coins dime size out past 12 inches and they are over 100 years old which got me started. My very first day out against him today with the very compact and light eldorado, we were going over a area which was very old and great searching but I was having trouble nailing down silver coins. The ground balance of this machine is great and the nice and quiet silence untill I hit a target not six feet from where I started, we stared at each other both keen too see the target below about 6 inches down I found a 5c piece which gave me some nice crisp tones, I was happy too find a silver...well those that don't know the eldorado this machine goes deep and with clean tones. I had a great day and found over a dozen coins, three old pocket knives, one old piece of jewellery and a huge grin.

Overall Rating 4 stars

132

I love it!!

April 14, 2009
I like this better than my Vaquero! Tesoro I believe should have kept producing this great detector. It descriminates extremely well, very deep and very easy to ground balance. I only use Tesoro these days and machines like this are the reason.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

122

Eldorado uMax

February 12, 2008
Absolutely one of the best detectors ever produced by Tesoro. While it may lack some of the overall depth of the $1000.00 bells and whistle units it will outhunt them when a quick response and target separation is required. It also doesn?t require shoulder surgery after swinging it for extended periods of time as some do. After using the several of the high end detectors this simple, lightweight unit was a surprise. If you can survive without the multiple tones and the sometimes false visual responses showing up on a screen it is a lot of fun. Sadly, it has been replaced by the new ?Hot Technology?.

Overall Rating 4 stars

141

Eldorado - One of Tesoro's absolute best!

March 18, 2007
I bought an Eldorado off of Ebay and it has been one of the most consistent and solid detectors I've ever had. DEEP and very stable with discrimination that rivals $1100 detectors. Silver coins at the 9 inch mark still ring loud and clear on the Eldorado. It is a COIN MAGNET! Operating at the 10 khz range, it is especially useful on low conductivity metals such as silver coins. It has done great on relics too.

For under $400, the Eldorado is the best deal out there, in my opinion. I am deeply saddened to hear that Tesoro no longer makes this detector. The Vaquero has taken its place. I hear the Vaquero is excellent as well, but I am here to say that the Eldorado rules! Long live Tesoro!

Overall Rating 5 stars!

260

Tesoro Eldorado

February 20, 2005
The Tesoro Eldorado is a nice machine that can find silver coins up to 5 inches deep. After about twenty hours of usage I was able to learn the attitude of the machine when over anything silver. Since then I realize how important it is to have a test garden to learn any new metal detectors behavior patterns. The Eldorado only gives one tone when over any object so you must learn to use the discrimination to help guess at what it is you're going to be digging. My complaints are the uno (one) tone and the lack of depth past 5 inches. The good is that you can swing all day (and I have) and not get tired. Also, I must tell you that if it's silver and less than 5 inches of dirt between you and it, you will find it.

The problem with the star system as a review is that no one is consistent with what is a 5 star. If its price range rating than this is a 4 star machine. If it's overall compared to all other metal detectors then it's a two star. With that said I do enjoy the Eldorado an plan on using it in the future.

Overall Rating 3 stars

1710

Price and Features rate well on this one!

December 28, 2004
I have used the Eldorado alot in the three or so years I've owned one. In my experience, the stock 9x8 coil doesn't pinpoint well enough, so I use the 7" all the time. I never need the all metal pinpoint, as it does great in disc mode by "X-ing"
the target. It is not the deepest machine I own, but with the GB and a great discriminator, I rate it up with much more costly units. It loves dimes, and once I practiced with it alot, I could easily determine whether to dig or not. I mostly coin shoot with it, and it's hot on silver aswell as gold jewelry. I like the three piece pole, as I can carry it in a back pack to the woods, and it is very light in the hand when swinging all day. That is another reason I like the 7" coil.
It has a fast retune speed, so the all metal pinpoint is a bit tricky. The ground balance is easy to do, and in my area I have few troubles getting it to balance.It picks out targets well among trash as long as I don't move the coil too fast. I run it wide open on the sensitivity dial most of the time. At some sites I can't though, so I back it off just a bit until it quiets down.
For the money, you get a great warranty, and great tone responce. The disc knob is well marked, and accurate on most targets. The trash items I have most trouble with when hunting old homesteads is large iron, mason jar lids, etc.Screw caps will sound off louder than coins unless the coin is very shallow, but by lifting the coil a few inches off the ground I can tell if the target is too big to be a coin, then I won't dig it.
It works great for "clad hunting" in parks, where I want to move fast to dig the most targets I can in a short time.
An example: I get a good hit, set the unit straight down and touch my vibra-probe on the turf, if shallow, I quickly recover it. If deep I cut a small "U" and probe it again, and it is in my pouch quickly, and I lift the detector straight up, cover the hole and swing away, no arm strap to feed my wrist through.
The adjustable threshold is a good feature too, as I can raise or lower the volume as needed, so shallow signals aren't too loud, or raise it some, to enhance deep signals.
One 9v battery lasts me several days out detecting, and the battery test switch is helpfull too. Hope my experiences with the Eldorado can help someone. I have some nice finds so far with mine, and will use it a long time yet!
I have just about paid for mine just with clad, let alone the gold I found at the lake this summer, and the 1923 quarter in (AU-50) I dug this year too.Happy Hunting.....Paul

Overall Rating 5 stars!

708

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