Tesoro Compadre A 'Casualty Of Perception Control'

In this blog I'm going to be writing about Tesoro, the Compadre and how it's our perception that changes over time rather than time itself. 

This Is A Long Blog So Strap Yourself In

I'm going to write about the Tesoro Compadre from the viewpoint of using it on the river foreshore where targets are shallow and both non-ferrous and ferrous signals are scattered heavily all over the terrain. It has to be one of the hardest environments to hunt and it's imperative that you understand the audio of your machines. I won't be using the Compadre in my fields because I use my Nexus detectors inland, the performance they exhibit is fantastic and I love to take it slow searching for the deeper targets when swinging those specific machines.

Dated? Nope

The approach on the river is the complete opposite to what I describe above, I'm looking to pull non-ferrous out the iron, most targets aren't much deeper than 5 to 6 inches maximum. Most are just below the surface, many have iron in close proximity to them. In these situations you want a machine that's fast and unmasks well and can also hit on the small stuff. I performed one 3D unmasking test using the Compadre and it hit on the targets well from one angle which is in line with most machines using a DD coil. I then took it straight out to go hunting, that's the only time you can really suss a machine out. Performing stupid tests is all very well but you can never mimic a real hunting scenario.

The machine came with a 7' inch DD, this size coil works well on the Rapier 2 so I was sure it was going to do a pretty good job. There's part of me that thinks there's so much anal bullshit involved in metal detecting nowadays and we're made to believe there's certain ways to go about doing things. For example, small coils for unmasking, my view on this is simple, you can go about things the way YOU see fit, there's too much marketing hype and sellout shills trying to rewrite the rule book - There Are No Rules! When it comes to analog metal detectors let intuition be your guide, if you can't access your intuition due the mental pollutants within the modern age then I suggest you work out how to reconnect to it.

Less Is More

Lets Focus Elsewhere, We'll Come Back To The Compadre Shortly

It's common knowledge by now that Tesoro went out of business, this is a shame to me because the world is lacking "quirky" original items. Everything is becoming more and more automated with a dull sterile appearance. So many big mouths in the metal detecting world insist that Tesoro didn't move with the times, that might be so in some areas but does that mean their machines are dated junk - no it doesn't. Let us remember that marketing is mind-control and to the system we're merely "CONSUMERS" not humans, we're numbers and digits on a screen, here to be programmed, controlled and sold to on a second to second basis. To sell something to anyone you have to manipulate their perception into believing what you're selling is not only something that they need but it's also the best out there.

When the new age of metal detectors suddenly appeared, a tidal wave of perception control came with them. All of a sudden there were these cool new futuristic machines that were clearly better than anything else that had come before .... right? .... wrong! For years now technology has been systematically infiltrating the human condition, not by chance, by design, and because most of the population are gullible sheep, they comfortably take onboard everything that they get told without question. This makes for really boring conversation because people just don't have the ability to think independently from the mainstream narratives that entwine their everyday lives.

Because technology and automation is the future we're being conditioned into believing that the latest gadgets must be the best because they involve the "latest tech". Along with Science, Technology is the new god, well, until it renders the human race useless having taken all the jobs. Lucky I ain't a religious man, it's a mind prison, trusting the science over the last few years really did everyone the world of good didn't it. I'm sure all these people now suffering from Myocarditis and other long lasting side effects from the "state injectable" are so happy that they worshipped the science. I apologise if I'm coming across as a "Far-Right Extremist" for having my own view on things.

Not All Of Us

The last time I went into a metal detecting shop I ran my own psychological test, I asked what the difference was between the Fisher F44 and the Minelab Vanquish, the answer was "the Vanquish has the latest tech". OK so what does that involve? "multi-frequency, which is better than signal frequency". Right .... OK. to me this was just another one of those blanket statements that when you scratched a little below the surface you realised it was a baseless bullshit statement. Clearly the memo was to push the 'new wave' of machines and let the older models sink into the foreground amid the shouts of dated .... obsolete and relics of the past.

Once you've managed to convince enough people of this then the herd controls and regulates itself, Who Wants To Be Seen On These Ultra Cool Rallies And Group Digs With An Uncool, Dated & Obsolete Single Frequency Metal Detector? no one, most want to run with the mob, safety in numbers .. right? Me personally, I run away from the mob, I've had no desire to ever be part of it. It's simply a nonthinking sludge slowly incasing the world in a zombie frame of mind, it's as if invasion of the body snatchers is a real thing and it's happening right now ........ RUN FOR YOUR LIFE PEOPLE !!!! 

"It's Got The Latest Tech"

In the past when I've written blogs similar to this I've been accused by some people of telling everyone what they should be using. This is clearly complete bollocks and I challenge anyone to find a video or a blog where I'm telling people what machine they should and shouldn't be using. I couldn't care less what anyone uses, it means nothing to me. What does bother me are both the large detector companies, and the social media sellouts tied to said companies, who are trying to control the conversation. 

Minelab do this in a few different ways, one method is through their Detexpets, those guys and gals that are clearly unbiased and a font of knowledge on all things Minelab. Then you have XP sending free machines to nearly all the Youtube channels that have over a certain number of subscribers and literally buying out the really huge detecting channels with massive subscriber counts. Clearly For Their Knowledge Of Metal Detectors? Nope, because they have huge amounts of followers. 

Add into the mix, Nokta with their Nomads and you've got shill after shill exhibiting painfully sycophantic behaviour towards their brand of detectors. Anyone with a fraction of intelligence can see that most of these people are full of total and utter shit. They are picked for their social media reach, nothing more, companies basically look upon these people as free advertising. I just don't understand the requirement to wear a Detexpert t-shirt every time you go metal detecting, they look like a bunch of cocks. That would be like me playing drums in a Zildjian cymbals t-shirt, when I was endorsed by Zildjian and asked me to do so, they were quickly told to fuck off and I used Sabian cymbals instead.   

This Is A Joke Right?

All of the above shuts down and controls the conversation which in turn controls the perception of those in the hobby or looking to get into it. This also has a knock on effect for those smaller independent companies that are producing some really interesting analog detectors. It's the same old bullshit, the large corporations kill the competition with underhanded tactics. This is very much happening in metal detecting and as long as you've got desperate sell-out shills on social media then these tactics will continue to be used.

I can compare it to the bakery chain Greggs that we have here in the UK, they sell generic mass produced products like croissants and cakes. They're literally on every street corner, their food tastes like garbage, it's just not comparable to the bespoke bakeries that make all their cakes by hand with quality ingredients. BUT, Greggs are cheap and convenient so the majority favour them over the small bespoke bakers. This in turn puts strain on the smaller companies which end up going out of business. How many lovely family run coffee shops have both Costa and Starbucks put out of business? This is the same patterns that occurs across the boad, big fish eats small fish and shits them out .. Job Done !!

Whatever You Tell Me To Say Sir !

I Was Accused Of Being A Shill

Looking back when I started to make videos people quickly jumped on the "I'm On The Nexus Payroll", like I've said before, that says more about the people saying this than me. I don't need to be given any incentive to publish content about machines that interest me but a vast majority out there do need incentives so they judge you by their own behaviour. I guess I'm on the Tesoro payroll, the Deeptech payroll, the Golden Mask payroll and the Fisher payroll ... WOW!!  I must be a really rich man being a shill for so many companies. Oh I forgot I must also be a shill for Nokta and Minelab due to the blogs I've written praising both the Legend and Equinox.

I've explained in previous blogs that I purchased an Equinox 800 on a whim, I had no knowledge of the latest tech, I used it heavily for two years. I purchased a Legend earlier in the year as well, I've used both of these machines down on the river loads. I can honestly say that all my single frequency analog machines are finding all the same types of targets both conductivity and size wise. If anything, my Golden Mask machines are finding more due to their crazy recovery speed. Why Is This The Case If All These High Tech Machines Are Superior? 

I'll tell you why, because they aren't superior they are simply convenient, let's break it down, they're more versatile. You have lots of options with the audio which can make for a nicer hunting experience, they're waterproof so you don't need to worry about them getting wet and the wireless capabilities get rid of an annoying cable coming from your headphones. Everything is looked after for you so you don't need to worry about ground balancing issues or tuning your machine to the slight changes that occur during the hunt. Also there's a shitload of filters that keep the machine quiet so it doesn't cause confusion. Everything else is underwhelming, you don't get a proper threshold and you don't get the correct discrimination at depth. These two elements are two of the most important things when it comes to metal detecting for me.

But There's No Flash Light

Due to the turn on and go nature, anyone can pick these machines up and start swinging, I've said it before but I believe the research and development goes into making machines that are cheap for maximum profit, easy to use and accessible to everyone. This way companies can sell more machines, they don't want to be producing detectors that you need a brain to use because most people won't be able to deal with them. I see this problem with Nexus all the time. People literally have no concept of manual analog detectors and why is this? it's perception control, the majority have the perception that the analog detectors underperform, I'm sorry but that's just not the case and it doesn't matter how many white coat croc wearing wankers shout it from their hick-town soapbox. Yes the Tesoro units might be limited with their depth capabilities, but every other area within their performance is sound.  

Summing Up This Part Of The Blog

Does Any Of This Really Matter? in the scheme of things, no it doesn't, all this bullshit within the online metal detecting community pales into insignificance when you're out there detecting. But when people with a large social media presence are shills, working on commission or on the company payroll, then the information that's being put out is bias, bullshit and misleading. It's due to this bias and bullshit that I get so many idiots trolling my YouTube channel because of the "dated and obsolete" machines I choose to swing. It's the conversation being controlled that creates this kind of stupidity, and God help me if I say anything negative towards their beloved XP or Minelab. So to sum up this part of the blog, the reason why I bring up all the points that I do in my written blogs and videos is to widen the conversation. It's to demonstrate that there's more ways to metal detect than we're lead to believe and the apparent relics of the past still have a place in the future.

Grab A Coffee

Lets Move On To The Compadre

I've explained that I'm using the machine on the river so it's depth capabilities are more than enough for my requirement. The machine is a joy to swing, nice and light even with the 7' inch coil, the interface has one dial on it. You use this to turn the machine on and then you set the discrimination level, that's all there is to it, you actually can't get any simpler and that's one of the main reasons I wanted to get hold of one. I've explained how over the top the whole 'settings' and 'program' thing is so I wanted a unit that didn't require any conversation in that area. My point is simple, if I can move one dial to get a machine running well, why the hell do I need to change loads of settings on my digital detectors, it's laughable when you think about it.

Second Generation Compadre With Sensitivity Dial

I only disc out iron because I dig everything non-ferrous, I believe this is the only way to metal detect, if you're going to take short cuts with VDI then you're going to be leaving good finds in the ground. Yes .. with the Compadre you're going to be digging hot rocks and some large iron but that doesn't bother me because I'm looking to get as much shit out the ground as possible. On the river, I hunt the same few spots all the time so it works in my favour to clear out all the larger iron and hot rocks. Why Is This? because over time all the new nonferrous targets that wash up will be easier to detect because there isn't so much iron to potentially obscure them. It's the exact same mindset I have with all my pasture land, dig the trash out to open the ground up, doing this starts to minimise target masking.

The iron discrimination on the Compadre is very good, it doesn't sound at all over small iron, you might get the odd clip on medium sized iron or iron with both a flat or round head on it. But it's very obvious that you're swinging over ferrous material because you get the classic clipping voice. Really large flat iron does break through but it's easy to I.D by increasing the coil height. If the signal is still banging a few feet away then it's safe to say it's large iron. I have the disc set to a sweet spot where you can unmask in close proximity to ferrous materials. Below is a video of the 3D test I did to get an idea of how the machine 'could' perform. Considering the original price of this detector, I think it does a great job at hitting on the coins.

The Compadre is best swung moderate to slow, you're wanting to work with the machine not against it, what's the point in swinging like a madman when you have a detector that responds best with a slower swing speed. I've never understood this, people have said they sold the Compadre because it was too slow. Here's an idea, don't swing so fast, I see this with new Nexus users as well, if you're going to swing fast then move along!! In regards to the targets the Compadre picks up, given a chance it hits on really small items, you'll see plenty of tiny items on my live dig videos on my YouTube channel. 

To be honest when both my Equinox and Legend were hitting on really small targets I was impressed but I became less impressed when all the analog machines I've used on the river picked up equally small targets including stuff I believe I missed with the SMF machines. Why Do I Want To Detect Such Small Targets? because tiny coin fragments tend to appear on the river, in the past I've dug two small pieces of a Rose & Orbs Jetton. Due to the nature of the river, treasure in transit can get worn away. To pick these types of targets up with the Compadre you have to listen carefully, if you hear even the slightest tone you then have to see if you can isolate it. If you're swinging fast you will miss these types of signals. I can thank my Nexus machines because they have made me take my time, pay attention and investigate the tiniest whimper. 

A Small Signal On The Compadre

In regards to hitting on targets close to iron, again, you'll see in my live dig videos that even with a 7' inch DD coil the Compadre does a very good job at being able to see nonferrous targets close to iron nails. This shows how good the discrimination is on this machine, if you find the sweet spot it's going to perform well. Is It As Fast As My Golden Mask Detectors? no it isn't but I didn't expect it to be, when I swing a machine I'm not looking at my other detectors out the corner of my eye. The main point here is to understand how to get the most out of the machine you're using at the time. Comparing detectors in my head when I'm out and about is a total waste of energy. There's nothing stopping me from using any of my other detectors another day, it's no big deal if one might not unmask as well as another. I've explained that when you're out digging the anal bullshit stays at home. 

The Compadre is a one tone machine but like all good one tone detectors there's nuances within the audio, good targets are sharp and tight whilst small targets are slightly muted but still give a tight little signal. Most iron and ferrous materials will clip, big iron will breakthrough but I've already explained how I identify that. Targets that are mixed ferrous and nonferrous might sound a little trashy but there's enough of a high tone for you to investigate. I love the sound of the Compadre it's that classic analog audio that I find strangely satisfying, it's descriptive and cool. Taking into account the coil size I'm using and the performance it's displaying, I will be on the lookout for a smaller coil because I think it's going to allow the Compadre to perform on the river even better than it does already. 

I think I've pretty much touched on all the points that make up this machine, there's really nothing to it but this mustn't be used to assume it's some kind of toy metal detector because I can tell you now that it isn't. Yes it lacks depth but I don't need depth on the river, plus I have that area covered with my other machines. All in all I'm giving the Compadre 10/10 because it's old school cool and deserves to be recognised that in a world full of technological illusions and overcomplicated settings. The Tesoro Compadre very much has a place here in 2023 and I'm going to be using it down on the foreshore a great deal because it genuinely is a joy to swing - there's a beauty in simplicity and the Compadre has it. 

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