Review: Tesoro Sand Shark PI, with 8" Coil

Clay asked if I would review the New hardwired Tesoro Sand Shark, so here goes!

I now have about 35-hours on my new 8" hardwired Sand Shark. I have used it on the dry sand for about 7-hours, in the wet ocean sand for aprox. 3-hours, and in the water for 25-hours. I now feel completely comfortable "trusting" the machine. The Sand Shark is so stable, that for the first 10-15 hours, I would sometimes get paranoid if I hadn't hit a signal in a while, and I would run it near my scoop as a test - overloading it of course! Sensitivity is incredible. You basically just have to be in the vicinity! Partial pulltabs at 23"; 1"-long needle-thin slivers of aluminum and iron at 19"; Real targets just Scream! Light and well-balanced, I have swung this machine for four-hours at a clip! I still have quite a bit to learn about saltwater and beach detecting, but one thing I am certain about is this - if it's there, I'll find it with the Sand Shark! It is a pulse induction unit ($580.00), that operates at 600-pps. It weighs 4.4lbs, and burns 8-AA batteries in about 17-hours. In all honesty, I am looking forward to trying it in a couple of gold nugget patches we have kept to ourselves in the Weaver and Bradshaw mountains of Arizona! http://www.TerrySoloman.com

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Replies

desertratdan June 1, 2011 at 8:44pm

Terry, was that picture of you by the water taken at one of our famous Arizona beaches, lol. Good luck with your new detector! That's a great price, did you get it at Prescott? I keep meaning to go over there but I'm afraid to take my wallet with me, knowing my habits and impulses. ?;~) Maybe when I come back from oregon. Wow, your comments to Andrew have me thinking hard about my Minelabs.
- Terry Soloman > desertratdan June 2, 2011 at 7:49am
  
  Hey Dan! Although we do a lot of trolling for Sand Bass, out past the Octave Reef, no, that is Long Island Sound - LOL! Yes, Rusty Henry sent me the third new machine off the line. Love visiting with the folks in Prescott, and we usually head over to the brewery for lunch when I visit! Keeping my fingers crossed on a new "Land-based" Shark, we'll see!
  - desertratdan > Terry Soloman June 2, 2011 at 5:26pm
    
    Yeah, I might be interested in a non-hard wired version myself. That is an excellent price!
Terry Soloman May 28, 2011 at 6:59pm

Clay, I can't comment on Tesoro's plans for a "Desert PI," but wouldn't it be lovely..

You know, I'm very curious as well about how the Sand Shark will do on and around Rich Hill. It is ROCK STEADY in wet black sand streaks, and I routinely dig well into the "teens" of inches in the black sand for dimes and pennies, so.. Could be the worst thing that ever happened to Minelab dealers if the word gets out (wink-wink!).
- andrew hall > Terry Soloman May 30, 2011 at 1:47pm
  
  terry,what does hardwired signify?am interested in your field tests of this unit.the tesoro warranty is very attractive.dreading the day i ever need to ship my 4500 control box off for repair.would be traumitising to say the least.pi machines are very addictive.shopping for a second one,so am hoping you will post some dryland/desert test results.tx off topic,am looking good for an afternoon memorial exposed bedrock hunt.my joey mono rocks in sharp/deep audio.
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  - Terry Soloman > andrew hall May 30, 2011 at 5:10pm
    
    Hi Andrew! The new Sand Shark coils and headphones are "hardwired," to the control box, which means you cannot switch them out. The new model comes either with an 8" coil, or a 10" coil. They decided to hardwire the machine after some watertight connection problems changing between coils on the older model. It is a problem they will not have to deal with on a land-based unit! Think about swinging 1/3 the weight you are swinging now, and having batteries that last 17-hours and don't cost $500 each!
Clay May 28, 2011 at 5:06pm

Dang Terry I was just wondering if it could find stuff, looks like it can. Thanks for the extensive review.

Do you have any idea how it does in the high mineralization around Stanton?

At $580 it's got to be about the least expensive PI unit available. Does Tesoro have any plans to make a land lubbers model with replaceable coils?

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