Elusive Diablo Micro Max

One popped up on eBay just now - couldn’t resist - Buy it Now - I did

No coil. If I understand correctly ti takes standard 4 pin coils for the Lobo super trac and similar.

Have to figure out what coil to get for it.

This will be my third one - Probably made enough off the first two to pay for it - but out of respect for Dave Johnson, guess I’ll keep this one.

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2019 03:47AM by lytle78.

Man i almost pulled the trigger on that. Hard to find for sure. If it was a bit better condition I woulda snagged it.

I have two of those.. The first one was real hard to get... looks brand new!!!

Rick, I have an Original non Micro max Diablo.

Wow, you bought that Diablo Rick? Surprised since youve already had 2! LOL

I was watching it, but decided on getting another GB 2.

Hope you find a BIG nugget!

Let us know how you do with it...

Aaron

Dang! That's a rare bird. Even Hombre doesn't have that model and He has about 20 Tesoros including a rare Pantera model.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2019 08:40PM by Harold,ILL..

For thRe: Tesoro Diablo umax
Posted by: Dave J. [ Send a Message ]
Date: July 28, 2017 06:05PM
Registered: 11 years ago
Posts: 1,007
Call me biased if you like (I designed it), but here's my summary.
Light weight easy to use VLF gold machine, about 18 kHz. Manual ground balancing, if you don't have that skill it's not for you. Basic ability to detect a buried gold nugget comparable to the best 15-20 kHz gold machines nowadays. In light mineralization, it doesn't hit very loud so you'll need to use headphones. It excels (compared to most other VLF's) in noisy ground. No "discrimination", but has a second ground balance knob you can access with a flip of a switch to calm down a suspected hot rock, a feature which is to my knowledge unique to the Diablo MicroMax. The GB2 running at 71 kHz will knock its socks off on the smaller nuggets, but costs more. From the perspective of history and platform evolution, it was the analog circuit proving ground for the Lobo Supertraq.

Every design engineer has certain products they're proud of, and ones they're not so proud of. Doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the popularity or market success of the product. It's no secret that I regard the Diablo MicroMax as one of my all-time best designs. Still have one a gift from Jim Straight) and won't part with it.

All that is why 20 years later it has a cult following. Why did Jack take it out of production so soon after its release? I could speculate on that, but bottom line is that I don't know. And Jack's no longer around to answer the question himself.

Reply Quote Reportose that have not read this................

How do these diablos do in the old ghost town iron sites with a concentric coil on? I've used a tejon that did very well. Wish I woulda kept it

I solved the coil problem this AM. A local CL had a Lobo Super Trac in Superior Az - a lovely 40 minute drive from us. We did a deal and I took my wife (her birthday) and my best friend John - to Superior. Meeting at “Los Hermanos” at 0800 - Huevos Rancheros for all hands, then back to Gold Canyon. The 10” coil on the LST is the same as the original for the Diablo mMax. FedEx delivered the Diablo this afternoon.

The LST works great and I immediately noticed that it hit coins with a solid “bang” under the dot in the center of the coil. I immediately decided that it would be my detector of choice for our club’s “Holiday Hunt” - 800 silver coins, 100 Ike dollars - lots of buffalo and V nickels and IH pennies - plus more than a hundred prize tokens. the name of the game is - hit, scrape, pocket - repeat as fast as possible. We’ll see.

Meanwhile. I’m thinking about a “shoot-out” between my Nox 600, the Diablo, the LST and the world’s most pristine Treasure Baron Gold Trax.

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2019 02:53AM by lytle78.

The hard coil to find is the 3x6 four pin!

You have 3 Diablos squirreled away I think. do you have one3 of the small ellipticals?

My Diablo showed up - much nicer than the pictures showed. I love that deep gold anodized stem.

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold

Think I only have two Diablos now... .. only have one of those little guys(3x6).. I don’t think they made many?

Wonder how many they made of those little gems................


RR

Its a cool little limited production machine. However, your going to get more performance and horse power, at about the same (used) price with the 18kHz GMP.

And ALOT more HP with the GB2

Aaron

Aaron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Its a cool little limited production machine. Howe
> ver, your going to get more performance and horse
> power, at about the same (used) price with the 18k
> Hz GMP.
>
> And ALOT more HP with the GB2
>
> Aaron


Yeah.. But it looks so Cool .. with that little coil!

Not too sure if is the Goldmaxx will be sensitive to small gold.................like nugget........I got one with the Snake 6X4 NEL ,My moded Lobo is crispier and faster.

Just my 2 cents


RR

OK - now it has come together. Got the Lobo Super Trac with the standard 10” coil and so have been able to run the DMM (Diablo Micro Max). The result is that I am reminded once again what a wonderfully light, handy and capable nugget hunter it is. Only problem is that I almost never hunt nuggets. Poor me...My third DMM and I come to the same conclusion I came to after the first two. Beautiful, almost unique, scarce - but not for me.

Before it gets posted other places - works perfectly - $380 shipped with the standard 10” elliptical widescan coil.

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2019 11:00PM by lytle78.

Rivers rat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not too sure if is the Goldmaxx will be sensitive
> to small gold.................like nugget........I
> got one with the Snake 6X4 NEL ,My moded Lobo is c
> rispier and faster.
>
> Just my 2 cents
>
>
> RR

RR have you used the GMP before? You'd be surprised!

Alot of UK guys sold theirs to buy the DEUS when it came out and ended up going back to it.

It may be a 16yr old machine but its no joke on tiny conductors. : )

Aaron

Arron liked apparently - he has bought it

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold

As a summary of all this fuss, I’d like to post again something I posted once - somewhere...

“It's not what you find - It's not what tools you own - it's the pursuit of "el tesoro" - the treasure - the pursuit, being a combination of expectation, experience, exercise. calculation and - sometimes reward.

I found the simplicity and directness of Tesoro's machines to have a sort of immediate connection between seek and find - a connection that I enjoyed.

The greatest detectors in the history of detectors - no.

But clearly, their passing - if in fact they are gone - is the passing of an era.

I found simple jewelry - lost or hidden- at the site of the destruction of an Arabian town by the Ottoman forces of the ruler of Egypt - Mohammed Ali in about 1814.

I found copper scraps from smelting of ore in Sumerian times (about 2000 BC) at a mine and refining site in Oman

I found the nut I lost off the end of an important bolt on my vehicle in the sands of the desert (nice to have a metal detector when you are 50 miles from a paved road in the sand).

I will miss Tesoro - even though - truth be known - I never bought one of their machines new...

That's the killer...metal detectors work - too well - too long.

Minelab is figuring that out. High performance - Non repairable, complicated, buy, use, replace.

Tesoro didn't understand that - lifetime warranty - what commercial foolishness. But then, in those days - we had different ideas about what constituted business integrity.

They will be missed.

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold

And, one more unique detail to note...
all made in the USA.



Aaron

Aaron yes I used it no later than Saturday, the Lobo is faster but the GMP is deeper. I got 1 GMP with the snake coil 2 Lobos,been using the deus for years.I am not saying I dislike it.Otherwise I wont buy another coil

I just ordered a Elliptical for the GMP and a 22HF for the Deus, to see clearer.Th Lobo need to be retuned otherwise they aren't as good.


I found a lot of gold but with the F75 DST


RR

Rivers rat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Aaron yes I used it no later than Saturday, the Lo
> bo is faster but the GMP is deeper. I got 1 GMP wi
> th the snake coil 2 Lobos,been using the deus for
> years.I am not saying I dislike it.Otherwise I won
> t buy another coil
>
> I just ordered a Elliptical for the GMP and a 22HF
> for the Deus, to see clearer.Th Lobo need to be re
> tuned otherwise they aren't as good.
>
>
> I found a lot of gold but with the F75 DST
>
>
RR, looks like your very familiar w the GMP & DEUS. I’m assuming that’s the Lobo Super Traq? Never used one, heard a lot of good things, I know Keith S. likes um. You find the Lobo better on small conductors better than the GMP? I’m continually impressed w the GMPs sensitivity, smallest pieces of foil and even at 3-4”.
Recently sold my DEUS, had it since 2012, found I liked the GMP a lot better, simpler to use and I think the audio is a little better.

Aaron
> RR

Aaron I am keeping both because I had the Deus used and cheap even a long time ago .Then I made an amazing find with it and XP looked after me very well they basically replace all the hardware ,for me to be able to feature on some videos.
I bought the Goldmaxx straight from them and it was hand build buy one of their engineer, nothing special about it just you know who build your machine(very rare now I just like the idea. When the elliptical HF came out i was again lucky enough to be one of the few to get it to try.I don't really like it,i had mix feeling .So her an d I decided to take a break That's why at the moment i am running the GMP.The lobos are still there just waiting their turn to go out for a hunt,and so is the F75.

The lobo need to be retune by someone who knows what he is doing not by an amateur.I recommend the 5.75 Widescan highly if you are in a trashy spot reduce the sens and if you are on a clean patch unleash the wolf.

Never tried a Diablo,i think i saw 1 for sale in the UK in 10 years



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2019 04:11PM by Rivers rat.

[www.ebay.com]


A beauty!!!!!


RR

Very nice.

Seller should have got a better pic of the knurled adjuster nut on the pole, one of the unique features of this machine, not all units have it.

Aaron



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2019 10:18PM by Aaron.