http://www.kellycodetectors.com/pdf/manuals/tesoro-vaquero.pdf
Like most Tesoro manuals this will give you a broad based view of the features and how it works...a little.
There is much more, way more that is not put down on paper in this manual.
We who have used Tesoros have learned these things, it takes a little time but all makes sense and works and when you get some swing time in you will see.
For instance...
"Also, the depth of the target and its orientation in the ground can change the received signal. A coin that is flat to the coil will produce a better signal than a coin that is on edge. Take some time to try different combinations of depths and orientations of your targets and find out how your detector responds."
Well, this gives you some information, but only an indication that sounds are different due to depth and orientation, not any help in understanding what those differences actually are or sound like.
Most Tesoro manuals also are printed in a way that seems to suggest that turning that disc knob up to areas where targets will fade out will give you an idea on what the target may be...tabs go away when you dial past tabs and so on.
On the thousands and thousands of targets I have acquired and dug with my Tesoro's I can tell you that I firmly believe that turning past the fade out point and then back down to where the target comes in is a way more accurate way to do this.
Many times some targets I had faded out at a certain level going up, but going past and then coming down they come in at another area...and that area gave me way more true to life information that enabled me to come to a much more accurate "guess" on what that target turned out to be when I dug it.
Also, when you turn the knob down to the fade in point exactly "how" that signal comes in can give you more information than you might believe possible.
Scratches, clicks, crackles are common on some trash, a lot of trash, actually, but good targets usually come in solid...they are just...there.
Not always, the opposite could happen on both trash and good targets, but I have found that more often than not these rules apply.
Again I have had hundreds of hours swinging my Tesoros and dug up thousands upon thousands of targets good and bad to come to this belief and conclusion.
There is nothing there that tells you how to judge approximate depth of object, but owners seem to be able to do this very well in a short time anyway.
All of this "extra" information is out there and already written down in many posts, plenty of tips, tricks and techniques that hunters who never used this type of detector that think these are just beep and dig machines will never know or understand.
This is how most of us learned, by reading and gathering knowledge from those that have come before us along with a lot of digging, but just ask and we can restate and expand on them them for your benefit as you learn.
When I first started swinging my Vaq it was all noise to me, beeps that I heard held no more meaning than that...just a beep.
Overtime, after digging many targets and reading all those posts the actual language and intricate parts of that language started to come into focus and made much more sense.
Some swing these things for a long time and never really learn to understand this language, others take to it like a duck to water, everyone is different.
If you are the type that can get into the Tesoro way of hunting you will come to realize that this is a very fun way to hunt, accurate and very productive and more productive as you learn, something I am still doing to this day because that never ends as far as I am concerned.
The best way to learn is to dig a bunch at the beginning, advice that is given to anyone using a new detector and holds true for all brands, makes and models.
Luckily, the learning process is fun, for me it is anyway, even when I am just digging a piece of trash because you can learn something on just about any target you come across.
Post #2 in this thread is some advice on how to hunt with a Compadre which I wrote before I ever held one in my hands.
I just pretended my Vaq only had one knob and wrote it from that perspective but it works just as well using the Vaq.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=77822
Here is a little more advanced information about how I deal with trash, you will learn what is the best way for you to do this soon enough.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=149441
Learning optimum settings will come quickly, don't worry if they are not perfect at first because the thing still works pretty darn well no matter how it is set up.
You are about to embark on a wonderful journey and have some eye opening, jaw dropping experiences in store for you.
I can almost promise you that.
