The Bandido has five controls on its front panel, and a threshold adjust on its rear panel. The front panel controls are all readily adjusted with the index finger of the hand holding the detector.

The detector should be held in a position that is comfortable for you. Swing the detector from side to side in about a three foot arc, overlapping succeeding strokes well. This motion is called a “sweep.” The Bandido was designed to get maximum depth without the frantic pace required of earlier motion detectors, so go at a pace that is comfortable for you. In fact, trying to hunt too fast in Discriminate may even cause a loss of depth in heavily mineralized locations.

It would be helpful to bury some coins and trash metal junk items in an area that you know is clear of other metal objects, and then try the unit in its various modes. Check the area in All Metal Mode first to be sure its clear of trash then bury the targets at least a foot apart, and from 2 to 6 inches deep to start. Make a map of the test bed to be sure you know what each target is and how deep it is. Practice on these targets to familiarize yourself with your detector’s target response. This will also help you learn the proper sweep rate for DISC operation.

In All Metal mode operation, keep the detector tuned so that there is just a slight buzzing of a sound. This is easy to do because the ground minerals do not affect the All Metal mode if properly adjusted. Regardless of which mode you are using, try to keep your searchcoil height constant and close to the ground. Most people tend to raise the coil at the end of a sweep, much like a pendulum, especially if they are hurrying. Try to avoid this, as any increase in height will cause a corresponding loss of depth.

In areas with well kept lawns, the easiest way to maintain a constant searchcoil height is to allow the coil to rest on the grass as you sweep from side to side. In rough and rocky areas it is best not to “scrub” the coil on the ground, as the rocks will act like abrasives, and wear away the coil bottom (an optional coil scuff cover will protect against this.) Sweep the coil as close to the ground as possible without touching. Hitting the ground or rocks may cause a false signal much like a desired target would. Sweeping the coil too high above the ground results in a loss of depth.

When operating in the Discriminate Mode, some “false signals” may be caused by 1) heavy concentrations of trash metal objects, 2) very large trash metal objects, or 3) electrical interference. These signals will sound different than good target signals because they are generally short, choppy sounds. At the end of your sweep, as you the reverse the coil direction, the detector is most susceptible to trash induced noise. There are two ways to tell whether these sounds are good deep signals or trash “noise.” The first is by repeatability. Trash induced noises will not be regular as you sweep the coil over the suspected target several times, whereas a good target response will be repeatable. The second method is to switch to All Metal Mode and check the target response sound. If the response is weak, it may well be a deep, good target; but if the response is very strong, it is probably trash. Note that a coin close to the surface can give a double beep sound, but it is regular and repeatable. Raising the coil an inch or two will restore the single beep on surface targets.

If there is any doubt whether a target is good or not, DIG IT. For this same reason, in the Discriminate Mode, it is best not to use a higher DISC LEVEL setting than necessary. Nickels and most smaller rings are rejected when the DISC LEVEL is set to reject pull tabs on any metal detector that is a TR Discriminator like the Badido. If you don’t dig any junk at all, you are surely passing up a lot of good finds as well. Set the DISC LEVEL only high enough to suit the conditions where you are searching.

PINPOINTING

The sweep speed of the Bandido is slow enough to allow pin-pointing in the Discriminate Mode, but will require a little more practice. Move the coil slowly from side to side and then from front to back over the target. Raising the coil slightly and slowing the sweep speed will narrow down the detection area enough that it's easy to tell where the coil center is at the instant of the sound.

Another easy method is to sweep the coil from side to side across the target in very short sweeps, as you slowly move forward and backward across the target. Slow down the sweep rate and shorten the sweeps until you just barely get a response at one spot. The target will be directly below the coil center at this response time.

The easiest way to pinpoint for most people will be to switch to the All Metal/Normal Tune mode, since no motion is required. To pin-point a target that doesn't saturate the audio, just move the coil forward and back, and side to side until you get the strongest sound. The target will be directly below the coil center. If the audio saturates over a large area, simply push the tuning mode switch to the retune position momentarily over the area to detune the detector. This will narrow its field of response to allow you to once again seek the area of strongest response. It may be necessary to retune more than once with this technique.

The Bandido has an automatic battery test sequence with each initial power tun on. To check the batteries, simply turn the Bandido of for about five seconds, and then turn it back on. The battery test circuit will engage for about 3 to 5 seconds, with the audio output loudness indicating the remaining battery strength. As the batteries age, this tone will get quieter, and when you hear only a brief buzz or not output at all, it's time to replace the batteries.

To replace the batteries, pull the large knobs on the battery door on the rear of the unit. The entire door will pop out. Remove the batteries from the detector, and then remove the leads. Replace the new batteries into the detector, observing the polarity indicators on the clip leads. Install the battery door back onto the chassis, and push th nylon fasteners into the holes on the chassis, making sure that the plungers are still pulled out. Then push the plungers back in to lock the door in place.

We recommend when you replace the batteries, that you change both at the same time, and that you always use good quality alkaline batteries.

If the detector is to be stored for a long period of time, it is best to remove the battery pack from the detector. This will prevent internal damage to the detector if the batteries should leak.

The searchcoil is waterproof and may be submerged in either fresh or salt water. Caution should be exercised to prevent water from entering the chassis, where it could damage the electronic circuitry. After the coil is used in salt water, the coil and lower stem assembly should be rinsed well with fresh water to prevent corrosion of the metal parts. When used in the body mount configuration, you should not allow the cable connectors to be submerged.

There are several good books to help the beginner learn how to use the detector, where to search and how to recover a target without damaging the environment. A good coin shooter can recover a lot of finds and leave the area looking as though he had never been there. Above all, always fill your holes when you have recovered the target.


TESORO Metal Detectors are sold through independent dealers, who are almost always treasure hunters themselves. They can provide you with you much needed information about how to use your detector, how to probe, plug and dig in your locale, and answer most of your questions about treasure hunting in general.


The use of earphones will benefit you in two ways. Most earphones will very effectively block out most of the ambient noise, such as traffic noise and wind noise, which will enable you to better hear the fainter signals caused by the deeper targets. Obviously, the older, more valuable coins will probably be deeper than the ones which were lost last week, so you should take advantage of anything that will help you hear the weaker signals. Secondly, using earphones will greatly extend the battery life, since it takes much less power to operate them. The detector is not equipped with a volume control, but does have a limiting circuit in the earphone jack. If less volume is desired with earphones, you may want to use earphones with a built in volume control. Any good 8 or 16 ohm set with 1/4 inch stereo jack will do.

Your Tesoro metal detector is covered by a Limited Lifetime Warranty, the terms of which are listed below. If your metal detector should require service, you may return it to the Tesoro factory, or tone of the factory authorized service centers. Contact the factory for the name and address of the nearest service center.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the factory.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other rights which vary from state to state.

This instrument is warranted to be free of defects in material and workmanship as long as it is owned by the original consumer purchaser. This warranty is not transferable, and is valid only if the warranty registration card has been completed and mailed within 10 days of purchase.

During the first two years, TESORO will, at its option, repair or replace any instrument covered by this warranty, without charge, except for transportation charges, at its factory in Prescott, Arizona, or at one of its authorized repair centers. After two years from date of purchase, TESORO will replace defective parts at no charge except a nominal labor change and transportation charges.

This warranty excludes batteries, damage caused by leaky batteries, cable breakage due to flexing on body mount units, and wear of the searchcoil housing. Also excluded are instruments which have been abused, altered, or repaired by an unauthorized party.

If warrant service should be necessary, contact the factor for nearest repair center.