Tesoro Bandido Assembly instructions

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BandidoOPERATORINSTRUCTIONMANUAL
CONGRATULATIONS!
YournewTESOROMetalDetectorwasdesignedtoprovideyouwithmanyhappyhoursofenjoymentinthemost
rewardinghobbyIcanthinkof–treasurehunting.Aheadofyouliefascinatingandexcitingexperiencesasyoustepintothe
past–uncoveringartifactslostbypastgenerations.Iwishwecouldsharetheseexperienceswithyou,andwewishyouthe
bestofsuccess.
YourTESOROMetalDetectoriscapableofmeetingyourneedsinanyconceivabletreasurehuntingsituation.Aswith
anydetector,operatingskillandfamiliaritywiththisinstrumentareprobablythelimitingfactorsindetermininghowsuccessful
youwillbe.Werecommendthatyoureadthismanualandunderstandfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentinthe
field.Asyoubecomemorefamiliarwithyourdetectorthroughpractice,yourrateofsuccesswillincreasedramatically.
TheTESOROMetalDetectorisaprecisionelectronicinstrument,whichwilllastforyearsifproperlycaredfor.Treatit
rightanditwon'tletyoudown.
GoodHunting!JackGifford
GENERALDESCRIPTION
TheBandidoisaTransmitterReceiver(TR)typeofdetectorthatoperatesintheVeryLowFrequency(VLF)portionofthe
RadioFrequency(RF)spectrum.ItprovidestruemineralfreeoperationinboththeAllMetalandDiscriminatemodes.The
Discriminatemodeismotionbased,buttheamountofmotionrequiredissoslightthatpinpointingiseasilyaccomplishedin
thismode.TheAllMetalmodeisnotamotionbasedtype,andsoisexcellentforsearchingaswellaspinpointing.
TheBandidowasdesignedtobeatrueAllPurposetypeofdetector.Itissensitivetosmallgoldparticles,ispowerful
enoughtoserveasarelicandcachehunter,andisplentyfastenoughforcompetitionhunting.Itisequippedwithan8"
concentriccoil,althoughothercoilsizesandtypesareavailable.
TheBandidocanbeassembledasapolemountedarmrestunit,orasabodymountunit.Itcanbeconvertedeasily
withouttools.
Aswithanydetector,thefamiliarityoftheuserwiththeinstrumentwillhaveagreatdealtodowithhowsuccessfulthe
treasurehunteris.Werecommendthatyoureadandunderstandthismanualfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentin
thefield.
Besuretofilloutandmailyourwarrantyregistrationcardtovalidateyourwarranty.
ASSEMBLY
TheBandidocanbeassembledineitheroftwoconfigurationsoreasilyconvertedfromonetotheother.Theelectronic
controlhousingcanbemountedonthearmrestpole,orcanbebodymounted.Installationofthelowerpoleandcoilisthe
sameforeitherconfiguration.
1. Depressthetwobuttonsontheupperendofthelowerstem,andslideitintotheupperstem.Pushthelowerstem
upsothatthebuttonsclickintothethirdsetofholesfromtheendoftheupperstem.
2. Insertthepoletipbetweenthemountingearsofthesearchcoil,afterremovingthescrewandthumbnut.Alignthe
holesinthepoletipandthoseinthemountingears.Besuretherubberfrictionwashersareinplace.
3. Insertthecoilmountingscrewthroughthecoilandpoletip.Thescrewheadshouldbeonthesideofthesearchcoil
wherethecablecomesout.
4. Installthethumbnutonthescrewandtightenbyhand.
5. Windthesearchcoilcablearoundthepole.
POLEMOUNT
1. Thecontrolhousingisalreadymountedonthepole,asshippedfromthefactory,soallthatisnecessaryistoinsert
thesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnector,andtightenfingertight.
2. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoholdthecabletightagainstthepole.
BODYMOUNT
1. Tousethedetectorasabodymount,simplyremovethecontrolhousingfromtheupperpolebydepressingthe
springnutsintheplasticmountingpiece,andslidethecontrolhousingoffthepole.
2. Insertthesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnectorandthenfingertighten.
3. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoclampthesearchcoilcable.Itwillbebestforyoutosometimesmovethestrapssothat
thewearonthecableisspreadoveralargearea.
CONVERSION
Obviously,convertingtheunitfrombodytopolemountorviceversa,issimplyputtingthecontrolhousingbackonthe
pole,orremovingitfromthepole.Besuretokeepthesearchcoilcablewoundtightenougharoundthepolethatitdoesn'tflap
rightoversearchcoilhousing.TheBandidoisstrongenoughtoseethetinycablewiresmoving,andcangiveyoufalsesignals
ifthecableistooloose.
ADJUSTMENT
Thesearchcoilangleandstemlengthshouldbeadjustedsothattheunitisnotuncomfortableortiringafterlongperiods
ofuse.Thestemlengthisadjustedbydepressingthespringbuttonsandextendingorshorteningthepoletilltheyclickinto
theholesthatgiveyouthemostcomfortablesetting.Thecoilshouldbeaboutoneinchabovethegroundwhilestandingerect.
Adjusttheangleofthesearchcoil,sothatthecoilisparalleltotheground.Tightenthesearchcoilthumbnutbyhandto
maintainthissetting.
Thearmrestontherearofthehandlecanbemovedforwardbyremovingthescrewsandnuts,andreinstallingthe
assemblyintothemostforwardsetofholes.
Specifications
TESOROElectronics,Inc.,reservestherighttomodifyorimprovethedesignwithoutfurthernotice.
CONTROLS
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.
1. THESHOLDCONTROL.Thiscontrolisplacedonthebackpanelofthedetector,sinceitrequiresverylittleusage.
Oncethecontrolisadjustedtothedesiredthreshold,itwillnotrequirefrequentresetting.
2. GROUNDADJUSTCONTROL.ThiscontroladjuststheAllMetalmodesamplingsothattheBandidoignoresthe
normalgroundmineralization.Thiscontrolisatenturndevice,anditissometimesdifficulttofeelwhentheendofthe
turnrangeisreached.Thesettingofthiscontrolisthemostcriticaladjustmenttodo,butitisaverysimpleadjustment
tomake.StudythemanualsectiononTUNINGtobesureyoulearnhowtoproperlyadjustthiscontrol.
3. ON/OFF,BATTERYTEST,SENSITIVITYCONTROL.Theprimaryfunctionofthiscontrolistoreducethedetectors
sensitivitytothoseinfluencesthatcouldmaketheoperationmoredifficultforyou.Thiscontrolalsoisusedtoturnthe
poweronandoff.Turningtheknobcompletelycounterclockwiseuntilitclicksdisconnectsthebatteriesfromthecircuit.
Whentheknobisfirstturnedon(clockwise),thedetectorwillautomaticallytestitsbatteries,andgiveyouanaudible
indicationoftheirconnection.NOTE:ThistestshouldbeperformedwiththeModeSwitchintheDiscriminate
position.Freshbatterieswillcausealoudaudioresponsewhichwillgraduallydecayintosilenceoveraperiodofabout4
or5seconds.Asthebatteriesageandbecomeweaker,theinitialaudioresponsewillbeweaker,andwilldecayquicker.
Whentheresponseisjustashortbuzzinsteadofalongbeep,orwhenthereisnoaudioresponse,it'stimefornew
batteries.Itisrecommendedtoalwaysusealkalinebatteries.
Manythingscancausetheresponseofthedetectortobecomeerraticasyouareusingit.Normallyyouwillnothearany
soundfromthedetectorunlessyoupassthecoiloveragoodtarget.Verylargetargetsoramultitudeofcloselyspaced
smallerrejectedtrashtargetscancausethedetectortoemitchoppysputteringsounds.CBradios,radioandTV
broadcastingantennas,intensemineralizationchanges,andothersourcesofelectricalnoisecanalsocausethedetector
toemitfalsesignals.Thesesignalswillgenerallysound"chopped"andwillnotberepeatablesoyouwillnothaveany
troublerecognizingthem.Theycanbedistracting,though,andturningdownthesensitivitycontrolwillhelpreducethem.
Thiswillalsocauseasmalllossoftargetsensitivity,soalwaysrunthesensitivitycontrolashighasyoucan,whilestill
gettingsmoothoperation.
4. MODECONTROL.ThistoggleswitchisusedtoselecttheAllMetalmodeofoperationortheDiscriminatemode.In
theDiscriminatemode,thedetectorsresponsetounwantedtrashcanbecontrolledtoeliminatediggingmuchofthe
commonmetallictrashitemsfoundinlikelyhuntingspots.Thedetectormaybeepbrieflywhentheswitchischanged,
butisreadyforoperatingintheselectedmodeinstantly.InAllMetal,thedetectorwillfindnotonlythehighlyconductive
nonferrousmetals,butwillalsofindtheferrousmetals.Thismodewillbeidealforrelichuntingorghosttownsearching,
sincemanydesirableartifacts(suchasguns)aremadeofironandsteal.
NOTE:TheAllMetalmodeasasmalldegreeofautotuningtohelpnarrowthedetector'sresponsetothetargetwhen
youarepinpointing.ItwilldependonwhichtuningmodetheTuneSelecttoggleisin.Toretunetheunittothresholdfor
eithermode,justpushtheModeSwitchuptotheRetunepositionmomentarily.
5. DISCRIMINATELEVEL.Thiscontrolisusedtoadjustthedetector'sresponsetounwantedmetallictrashwhenused
intheDiscriminatemode.Atthelowestsetting"0",thedetectorwilleliminatemostironobjects,butwillstillrespondina
positivemannertolightfoil,bottlecaps,pulltabsandmostothermetallicitems.Astheknobsettingisincreased,
responsetomoreofthesemetallictrashitemsisreversedsothattheseobjectsgivenoresponse.
Thefigurebelowgivesthecontrolsettingswheresomeofthecommonlyfoundtrashitemscanberejected.

TUNING
Nodetector,regardlessofhowpowerfulitis,canprovideoptimumdepthifitisimproperlytuned.Infact,themore
powerfuladetectoris,themorecriticalthetuningbecomes.Lesspowerfulunitsaremoretolerantofoperatormisadjustment,
butarenotcapableofthedepthofaproperlytunedhighpowerdetectorsuchastheBandido.
ToachievemaximumperformancefromyourBandidobesuretoproperlyadjusttheGROUNDADJUSTandTUNING
controlsintheAllMetalmode.Thesettingsofthesecontrolswillalsoaffectthedetector'sperformanceintheDiscrimmode,
sobesuretoadjustthemproperly,evenifyouonlyplantooperatethedetectorintheDiscrimmode.
TUNINGINTHEALLMETALMODE
1. PuttheModeSwitchintheAllMetalposition.WiththeSensitivitycontrolintheMaxposition.Besurethatthe
thresholdcontrolisadjustedtojustyieldafaintbeginningofsoundsignal.Holdthesearchcoilaboutonefootfromthe
ground,andifthethresholdhaschanged,momentarilylifttheModeSwitchtoretunebacktothreshold.Thenrapidly
lowerthesearchcoiltoabouttwoinchesabovetheground.
2. Ifthereisnochangeinthethresholdsound,youareproperlytuned.Ifthesoundincreasesordecreases,itwill
recoverslowlyduetotheautotune,thereforeyoumustlowerthesearchcoilrapidlyeachtime.Ifthesounddecreased,
turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturnclockwise.Ifthesoundincreased,turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturn
counterclockwise.WhenyouturntheGroundAdjustcontrol,thethresholdsoundmaygeteitherlouderorgoquiet.That
isnormal,andmeansnothingtothetuningprocedure.asthesearchcoilnearstheground,afterliftingthesearchcoilback
intotheair.PushRetunemomentarilythenquicklylowerthesearchcoiltowardsthegroundagain.
3. Movethesearchcoilbackuptoaboutonefootabovetheground,andmomentarilypushtheModeswitchintothe
Retunepositiontoreestablishthethresholdsound.Repeatthestepofrapidlyloweringthesearchcoiltotheground.
ReadjusttheGroundAdjustcontrolasindicatedbythechangeinthethresholdasthecoilapproachestheground.
4. Whenthethresholdchangereverses,thenmovetheGroundAdjustcontrolbackinsmallincrements,untilthereis
nochangeasthesearchcoilisloweredrapidlytowardtheground.RemembertomomentarilyholdtheModeSwitchinthe
Retunepositioneachtimejustbeforeyoulowerthesearchcoiltowardtheground.
NOTE:TheNormalmodeofoperationhasaslowautomaticretuningwhichisjustfastenoughtohelpyoumaintainthe
thresholdsoundasyousearch.Thisslowautotuningcantrytoovercomethemotionofloweringthecoiltotheground,
unlessitisdonefairlyrapidly.
TUNINGINTHEDISCRIMINATEMODE
TuningtheBandidoforuseintheDiscriminatemoderequiresthattheAllMetalModetuningprocedurebeproperly
accomplished,astheGroundAdjustcontrolprovidesformineralfreeoperatinginboththeAllMetalandDiscrimmodes.Also,
thethresholdsettingoftheTuningcontroldeterminestheminimumsoundlevelfordeeptargetsintheDiscriminatemode.Too
littlethreshold,anddepthwillbelost.Toomuchthreshold,andthedetectormaybecomeerratic.
AftertheAllMetalmodeprocedureisaccomplished,theonlysettingsnecessaryforoperationinDiscriminatemodeisto
settheDiscLevelcontroltothedesiredamountoftrashrejection,andtosettheSensitivitycontrolthemaximumsettingthat
willallowsmoothoperation.
SELECTINGTHEPROPERMODEOFOPERATION
TheBandidoofferstwobasicmodesofoperation,theAllMetalmodeandtheDiscriminatemode.Bothmodesare
mineralfreeiftheunitisproperlyadjusted.TheAllMetalmodeistheindustrystandard"VLF"typewhichdoesnotrequire
motionofthesearchcoilforproperoperation.Thismode,whilerequiringaninitialgroundadjustsettingofsoundthreshold,
offerstwoveryimportantadvantages,thesebeingtheabilitytopinpointwithoutmotion,andtoprovideexactground
canceling.TheDiscriminatemodeisbasedonmotionofthesearchcoil,butrequiresverylittlemotion,andoffersthe
advantageofcompletelysilentoperation.
NuggetHuntingrequiresusingtheAllMetalmode,sincetheresponsetosmallgolditemsissoclosetoiron.
Wefeelthatformostnuggetshootinguse,AllMetalAutoTunewillprovidethebestperformance.Sincemostgold
nuggetsarequitesmall,youneedtobesurethatyourdetectoristunedtothresholdatalltimestoavoidmissinganyofthese
littlenuggets.HotRockswillcauseamomentarysilenceasthecoilissweptoverthem,withaloudovershootwhenthecoil
clearsthem.Thesoundissodifferentfromagoodtargetsound,thatitisveryeasilyrecognized.Theonlyproblemwithjust
ignoringthesesoundsarethatasmallnuggetmaybehidingbeneaththehotrock.AdjustingthegroundAdjustcontrolinthe
clockwisedirectionuntilthehotrocksarealmostneutralizedwillhelpdetectsmallgoldnuggetsbutthegroundwillreadasa
positivesignal,soyouwillhavetobeverycarefultokeepyourcoilheightconstant.
RememberthattheautotuningintheAllMetalmodewillcauseanullingofthethresholdsoundifyoupassthe
searchcoiloveraverystrongmetallictarget.
TheDiscriminatemodewillallowyoutocontrolthedetector'sresponsetomostofthecommonmetallictrashitems
foundinmostschools,parks,andbeaches.Thismodeisgenerallyusedforcoinshottingsuchareasinordertoavoidhaving
todigmostofthiscommontrash.TheDiscriminateLevelcontrolisusedtoadjusttheresponsetothesetrashitems.Each
detectorcanvarysomewhatduetothemanufacturingtolerances,soyoushouldexperimentwithyourdetectorandbecome
familiarwiththerejectionlevelsforthesetrashitemswithyourdetector.
Earliermotiondetectorsthatareoperatedwiththe"Threshold"soundwouldgivetheuseradefiniteindicationofmetallic
trashbyeithernullingcompletelyorbygeneratingshort,choppysounds.SincetheDiscriminatemodeoperateswithout
thresholdsound,thereisnonullingtoindicatethattheareaisextremelytrashy.WhensearchingintheDiscriminatemode,
werecommendthatyouperiodicallyswitchtoAllMetalandchecktheareayouaresearchingtogetanideaofhowmuch
trashisreallythere.Inextremelyheavytrashareas,itmaybedesirabletoswitchtoasmallersearchcoil,eventhroughdoing
sowillcausealossofdepth.Thesmallercoilwillallowyouabetterchanceoffindingcoinsbetweentheclosepiecesof
trash.
FIELDUSE
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.
RECOMMENDEDRECOVERYMETHODS
Alwaysobtainpermissionfromthepersoninchargebeforehuntingonprivateproperty,schoolyards,parks,churchs,or
stateparks.Evenwhenrelichuntinginthewoods,NEERLEAVEAHOLE!,ordamageanythingontheproperty.
PROTECTYOURHOBBYFILLALLHOLES
BATTERYREPLACEMENT
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.
GENERALCAREANDUSE
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.
HAPPYHUNTING,andthankyouforpurchasingaTESORO.
Underthecopyrightlawsthisdocumentationmaynotbecopied,photocopied,reproduced,translatedorreducedtoanyelectronicor
machinereadableform,inwholeorinpart,withoutthepriorwrittenconsentofTesoroElectronicsIncorporated,exceptfortheprivate
useofaBandidoowneroroperator,orinamannerotherwisedescribedinthisdocumentation.
©19951996TesoroElectronicsIncorporated.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStates.
WARRANTYSERVICE
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.
LIMITEDLIFETIMEWARRANTY
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.
TesoroElectronics,Inc.715WhiteSparRoadPrescott,AZ,USA8630319287712646
OperatingFrequency 10kHz
SearchcoilType Concentric
SearchcoilSize 8"Diameter
CableLength Approx.3’
AudioFrequency Approx.625Hz
AudioOutput 11/2"speaker
HeadphoneCompatibility 1/4"stereoearphonejack
Weight(mayvaryslightly) 3lbs.
BatteryRequirement 9voltsDC
2ea.9Valkalinebatteries
BatteryLife(typical) 15to30hours
OptimumTemperatureRange 30°to100°F
OptimumHumidity 0to75%R.H.
OperatingModes
AllMetal
Discriminate
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BandidoOPERATORINSTRUCTIONMANUAL
CONGRATULATIONS!
YournewTESOROMetalDetectorwasdesignedtoprovideyouwithmanyhappyhoursofenjoymentinthemost
rewardinghobbyIcanthinkof–treasurehunting.Aheadofyouliefascinatingandexcitingexperiencesasyoustepintothe
past–uncoveringartifactslostbypastgenerations.Iwishwecouldsharetheseexperienceswithyou,andwewishyouthe
bestofsuccess.
YourTESOROMetalDetectoriscapableofmeetingyourneedsinanyconceivabletreasurehuntingsituation.Aswith
anydetector,operatingskillandfamiliaritywiththisinstrumentareprobablythelimitingfactorsindetermininghowsuccessful
youwillbe.Werecommendthatyoureadthismanualandunderstandfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentinthe
field.Asyoubecomemorefamiliarwithyourdetectorthroughpractice,yourrateofsuccesswillincreasedramatically.
TheTESOROMetalDetectorisaprecisionelectronicinstrument,whichwilllastforyearsifproperlycaredfor.Treatit
rightanditwon'tletyoudown.
GoodHunting!JackGifford
GENERALDESCRIPTION
TheBandidoisaTransmitterReceiver(TR)typeofdetectorthatoperatesintheVeryLowFrequency(VLF)portionofthe
RadioFrequency(RF)spectrum.ItprovidestruemineralfreeoperationinboththeAllMetalandDiscriminatemodes.The
Discriminatemodeismotionbased,buttheamountofmotionrequiredissoslightthatpinpointingiseasilyaccomplishedin
thismode.TheAllMetalmodeisnotamotionbasedtype,andsoisexcellentforsearchingaswellaspinpointing.
TheBandidowasdesignedtobeatrueAllPurposetypeofdetector.Itissensitivetosmallgoldparticles,ispowerful
enoughtoserveasarelicandcachehunter,andisplentyfastenoughforcompetitionhunting.Itisequippedwithan8"
concentriccoil,althoughothercoilsizesandtypesareavailable.
TheBandidocanbeassembledasapolemountedarmrestunit,orasabodymountunit.Itcanbeconvertedeasily
withouttools.
Aswithanydetector,thefamiliarityoftheuserwiththeinstrumentwillhaveagreatdealtodowithhowsuccessfulthe
treasurehunteris.Werecommendthatyoureadandunderstandthismanualfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentin
thefield.
Besuretofilloutandmailyourwarrantyregistrationcardtovalidateyourwarranty.
ASSEMBLY
TheBandidocanbeassembledineitheroftwoconfigurationsoreasilyconvertedfromonetotheother.Theelectronic
controlhousingcanbemountedonthearmrestpole,orcanbebodymounted.Installationofthelowerpoleandcoilisthe
sameforeitherconfiguration.
1. Depressthetwobuttonsontheupperendofthelowerstem,andslideitintotheupperstem.Pushthelowerstem
upsothatthebuttonsclickintothethirdsetofholesfromtheendoftheupperstem.
2. Insertthepoletipbetweenthemountingearsofthesearchcoil,afterremovingthescrewandthumbnut.Alignthe
holesinthepoletipandthoseinthemountingears.Besuretherubberfrictionwashersareinplace.
3. Insertthecoilmountingscrewthroughthecoilandpoletip.Thescrewheadshouldbeonthesideofthesearchcoil
wherethecablecomesout.
4. Installthethumbnutonthescrewandtightenbyhand.
5. Windthesearchcoilcablearoundthepole.
POLEMOUNT
1. Thecontrolhousingisalreadymountedonthepole,asshippedfromthefactory,soallthatisnecessaryistoinsert
thesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnector,andtightenfingertight.
2. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoholdthecabletightagainstthepole.
BODYMOUNT
1. Tousethedetectorasabodymount,simplyremovethecontrolhousingfromtheupperpolebydepressingthe
springnutsintheplasticmountingpiece,andslidethecontrolhousingoffthepole.
2. Insertthesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnectorandthenfingertighten.
3. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoclampthesearchcoilcable.Itwillbebestforyoutosometimesmovethestrapssothat
thewearonthecableisspreadoveralargearea.
CONVERSION
Obviously,convertingtheunitfrombodytopolemountorviceversa,issimplyputtingthecontrolhousingbackonthe
pole,orremovingitfromthepole.Besuretokeepthesearchcoilcablewoundtightenougharoundthepolethatitdoesn'tflap
rightoversearchcoilhousing.TheBandidoisstrongenoughtoseethetinycablewiresmoving,andcangiveyoufalsesignals
ifthecableistooloose.
ADJUSTMENT
Thesearchcoilangleandstemlengthshouldbeadjustedsothattheunitisnotuncomfortableortiringafterlongperiods
ofuse.Thestemlengthisadjustedbydepressingthespringbuttonsandextendingorshorteningthepoletilltheyclickinto
theholesthatgiveyouthemostcomfortablesetting.Thecoilshouldbeaboutoneinchabovethegroundwhilestandingerect.
Adjusttheangleofthesearchcoil,sothatthecoilisparalleltotheground.Tightenthesearchcoilthumbnutbyhandto
maintainthissetting.
Thearmrestontherearofthehandlecanbemovedforwardbyremovingthescrewsandnuts,andreinstallingthe
assemblyintothemostforwardsetofholes.
Specifications
TESOROElectronics,Inc.,reservestherighttomodifyorimprovethedesignwithoutfurthernotice.
CONTROLS
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.
1. THESHOLDCONTROL.Thiscontrolisplacedonthebackpanelofthedetector,sinceitrequiresverylittleusage.
Oncethecontrolisadjustedtothedesiredthreshold,itwillnotrequirefrequentresetting.
2. GROUNDADJUSTCONTROL.ThiscontroladjuststheAllMetalmodesamplingsothattheBandidoignoresthe
normalgroundmineralization.Thiscontrolisatenturndevice,anditissometimesdifficulttofeelwhentheendofthe
turnrangeisreached.Thesettingofthiscontrolisthemostcriticaladjustmenttodo,butitisaverysimpleadjustment
tomake.StudythemanualsectiononTUNINGtobesureyoulearnhowtoproperlyadjustthiscontrol.
3. ON/OFF,BATTERYTEST,SENSITIVITYCONTROL.Theprimaryfunctionofthiscontrolistoreducethedetectors
sensitivitytothoseinfluencesthatcouldmaketheoperationmoredifficultforyou.Thiscontrolalsoisusedtoturnthe
poweronandoff.Turningtheknobcompletelycounterclockwiseuntilitclicksdisconnectsthebatteriesfromthecircuit.
Whentheknobisfirstturnedon(clockwise),thedetectorwillautomaticallytestitsbatteries,andgiveyouanaudible
indicationoftheirconnection.NOTE:ThistestshouldbeperformedwiththeModeSwitchintheDiscriminate
position.Freshbatterieswillcausealoudaudioresponsewhichwillgraduallydecayintosilenceoveraperiodofabout4
or5seconds.Asthebatteriesageandbecomeweaker,theinitialaudioresponsewillbeweaker,andwilldecayquicker.
Whentheresponseisjustashortbuzzinsteadofalongbeep,orwhenthereisnoaudioresponse,it'stimefornew
batteries.Itisrecommendedtoalwaysusealkalinebatteries.
Manythingscancausetheresponseofthedetectortobecomeerraticasyouareusingit.Normallyyouwillnothearany
soundfromthedetectorunlessyoupassthecoiloveragoodtarget.Verylargetargetsoramultitudeofcloselyspaced
smallerrejectedtrashtargetscancausethedetectortoemitchoppysputteringsounds.CBradios,radioandTV
broadcastingantennas,intensemineralizationchanges,andothersourcesofelectricalnoisecanalsocausethedetector
toemitfalsesignals.Thesesignalswillgenerallysound"chopped"andwillnotberepeatablesoyouwillnothaveany
troublerecognizingthem.Theycanbedistracting,though,andturningdownthesensitivitycontrolwillhelpreducethem.
Thiswillalsocauseasmalllossoftargetsensitivity,soalwaysrunthesensitivitycontrolashighasyoucan,whilestill
gettingsmoothoperation.
4. MODECONTROL.ThistoggleswitchisusedtoselecttheAllMetalmodeofoperationortheDiscriminatemode.In
theDiscriminatemode,thedetectorsresponsetounwantedtrashcanbecontrolledtoeliminatediggingmuchofthe
commonmetallictrashitemsfoundinlikelyhuntingspots.Thedetectormaybeepbrieflywhentheswitchischanged,
butisreadyforoperatingintheselectedmodeinstantly.InAllMetal,thedetectorwillfindnotonlythehighlyconductive
nonferrousmetals,butwillalsofindtheferrousmetals.Thismodewillbeidealforrelichuntingorghosttownsearching,
sincemanydesirableartifacts(suchasguns)aremadeofironandsteal.
NOTE:TheAllMetalmodeasasmalldegreeofautotuningtohelpnarrowthedetector'sresponsetothetargetwhen
youarepinpointing.ItwilldependonwhichtuningmodetheTuneSelecttoggleisin.Toretunetheunittothresholdfor
eithermode,justpushtheModeSwitchuptotheRetunepositionmomentarily.
5. DISCRIMINATELEVEL.Thiscontrolisusedtoadjustthedetector'sresponsetounwantedmetallictrashwhenused
intheDiscriminatemode.Atthelowestsetting"0",thedetectorwilleliminatemostironobjects,butwillstillrespondina
positivemannertolightfoil,bottlecaps,pulltabsandmostothermetallicitems.Astheknobsettingisincreased,
responsetomoreofthesemetallictrashitemsisreversedsothattheseobjectsgivenoresponse.
Thefigurebelowgivesthecontrolsettingswheresomeofthecommonlyfoundtrashitemscanberejected.

TUNING
Nodetector,regardlessofhowpowerfulitis,canprovideoptimumdepthifitisimproperlytuned.Infact,themore
powerfuladetectoris,themorecriticalthetuningbecomes.Lesspowerfulunitsaremoretolerantofoperatormisadjustment,
butarenotcapableofthedepthofaproperlytunedhighpowerdetectorsuchastheBandido.
ToachievemaximumperformancefromyourBandidobesuretoproperlyadjusttheGROUNDADJUSTandTUNING
controlsintheAllMetalmode.Thesettingsofthesecontrolswillalsoaffectthedetector'sperformanceintheDiscrimmode,
sobesuretoadjustthemproperly,evenifyouonlyplantooperatethedetectorintheDiscrimmode.
TUNINGINTHEALLMETALMODE
1. PuttheModeSwitchintheAllMetalposition.WiththeSensitivitycontrolintheMaxposition.Besurethatthe
thresholdcontrolisadjustedtojustyieldafaintbeginningofsoundsignal.Holdthesearchcoilaboutonefootfromthe
ground,andifthethresholdhaschanged,momentarilylifttheModeSwitchtoretunebacktothreshold.Thenrapidly
lowerthesearchcoiltoabouttwoinchesabovetheground.
2. Ifthereisnochangeinthethresholdsound,youareproperlytuned.Ifthesoundincreasesordecreases,itwill
recoverslowlyduetotheautotune,thereforeyoumustlowerthesearchcoilrapidlyeachtime.Ifthesounddecreased,
turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturnclockwise.Ifthesoundincreased,turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturn
counterclockwise.WhenyouturntheGroundAdjustcontrol,thethresholdsoundmaygeteitherlouderorgoquiet.That
isnormal,andmeansnothingtothetuningprocedure.asthesearchcoilnearstheground,afterliftingthesearchcoilback
intotheair.PushRetunemomentarilythenquicklylowerthesearchcoiltowardsthegroundagain.
3. Movethesearchcoilbackuptoaboutonefootabovetheground,andmomentarilypushtheModeswitchintothe
Retunepositiontoreestablishthethresholdsound.Repeatthestepofrapidlyloweringthesearchcoiltotheground.
ReadjusttheGroundAdjustcontrolasindicatedbythechangeinthethresholdasthecoilapproachestheground.
4. Whenthethresholdchangereverses,thenmovetheGroundAdjustcontrolbackinsmallincrements,untilthereis
nochangeasthesearchcoilisloweredrapidlytowardtheground.RemembertomomentarilyholdtheModeSwitchinthe
Retunepositioneachtimejustbeforeyoulowerthesearchcoiltowardtheground.
NOTE:TheNormalmodeofoperationhasaslowautomaticretuningwhichisjustfastenoughtohelpyoumaintainthe
thresholdsoundasyousearch.Thisslowautotuningcantrytoovercomethemotionofloweringthecoiltotheground,
unlessitisdonefairlyrapidly.
TUNINGINTHEDISCRIMINATEMODE
TuningtheBandidoforuseintheDiscriminatemoderequiresthattheAllMetalModetuningprocedurebeproperly
accomplished,astheGroundAdjustcontrolprovidesformineralfreeoperatinginboththeAllMetalandDiscrimmodes.Also,
thethresholdsettingoftheTuningcontroldeterminestheminimumsoundlevelfordeeptargetsintheDiscriminatemode.Too
littlethreshold,anddepthwillbelost.Toomuchthreshold,andthedetectormaybecomeerratic.
AftertheAllMetalmodeprocedureisaccomplished,theonlysettingsnecessaryforoperationinDiscriminatemodeisto
settheDiscLevelcontroltothedesiredamountoftrashrejection,andtosettheSensitivitycontrolthemaximumsettingthat
willallowsmoothoperation.
SELECTINGTHEPROPERMODEOFOPERATION
TheBandidoofferstwobasicmodesofoperation,theAllMetalmodeandtheDiscriminatemode.Bothmodesare
mineralfreeiftheunitisproperlyadjusted.TheAllMetalmodeistheindustrystandard"VLF"typewhichdoesnotrequire
motionofthesearchcoilforproperoperation.Thismode,whilerequiringaninitialgroundadjustsettingofsoundthreshold,
offerstwoveryimportantadvantages,thesebeingtheabilitytopinpointwithoutmotion,andtoprovideexactground
canceling.TheDiscriminatemodeisbasedonmotionofthesearchcoil,butrequiresverylittlemotion,andoffersthe
advantageofcompletelysilentoperation.
NuggetHuntingrequiresusingtheAllMetalmode,sincetheresponsetosmallgolditemsissoclosetoiron.
Wefeelthatformostnuggetshootinguse,AllMetalAutoTunewillprovidethebestperformance.Sincemostgold
nuggetsarequitesmall,youneedtobesurethatyourdetectoristunedtothresholdatalltimestoavoidmissinganyofthese
littlenuggets.HotRockswillcauseamomentarysilenceasthecoilissweptoverthem,withaloudovershootwhenthecoil
clearsthem.Thesoundissodifferentfromagoodtargetsound,thatitisveryeasilyrecognized.Theonlyproblemwithjust
ignoringthesesoundsarethatasmallnuggetmaybehidingbeneaththehotrock.AdjustingthegroundAdjustcontrolinthe
clockwisedirectionuntilthehotrocksarealmostneutralizedwillhelpdetectsmallgoldnuggetsbutthegroundwillreadasa
positivesignal,soyouwillhavetobeverycarefultokeepyourcoilheightconstant.
RememberthattheautotuningintheAllMetalmodewillcauseanullingofthethresholdsoundifyoupassthe
searchcoiloveraverystrongmetallictarget.
TheDiscriminatemodewillallowyoutocontrolthedetector'sresponsetomostofthecommonmetallictrashitems
foundinmostschools,parks,andbeaches.Thismodeisgenerallyusedforcoinshottingsuchareasinordertoavoidhaving
todigmostofthiscommontrash.TheDiscriminateLevelcontrolisusedtoadjusttheresponsetothesetrashitems.Each
detectorcanvarysomewhatduetothemanufacturingtolerances,soyoushouldexperimentwithyourdetectorandbecome
familiarwiththerejectionlevelsforthesetrashitemswithyourdetector.
Earliermotiondetectorsthatareoperatedwiththe"Threshold"soundwouldgivetheuseradefiniteindicationofmetallic
trashbyeithernullingcompletelyorbygeneratingshort,choppysounds.SincetheDiscriminatemodeoperateswithout
thresholdsound,thereisnonullingtoindicatethattheareaisextremelytrashy.WhensearchingintheDiscriminatemode,
werecommendthatyouperiodicallyswitchtoAllMetalandchecktheareayouaresearchingtogetanideaofhowmuch
trashisreallythere.Inextremelyheavytrashareas,itmaybedesirabletoswitchtoasmallersearchcoil,eventhroughdoing
sowillcausealossofdepth.Thesmallercoilwillallowyouabetterchanceoffindingcoinsbetweentheclosepiecesof
trash.
FIELDUSE
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.
RECOMMENDEDRECOVERYMETHODS
Alwaysobtainpermissionfromthepersoninchargebeforehuntingonprivateproperty,schoolyards,parks,churchs,or
stateparks.Evenwhenrelichuntinginthewoods,NEERLEAVEAHOLE!,ordamageanythingontheproperty.
PROTECTYOURHOBBYFILLALLHOLES
BATTERYREPLACEMENT
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.
GENERALCAREANDUSE
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.
HAPPYHUNTING,andthankyouforpurchasingaTESORO.
Underthecopyrightlawsthisdocumentationmaynotbecopied,photocopied,reproduced,translatedorreducedtoanyelectronicor
machinereadableform,inwholeorinpart,withoutthepriorwrittenconsentofTesoroElectronicsIncorporated,exceptfortheprivate
useofaBandidoowneroroperator,orinamannerotherwisedescribedinthisdocumentation.
©1995 1996TesoroElectronicsIncorporated.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStates.
WARRANTYSERVICE
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.
LIMITEDLIFETIMEWARRANTY
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.
TesoroElectronics,Inc.715WhiteSparRoadPrescott,AZ,USA8630319287712646
OperatingFrequency 10kHz
SearchcoilType Concentric
SearchcoilSize 8"Diameter
CableLength Approx.3’
AudioFrequency Approx.625Hz
AudioOutput 11/2"speaker
HeadphoneCompatibility 1/4"stereoearphonejack
Weight(mayvaryslightly) 3lbs.
BatteryRequirement 9voltsDC
2ea.9Valkalinebatteries
BatteryLife(typical) 15to30hours
OptimumTemperatureRange 30°to100°F
OptimumHumidity 0to75%R.H.
OperatingModes
AllMetal
Discriminate
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BandidoOPERATORINSTRUCTIONMANUAL
CONGRATULATIONS!
YournewTESOROMetalDetectorwasdesignedtoprovideyouwithmanyhappyhoursofenjoymentinthemost
rewardinghobbyIcanthinkof–treasurehunting.Aheadofyouliefascinatingandexcitingexperiencesasyoustepintothe
past–uncoveringartifactslostbypastgenerations.Iwishwecouldsharetheseexperienceswithyou,andwewishyouthe
bestofsuccess.
YourTESOROMetalDetectoriscapableofmeetingyourneedsinanyconceivabletreasurehuntingsituation.Aswith
anydetector,operatingskillandfamiliaritywiththisinstrumentareprobablythelimitingfactorsindetermininghowsuccessful
youwillbe.Werecommendthatyoureadthismanualandunderstandfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentinthe
field.Asyoubecomemorefamiliarwithyourdetectorthroughpractice,yourrateofsuccesswillincreasedramatically.
TheTESOROMetalDetectorisaprecisionelectronicinstrument,whichwilllastforyearsifproperlycaredfor.Treatit
rightanditwon'tletyoudown.
GoodHunting!JackGifford
GENERALDESCRIPTION
TheBandidoisaTransmitterReceiver(TR)typeofdetectorthatoperatesintheVeryLowFrequency(VLF)portionofthe
RadioFrequency(RF)spectrum.ItprovidestruemineralfreeoperationinboththeAllMetalandDiscriminatemodes.The
Discriminatemodeismotionbased,buttheamountofmotionrequiredissoslightthatpinpointingiseasilyaccomplishedin
thismode.TheAllMetalmodeisnotamotionbasedtype,andsoisexcellentforsearchingaswellaspinpointing.
TheBandidowasdesignedtobeatrueAllPurposetypeofdetector.Itissensitivetosmallgoldparticles,ispowerful
enoughtoserveasarelicandcachehunter,andisplentyfastenoughforcompetitionhunting.Itisequippedwithan8"
concentriccoil,althoughothercoilsizesandtypesareavailable.
TheBandidocanbeassembledasapolemountedarmrestunit,orasabodymountunit.Itcanbeconvertedeasily
withouttools.
Aswithanydetector,thefamiliarityoftheuserwiththeinstrumentwillhaveagreatdealtodowithhowsuccessfulthe
treasurehunteris.Werecommendthatyoureadandunderstandthismanualfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentin
thefield.
Besuretofilloutandmailyourwarrantyregistrationcardtovalidateyourwarranty.
ASSEMBLY
TheBandidocanbeassembledineitheroftwoconfigurationsoreasilyconvertedfromonetotheother.Theelectronic
controlhousingcanbemountedonthearmrestpole,orcanbebodymounted.Installationofthelowerpoleandcoilisthe
sameforeitherconfiguration.
1. Depressthetwobuttonsontheupperendofthelowerstem,andslideitintotheupperstem.Pushthelowerstem
upsothatthebuttonsclickintothethirdsetofholesfromtheendoftheupperstem.
2. Insertthepoletipbetweenthemountingearsofthesearchcoil,afterremovingthescrewandthumbnut.Alignthe
holesinthepoletipandthoseinthemountingears.Besuretherubberfrictionwashersareinplace.
3. Insertthecoilmountingscrewthroughthecoilandpoletip.Thescrewheadshouldbeonthesideofthesearchcoil
wherethecablecomesout.
4. Installthethumbnutonthescrewandtightenbyhand.
5. Windthesearchcoilcablearoundthepole.
POLEMOUNT
1. Thecontrolhousingisalreadymountedonthepole,asshippedfromthefactory,soallthatisnecessaryistoinsert
thesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnector,andtightenfingertight.
2. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoholdthecabletightagainstthepole.
BODYMOUNT
1. Tousethedetectorasabodymount,simplyremovethecontrolhousingfromtheupperpolebydepressingthe
springnutsintheplasticmountingpiece,andslidethecontrolhousingoffthepole.
2. Insertthesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnectorandthenfingertighten.
3. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoclampthesearchcoilcable.Itwillbebestforyoutosometimesmovethestrapssothat
thewearonthecableisspreadoveralargearea.
CONVERSION
Obviously,convertingtheunitfrombodytopolemountorviceversa,issimplyputtingthecontrolhousingbackonthe
pole,orremovingitfromthepole.Besuretokeepthesearchcoilcablewoundtightenougharoundthepolethatitdoesn'tflap
rightoversearchcoilhousing.TheBandidoisstrongenoughtoseethetinycablewiresmoving,andcangiveyoufalsesignals
ifthecableistooloose.
ADJUSTMENT
Thesearchcoilangleandstemlengthshouldbeadjustedsothattheunitisnotuncomfortableortiringafterlongperiods
ofuse.Thestemlengthisadjustedbydepressingthespringbuttonsandextendingorshorteningthepoletilltheyclickinto
theholesthatgiveyouthemostcomfortablesetting.Thecoilshouldbeaboutoneinchabovethegroundwhilestandingerect.
Adjusttheangleofthesearchcoil,sothatthecoilisparalleltotheground.Tightenthesearchcoilthumbnutbyhandto
maintainthissetting.
Thearmrestontherearofthehandlecanbemovedforwardbyremovingthescrewsandnuts,andreinstallingthe
assemblyintothemostforwardsetofholes.
Specifications
TESOROElectronics,Inc.,reservestherighttomodifyorimprovethedesignwithoutfurthernotice.
CONTROLS
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.
1. THESHOLDCONTROL.Thiscontrolisplacedonthebackpanelofthedetector,sinceitrequiresverylittleusage.
Oncethecontrolisadjustedtothedesiredthreshold,itwillnotrequirefrequentresetting.
2. GROUNDADJUSTCONTROL.ThiscontroladjuststheAllMetalmodesamplingsothattheBandidoignoresthe
normalgroundmineralization.Thiscontrolisatenturndevice,anditissometimesdifficulttofeelwhentheendofthe
turnrangeisreached.Thesettingofthiscontrolisthemostcriticaladjustmenttodo,butitisaverysimpleadjustment
tomake.StudythemanualsectiononTUNINGtobesureyoulearnhowtoproperlyadjustthiscontrol.
3. ON/OFF,BATTERYTEST,SENSITIVITYCONTROL.Theprimaryfunctionofthiscontrolistoreducethedetectors
sensitivitytothoseinfluencesthatcouldmaketheoperationmoredifficultforyou.Thiscontrolalsoisusedtoturnthe
poweronandoff.Turningtheknobcompletelycounterclockwiseuntilitclicksdisconnectsthebatteriesfromthecircuit.
Whentheknobisfirstturnedon(clockwise),thedetectorwillautomaticallytestitsbatteries,andgiveyouanaudible
indicationoftheirconnection.NOTE:ThistestshouldbeperformedwiththeModeSwitchintheDiscriminate
position.Freshbatterieswillcausealoudaudioresponsewhichwillgraduallydecayintosilenceoveraperiodofabout4
or5seconds.Asthebatteriesageandbecomeweaker,theinitialaudioresponsewillbeweaker,andwilldecayquicker.
Whentheresponseisjustashortbuzzinsteadofalongbeep,orwhenthereisnoaudioresponse,it'stimefornew
batteries.Itisrecommendedtoalwaysusealkalinebatteries.
Manythingscancausetheresponseofthedetectortobecomeerraticasyouareusingit.Normallyyouwillnothearany
soundfromthedetectorunlessyoupassthecoiloveragoodtarget.Verylargetargetsoramultitudeofcloselyspaced
smallerrejectedtrashtargetscancausethedetectortoemitchoppysputteringsounds.CBradios,radioandTV
broadcastingantennas,intensemineralizationchanges,andothersourcesofelectricalnoisecanalsocausethedetector
toemitfalsesignals.Thesesignalswillgenerallysound"chopped"andwillnotberepeatablesoyouwillnothaveany
troublerecognizingthem.Theycanbedistracting,though,andturningdownthesensitivitycontrolwillhelpreducethem.
Thiswillalsocauseasmalllossoftargetsensitivity,soalwaysrunthesensitivitycontrolashighasyoucan,whilestill
gettingsmoothoperation.
4. MODECONTROL.ThistoggleswitchisusedtoselecttheAllMetalmodeofoperationortheDiscriminatemode.In
theDiscriminatemode,thedetectorsresponsetounwantedtrashcanbecontrolledtoeliminatediggingmuchofthe
commonmetallictrashitemsfoundinlikelyhuntingspots.Thedetectormaybeepbrieflywhentheswitchischanged,
butisreadyforoperatingintheselectedmodeinstantly.InAllMetal,thedetectorwillfindnotonlythehighlyconductive
nonferrousmetals,butwillalsofindtheferrousmetals.Thismodewillbeidealforrelichuntingorghosttownsearching,
sincemanydesirableartifacts(suchasguns)aremadeofironandsteal.
NOTE:TheAllMetalmodeasasmalldegreeofautotuningtohelpnarrowthedetector'sresponsetothetargetwhen
youarepinpointing.ItwilldependonwhichtuningmodetheTuneSelecttoggleisin.Toretunetheunittothresholdfor
eithermode,justpushtheModeSwitchuptotheRetunepositionmomentarily.
5. DISCRIMINATELEVEL.Thiscontrolisusedtoadjustthedetector'sresponsetounwantedmetallictrashwhenused
intheDiscriminatemode.Atthelowestsetting"0",thedetectorwilleliminatemostironobjects,butwillstillrespondina
positivemannertolightfoil,bottlecaps,pulltabsandmostothermetallicitems.Astheknobsettingisincreased,
responsetomoreofthesemetallictrashitemsisreversedsothattheseobjectsgivenoresponse.
Thefigurebelowgivesthecontrolsettingswheresomeofthecommonlyfoundtrashitemscanberejected.

TUNING
Nodetector,regardlessofhowpowerfulitis,canprovideoptimumdepthifitisimproperlytuned.Infact,themore
powerfuladetectoris,themorecriticalthetuningbecomes.Lesspowerfulunitsaremoretolerantofoperatormisadjustment,
butarenotcapableofthedepthofaproperlytunedhighpowerdetectorsuchastheBandido.
ToachievemaximumperformancefromyourBandidobesuretoproperlyadjusttheGROUNDADJUSTandTUNING
controlsintheAllMetalmode.Thesettingsofthesecontrolswillalsoaffectthedetector'sperformanceintheDiscrimmode,
sobesuretoadjustthemproperly,evenifyouonlyplantooperatethedetectorintheDiscrimmode.
TUNINGINTHEALLMETALMODE
1. PuttheModeSwitchintheAllMetalposition.WiththeSensitivitycontrolintheMaxposition.Besurethatthe
thresholdcontrolisadjustedtojustyieldafaintbeginningofsoundsignal.Holdthesearchcoilaboutonefootfromthe
ground,andifthethresholdhaschanged,momentarilylifttheModeSwitchtoretunebacktothreshold.Thenrapidly
lowerthesearchcoiltoabouttwoinchesabovetheground.
2. Ifthereisnochangeinthethresholdsound,youareproperlytuned.Ifthesoundincreasesordecreases,itwill
recoverslowlyduetotheautotune,thereforeyoumustlowerthesearchcoilrapidlyeachtime.Ifthesounddecreased,
turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturnclockwise.Ifthesoundincreased,turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturn
counterclockwise.WhenyouturntheGroundAdjustcontrol,thethresholdsoundmaygeteitherlouderorgoquiet.That
isnormal,andmeansnothingtothetuningprocedure.asthesearchcoilnearstheground,afterliftingthesearchcoilback
intotheair.PushRetunemomentarilythenquicklylowerthesearchcoiltowardsthegroundagain.
3. Movethesearchcoilbackuptoaboutonefootabovetheground,andmomentarilypushtheModeswitchintothe
Retunepositiontoreestablishthethresholdsound.Repeatthestepofrapidlyloweringthesearchcoiltotheground.
ReadjusttheGroundAdjustcontrolasindicatedbythechangeinthethresholdasthecoilapproachestheground.
4. Whenthethresholdchangereverses,thenmovetheGroundAdjustcontrolbackinsmallincrements,untilthereis
nochangeasthesearchcoilisloweredrapidlytowardtheground.RemembertomomentarilyholdtheModeSwitchinthe
Retunepositioneachtimejustbeforeyoulowerthesearchcoiltowardtheground.
NOTE:TheNormalmodeofoperationhasaslowautomaticretuningwhichisjustfastenoughtohelpyoumaintainthe
thresholdsoundasyousearch.Thisslowautotuningcantrytoovercomethemotionofloweringthecoiltotheground,
unlessitisdonefairlyrapidly.
TUNINGINTHEDISCRIMINATEMODE
TuningtheBandidoforuseintheDiscriminatemoderequiresthattheAllMetalModetuningprocedurebeproperly
accomplished,astheGroundAdjustcontrolprovidesformineralfreeoperatinginboththeAllMetalandDiscrimmodes.Also,
thethresholdsettingoftheTuningcontroldeterminestheminimumsoundlevelfordeeptargetsintheDiscriminatemode.Too
littlethreshold,anddepthwillbelost.Toomuchthreshold,andthedetectormaybecomeerratic.
AftertheAllMetalmodeprocedureisaccomplished,theonlysettingsnecessaryforoperationinDiscriminatemodeisto
settheDiscLevelcontroltothedesiredamountoftrashrejection,andtosettheSensitivitycontrolthemaximumsettingthat
willallowsmoothoperation.
SELECTINGTHEPROPERMODEOFOPERATION
TheBandidoofferstwobasicmodesofoperation,theAllMetalmodeandtheDiscriminatemode.Bothmodesare
mineralfreeiftheunitisproperlyadjusted.TheAllMetalmodeistheindustrystandard"VLF"typewhichdoesnotrequire
motionofthesearchcoilforproperoperation.Thismode,whilerequiringaninitialgroundadjustsettingofsoundthreshold,
offerstwoveryimportantadvantages,thesebeingtheabilitytopinpointwithoutmotion,andtoprovideexactground
canceling.TheDiscriminatemodeisbasedonmotionofthesearchcoil,butrequiresverylittlemotion,andoffersthe
advantageofcompletelysilentoperation.
NuggetHuntingrequiresusingtheAllMetalmode,sincetheresponsetosmallgolditemsissoclosetoiron.
Wefeelthatformostnuggetshootinguse,AllMetalAutoTunewillprovidethebestperformance.Sincemostgold
nuggetsarequitesmall,youneedtobesurethatyourdetectoristunedtothresholdatalltimestoavoidmissinganyofthese
littlenuggets.HotRockswillcauseamomentarysilenceasthecoilissweptoverthem,withaloudovershootwhenthecoil
clearsthem.Thesoundissodifferentfromagoodtargetsound,thatitisveryeasilyrecognized.Theonlyproblemwithjust
ignoringthesesoundsarethatasmallnuggetmaybehidingbeneaththehotrock.AdjustingthegroundAdjustcontrolinthe
clockwisedirectionuntilthehotrocksarealmostneutralizedwillhelpdetectsmallgoldnuggetsbutthegroundwillreadasa
positivesignal,soyouwillhavetobeverycarefultokeepyourcoilheightconstant.
RememberthattheautotuningintheAllMetalmodewillcauseanullingofthethresholdsoundifyoupassthe
searchcoiloveraverystrongmetallictarget.
TheDiscriminatemodewillallowyoutocontrolthedetector'sresponsetomostofthecommonmetallictrashitems
foundinmostschools,parks,andbeaches.Thismodeisgenerallyusedforcoinshottingsuchareasinordertoavoidhaving
todigmostofthiscommontrash.TheDiscriminateLevelcontrolisusedtoadjusttheresponsetothesetrashitems.Each
detectorcanvarysomewhatduetothemanufacturingtolerances,soyoushouldexperimentwithyourdetectorandbecome
familiarwiththerejectionlevelsforthesetrashitemswithyourdetector.
Earliermotiondetectorsthatareoperatedwiththe"Threshold"soundwouldgivetheuseradefiniteindicationofmetallic
trashbyeithernullingcompletelyorbygeneratingshort,choppysounds.SincetheDiscriminatemodeoperateswithout
thresholdsound,thereisnonullingtoindicatethattheareaisextremelytrashy.WhensearchingintheDiscriminatemode,
werecommendthatyouperiodicallyswitchtoAllMetalandchecktheareayouaresearchingtogetanideaofhowmuch
trashisreallythere.Inextremelyheavytrashareas,itmaybedesirabletoswitchtoasmallersearchcoil,eventhroughdoing
sowillcausealossofdepth.Thesmallercoilwillallowyouabetterchanceoffindingcoinsbetweentheclosepiecesof
trash.
FIELDUSE
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.
RECOMMENDEDRECOVERYMETHODS
Alwaysobtainpermissionfromthepersoninchargebeforehuntingonprivateproperty,schoolyards,parks,churchs,or
stateparks.Evenwhenrelichuntinginthewoods,NEERLEAVEAHOLE!,ordamageanythingontheproperty.
PROTECTYOURHOBBYFILLALLHOLES
BATTERYREPLACEMENT
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.
GENERALCAREANDUSE
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.
HAPPYHUNTING,andthankyouforpurchasingaTESORO.
Underthecopyrightlawsthisdocumentationmaynotbecopied,photocopied,reproduced,translatedorreducedtoanyelectronicor
machinereadableform,inwholeorinpart,withoutthepriorwrittenconsentofTesoroElectronicsIncorporated,exceptfortheprivate
useofaBandidoowneroroperator,orinamannerotherwisedescribedinthisdocumentation.
©1995 1996TesoroElectronicsIncorporated.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStates.
WARRANTYSERVICE
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.
LIMITEDLIFETIMEWARRANTY
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.
TesoroElectronics,Inc.715WhiteSparRoadPrescott,AZ,USA8630319287712646
OperatingFrequency 10kHz
SearchcoilType Concentric
SearchcoilSize 8"Diameter
CableLength Approx.3’
AudioFrequency Approx.625Hz
AudioOutput 11/2"speaker
HeadphoneCompatibility 1/4"stereoearphonejack
Weight(mayvaryslightly) 3lbs.
BatteryRequirement 9voltsDC
2ea.9Valkalinebatteries
BatteryLife(typical) 15to30hours
OptimumTemperatureRange 30°to100°F
OptimumHumidity 0to75%R.H.
OperatingModes
AllMetal
Discriminate
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BandidoOPERATORINSTRUCTIONMANUAL
CONGRATULATIONS!
YournewTESOROMetalDetectorwasdesignedtoprovideyouwithmanyhappyhoursofenjoymentinthemost
rewardinghobbyIcanthinkof–treasurehunting.Aheadofyouliefascinatingandexcitingexperiencesasyoustepintothe
past–uncoveringartifactslostbypastgenerations.Iwishwecouldsharetheseexperienceswithyou,andwewishyouthe
bestofsuccess.
YourTESOROMetalDetectoriscapableofmeetingyourneedsinanyconceivabletreasurehuntingsituation.Aswith
anydetector,operatingskillandfamiliaritywiththisinstrumentareprobablythelimitingfactorsindetermininghowsuccessful
youwillbe.Werecommendthatyoureadthismanualandunderstandfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentinthe
field.Asyoubecomemorefamiliarwithyourdetectorthroughpractice,yourrateofsuccesswillincreasedramatically.
TheTESOROMetalDetectorisaprecisionelectronicinstrument,whichwilllastforyearsifproperlycaredfor.Treatit
rightanditwon'tletyoudown.
GoodHunting!JackGifford
GENERALDESCRIPTION
TheBandidoisaTransmitterReceiver(TR)typeofdetectorthatoperatesintheVeryLowFrequency(VLF)portionofthe
RadioFrequency(RF)spectrum.ItprovidestruemineralfreeoperationinboththeAllMetalandDiscriminatemodes.The
Discriminatemodeismotionbased,buttheamountofmotionrequiredissoslightthatpinpointingiseasilyaccomplishedin
thismode.TheAllMetalmodeisnotamotionbasedtype,andsoisexcellentforsearchingaswellaspinpointing.
TheBandidowasdesignedtobeatrueAllPurposetypeofdetector.Itissensitivetosmallgoldparticles,ispowerful
enoughtoserveasarelicandcachehunter,andisplentyfastenoughforcompetitionhunting.Itisequippedwithan8"
concentriccoil,althoughothercoilsizesandtypesareavailable.
TheBandidocanbeassembledasapolemountedarmrestunit,orasabodymountunit.Itcanbeconvertedeasily
withouttools.
Aswithanydetector,thefamiliarityoftheuserwiththeinstrumentwillhaveagreatdealtodowithhowsuccessfulthe
treasurehunteris.Werecommendthatyoureadandunderstandthismanualfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentin
thefield.
Besuretofilloutandmailyourwarrantyregistrationcardtovalidateyourwarranty.
ASSEMBLY
TheBandidocanbeassembledineitheroftwoconfigurationsoreasilyconvertedfromonetotheother.Theelectronic
controlhousingcanbemountedonthearmrestpole,orcanbebodymounted.Installationofthelowerpoleandcoilisthe
sameforeitherconfiguration.
1. Depressthetwobuttonsontheupperendofthelowerstem,andslideitintotheupperstem.Pushthelowerstem
upsothatthebuttonsclickintothethirdsetofholesfromtheendoftheupperstem.
2. Insertthepoletipbetweenthemountingearsofthesearchcoil,afterremovingthescrewandthumbnut.Alignthe
holesinthepoletipandthoseinthemountingears.Besuretherubberfrictionwashersareinplace.
3. Insertthecoilmountingscrewthroughthecoilandpoletip.Thescrewheadshouldbeonthesideofthesearchcoil
wherethecablecomesout.
4. Installthethumbnutonthescrewandtightenbyhand.
5. Windthesearchcoilcablearoundthepole.
POLEMOUNT
1. Thecontrolhousingisalreadymountedonthepole,asshippedfromthefactory,soallthatisnecessaryistoinsert
thesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnector,andtightenfingertight.
2. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoholdthecabletightagainstthepole.
BODYMOUNT
1. Tousethedetectorasabodymount,simplyremovethecontrolhousingfromtheupperpolebydepressingthe
springnutsintheplasticmountingpiece,andslidethecontrolhousingoffthepole.
2. Insertthesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnectorandthenfingertighten.
3. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoclampthesearchcoilcable.Itwillbebestforyoutosometimesmovethestrapssothat
thewearonthecableisspreadoveralargearea.
CONVERSION
Obviously,convertingtheunitfrombodytopolemountorviceversa,issimplyputtingthecontrolhousingbackonthe
pole,orremovingitfromthepole.Besuretokeepthesearchcoilcablewoundtightenougharoundthepolethatitdoesn'tflap
rightoversearchcoilhousing.TheBandidoisstrongenoughtoseethetinycablewiresmoving,andcangiveyoufalsesignals
ifthecableistooloose.
ADJUSTMENT
Thesearchcoilangleandstemlengthshouldbeadjustedsothattheunitisnotuncomfortableortiringafterlongperiods
ofuse.Thestemlengthisadjustedbydepressingthespringbuttonsandextendingorshorteningthepoletilltheyclickinto
theholesthatgiveyouthemostcomfortablesetting.Thecoilshouldbeaboutoneinchabovethegroundwhilestandingerect.
Adjusttheangleofthesearchcoil,sothatthecoilisparalleltotheground.Tightenthesearchcoilthumbnutbyhandto
maintainthissetting.
Thearmrestontherearofthehandlecanbemovedforwardbyremovingthescrewsandnuts,andreinstallingthe
assemblyintothemostforwardsetofholes.
Specifications
TESOROElectronics,Inc.,reservestherighttomodifyorimprovethedesignwithoutfurthernotice.
CONTROLS
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.
1. THESHOLDCONTROL.Thiscontrolisplacedonthebackpanelofthedetector,sinceitrequiresverylittleusage.
Oncethecontrolisadjustedtothedesiredthreshold,itwillnotrequirefrequentresetting.
2. GROUNDADJUSTCONTROL.ThiscontroladjuststheAllMetalmodesamplingsothattheBandidoignoresthe
normalgroundmineralization.Thiscontrolisatenturndevice,anditissometimesdifficulttofeelwhentheendofthe
turnrangeisreached.Thesettingofthiscontrolisthemostcriticaladjustmenttodo,butitisaverysimpleadjustment
tomake.StudythemanualsectiononTUNINGtobesureyoulearnhowtoproperlyadjustthiscontrol.
3. ON/OFF,BATTERYTEST,SENSITIVITYCONTROL.Theprimaryfunctionofthiscontrolistoreducethedetectors
sensitivitytothoseinfluencesthatcouldmaketheoperationmoredifficultforyou.Thiscontrolalsoisusedtoturnthe
poweronandoff.Turningtheknobcompletelycounterclockwiseuntilitclicksdisconnectsthebatteriesfromthecircuit.
Whentheknobisfirstturnedon(clockwise),thedetectorwillautomaticallytestitsbatteries,andgiveyouanaudible
indicationoftheirconnection.NOTE:ThistestshouldbeperformedwiththeModeSwitchintheDiscriminate
position.Freshbatterieswillcausealoudaudioresponsewhichwillgraduallydecayintosilenceoveraperiodofabout4
or5seconds.Asthebatteriesageandbecomeweaker,theinitialaudioresponsewillbeweaker,andwilldecayquicker.
Whentheresponseisjustashortbuzzinsteadofalongbeep,orwhenthereisnoaudioresponse,it'stimefornew
batteries.Itisrecommendedtoalwaysusealkalinebatteries.
Manythingscancausetheresponseofthedetectortobecomeerraticasyouareusingit.Normallyyouwillnothearany
soundfromthedetectorunlessyoupassthecoiloveragoodtarget.Verylargetargetsoramultitudeofcloselyspaced
smallerrejectedtrashtargetscancausethedetectortoemitchoppysputteringsounds.CBradios,radioandTV
broadcastingantennas,intensemineralizationchanges,andothersourcesofelectricalnoisecanalsocausethedetector
toemitfalsesignals.Thesesignalswillgenerallysound"chopped"andwillnotberepeatablesoyouwillnothaveany
troublerecognizingthem.Theycanbedistracting,though,andturningdownthesensitivitycontrolwillhelpreducethem.
Thiswillalsocauseasmalllossoftargetsensitivity,soalwaysrunthesensitivitycontrolashighasyoucan,whilestill
gettingsmoothoperation.
4. MODECONTROL.ThistoggleswitchisusedtoselecttheAllMetalmodeofoperationortheDiscriminatemode.In
theDiscriminatemode,thedetectorsresponsetounwantedtrashcanbecontrolledtoeliminatediggingmuchofthe
commonmetallictrashitemsfoundinlikelyhuntingspots.Thedetectormaybeepbrieflywhentheswitchischanged,
butisreadyforoperatingintheselectedmodeinstantly.InAllMetal,thedetectorwillfindnotonlythehighlyconductive
nonferrousmetals,butwillalsofindtheferrousmetals.Thismodewillbeidealforrelichuntingorghosttownsearching,
sincemanydesirableartifacts(suchasguns)aremadeofironandsteal.
NOTE:TheAllMetalmodeasasmalldegreeofautotuningtohelpnarrowthedetector'sresponsetothetargetwhen
youarepinpointing.ItwilldependonwhichtuningmodetheTuneSelecttoggleisin.Toretunetheunittothresholdfor
eithermode,justpushtheModeSwitchuptotheRetunepositionmomentarily.
5. DISCRIMINATELEVEL.Thiscontrolisusedtoadjustthedetector'sresponsetounwantedmetallictrashwhenused
intheDiscriminatemode.Atthelowestsetting"0",thedetectorwilleliminatemostironobjects,butwillstillrespondina
positivemannertolightfoil,bottlecaps,pulltabsandmostothermetallicitems.Astheknobsettingisincreased,
responsetomoreofthesemetallictrashitemsisreversedsothattheseobjectsgivenoresponse.
Thefigurebelowgivesthecontrolsettingswheresomeofthecommonlyfoundtrashitemscanberejected.

TUNING
Nodetector,regardlessofhowpowerfulitis,canprovideoptimumdepthifitisimproperlytuned.Infact,themore
powerfuladetectoris,themorecriticalthetuningbecomes.Lesspowerfulunitsaremoretolerantofoperatormisadjustment,
butarenotcapableofthedepthofaproperlytunedhighpowerdetectorsuchastheBandido.
ToachievemaximumperformancefromyourBandidobesuretoproperlyadjusttheGROUNDADJUSTandTUNING
controlsintheAllMetalmode.Thesettingsofthesecontrolswillalsoaffectthedetector'sperformanceintheDiscrimmode,
sobesuretoadjustthemproperly,evenifyouonlyplantooperatethedetectorintheDiscrimmode.
TUNINGINTHEALLMETALMODE
1. PuttheModeSwitchintheAllMetalposition.WiththeSensitivitycontrolintheMaxposition.Besurethatthe
thresholdcontrolisadjustedtojustyieldafaintbeginningofsoundsignal.Holdthesearchcoilaboutonefootfromthe
ground,andifthethresholdhaschanged,momentarilylifttheModeSwitchtoretunebacktothreshold.Thenrapidly
lowerthesearchcoiltoabouttwoinchesabovetheground.
2. Ifthereisnochangeinthethresholdsound,youareproperlytuned.Ifthesoundincreasesordecreases,itwill
recoverslowlyduetotheautotune,thereforeyoumustlowerthesearchcoilrapidlyeachtime.Ifthesounddecreased,
turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturnclockwise.Ifthesoundincreased,turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturn
counterclockwise.WhenyouturntheGroundAdjustcontrol,thethresholdsoundmaygeteitherlouderorgoquiet.That
isnormal,andmeansnothingtothetuningprocedure.asthesearchcoilnearstheground,afterliftingthesearchcoilback
intotheair.PushRetunemomentarilythenquicklylowerthesearchcoiltowardsthegroundagain.
3. Movethesearchcoilbackuptoaboutonefootabovetheground,andmomentarilypushtheModeswitchintothe
Retunepositiontoreestablishthethresholdsound.Repeatthestepofrapidlyloweringthesearchcoiltotheground.
ReadjusttheGroundAdjustcontrolasindicatedbythechangeinthethresholdasthecoilapproachestheground.
4. Whenthethresholdchangereverses,thenmovetheGroundAdjustcontrolbackinsmallincrements,untilthereis
nochangeasthesearchcoilisloweredrapidlytowardtheground.RemembertomomentarilyholdtheModeSwitchinthe
Retunepositioneachtimejustbeforeyoulowerthesearchcoiltowardtheground.
NOTE:TheNormalmodeofoperationhasaslowautomaticretuningwhichisjustfastenoughtohelpyoumaintainthe
thresholdsoundasyousearch.Thisslowautotuningcantrytoovercomethemotionofloweringthecoiltotheground,
unlessitisdonefairlyrapidly.
TUNINGINTHEDISCRIMINATEMODE
TuningtheBandidoforuseintheDiscriminatemoderequiresthattheAllMetalModetuningprocedurebeproperly
accomplished,astheGroundAdjustcontrolprovidesformineralfreeoperatinginboththeAllMetalandDiscrimmodes.Also,
thethresholdsettingoftheTuningcontroldeterminestheminimumsoundlevelfordeeptargetsintheDiscriminatemode.Too
littlethreshold,anddepthwillbelost.Toomuchthreshold,andthedetectormaybecomeerratic.
AftertheAllMetalmodeprocedureisaccomplished,theonlysettingsnecessaryforoperationinDiscriminatemodeisto
settheDiscLevelcontroltothedesiredamountoftrashrejection,andtosettheSensitivitycontrolthemaximumsettingthat
willallowsmoothoperation.
SELECTINGTHEPROPERMODEOFOPERATION
TheBandidoofferstwobasicmodesofoperation,theAllMetalmodeandtheDiscriminatemode.Bothmodesare
mineralfreeiftheunitisproperlyadjusted.TheAllMetalmodeistheindustrystandard"VLF"typewhichdoesnotrequire
motionofthesearchcoilforproperoperation.Thismode,whilerequiringaninitialgroundadjustsettingofsoundthreshold,
offerstwoveryimportantadvantages,thesebeingtheabilitytopinpointwithoutmotion,andtoprovideexactground
canceling.TheDiscriminatemodeisbasedonmotionofthesearchcoil,butrequiresverylittlemotion,andoffersthe
advantageofcompletelysilentoperation.
NuggetHuntingrequiresusingtheAllMetalmode,sincetheresponsetosmallgolditemsissoclosetoiron.
Wefeelthatformostnuggetshootinguse,AllMetalAutoTunewillprovidethebestperformance.Sincemostgold
nuggetsarequitesmall,youneedtobesurethatyourdetectoristunedtothresholdatalltimestoavoidmissinganyofthese
littlenuggets.HotRockswillcauseamomentarysilenceasthecoilissweptoverthem,withaloudovershootwhenthecoil
clearsthem.Thesoundissodifferentfromagoodtargetsound,thatitisveryeasilyrecognized.Theonlyproblemwithjust
ignoringthesesoundsarethatasmallnuggetmaybehidingbeneaththehotrock.AdjustingthegroundAdjustcontrolinthe
clockwisedirectionuntilthehotrocksarealmostneutralizedwillhelpdetectsmallgoldnuggetsbutthegroundwillreadasa
positivesignal,soyouwillhavetobeverycarefultokeepyourcoilheightconstant.
RememberthattheautotuningintheAllMetalmodewillcauseanullingofthethresholdsoundifyoupassthe
searchcoiloveraverystrongmetallictarget.
TheDiscriminatemodewillallowyoutocontrolthedetector'sresponsetomostofthecommonmetallictrashitems
foundinmostschools,parks,andbeaches.Thismodeisgenerallyusedforcoinshottingsuchareasinordertoavoidhaving
todigmostofthiscommontrash.TheDiscriminateLevelcontrolisusedtoadjusttheresponsetothesetrashitems.Each
detectorcanvarysomewhatduetothemanufacturingtolerances,soyoushouldexperimentwithyourdetectorandbecome
familiarwiththerejectionlevelsforthesetrashitemswithyourdetector.
Earliermotiondetectorsthatareoperatedwiththe"Threshold"soundwouldgivetheuseradefiniteindicationofmetallic
trashbyeithernullingcompletelyorbygeneratingshort,choppysounds.SincetheDiscriminatemodeoperateswithout
thresholdsound,thereisnonullingtoindicatethattheareaisextremelytrashy.WhensearchingintheDiscriminatemode,
werecommendthatyouperiodicallyswitchtoAllMetalandchecktheareayouaresearchingtogetanideaofhowmuch
trashisreallythere.Inextremelyheavytrashareas,itmaybedesirabletoswitchtoasmallersearchcoil,eventhroughdoing
sowillcausealossofdepth.Thesmallercoilwillallowyouabetterchanceoffindingcoinsbetweentheclosepiecesof
trash.
FIELDUSE
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.
RECOMMENDEDRECOVERYMETHODS
Alwaysobtainpermissionfromthepersoninchargebeforehuntingonprivateproperty,schoolyards,parks,churchs,or
stateparks.Evenwhenrelichuntinginthewoods,NEERLEAVEAHOLE!,ordamageanythingontheproperty.
PROTECTYOURHOBBYFILLALLHOLES
BATTERYREPLACEMENT
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.
GENERALCAREANDUSE
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.
HAPPYHUNTING,andthankyouforpurchasingaTESORO.
Underthecopyrightlawsthisdocumentationmaynotbecopied,photocopied,reproduced,translatedorreducedtoanyelectronicor
machinereadableform,inwholeorinpart,withoutthepriorwrittenconsentofTesoroElectronicsIncorporated,exceptfortheprivate
useofaBandidoowneroroperator,orinamannerotherwisedescribedinthisdocumentation.
©1995 1996TesoroElectronicsIncorporated.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStates.
WARRANTYSERVICE
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.
LIMITEDLIFETIMEWARRANTY
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.
TesoroElectronics,Inc.715WhiteSparRoadPrescott,AZ,USA8630319287712646
OperatingFrequency 10kHz
SearchcoilType Concentric
SearchcoilSize 8"Diameter
CableLength Approx.3’
AudioFrequency Approx.625Hz
AudioOutput 11/2"speaker
HeadphoneCompatibility 1/4"stereoearphonejack
Weight(mayvaryslightly) 3lbs.
BatteryRequirement 9voltsDC
2ea.9Valkalinebatteries
BatteryLife(typical) 15to30hours
OptimumTemperatureRange 30°to100°F
OptimumHumidity 0to75%R.H.
OperatingModes
AllMetal
Discriminate
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BandidoOPERATORINSTRUCTIONMANUAL
CONGRATULATIONS!
YournewTESOROMetalDetectorwasdesignedtoprovideyouwithmanyhappyhoursofenjoymentinthemost
rewardinghobbyIcanthinkof–treasurehunting.Aheadofyouliefascinatingandexcitingexperiencesasyoustepintothe
past–uncoveringartifactslostbypastgenerations.Iwishwecouldsharetheseexperienceswithyou,andwewishyouthe
bestofsuccess.
YourTESOROMetalDetectoriscapableofmeetingyourneedsinanyconceivabletreasurehuntingsituation.Aswith
anydetector,operatingskillandfamiliaritywiththisinstrumentareprobablythelimitingfactorsindetermininghowsuccessful
youwillbe.Werecommendthatyoureadthismanualandunderstandfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentinthe
field.Asyoubecomemorefamiliarwithyourdetectorthroughpractice,yourrateofsuccesswillincreasedramatically.
TheTESOROMetalDetectorisaprecisionelectronicinstrument,whichwilllastforyearsifproperlycaredfor.Treatit
rightanditwon'tletyoudown.
GoodHunting!JackGifford
GENERALDESCRIPTION
TheBandidoisaTransmitterReceiver(TR)typeofdetectorthatoperatesintheVeryLowFrequency(VLF)portionofthe
RadioFrequency(RF)spectrum.ItprovidestruemineralfreeoperationinboththeAllMetalandDiscriminatemodes.The
Discriminatemodeismotionbased,buttheamountofmotionrequiredissoslightthatpinpointingiseasilyaccomplishedin
thismode.TheAllMetalmodeisnotamotionbasedtype,andsoisexcellentforsearchingaswellaspinpointing.
TheBandidowasdesignedtobeatrueAllPurposetypeofdetector.Itissensitivetosmallgoldparticles,ispowerful
enoughtoserveasarelicandcachehunter,andisplentyfastenoughforcompetitionhunting.Itisequippedwithan8"
concentriccoil,althoughothercoilsizesandtypesareavailable.
TheBandidocanbeassembledasapolemountedarmrestunit,orasabodymountunit.Itcanbeconvertedeasily
withouttools.
Aswithanydetector,thefamiliarityoftheuserwiththeinstrumentwillhaveagreatdealtodowithhowsuccessfulthe
treasurehunteris.Werecommendthatyoureadandunderstandthismanualfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentin
thefield.
Besuretofilloutandmailyourwarrantyregistrationcardtovalidateyourwarranty.
ASSEMBLY
TheBandidocanbeassembledineitheroftwoconfigurationsoreasilyconvertedfromonetotheother.Theelectronic
controlhousingcanbemountedonthearmrestpole,orcanbebodymounted.Installationofthelowerpoleandcoilisthe
sameforeitherconfiguration.
1. Depressthetwobuttonsontheupperendofthelowerstem,andslideitintotheupperstem.Pushthelowerstem
upsothatthebuttonsclickintothethirdsetofholesfromtheendoftheupperstem.
2. Insertthepoletipbetweenthemountingearsofthesearchcoil,afterremovingthescrewandthumbnut.Alignthe
holesinthepoletipandthoseinthemountingears.Besuretherubberfrictionwashersareinplace.
3. Insertthecoilmountingscrewthroughthecoilandpoletip.Thescrewheadshouldbeonthesideofthesearchcoil
wherethecablecomesout.
4. Installthethumbnutonthescrewandtightenbyhand.
5. Windthesearchcoilcablearoundthepole.
POLEMOUNT
1. Thecontrolhousingisalreadymountedonthepole,asshippedfromthefactory,soallthatisnecessaryistoinsert
thesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnector,andtightenfingertight.
2. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoholdthecabletightagainstthepole.
BODYMOUNT
1. Tousethedetectorasabodymount,simplyremovethecontrolhousingfromtheupperpolebydepressingthe
springnutsintheplasticmountingpiece,andslidethecontrolhousingoffthepole.
2. Insertthesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnectorandthenfingertighten.
3. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoclampthesearchcoilcable.Itwillbebestforyoutosometimesmovethestrapssothat
thewearonthecableisspreadoveralargearea.
CONVERSION
Obviously,convertingtheunitfrombodytopolemountorviceversa,issimplyputtingthecontrolhousingbackonthe
pole,orremovingitfromthepole.Besuretokeepthesearchcoilcablewoundtightenougharoundthepolethatitdoesn'tflap
rightoversearchcoilhousing.TheBandidoisstrongenoughtoseethetinycablewiresmoving,andcangiveyoufalsesignals
ifthecableistooloose.
ADJUSTMENT
Thesearchcoilangleandstemlengthshouldbeadjustedsothattheunitisnotuncomfortableortiringafterlongperiods
ofuse.Thestemlengthisadjustedbydepressingthespringbuttonsandextendingorshorteningthepoletilltheyclickinto
theholesthatgiveyouthemostcomfortablesetting.Thecoilshouldbeaboutoneinchabovethegroundwhilestandingerect.
Adjusttheangleofthesearchcoil,sothatthecoilisparalleltotheground.Tightenthesearchcoilthumbnutbyhandto
maintainthissetting.
Thearmrestontherearofthehandlecanbemovedforwardbyremovingthescrewsandnuts,andreinstallingthe
assemblyintothemostforwardsetofholes.
Specifications
TESOROElectronics,Inc.,reservestherighttomodifyorimprovethedesignwithoutfurthernotice.
CONTROLS
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.
1. THESHOLDCONTROL.Thiscontrolisplacedonthebackpanelofthedetector,sinceitrequiresverylittleusage.
Oncethecontrolisadjustedtothedesiredthreshold,itwillnotrequirefrequentresetting.
2. GROUNDADJUSTCONTROL.ThiscontroladjuststheAllMetalmodesamplingsothattheBandidoignoresthe
normalgroundmineralization.Thiscontrolisatenturndevice,anditissometimesdifficulttofeelwhentheendofthe
turnrangeisreached.Thesettingofthiscontrolisthemostcriticaladjustmenttodo,butitisaverysimpleadjustment
tomake.StudythemanualsectiononTUNINGtobesureyoulearnhowtoproperlyadjustthiscontrol.
3. ON/OFF,BATTERYTEST,SENSITIVITYCONTROL.Theprimaryfunctionofthiscontrolistoreducethedetectors
sensitivitytothoseinfluencesthatcouldmaketheoperationmoredifficultforyou.Thiscontrolalsoisusedtoturnthe
poweronandoff.Turningtheknobcompletelycounterclockwiseuntilitclicksdisconnectsthebatteriesfromthecircuit.
Whentheknobisfirstturnedon(clockwise),thedetectorwillautomaticallytestitsbatteries,andgiveyouanaudible
indicationoftheirconnection.NOTE:ThistestshouldbeperformedwiththeModeSwitchintheDiscriminate
position.Freshbatterieswillcausealoudaudioresponsewhichwillgraduallydecayintosilenceoveraperiodofabout4
or5seconds.Asthebatteriesageandbecomeweaker,theinitialaudioresponsewillbeweaker,andwilldecayquicker.
Whentheresponseisjustashortbuzzinsteadofalongbeep,orwhenthereisnoaudioresponse,it'stimefornew
batteries.Itisrecommendedtoalwaysusealkalinebatteries.
Manythingscancausetheresponseofthedetectortobecomeerraticasyouareusingit.Normallyyouwillnothearany
soundfromthedetectorunlessyoupassthecoiloveragoodtarget.Verylargetargetsoramultitudeofcloselyspaced
smallerrejectedtrashtargetscancausethedetectortoemitchoppysputteringsounds.CBradios,radioandTV
broadcastingantennas,intensemineralizationchanges,andothersourcesofelectricalnoisecanalsocausethedetector
toemitfalsesignals.Thesesignalswillgenerallysound"chopped"andwillnotberepeatablesoyouwillnothaveany
troublerecognizingthem.Theycanbedistracting,though,andturningdownthesensitivitycontrolwillhelpreducethem.
Thiswillalsocauseasmalllossoftargetsensitivity,soalwaysrunthesensitivitycontrolashighasyoucan,whilestill
gettingsmoothoperation.
4. MODECONTROL.ThistoggleswitchisusedtoselecttheAllMetalmodeofoperationortheDiscriminatemode.In
theDiscriminatemode,thedetectorsresponsetounwantedtrashcanbecontrolledtoeliminatediggingmuchofthe
commonmetallictrashitemsfoundinlikelyhuntingspots.Thedetectormaybeepbrieflywhentheswitchischanged,
butisreadyforoperatingintheselectedmodeinstantly.InAllMetal,thedetectorwillfindnotonlythehighlyconductive
nonferrousmetals,butwillalsofindtheferrousmetals.Thismodewillbeidealforrelichuntingorghosttownsearching,
sincemanydesirableartifacts(suchasguns)aremadeofironandsteal.
NOTE:TheAllMetalmodeasasmalldegreeofautotuningtohelpnarrowthedetector'sresponsetothetargetwhen
youarepinpointing.ItwilldependonwhichtuningmodetheTuneSelecttoggleisin.Toretunetheunittothresholdfor
eithermode,justpushtheModeSwitchuptotheRetunepositionmomentarily.
5. DISCRIMINATELEVEL.Thiscontrolisusedtoadjustthedetector'sresponsetounwantedmetallictrashwhenused
intheDiscriminatemode.Atthelowestsetting"0",thedetectorwilleliminatemostironobjects,butwillstillrespondina
positivemannertolightfoil,bottlecaps,pulltabsandmostothermetallicitems.Astheknobsettingisincreased,
responsetomoreofthesemetallictrashitemsisreversedsothattheseobjectsgivenoresponse.
Thefigurebelowgivesthecontrolsettingswheresomeofthecommonlyfoundtrashitemscanberejected.

TUNING
Nodetector,regardlessofhowpowerfulitis,canprovideoptimumdepthifitisimproperlytuned.Infact,themore
powerfuladetectoris,themorecriticalthetuningbecomes.Lesspowerfulunitsaremoretolerantofoperatormisadjustment,
butarenotcapableofthedepthofaproperlytunedhighpowerdetectorsuchastheBandido.
ToachievemaximumperformancefromyourBandidobesuretoproperlyadjusttheGROUNDADJUSTandTUNING
controlsintheAllMetalmode.Thesettingsofthesecontrolswillalsoaffectthedetector'sperformanceintheDiscrimmode,
sobesuretoadjustthemproperly,evenifyouonlyplantooperatethedetectorintheDiscrimmode.
TUNINGINTHEALLMETALMODE
1. PuttheModeSwitchintheAllMetalposition.WiththeSensitivitycontrolintheMaxposition.Besurethatthe
thresholdcontrolisadjustedtojustyieldafaintbeginningofsoundsignal.Holdthesearchcoilaboutonefootfromthe
ground,andifthethresholdhaschanged,momentarilylifttheModeSwitchtoretunebacktothreshold.Thenrapidly
lowerthesearchcoiltoabouttwoinchesabovetheground.
2. Ifthereisnochangeinthethresholdsound,youareproperlytuned.Ifthesoundincreasesordecreases,itwill
recoverslowlyduetotheautotune,thereforeyoumustlowerthesearchcoilrapidlyeachtime.Ifthesounddecreased,
turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturnclockwise.Ifthesoundincreased,turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturn
counterclockwise.WhenyouturntheGroundAdjustcontrol,thethresholdsoundmaygeteitherlouderorgoquiet.That
isnormal,andmeansnothingtothetuningprocedure.asthesearchcoilnearstheground,afterliftingthesearchcoilback
intotheair.PushRetunemomentarilythenquicklylowerthesearchcoiltowardsthegroundagain.
3. Movethesearchcoilbackuptoaboutonefootabovetheground,andmomentarilypushtheModeswitchintothe
Retunepositiontoreestablishthethresholdsound.Repeatthestepofrapidlyloweringthesearchcoiltotheground.
ReadjusttheGroundAdjustcontrolasindicatedbythechangeinthethresholdasthecoilapproachestheground.
4. Whenthethresholdchangereverses,thenmovetheGroundAdjustcontrolbackinsmallincrements,untilthereis
nochangeasthesearchcoilisloweredrapidlytowardtheground.RemembertomomentarilyholdtheModeSwitchinthe
Retunepositioneachtimejustbeforeyoulowerthesearchcoiltowardtheground.
NOTE:TheNormalmodeofoperationhasaslowautomaticretuningwhichisjustfastenoughtohelpyoumaintainthe
thresholdsoundasyousearch.Thisslowautotuningcantrytoovercomethemotionofloweringthecoiltotheground,
unlessitisdonefairlyrapidly.
TUNINGINTHEDISCRIMINATEMODE
TuningtheBandidoforuseintheDiscriminatemoderequiresthattheAllMetalModetuningprocedurebeproperly
accomplished,astheGroundAdjustcontrolprovidesformineralfreeoperatinginboththeAllMetalandDiscrimmodes.Also,
thethresholdsettingoftheTuningcontroldeterminestheminimumsoundlevelfordeeptargetsintheDiscriminatemode.Too
littlethreshold,anddepthwillbelost.Toomuchthreshold,andthedetectormaybecomeerratic.
AftertheAllMetalmodeprocedureisaccomplished,theonlysettingsnecessaryforoperationinDiscriminatemodeisto
settheDiscLevelcontroltothedesiredamountoftrashrejection,andtosettheSensitivitycontrolthemaximumsettingthat
willallowsmoothoperation.
SELECTINGTHEPROPERMODEOFOPERATION
TheBandidoofferstwobasicmodesofoperation,theAllMetalmodeandtheDiscriminatemode.Bothmodesare
mineralfreeiftheunitisproperlyadjusted.TheAllMetalmodeistheindustrystandard"VLF"typewhichdoesnotrequire
motionofthesearchcoilforproperoperation.Thismode,whilerequiringaninitialgroundadjustsettingofsoundthreshold,
offerstwoveryimportantadvantages,thesebeingtheabilitytopinpointwithoutmotion,andtoprovideexactground
canceling.TheDiscriminatemodeisbasedonmotionofthesearchcoil,butrequiresverylittlemotion,andoffersthe
advantageofcompletelysilentoperation.
NuggetHuntingrequiresusingtheAllMetalmode,sincetheresponsetosmallgolditemsissoclosetoiron.
Wefeelthatformostnuggetshootinguse,AllMetalAutoTunewillprovidethebestperformance.Sincemostgold
nuggetsarequitesmall,youneedtobesurethatyourdetectoristunedtothresholdatalltimestoavoidmissinganyofthese
littlenuggets.HotRockswillcauseamomentarysilenceasthecoilissweptoverthem,withaloudovershootwhenthecoil
clearsthem.Thesoundissodifferentfromagoodtargetsound,thatitisveryeasilyrecognized.Theonlyproblemwithjust
ignoringthesesoundsarethatasmallnuggetmaybehidingbeneaththehotrock.AdjustingthegroundAdjustcontrolinthe
clockwisedirectionuntilthehotrocksarealmostneutralizedwillhelpdetectsmallgoldnuggetsbutthegroundwillreadasa
positivesignal,soyouwillhavetobeverycarefultokeepyourcoilheightconstant.
RememberthattheautotuningintheAllMetalmodewillcauseanullingofthethresholdsoundifyoupassthe
searchcoiloveraverystrongmetallictarget.
TheDiscriminatemodewillallowyoutocontrolthedetector'sresponsetomostofthecommonmetallictrashitems
foundinmostschools,parks,andbeaches.Thismodeisgenerallyusedforcoinshottingsuchareasinordertoavoidhaving
todigmostofthiscommontrash.TheDiscriminateLevelcontrolisusedtoadjusttheresponsetothesetrashitems.Each
detectorcanvarysomewhatduetothemanufacturingtolerances,soyoushouldexperimentwithyourdetectorandbecome
familiarwiththerejectionlevelsforthesetrashitemswithyourdetector.
Earliermotiondetectorsthatareoperatedwiththe"Threshold"soundwouldgivetheuseradefiniteindicationofmetallic
trashbyeithernullingcompletelyorbygeneratingshort,choppysounds.SincetheDiscriminatemodeoperateswithout
thresholdsound,thereisnonullingtoindicatethattheareaisextremelytrashy.WhensearchingintheDiscriminatemode,
werecommendthatyouperiodicallyswitchtoAllMetalandchecktheareayouaresearchingtogetanideaofhowmuch
trashisreallythere.Inextremelyheavytrashareas,itmaybedesirabletoswitchtoasmallersearchcoil,eventhroughdoing
sowillcausealossofdepth.Thesmallercoilwillallowyouabetterchanceoffindingcoinsbetweentheclosepiecesof
trash.
FIELDUSE
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.
RECOMMENDEDRECOVERYMETHODS
Alwaysobtainpermissionfromthepersoninchargebeforehuntingonprivateproperty,schoolyards,parks,churchs,or
stateparks.Evenwhenrelichuntinginthewoods,NEERLEAVEAHOLE!,ordamageanythingontheproperty.
PROTECTYOURHOBBYFILLALLHOLES
BATTERYREPLACEMENT
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.
GENERALCAREANDUSE
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.
HAPPYHUNTING,andthankyouforpurchasingaTESORO.
Underthecopyrightlawsthisdocumentationmaynotbecopied,photocopied,reproduced,translatedorreducedtoanyelectronicor
machinereadableform,inwholeorinpart,withoutthepriorwrittenconsentofTesoroElectronicsIncorporated,exceptfortheprivate
useofaBandidoowneroroperator,orinamannerotherwisedescribedinthisdocumentation.
©1995 1996TesoroElectronicsIncorporated.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStates.
WARRANTYSERVICE
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.
LIMITEDLIFETIMEWARRANTY
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.
TesoroElectronics,Inc.715WhiteSparRoadPrescott,AZ,USA8630319287712646
OperatingFrequency 10kHz
SearchcoilType Concentric
SearchcoilSize 8"Diameter
CableLength Approx.3’
AudioFrequency Approx.625Hz
AudioOutput 11/2"speaker
HeadphoneCompatibility 1/4"stereoearphonejack
Weight(mayvaryslightly) 3lbs.
BatteryRequirement 9voltsDC
2ea.9Valkalinebatteries
BatteryLife(typical) 15to30hours
OptimumTemperatureRange 30°to100°F
OptimumHumidity 0to75%R.H.
OperatingModes
AllMetal
Discriminate
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BandidoOPERATORINSTRUCTIONMANUAL
CONGRATULATIONS!
YournewTESOROMetalDetectorwasdesignedtoprovideyouwithmanyhappyhoursofenjoymentinthemost
rewardinghobbyIcanthinkof–treasurehunting.Aheadofyouliefascinatingandexcitingexperiencesasyoustepintothe
past–uncoveringartifactslostbypastgenerations.Iwishwecouldsharetheseexperienceswithyou,andwewishyouthe
bestofsuccess.
YourTESOROMetalDetectoriscapableofmeetingyourneedsinanyconceivabletreasurehuntingsituation.Aswith
anydetector,operatingskillandfamiliaritywiththisinstrumentareprobablythelimitingfactorsindetermininghowsuccessful
youwillbe.Werecommendthatyoureadthismanualandunderstandfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentinthe
field.Asyoubecomemorefamiliarwithyourdetectorthroughpractice,yourrateofsuccesswillincreasedramatically.
TheTESOROMetalDetectorisaprecisionelectronicinstrument,whichwilllastforyearsifproperlycaredfor.Treatit
rightanditwon'tletyoudown.
GoodHunting!JackGifford
GENERALDESCRIPTION
TheBandidoisaTransmitterReceiver(TR)typeofdetectorthatoperatesintheVeryLowFrequency(VLF)portionofthe
RadioFrequency(RF)spectrum.ItprovidestruemineralfreeoperationinboththeAllMetalandDiscriminatemodes.The
Discriminatemodeismotionbased,buttheamountofmotionrequiredissoslightthatpinpointingiseasilyaccomplishedin
thismode.TheAllMetalmodeisnotamotionbasedtype,andsoisexcellentforsearchingaswellaspinpointing.
TheBandidowasdesignedtobeatrueAllPurposetypeofdetector.Itissensitivetosmallgoldparticles,ispowerful
enoughtoserveasarelicandcachehunter,andisplentyfastenoughforcompetitionhunting.Itisequippedwithan8"
concentriccoil,althoughothercoilsizesandtypesareavailable.
TheBandidocanbeassembledasapolemountedarmrestunit,orasabodymountunit.Itcanbeconvertedeasily
withouttools.
Aswithanydetector,thefamiliarityoftheuserwiththeinstrumentwillhaveagreatdealtodowithhowsuccessfulthe
treasurehunteris.Werecommendthatyoureadandunderstandthismanualfullybeforeattemptingtousetheinstrumentin
thefield.
Besuretofilloutandmailyourwarrantyregistrationcardtovalidateyourwarranty.
ASSEMBLY
TheBandidocanbeassembledineitheroftwoconfigurationsoreasilyconvertedfromonetotheother.Theelectronic
controlhousingcanbemountedonthearmrestpole,orcanbebodymounted.Installationofthelowerpoleandcoilisthe
sameforeitherconfiguration.
1. Depressthetwobuttonsontheupperendofthelowerstem,andslideitintotheupperstem.Pushthelowerstem
upsothatthebuttonsclickintothethirdsetofholesfromtheendoftheupperstem.
2. Insertthepoletipbetweenthemountingearsofthesearchcoil,afterremovingthescrewandthumbnut.Alignthe
holesinthepoletipandthoseinthemountingears.Besuretherubberfrictionwashersareinplace.
3. Insertthecoilmountingscrewthroughthecoilandpoletip.Thescrewheadshouldbeonthesideofthesearchcoil
wherethecablecomesout.
4. Installthethumbnutonthescrewandtightenbyhand.
5. Windthesearchcoilcablearoundthepole.
POLEMOUNT
1. Thecontrolhousingisalreadymountedonthepole,asshippedfromthefactory,soallthatisnecessaryistoinsert
thesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnector,andtightenfingertight.
2. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoholdthecabletightagainstthepole.
BODYMOUNT
1. Tousethedetectorasabodymount,simplyremovethecontrolhousingfromtheupperpolebydepressingthe
springnutsintheplasticmountingpiece,andslidethecontrolhousingoffthepole.
2. Insertthesearchcoilconnectorintothecontrolhousingconnectorandthenfingertighten.
3. Usethetwovelcrostrapstoclampthesearchcoilcable.Itwillbebestforyoutosometimesmovethestrapssothat
thewearonthecableisspreadoveralargearea.
CONVERSION
Obviously,convertingtheunitfrombodytopolemountorviceversa,issimplyputtingthecontrolhousingbackonthe
pole,orremovingitfromthepole.Besuretokeepthesearchcoilcablewoundtightenougharoundthepolethatitdoesn'tflap
rightoversearchcoilhousing.TheBandidoisstrongenoughtoseethetinycablewiresmoving,andcangiveyoufalsesignals
ifthecableistooloose.
ADJUSTMENT
Thesearchcoilangleandstemlengthshouldbeadjustedsothattheunitisnotuncomfortableortiringafterlongperiods
ofuse.Thestemlengthisadjustedbydepressingthespringbuttonsandextendingorshorteningthepoletilltheyclickinto
theholesthatgiveyouthemostcomfortablesetting.Thecoilshouldbeaboutoneinchabovethegroundwhilestandingerect.
Adjusttheangleofthesearchcoil,sothatthecoilisparalleltotheground.Tightenthesearchcoilthumbnutbyhandto
maintainthissetting.
Thearmrestontherearofthehandlecanbemovedforwardbyremovingthescrewsandnuts,andreinstallingthe
assemblyintothemostforwardsetofholes.
Specifications
TESOROElectronics,Inc.,reservestherighttomodifyorimprovethedesignwithoutfurthernotice.
CONTROLS
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.
1. THESHOLDCONTROL.Thiscontrolisplacedonthebackpanelofthedetector,sinceitrequiresverylittleusage.
Oncethecontrolisadjustedtothedesiredthreshold,itwillnotrequirefrequentresetting.
2. GROUNDADJUSTCONTROL.ThiscontroladjuststheAllMetalmodesamplingsothattheBandidoignoresthe
normalgroundmineralization.Thiscontrolisatenturndevice,anditissometimesdifficulttofeelwhentheendofthe
turnrangeisreached.Thesettingofthiscontrolisthemostcriticaladjustmenttodo,butitisaverysimpleadjustment
tomake.StudythemanualsectiononTUNINGtobesureyoulearnhowtoproperlyadjustthiscontrol.
3. ON/OFF,BATTERYTEST,SENSITIVITYCONTROL.Theprimaryfunctionofthiscontrolistoreducethedetectors
sensitivitytothoseinfluencesthatcouldmaketheoperationmoredifficultforyou.Thiscontrolalsoisusedtoturnthe
poweronandoff.Turningtheknobcompletelycounterclockwiseuntilitclicksdisconnectsthebatteriesfromthecircuit.
Whentheknobisfirstturnedon(clockwise),thedetectorwillautomaticallytestitsbatteries,andgiveyouanaudible
indicationoftheirconnection.NOTE:ThistestshouldbeperformedwiththeModeSwitchintheDiscriminate
position.Freshbatterieswillcausealoudaudioresponsewhichwillgraduallydecayintosilenceoveraperiodofabout4
or5seconds.Asthebatteriesageandbecomeweaker,theinitialaudioresponsewillbeweaker,andwilldecayquicker.
Whentheresponseisjustashortbuzzinsteadofalongbeep,orwhenthereisnoaudioresponse,it'stimefornew
batteries.Itisrecommendedtoalwaysusealkalinebatteries.
Manythingscancausetheresponseofthedetectortobecomeerraticasyouareusingit.Normallyyouwillnothearany
soundfromthedetectorunlessyoupassthecoiloveragoodtarget.Verylargetargetsoramultitudeofcloselyspaced
smallerrejectedtrashtargetscancausethedetectortoemitchoppysputteringsounds.CBradios,radioandTV
broadcastingantennas,intensemineralizationchanges,andothersourcesofelectricalnoisecanalsocausethedetector
toemitfalsesignals.Thesesignalswillgenerallysound"chopped"andwillnotberepeatablesoyouwillnothaveany
troublerecognizingthem.Theycanbedistracting,though,andturningdownthesensitivitycontrolwillhelpreducethem.
Thiswillalsocauseasmalllossoftargetsensitivity,soalwaysrunthesensitivitycontrolashighasyoucan,whilestill
gettingsmoothoperation.
4. MODECONTROL.ThistoggleswitchisusedtoselecttheAllMetalmodeofoperationortheDiscriminatemode.In
theDiscriminatemode,thedetectorsresponsetounwantedtrashcanbecontrolledtoeliminatediggingmuchofthe
commonmetallictrashitemsfoundinlikelyhuntingspots.Thedetectormaybeepbrieflywhentheswitchischanged,
butisreadyforoperatingintheselectedmodeinstantly.InAllMetal,thedetectorwillfindnotonlythehighlyconductive
nonferrousmetals,butwillalsofindtheferrousmetals.Thismodewillbeidealforrelichuntingorghosttownsearching,
sincemanydesirableartifacts(suchasguns)aremadeofironandsteal.
NOTE:TheAllMetalmodeasasmalldegreeofautotuningtohelpnarrowthedetector'sresponsetothetargetwhen
youarepinpointing.ItwilldependonwhichtuningmodetheTuneSelecttoggleisin.Toretunetheunittothresholdfor
eithermode,justpushtheModeSwitchuptotheRetunepositionmomentarily.
5. DISCRIMINATELEVEL.Thiscontrolisusedtoadjustthedetector'sresponsetounwantedmetallictrashwhenused
intheDiscriminatemode.Atthelowestsetting"0",thedetectorwilleliminatemostironobjects,butwillstillrespondina
positivemannertolightfoil,bottlecaps,pulltabsandmostothermetallicitems.Astheknobsettingisincreased,
responsetomoreofthesemetallictrashitemsisreversedsothattheseobjectsgivenoresponse.
Thefigurebelowgivesthecontrolsettingswheresomeofthecommonlyfoundtrashitemscanberejected.

TUNING
Nodetector,regardlessofhowpowerfulitis,canprovideoptimumdepthifitisimproperlytuned.Infact,themore
powerfuladetectoris,themorecriticalthetuningbecomes.Lesspowerfulunitsaremoretolerantofoperatormisadjustment,
butarenotcapableofthedepthofaproperlytunedhighpowerdetectorsuchastheBandido.
ToachievemaximumperformancefromyourBandidobesuretoproperlyadjusttheGROUNDADJUSTandTUNING
controlsintheAllMetalmode.Thesettingsofthesecontrolswillalsoaffectthedetector'sperformanceintheDiscrimmode,
sobesuretoadjustthemproperly,evenifyouonlyplantooperatethedetectorintheDiscrimmode.
TUNINGINTHEALLMETALMODE
1. PuttheModeSwitchintheAllMetalposition.WiththeSensitivitycontrolintheMaxposition.Besurethatthe
thresholdcontrolisadjustedtojustyieldafaintbeginningofsoundsignal.Holdthesearchcoilaboutonefootfromthe
ground,andifthethresholdhaschanged,momentarilylifttheModeSwitchtoretunebacktothreshold.Thenrapidly
lowerthesearchcoiltoabouttwoinchesabovetheground.
2. Ifthereisnochangeinthethresholdsound,youareproperlytuned.Ifthesoundincreasesordecreases,itwill
recoverslowlyduetotheautotune,thereforeyoumustlowerthesearchcoilrapidlyeachtime.Ifthesounddecreased,
turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturnclockwise.Ifthesoundincreased,turntheGroundAdjustaboutonehalfturn
counterclockwise.WhenyouturntheGroundAdjustcontrol,thethresholdsoundmaygeteitherlouderorgoquiet.That
isnormal,andmeansnothingtothetuningprocedure.asthesearchcoilnearstheground,afterliftingthesearchcoilback
intotheair.PushRetunemomentarilythenquicklylowerthesearchcoiltowardsthegroundagain.
3. Movethesearchcoilbackuptoaboutonefootabovetheground,andmomentarilypushtheModeswitchintothe
Retunepositiontoreestablishthethresholdsound.Repeatthestepofrapidlyloweringthesearchcoiltotheground.
ReadjusttheGroundAdjustcontrolasindicatedbythechangeinthethresholdasthecoilapproachestheground.
4. Whenthethresholdchangereverses,thenmovetheGroundAdjustcontrolbackinsmallincrements,untilthereis
nochangeasthesearchcoilisloweredrapidlytowardtheground.RemembertomomentarilyholdtheModeSwitchinthe
Retunepositioneachtimejustbeforeyoulowerthesearchcoiltowardtheground.
NOTE:TheNormalmodeofoperationhasaslowautomaticretuningwhichisjustfastenoughtohelpyoumaintainthe
thresholdsoundasyousearch.Thisslowautotuningcantrytoovercomethemotionofloweringthecoiltotheground,
unlessitisdonefairlyrapidly.
TUNINGINTHEDISCRIMINATEMODE
TuningtheBandidoforuseintheDiscriminatemoderequiresthattheAllMetalModetuningprocedurebeproperly
accomplished,astheGroundAdjustcontrolprovidesformineralfreeoperatinginboththeAllMetalandDiscrimmodes.Also,
thethresholdsettingoftheTuningcontroldeterminestheminimumsoundlevelfordeeptargetsintheDiscriminatemode.Too
littlethreshold,anddepthwillbelost.Toomuchthreshold,andthedetectormaybecomeerratic.
AftertheAllMetalmodeprocedureisaccomplished,theonlysettingsnecessaryforoperationinDiscriminatemodeisto
settheDiscLevelcontroltothedesiredamountoftrashrejection,andtosettheSensitivitycontrolthemaximumsettingthat
willallowsmoothoperation.
SELECTINGTHEPROPERMODEOFOPERATION
TheBandidoofferstwobasicmodesofoperation,theAllMetalmodeandtheDiscriminatemode.Bothmodesare
mineralfreeiftheunitisproperlyadjusted.TheAllMetalmodeistheindustrystandard"VLF"typewhichdoesnotrequire
motionofthesearchcoilforproperoperation.Thismode,whilerequiringaninitialgroundadjustsettingofsoundthreshold,
offerstwoveryimportantadvantages,thesebeingtheabilitytopinpointwithoutmotion,andtoprovideexactground
canceling.TheDiscriminatemodeisbasedonmotionofthesearchcoil,butrequiresverylittlemotion,andoffersthe
advantageofcompletelysilentoperation.
NuggetHuntingrequiresusingtheAllMetalmode,sincetheresponsetosmallgolditemsissoclosetoiron.
Wefeelthatformostnuggetshootinguse,AllMetalAutoTunewillprovidethebestperformance.Sincemostgold
nuggetsarequitesmall,youneedtobesurethatyourdetectoristunedtothresholdatalltimestoavoidmissinganyofthese
littlenuggets.HotRockswillcauseamomentarysilenceasthecoilissweptoverthem,withaloudovershootwhenthecoil
clearsthem.Thesoundissodifferentfromagoodtargetsound,thatitisveryeasilyrecognized.Theonlyproblemwithjust
ignoringthesesoundsarethatasmallnuggetmaybehidingbeneaththehotrock.AdjustingthegroundAdjustcontrolinthe
clockwisedirectionuntilthehotrocksarealmostneutralizedwillhelpdetectsmallgoldnuggetsbutthegroundwillreadasa
positivesignal,soyouwillhavetobeverycarefultokeepyourcoilheightconstant.
RememberthattheautotuningintheAllMetalmodewillcauseanullingofthethresholdsoundifyoupassthe
searchcoiloveraverystrongmetallictarget.
TheDiscriminatemodewillallowyoutocontrolthedetector'sresponsetomostofthecommonmetallictrashitems
foundinmostschools,parks,andbeaches.Thismodeisgenerallyusedforcoinshottingsuchareasinordertoavoidhaving
todigmostofthiscommontrash.TheDiscriminateLevelcontrolisusedtoadjusttheresponsetothesetrashitems.Each
detectorcanvarysomewhatduetothemanufacturingtolerances,soyoushouldexperimentwithyourdetectorandbecome
familiarwiththerejectionlevelsforthesetrashitemswithyourdetector.
Earliermotiondetectorsthatareoperatedwiththe"Threshold"soundwouldgivetheuseradefiniteindicationofmetallic
trashbyeithernullingcompletelyorbygeneratingshort,choppysounds.SincetheDiscriminatemodeoperateswithout
thresholdsound,thereisnonullingtoindicatethattheareaisextremelytrashy.WhensearchingintheDiscriminatemode,
werecommendthatyouperiodicallyswitchtoAllMetalandchecktheareayouaresearchingtogetanideaofhowmuch
trashisreallythere.Inextremelyheavytrashareas,itmaybedesirabletoswitchtoasmallersearchcoil,eventhroughdoing
sowillcausealossofdepth.Thesmallercoilwillallowyouabetterchanceoffindingcoinsbetweentheclosepiecesof
trash.
FIELDUSE
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.
RECOMMENDEDRECOVERYMETHODS
Alwaysobtainpermissionfromthepersoninchargebeforehuntingonprivateproperty,schoolyards,parks,churchs,or
stateparks.Evenwhenrelichuntinginthewoods,NEERLEAVEAHOLE!,ordamageanythingontheproperty.
PROTECTYOURHOBBYFILLALLHOLES
BATTERYREPLACEMENT
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.
GENERALCAREANDUSE
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.
HAPPYHUNTING,andthankyouforpurchasingaTESORO.
Underthecopyrightlawsthisdocumentationmaynotbecopied,photocopied,reproduced,translatedorreducedtoanyelectronicor
machinereadableform,inwholeorinpart,withoutthepriorwrittenconsentofTesoroElectronicsIncorporated,exceptfortheprivate
useofaBandidoowneroroperator,orinamannerotherwisedescribedinthisdocumentation.
©1995 1996TesoroElectronicsIncorporated.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStates.
WARRANTYSERVICE
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.
LIMITEDLIFETIMEWARRANTY
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.
TesoroElectronics,Inc.715WhiteSparRoadPrescott,AZ,USA8630319287712646
OperatingFrequency 10kHz
SearchcoilType Concentric
SearchcoilSize 8"Diameter
CableLength Approx.3’
AudioFrequency Approx.625Hz
AudioOutput 11/2"speaker
HeadphoneCompatibility 1/4"stereoearphonejack
Weight(mayvaryslightly) 3lbs.
BatteryRequirement 9voltsDC
2ea.9Valkalinebatteries
BatteryLife(typical) 15to30hours
OptimumTemperatureRange 30°to100°F
OptimumHumidity 0to75%R.H.
OperatingModes
AllMetal
Discriminate
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