Lots of ways to tell different targets with the Compadre, as stated experience helps a lot and the more you learn the easier it gets and the more accurate your guesses.
Really big iron, even that deeper stuff, you might want to do that raise your coil thing over these and that could help.
If you raise your coil pretty high and still get a solid tone you are probably not swinging over a coin size object.
Something thick and not huge but deep could have a smaller footprint as far as size and act like a shallower coin, but lots of times you can still raise that coil pretty high and still get a signal.
If it seems pretty loud, the coil is a good height above the soil with a good signal and you dig a few inches down and have not found the target it is usually something big, or thick and deep.
Unless I am looking for relics I usually cover up the hole and move on when this happens.
Not only can you tell much by manipulating that disc knob, swinging at just the right speed will come into play in certain situations using Tesoros, especially the Compadre.
The Compadre can do something that no other detector or any coil mounted on those detectors can do and out of all the reasons to own one this is the #1 thing in my opinion.
No matter what model you have, the older 7" coil, or the newer 5.75 or 8" coil models, if you are next to big metal like fence poles, bench legs and especially the big stuff in tot lots like poles on swings planted in the ground and other poles from equipment, if you learn to swing at just the right speed you will get a double beep if a target is anywhere in the vicinity of this big metal.
One beep for the big metal, another for the target.
I am talking about near, right next to or even leaning right on that big metal.
Do it right and you will find targets that all others missed every time and I don't care what they are swinging...nothing on the market can do this as well or as efficient as the Compadre and that includes other Tesoros.
I have tried and tried to replicate this with my Vaquero and all coils including the 5.75 sniper at all different sense and disc settings and I have not been able to do it...not even close.
For the Compadre this feat is effortless.
When swinging over all targets the correct swing speed will also tell you much.
No pinpoint but swing correctly over small targets like coins and you can get a very good idea on the size, the Compadre will tone and the length of that tone should give you a clue.
With practice, even without a pinpoint button, you can usually picture the size of objects in your minds eye and become very proficient at this over time.
When you swing over larger objects including iron, and I am talking about shallow for sure but even targets that are deep, do it at the correct lower speed and that tone can actually be larger, a little bigger and longer lasting tone than a coin sized object and sometimes over a lot larger area.
Just like using the pinpoint button on other detectors you can "paint" the area with movements of the coil and notice that you will not get the small quick tones of a coin or ring or even trash like tabs but something larger.
I have the 7" coil model and even though the coil is pretty large there is actually a "sweet spot" more in the middle and most targets won't really beep as each edge of the coil rolls over it.
Some will, the bigger stuff usually, but most won't and I assume the small coil model will be even more accurate than mine.
I had some experience swinging an 8" coil model last summer and all of this stuff hold true with that one, too.
The double beep next to big metal, painting the area with the correct swing speed...all of it.
The Compadre has some older throwback circuitry that no other Tesoro units possess, and it is actually a true 180 degree ED unit, (Expanded Discrimination), which means when this thing is on all metal that means all metal and will accept the entire range of metal from all iron on up.
Hunters have been screaming for more depth for years and the manufacturers have heard and answered in their designs which usually incorporate some low noise-high gain circuitry on most models on most of the modern detectors.
This does get you deeper, but you could also lose a little ability in disc and sensitivity to very small objects using this newer method.
The Compadre does not use this type and one reason it is so sensitive is because it still incorporates the older circuit design.
Also, even though my Vaq is supposed to be that same 180 ED, in reality it is really not, it is more like 165 ED and some iron on the low end is still not accepted in disc.
In all metal my Vaq will go back to finding, well, all metal, but the Compadre will do this in disc.
Add it all up...the throwback circuitry, the 180 ED, the sensitive coils and more and you have a unit that is unique.
Once you learn what it can really do, even around big iron, you will be able to tell much more about your targets and hunt way more efficiently than you can do now.
Practice makes perfect in all things, learning the Compadre is no exception.
