After taking my collage years as a sebatical from the oboe, I`ve decided to get back into it. My husband generously bought me a new oboe for Christmas, but I`m having trouble. This instrument has a "fully-automatic octave key system," which I have never used. I cannot find a fingering chart for this configuration (apparently this style is not popular in the USA). I am also having difficulty playing low notes--they tend to come out rather high (1-2 octaves). Can anyone offer me advice?

A fully-automatic system simply means that the second-octave vent will open when you use back octave and do NOT press the G key. There should not be any other issues--just use back octave instead of second. You`ll get used to it. I have an old Kohlert english horn that has this system.