Adjusting ground balance on Compadre possible?

[heckling7]

I saw a picture of the compadre's internal board from a past thread of the sensitivity pot and how to adjust it, if needed. Is there a way to adjust the ground balance on the Compadre and how? It was pointed out that the pot adjustment for the ground balance was at the lower center location of the the latest boards. Which direction of turn does what and how does one tune their unit for the given ground conditions in their location? I understand the factory sets it for an average given location and mineral balance, so its likely the Compadre will never be at optimum most of the time given its a fixed balance. I'd rather not have to pay postage and insurance for a 2 minute adjustment if the adjustment is simple enough and possible. Thanks for any help.

 

[REVIER]

I saw a picture of the compadre's internal board from a past thread of the sensitivity pot and how to adjust it, if needed. Is there a way to adjust the ground balance on the Compadre and how? It was pointed out that the pot adjustment for the ground balance was at the lower center location of the the latest boards. Which direction of turn does what and how does one tune their unit for the given ground conditions in their location? I understand the factory sets it for an average given location and mineral balance, so its likely the Compadre will never be at optimum most of the time given its a fixed balance. I'd rather not have to pay postage and insurance for a 2 minute adjustment if the adjustment is simple enough and possible. Thanks for any help.

Yes, I have read of some adjusting their Compadre using Monte's Power balancing method and by ever so slightly adjusting the pot while bobbing the coil, or following the Vaquero GB balancing procedure.
This is one mod you want to be careful attempting because it can mess up your detector pretty good if you blow it.

Which way to turn the screw I don't know...member Sven and a few others probably do and hopefully will chime in.

I would assume the only way to truly know if you actually had a positive effect with this adjustment is by testing each small adjustment you make over a test garden made up with your typical soil that has targets at different and known depths and has settled for a year or two so the matrix is settled and stable...not one with freshly dug dirt.

 

[tabman]

The two pots you may want to adjust are the ground balance and the sensitivity pot. Both are very sensitive and are easily broken. Adjusting them less than half the thickness of dime is a lot. If you're not experienced in power ground balancing a detector with external knobs, don't attempt to do it internally with a screw driver, because it's a whole lot harder to do. You also need to be able to tell the difference between chatter that is caused by the sensitivity being set too high or the ground balance being set too negative. You are playing with fire if you don't know what you're doing.

tabman

 

[heckling7]

Thanks, I'll refrain from opening it up & fiddling. I'll deal with my settings from the factory. I like having a lifetime warranty. It sounds like these pots are pretty fragile and have very little adjustment allowance. Sounds like they must strip out?

 

[kaolinwasher]

I think it will run more stable as it is , plus you can get closer to the metal poles and pick up things no one els can

 

[Sven]

This picture has been kicking around the web a long time. Should help determining which pots are which.
Tesoro ground balances to a pc. of ferrite. When it can barely be detected waving it beneath the coil at adistance of 1", it is balanced.
Not necessarly to your ground.
The GB trimpot goes from left to right just like any external GB control found on other Tesoro's.

 

[tabman]

This picture has been kicking around the web a long time. Should help determining which pots are which.
Tesoro ground balances to a pc. of ferrite. When it can barely be detected waving it beneath the coil at adistance of 1", it is balanced.
Not necessarly to your ground.
The GB trimpot goes from left to right just like any external GB control found on other Tesoro's.

Sven you might want to tell them which way to turn the sensitivity pot, so they won't do it backwards.

tabman

 

[ken ward]

This picture has been kicking around the web a long time. Should help determining which pots are which.
Tesoro ground balances to a pc. of ferrite. When it can barely be detected waving it beneath the coil at adistance of 1", it is balanced.
Not necessarly to your ground.
The GB trimpot goes from left to right just like any external GB control found on other Tesoro's.

Sven you might want to tell them which way to turn the sensitivity pot, so they won't do it backwards.

tabman

Also,, Inside them pots, The screw is ceramic. These can chip and break very easy. You need the proper plastic screwdriver to make the adjustments. It is a very tiny adjustment too. It does not take much. Like they say, you CAN really mess it up if not careful... KEN

 

[slingshot]

Here's my experience: The factory setting is just about right for most areas-they use a mineral sample to adjust it. I wouldn't go hardly ANY more than just a tad if you do mess with it AND I would definitely mark or remember the factory set point. I thought I'd never get mine back to normal. As for the sensitivity, it's not as touchy. For more sensitivity go CCW. I turned mine clockwise for LESS sensitivity because I enjoyed the increased quietness over rough ground. I also found that bobbing mine on highly mineralized ground had only minimal noise and I ended up turning it too far. On THIS detector, you MUST mark the factory preset or you may be sorry.

 

[heckling7]

What does chatter sound like from the Compadre? Is it constant noise or an occasional chirp due to being over sensitive?

 

[SkiWhiz]

What does chatter sound like from the Compadre? Is it constant noise or an occasional chirp due to being over sensitive?

If you set the sensitivity alittle too high it will be an occasional chip, if you set the sensitivity even higher it will be a constant chatter. I always turn the sens. up until it chatters then back it off to where the chatters stops.

 

[heckling7]

Does turning up the sensitivity affect discrimination? Meaning will the selector markings shift in one direction or will foil still be foil, for example?

 

[machineman]

Does turning up the sensitivity affect discrimination? Meaning will the selector markings shift in one direction or will foil still be foil, for example?

Not that I have noticed. I did the connector and sensitivity mod on mine. I dont think that the ground balance mod is necessary with the concentric coils I have tried. The large dd coils dont do well on the compadres. My 10x12 is almost useless. The GB mod might help this and will be next up.