Auto GB Tracking Issue

[fastdraw]

I get tired of having to do a ground balance every 6-8 times a day. My targets are never more than 6-inches deep. Yet.. forum members say I will miss targets using Ground Tracking. So WHY EXACTLY... Will using Ground Tracking make me mis a 1880 Quarter or $10.00 gold coin only 4-inches deep.

 

[IDXMonster]

No. A precise “on the exact spot” GB in my opinion and experience is only needed when hunting as deep as the machine is capable of. I run Auto GB as a rule and don’t notice a difference in results as opposed to having to do it manually by pumping the coil everywhere. It’s not that I’m lazy by any means...I just haven’t noticed any difference in the results. 7-9” wheat cents in my soil which can wander anywhere from a GB number of 6 to 75 are perfectly achievable with a Recovery of 4 or 5 and a Sensitivity setting of 20+. I have found that to get depth and a recognizable coin type hit in the range I mentioned, the Sensitivity must be 20+ and the Volume must be quite high...along with a low to mid Recovery speed. Auto GB nets these results, as does doing it manually. Somewhere it might make a difference...but not really here as far as Ive seen so far.

 

[trojdor]

I seriously doubt that anyone has ever claimed you'll miss a 4" deep quarter with tracking on....
If that's the depth you're targeting, and you're ground really changes that much....then, by all means, turn on tracking.
(Honestly, you could use just about any settings on virtually any detector made since 1973 to find coins at that depth.)

Now, far more importantly....I want to know where I need to move to, in order to consistently find 1800's silver and gold at 4", LOL!
I'll start packing tomorrow!
HH,

mike

 

[IDXMonster]

I’d like to ride along please!

 

[fastdraw]

I seriously doubt that anyone has ever claimed you'll miss a 4" deep quarter with tracking on....
If that's the depth you're targeting, and you're ground really changes that much....then, by all means, turn on tracking.
(Honestly, you could use just about any settings on virtually any detector made since 1973 to find coins at that depth.)

Now, far more importantly....I want to know where I need to move to, in order to consistently find 1800's silver and gold at 4", LOL!
I'll start packing tomorrow!
HH,

mike

I've only been metal detecting about four and a half months. But I have found four 1800's coins so far with my Nox 600. My friend who's been metal detecting for many years and who is teaching me, Has pulled out of the ground over 400 gold and silver coins, in just the last 5 year's, NO JOKE but mostly silver. I live in Virginia City, Nevada. Also known as The Comstock Lode, Which was the largest gold and silver strike in the United States. In fact the Carson City mint. Is just a few miles from my house with that famous CC mint mark. But the ground up here is very heavy mineralized. Coins are found from the surface to a maximum of seven inches, With an average of 4 inches. The coins don't sink down very far with the kind of ground we have up here. So start packing your bags, and move to Virginia City, Nevada. Also known as the richest place on Earth....!!

 

[IDXMonster]

Arghhhhhh! I KNEW Wisconsin wasn’t the right place! And you’re right Fastdraw, I’ve heard the same about the soil out there and it being just this side of horrible. Hard pack like that doesn’t let coins sink, but they do get covered up by debris and such. Good to hear there’s still stuff around!

 

[Rick(ND)]

I get tired of having to do a ground balance every 6-8 times a day. My targets are never more than 6-inches deep. Yet.. forum members say I will miss targets using Ground Tracking. So WHY EXACTLY... Will using Ground Tracking make me mis a 1880 Quarter or $10.00 gold coin only 4-inches deep.

From my experience with ground tracking is used it area where the ground conditions is changing rapidly. My understanding is every little change in ground condition is being tracked in tracking, so also this is happening on other targets too and have seen on some of detectors like my wifes MXT. If we get a weaker signal in tracking and go over it a time or 2 the signal will disappear as it is being tracked out by the Tracking. When we get a signal while running in tracking we switch out of tracking to pinpoint or to see the targets without tracking it out. This on a shallow target works good if you dont go over a target several time to get more info. When it is shallow you only go over it once or twice, but those like me like to check out the deeper or iffy signals several time and do lose the signal unless we switch out of tracking. On my Equinox 800 I dont use auto tracking and lock it at 0 as the manual says or just do a auto ground balance every so often and notice it dont change much.
I have seen other and myself track out a good signal by going over it several times.

Rick

 

[Mark kus]

I never use tracking or barely ever GB and I have no problems finding silver and some gold that's in my area CT RI ..
Just my opinion...
Mark

 

[IDXMonster]

Machines with Auto Tracking, depending on the target, MIGHT ”track out” a target but this is where the “wiggle” comes in. The machine has to see a sharp enough differentiation in the surrounding dirt and the target...a steep enough change in what it’s “seeing” to trigger the audio response. This is where the notion that going TOO SLOW in a disc mode is no good. In the end, using what produces satisfactory results is the best we can do, because conditions are SO different in various areas. The EQX has proven itself to ME to work very well overall.

 

[Mark kus]

Machines with Auto Tracking, depending on the target, MIGHT ”track out” a target but this is where the “wiggle” comes in. The machine has to see a sharp enough differentiation in the surrounding dirt and the target...a steep enough change in what it’s “seeing” to trigger the audio response. This is where the notion that going TOO SLOW in a disc mode is no good. In the end, using what produces satisfactory results is the best we can do, because conditions are SO different in various areas. The EQX has proven itself to ME to work very well overall.

Yep true I always hunt with no disc I like to hear everything

 

[fastdraw]

All of the replies by different forum members (Except One) to my initial posting about Auto Tracking GB, plus my
my own experience, have lead me to conclude these two points.

1. In HEAVY mineralized soil, when I am forced to turn down the sensitivity to 15, and with Auto Tracking GB turned On, it is
possible to "Miss" a good coin target even if it's only 5-inches deep.

2. In HEAVY mineralized soil, when I am forced to turn down the sensitivity to 15, with Auto Tracking GB turned Off, it will
produce false, but apparently good, signals and waste my time digging for nothing.

So... I'm going to run a semi-scientific test experiment today and see what works best in HEAVY mineralized soil.

 

[justinberry]

From my experience with ground tracking is used it area where the ground conditions is changing rapidly. My understanding is every little change in ground condition is being tracked in tracking, so also this is happening on other targets too and have seen on some of detectors like my wifes MXT. If we get a weaker signal in tracking and go over it a time or 2 the signal will disappear as it is being tracked out by the Tracking. When we get a signal while running in tracking we switch out of tracking to pinpoint or to see the targets without tracking it out. This on a shallow target works good if you dont go over a target several time to get more info. When it is shallow you only go over it once or twice, but those like me like to check out the deeper or iffy signals several time and do lose the signal unless we switch out of tracking. On my Equinox 800 I dont use auto tracking and lock it at 0 as the manual says or just do a auto ground balance every so often and notice it dont change much.
I have seen other and myself track out a good signal by going over it several times.

Rick

The disappearing signal. Thank you for this. I run on auto tracking in my yard while still learning my 600 and was wondering where those signals were going. My yard is red clay gravel with years of farming history, very high trash and mineralization changing drastically every foot or so it seems. Not exactly the best for learning I know.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

You could also manually adjust the ground balance after you get a target Signal but before you dig it up just to see if the signal comes in any better at a different setting..