Ground Balance, help or hurt.

[Tabcollector]

Hey guys, I was at a school this past weekend with my Cibola and decided to check the ground balance, I live in the N.C Piedmont area so we have everything from red clay to sandy soil but anyway the first check was way negative I moved about 20-30 feet it was way positive, I found some spots it was neutral. I know with my Cibola I can flip the freq. switch one way or the other and it will shift the balance some and it did help in places. My question is would a manual ground balance machine help any if the soil is changing every so many feet? I have been contemplating getting a Vaquero for the ground balance but it seems it would be more of a hindrance than a help. I would be worried about the machine not being ground balanced and would constantly be checking it instead of enjoying the hunt. Just my thoughts, thanks.
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[kaolinwasher]

get a lobo super track , but in my opinion yes a ground balance would help alot its very simple to balance I had a cibola and mine did that,-- thats why i got rid of it , but just try to swing the coil even with the ground and it may not be so badd.

 

[Tico]

If your soil changes alot, I would suggest a detector with Auto-Ground tracking , like the lobo ST as kaolinwasher reccomended.

 

[REVIER]

When I hunted in Alabama with my Vaq I hunted one site at a park where the ground actually changed every 10 feet in one area, but that was unusual.
The ground balance procedure is fast and second nature once you get used to it, a few seconds spent getting your detector to optimal settings never seemed to interfere with my hunts, even if I stopped to do it several times in some of that very bad soil I used to hunt.
Some sort of manual or auto GB can only be an asset, never a hindrance.
Even in areas that have great soil it can be very helpful at times to get you to maybe just an only slightly deeper area where something great could be hiding..

 

[fwcrawford]

I have tried a Cibola on some hunts and had the same results with the ground as you.
I also currently own a Vaquero and have used it in the same sites.
Even with having to re-ground balance the Vaquero often, I still believe it is a better choice IF you know how to properly ground balace the machine.
I have seen many posts about people being confused by the sounds while ground balancing and this would be much worse if they were over the type of ground you are searching.
From your post, you apparently understand ground balancing and know how to do it, so I think you would benefit with a detector with some kind of adjustable ground balance.
In my opinion, if I am searching some ground and it is pretty stable, I know once I properly ground balance the detector, then it is operating at its max capablity.
I prefer a machine with adjustable ground balance myself.. takes the guess work out of whether or not the machine is balanced.

 

[homebre]

I live in the Piedmont and use the Vaq. I ground balance when I start and check it every once in awhile, but it does not have to be adjusted a lot or too often.

Andy in HIllsborough

 

[Tabcollector]

Thanks for the replies, I think your right about the V being the all around better choice so I might have to give it a try. REVIER I noticed you have the F2 and the Compadre, which one would you say is better in mineralized ground? Thanks again everyone. I am on here quite a bit but rarely post anything, there is quite a bit of Tesoro know how on this forum and it's great to be able to share it. Happy hunting.

 

[REVIER]

Thanks for the replies, I think your right about the V being the all around better choice so I might have to give it a try. REVIER I noticed you have the F2 and the Compadre, which one would you say is better in mineralized ground? Thanks again everyone. I am on here quite a bit but rarely post anything, there is quite a bit of Tesoro know how on this forum and it's great to be able to share it. Happy hunting.

When I lived in Alabama, where nothing really got very deep, even though neither had any kind of manual GB I believe the Compadre actually got a little bit deeper than the F2 in really hot ground.
Here in my new home state of Kansas they both go way further.

 

[cal]

Ground Balance is the only way to go in bad ground if you need depth. I use the Vaquero and well pleased with the results in NW Ark. The ground is hotter than in the river valley area 60 miles south as a general rule. The Lobo ST has auto ground tracking in the all metal mode only. It is fixed in the disc. mode. Look on you tube at relics 1864 video on the manual ground installed on the Cibola. Also look at the video on the Lobo ST where the disc mode pot has been adjusted to his hot ground. This should give you some ideas.

 

[BarberBill]

I check my gb often when detecting with a manual gb detector. Usually it doesn't take much of a tweak to keep it set even in areas where the ground changes every few yards. Unless there's a considerable change between the setting and the actual ground, you really don't need to be too concerned. The problem with preset machines is there's no option when the balance is way off.
BB

 

[Kapok]

I have seen many posts about people being confused by the sounds while ground balancing

I am one of those people. I have a post called "Talk me into this Vaquero" where I mention the trouble I'm having with this feature. Any help you can offer would be helpful indeed!