ground balance setting in wood chips ?

[dfmike]

I don't usually hunt wood chips tot lots but on occasion I like to mix it up and go there. It's so easy to dig up and the trash is minimal. The only thing I wonder is what setting to use for ground balance. Since this is not dirt but wood, the detector ground balances anywhere from 30 to 55 and it seems to vary a lot from small section to small section. Should I just leave it to the default setting of 82 on the Fisher F5 ? Does it even matter in that kind of material ? Thanks.

 

[still looking 52]

On my f5 you can ground balance automatically in any type of material so my thinking is just use the automatically ground balance and that should give you the best results. Maybe every 15 minutes check and see if you are still balanced just to be sure.

 

[dfmike]

On my f5 you can ground balance automatically in any type of material so my thinking is just use the automatically ground balance and that should give you the best results. Maybe every 15 minutes check and see if you are still balanced just to be sure.

You mean push the phase lock button to match the actual phase readout on the right ? The thing is the phase readout is super inconsistent in wood chips. It jumps around trying to get a stable reading. If I just pump the coil in an area free of metal like I usually do, I might get anywhere from 30 to 55 and it varies a lot in only a few square feet.

In dirt, the F5's phase readout for any given area remains super stable (typical for me is about 69-75).

 

[still looking 52]

The phase lock out is what I'm talking about, sounds like this method may not work in wood chips . The method your talking about is exactly how I ground balance my f5, honestly i don't hunt that much in wood chips but when I do I'm always in all metal because the area is usually free of trash. In summary, I'm not sure that you can do a good ground balance in wood chips maybe someone who has hunted in wood chips may know a better way.

 

[Oldguy]

I leave my GB at the setting it was in the grass near the wood chips. Never been able to GB in wood chips, it's like an air test, the detector works fine in wood chips no matter what the GB is set to.

 

[still looking 52]

Thanks old guy for that info, after reading your post that makes a lot of sense maybe that will help anybody hunting in wood chips.

 

[dfmike]

I leave my GB at the setting it was in the grass near the wood chips. Never been able to GB in wood chips, it's like an air test, the detector works fine in wood chips no matter what the GB is set to.

That's what I thought. Thanks Oldguy.