ground balancing

[watsondetector2015]

why do you need a manual ground balance feature

 

[Southwind]

You don't "need" a manual GB feature but it does give more user control over the balancing which in turn effects the way your detector functions. Being able to "Super Tune" a detector is but one example of the benefit of having a manual GB.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Not all detectors have a automatic ground balance. By ground balancing you reduce the effect that the minerals in the soil have on the machine. A good ground balance allows the machine to ignore the minerals and allows your machine to sense targets that are deeper.

 

[watsondetector2015]

-- moved topic --

 

[airscapes]

as had been explained, "ground elimination balance" ground balance for short is used to eliminate the iron minerals in the ground so the detector does not pick them up. A preset GB is ok in some ares where there is a low amount of minerals in the soil but in other area where there are more or they change often an manual ground balance with an Auto tracking feature will allow the machine to work more stable and ID more accurately.

 

[Nauti]

What air scapes said is close to the mark......ground balance does not actually eliminate the minerals,they are always there,it just eliminates the chattering that you sometimes get from certain types of soil.This allows the user to be able to hear those feint deep signals that may have been hard to hear due to the detector chattering on difficult soils.......this is why you hear people saying that ground balancing helps the detector go deeper.
Fixed balance detectors will cope with most (not some)conditions as they are set to cope with the most difficult conditions that you are likely to encounter so don't write them off.

 

[MI-AuAg]

It keeps your detector from giving positive metalic responses to ground mineralization.

Ground Balance is simply, internal circuitry that can adjust the detector to ignore ambient soil mineralization, that would otherwise produce a positive metallic response from your detector. Such UNWANTED positive responses to ground minerals can cause your machine to run erratically. Besides being annoying, it can cause you to miss good targets.

There are four types: 1) Factory Preset (set to a predetermined "average", and non adjustable), 2) Manually Adjusted (by operator), 3) Auto (usually at the press of a button in conjunction with raising/lowering of coil), 4)Auto Tracking (circuitry continuously monitors, and adjusts to changing ground mineralization automatically).

It need not always be metallic mineralization. Ocean salt water and wet salt beach sands are notorious for causing GB problems due to their conductive nature.

I personally feel adjustable GB while not "needed", is a requirement for ME in a detector. The more GB options on a detector, the better! One offering Tracking, Auto, and Manual is best for me. Gives me a lot of versatility for differing ground conditions, and type of detecting.

If detecting in mildly mineralized soils, a preset GB can work well enough. It can limit effectiveness of the detector in difficult soil conditions, or make it nearly inoperative in some grounds.

Type/size of coil used can have a huge impact on a detectors abilities in heavy ground mineralization. Generally DD coils operate better in bad ground than concentrics. Concentric coils in general, are more sensitive to smaller targets. This enhances their reactions to mineralization in the soil matrix. The bigger the coil, the more it will react to, or read, difficult mineralization. HH