Im thinking about recommending Cibolas

[hatpin]

I have two friends who want to start metal detecting.Ive been thinking about recommending the Cibolas because they wouldnt have to deal with ground balancing. I live in Northern Missouri. As far as I know this ground is low mineralized unlike mid Missouri which has a lot of iron. In fertile farm country I think the preset balance will work just fine. What do you guys think? Will Cibolas work well in North Missouri?

 

[POLEWAGGER]

You can do a test by doing some all metal hunting in the areas that your friends will be going to. If you only need to set your GB once, and you can keep a steady, low tone everywhere that you sweep (in clean ground), then the C should work well for them. RULES!
It makes sense to save money until you find out if you're an addict or not.
I assume you're swinging a V? How often do you need to adjust your GB? You probably already know the answer if you do any hunting in AM, or if you check your GB often.

 

[comcat]

welll,,i cant answer for missouri,,,,,but the choice of machine itself is first class,,,its a monster of a performer,,,,light weight,,,can be modified if g.b. is needed,,,and if not fired up by detecting,,can move the machine on without any problems as it has such a good name,,,,,i think its not just a good choice,,,its the best choice,,,what else is there on the market that can give you that ammount of bang for buck,,????,,rgds

 

[hatpin]

Im swinging a Vaq and check my g.b. often. It does change throughout the hunt.Going from High on the hills to low on the hills usually and moving from clay to black dirt. There is a limestone base here.

 

[hatpin]

This may sound like a stupid question but I want to know for sure.

Does G.B. only make a difference in all metal or does it also affect the discriminate mode?

 

[POLEWAGGER]

This may sound like a stupid question but I want to know for sure.

Does G.B. only make a difference in all metal or does it also affect the discriminate mode?

Both.

 

[coach mac]

I am in Indiana , I have a Vaquero. I have to check my GB more than I would have thought, plus going to a different coil might need adjustment

 

[BarberBill]

While I have and use several preset detectors, for a person purchasing and expecting to own just one, I'd recommend a machine with ground balancing capabilities. You never know when the next area you hunt will require it for good performance. It's easy to learn with a little practice. My two bits.
BB

 

[tabman]

People make waaaay too much of a big deal about ground balancing a detector. If you can scratch both of your ears at the same time, you should be smart enough to be able to ground balance a detector. It's that easy. Not only is it super easy, it only takes seconds to do. If you have good ground to hunt and buy a detector with a a factory 'preset' ground balance, it's factory set for not so good ground so it will work in more places. In good ground, you will lose depth with that setting. At any rate, that's what I've been told.

tabman

 

[hatpin]

Im looking at price also. I dont know how much they are willing to shell out just yet. I can teach them to ground balance in 1 minute.

 

[BarberBill]

It's not so much that preset machines can't work well in many places, it's just that they are often limited in some areas where manual ground balance can make a good deal of improvement and they may not offer as much performance as a properly balanced detector even in the areas where they do work okay.
BB

 

[slingshot]

It's not so much that preset machines can't work well in many places, it's just that they are often limited in some areas where manual ground balance can make a good deal of improvement and they may not offer as much performance as a properly balanced detector even in the areas where they do work okay.
BB

Some have reported that by changing the frequency they can change the g/b settings on the Cibola. Anyone else tried this?

 

[POLEWAGGER]

It's not so much that preset machines can't work well in many places, it's just that they are often limited in some areas where manual ground balance can make a good deal of improvement and they may not offer as much performance as a properly balanced detector even in the areas where they do work okay.
BB

Some have reported that by changing the frequency they can change the g/b settings on the Cibola. Anyone else tried this?

You did see my video didn't you?
I'm pretty sure anyone will have the same result as I did on a C or V. I believe that if you set the GB perfectly neutral on freq2(in AM), then use freq1 for disc hunting, you will have optimum depth and disc. If you set the internal GB perfectly neutral on freq2, in average ground, then you have the ability to go a tad + on freq3, or a tad - on freq1. this would be an asset when hunting in AM.
My tests have also found that freq1 has the strongest inductive field.

 

[therover]

I believe for the Vaquero and Tejon, the ground balance transfers over from all metal to discriminate mode. On the Cortes, the ground balance is only in all metal...there is a fixed ground balance in the discriminate mode. Not sure about the Cibola.

Someone correct me I am wrong.

 

[tvr]

Single Cibola internal ground balance setting functions for both all metal and discriminate modes. For modified units (voided warranty) where the internal potentiometer is removed and the wires are brought out to a panel mounted potentiometer, you are very close to a Vaquero; well essentially it is a Vaquero then.

The Cibola does pretty well over varying ground conditions with the fixed internal ground balance setting. There are some places where you really could use the ground balance setting at your finger tips, but if the soil is not extreme, a stock Cibola does a pretty good job.

Where I'm at there is a lot of red sandy soil. The red is iron but it does not kill detecting with a fixed ground balance unit in the red sandy soil areas. A lot of school yards have 6 inches or more of top soil that is pretty neutral. Woods have some deep dark soil due to leaf decomposition. Dig deep enough and it's back to the red sand. There are some yellow clay streaked dirt areas. The few places that gave me trouble with the Cibola (before adding the manual ground balance mod) were the couple of ball fields that had red clay that was spread as a base across the whole field. I don't dig the infields where the clay is normally laid down. Some of the fields have the clay spread out into the rough grass outfield and it is those couple of ball fields that are permeated with that stuff where the fixed ground balance Cibola struggled for depth. There are also a couple of gravel parking lots that really want an adjustable ground balance too; depends on the stone used.
tvr