In my soil

[gmanlight]

I wish more people would put that phrase in to there metal detecting finds / subject.
Now in my mild soil you can use almost any detector , even without a ground balance.
But if myself and my imaginary twin took two exact detectors with the same setting to
different parts of the country , one in hot soil and one in mild soil too different results could occur
with one saying this machine is junk , no depth and the other saying its the best ever.

There are so many variables detecting from the user , soil moisture, coil size and some even say the moon phase.
It would be a good starting point to let others know how good/bad your soil is. HH Mike

 

[pascalburns]

what is hot soil and what is mild soil?
just wondering.

 

[amcjavelin]

how much iron and mineralization is in the ground.

 

[dewcon4414]

Its not just iron and mineralization... but salt and moisture as well. They all combine to produce a ground phase. I knew someone was going to ask... how do you know with this post. Its an important factor when deciding which machine to buy.... and the most over looked until after the purchase.

Dew

 

[gmanlight]

Thanks for filling in the gaps.
I have many.

 

[BarberBill]

There's a lot of truth in this post. I feel the manufacturers and dealers should explain very clearly to new buyers the differences between manual ground balance, true auto ground tracking and preset ground balance and what are the advantages and down sides. Most of the areas where I hunt have mild soil and preset ground balance machines work quite well, but going to other areas, as mentioned in the start of this post, not so well. For any that aren't clear on this, I'll explain.
Preset ground balance - usually not handily adjustable by the user, preset for average conditions at the factory. Downside is loss of sensitivity and depth when used over ground that is mineralized more heavily than the factory average setting.

Manual ground balance - the user is able to adjust the ground balance by turning a knob until the detector is tuned to the ground mineralization. Down side - some users don't care to have to make this adjustment every time they detect. Plus side - the setting can be tweaked positive or negative when desired.

True auto ground tracking - the detector is designed to automatically adjust to the ground mineralization as it changes keeping (hopefully) the detector at the ideal setting in regards to the ground. Down side - the user can't adjust the setting slightly positive or negative if desired for a given site, nor does the user know if the adjustment is ideal unless so faulty that the performance is obviously affected.
Hope this is helpful,
BB

 

[gmanlight]

Thanks Bill , have not seen you in some time .
It has been buging me for a bit.
Even in the same forums thy argue about what settings work
but nobody asks about the soil . A BIG FACTOR.

 

[BarberBill]

In many, if not most postings, questions and comparisons are thrown out without enough real information such as coil type/size ground conditions, pertinent settings etc. all being included. Often folks want detector comparisons that are apples versus oranges as the machines will be miles apart in price and design. In my previous post, one could conclude that the preset machines aren't worth having, but that's not really true as in many areas they do work quite well. In fact, all of my detectors except for a couple are preset ground balance and I've done quite well with them IN MY SOIL. To my way of thinking, if you're getting reasonable depth, finding goodies and having fun, then how much more machine does one need?
BB