Metal Detecting Terminology

[chuckciao]

Greetings:
As a newcomer to Metal Detecting, I am confused about some terms used in forums, websites, and UTube videos. Could someone explain the terms "Ground Balancing" and "Detuning". I use the Ace 250.
Thanks
Chuck

 

[Dan-Pa.]

For starters your ace 250 has a fixed ground balance however many higher priced units have to ability to balance the unit to the matrix of the ground using different methods for better depth and stability. Detuning is basically making the signal smaller for easier pinpointing and usually you push the coil to the right off the target and hit the pinpoint several times and keep the pinpoint on and then go over target. Some units actually detune better if you hold the coil over the target but the first explanation is usually the rule of thumb and holding the coil over the traget while detuning will usually detune the signal completely.

 

[chuckciao]

Thanks Dan-Pa.....It all makes sense now. Strange that Garrett's manual or web site do not discuss these techniques???
Your detuning info. is very welcome.
Thanks
Chuck

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Having used a lot of different models over the years very few manuals go into detuning but works well on most units and even though different companies use different methods of ground balancing if equipped usually explained in manual..Another note most units with a fixed ground balance have it set a tad positive and work well in most ground..

 

[ojm bc]

n/t

 

[Uncle Willy]

I've been going to rectify that problem and post a permanent detector dictionary on the forum but I just haven't gotten the lead out. Simply put - ground balancing ( which is not on all detectors ) is the procedure you use to set the detector up so that ground mineralization becomes invisible to it and doesn't make your detector erratic an dunstable..

Detuning is reducing the size of your signal and narrowing it down. You do this by centering and pinpointing your target then without moving the coil off the target you release and press pinpoint one or more times until your signal narrows down.to the size that suits you.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

No sensitivity is a completely different animal and the most misunderstood and abused control on a detector. Many folks have it hammered into their heads that it is a depth control. IT AIN"T. It merely renders your coil more sensitive to the target you hope to find but it also renders it sensitive to every piece of junk that was ever dropped or buried and all the mineralization in the ground.

Bill

 

[ojm bc]

n/t

 

[Onus]

Sensitivity does have something to do with depth on occasion. If you get a very weak but positive signal and if there is not trash nearby, you can often turn the sensitivity up and get the deep target to sound off better. I think these are the signals some folks call "iffy" signals? I have dug a few deep dimes I otherwise would have passed by by using this technique. It seems to work much better with small targets for me. But if you turn it up too high you are liable to get falsing. And it can cause your machine to run erratic if left that high. Onus

 

[Uncle Willy]

It has to do with depth in that it only makes your coil more sensitive to the target. Raising sensitivity does not drive the signal deeper into the ground as many believe. Running it high will mask many good targets. Back when I was running the Garrett Classroom I had a member who was running the sensitivity to high on his 2500 and wasn't finding the stuff he thought he should be finding. I told him to bump it down to about 6 or 6.5. He went back to a park that he and others had pounded to death and found a slew of old coins that he and others had passed over many times. The proof is in the pudding.

Bill