Ok. I need some adult supervision figuring out the GB on the Equinox 800

[Greg (E.Tn)]

I am confused. Basically, I know how to manually GB the Equinox and putting it in Tracking--the issue squirreling me up is this quote from the manual:

" The default Ground Balance setting of 0 is recommended for Park, Field and Beach Modes because these locations typically have less mineralisation than goldfields. " Also, the GB settings range from -9 to +99.

I use Park2, and have detected with it using the default setting of [0], and did OK, but then curiosity got the better of me so I manually GB'd the machine to see what numbers I was getting, and I'd get GB numbers ranging from, say, the mid-30's to mid-50's which is far and away from [0].

Which gets me thinking I am probably losing some depth by using the default setting, if the manual numbers I am getting are a third to half way up the scale.

I was detecting in Virginia recently, in an area where the ground was very sandy, and seemed to be pretty low in mineralization, so I set my GB to [0] for awhile and detected for awhile. I found a few items, nothing deep, then decided to manually GB to satisfy the curiosity. This time, I got numbers into the 70's. Again, a far far setting from the default setting of [0]. I left it in 70 or so and continued to find things, but again, nothing really deep.

I finally ended up putting the machine in Tracking, detected the rest of the day and following day like that, and occasionally I would flip back to GB to see what numbers I was getting. They ranged across a pretty wide range, from the mid-30's to high 50's if I remember correctly.

Am I overthinking or over worrying about this? The manual says a default setting of [0] is fine in most places, but heck--I don't hunt goldfields, and it seems to me a GB reading between the 30's-50's is significant, compared to the default.

And there's no place in my area where I have ground balanced the machine and gotten a number anywhere near the default.

I'd like to just set it in Tracking and leave it there, but I can't help but think I am losing depth by doing that.

 

[5900_XL-1]

I am confused. Basically, I know how to manually GB the Equinox and putting it in Tracking--the issue squirreling me up is this quote from the manual:

" The default Ground Balance setting of 0 is recommended for Park, Field and Beach Modes because these locations typically have less mineralisation than goldfields. " Also, the GB settings range from -9 to +99.

I use Park2, and have detected with it using the default setting of [0], and did OK, but then curiosity got the better of me so I manually GB'd the machine to see what numbers I was getting, and I'd get GB numbers ranging from, say, the mid-30's to mid-50's which is far and away from [0].

Which gets me thinking I am probably losing some depth by using the default setting, if the manual numbers I am getting are a third to half way up the scale.

I was detecting in Virginia recently, in an area where the ground was very sandy, and seemed to be pretty low in mineralization, so I set my GB to [0] for awhile and detected for awhile. I found a few items, nothing deep, then decided to manually GB to satisfy the curiosity. This time, I got numbers into the 70's. Again, a far far setting from the default setting of [0]. I left it in 70 or so and continued to find things, but again, nothing really deep.

I finally ended up putting the machine in Tracking, detected the rest of the day and following day like that, and occasionally I would flip back to GB to see what numbers I was getting. They ranged across a pretty wide range, from the mid-30's to high 50's if I remember correctly.

Am I overthinking or over worrying about this? The manual says a default setting of [0] is fine in most places, but heck--I don't hunt goldfields, and it seems to me a GB reading between the 30's-50's is significant, compared to the default.

And there's no place in my area where I have ground balanced the machine and gotten a number anywhere near the default.

I'd like to just set it in Tracking and leave it there, but I can't help but think I am losing depth by doing that.

I think,,, when running in multi freq mode, that you will find that you never notice any difference from any GB, of any kind at all, unless you over think "the whys." MInelab did a good job with multi.

 

[laplander]

There has been a lot of discussion about GB and I have to admit I was in the same place you are at one time trying to over analyze this function. What I have found wrong with tracking in extreme iron the machine seems to track the iron as the ground. The balance numbers would climb to 70 plus and the good finds would drop off, going back to default really settled the machine down. I feel the GB function can be used to heat up the machine to your advantage.
Jeff

 

[dewcon4414]

In 0 GB you may get more audio than in manual or tracking......if it gets to chatty thens the time to manually GB it. As a beach hunter using the machine in the salt water using 0 GB in shallow softer sand the machine is quieter....... as you move deeper where the salt content is higher and a hard pan it can get pretty chatty. For me there is an advantage to knowing im near the hard pan not working is fresh sand. I prefer a little chat and listening for targets in there...... over smooth which maybe running to high depending on where you set it basically filtering out weak signals. Clive has posted recently various places on the net and his site exerts from his book discussing GB. It maybe more important to know what a good average for you location is. I dont use tracking just because of what Jeff said...... you can track out a lot of good signals even in mild soil. I look at GB especially fixed as a straight line and the ground as a wavy line........ you are going to have times the waves will go above and below your straight line. We dont know just how much difference a 50 GB is from 0. I think thats the confusing part. But for dirt ...... IF it were me id run tracking just long enough to see what the machine says and then manually adjust it at what seems the lower digit.

 

[CCadrin]

When I ground balance (usually settles around +20-25), the coins in my garden can be heard clearly versus the default setting of 0. I personally ground balance everywhere. Let's see what others post to see if they can persuade me to do it differently.

 

[Bryan V]

The few times I tried tracking, the GB numbers climbed really high, like in to the 70s compared to my Manual GB numbers that average around 7.
I’ve Manual ground balanced as low as -3 in a couple locations.
I just don’t trust the tracking, so never use it anymore..

Bryan

 

[Trailduster]

NY here

I GB always. If I don't the tones for what are definitely coins don't come in a solid as they should and the number jump more.

I went for awhile not GB'ing and it did me no justice, just wound up getting frustrated with the tones, VID, and falsing.

 

[Greg (E.Tn)]

When in tracking, (in say, really messy ground), if you stop and go to GB, is the number depicted the last reading the machine groundbalanced at?

If you that’s the case, maybe Tracking can be used to get a good feel for how hot the ground is???

Or, maybe, just GB, and GB often?

 

[sgoss66]

Here is my thought on the matter, for what it's worth...

I do not think ground balancing of the machine is a huge deal, except for in hotter/mineralized ground. The caveat would be (and this I think is a big part of why GB exists on the machine) UNLESS you are running in single-frequency mode, in which case ground balance becomes a bigger deal. I believe that when running in Multi, the machine (similar to how FBS works) "deals with" the ground in a "different" way that traditional ground balancing on a single freq. machine. There was not even an ABILITY to ground balance, on the Explorers and E-Trac, and on the CTX, the manual says to ONLY ground balance if in extreme soil.

So, I personally, for what it's worth, don't really worry that much about ground balancing. What I do, is do a "ground grab" -- and what I mean is I use the "auto balance" procedure where I pump the machine up and down until it settles on a number, and then I leave it there and don't worry about it. Again, I just don't think -- and experience seems to bear this out -- that ground balance is all that critical, in a majority of soils, with Minelab multi-frequency machines. Now, if you are gold prospecting, or hunting in really tough ground, like Culpeper, OR if you are running a SINGLE frequency, then those are cases where it may likely be more critical. Otherwise, when running Multi-mode, I think there's a different "paradigm" in effect, in terms of ground handling, using Minelab multi-freq. machines...

Steve

 

[dewcon4414]

Theres still a lot to learn about the Nox...... ie the discussion on noise cancel vs depth. I can tell you ive noticed some depth difference in or near the salt water too as these are changing conditions each time you hit the beach it seems if you run GB 0. WHERE you GB may come into play as well....... dry sand here is GB 0, damp sand is GB 14 and near the water is around 4 if there isnt a lot of black sand piled up there because of no waves. I dont think we know what the difference is between ..... say GB0 and GB 14..... may nothing except a slight chatter...... and then you have to consider the noise cancel dont we? Which freqs shifted since it seems to be all over the place.

 

[BobOso]

Yes there is a lot to learn about the Nox, here is what I have learned in the places I hunt.
First in the gold fields, when I first got the nox I was dead seat on using the auto GB, after all it is a pain in the rear for us old guys to keep remembering to GB. after a few hours and no yellow (yes I've gone months without any) I decided to switch to manual GB and retraced over the areas I just covered. Guess what, 3 good targets in 15 min, one was 4.9g, this was in ground I had just covered.
now in parks, when using the Auto GB I seem to find plenty of pennies,mostly zink, so one day I switched to manual, the GB dropped from 70 something down to a 7 or 8 and I started to find dimes, quarters and even a couple of ear rings. I seldom use Auto GB anymore I believe it filters out good targets.

 

[dewcon4414]

Help me understand this Bob....... we clearly understand the term tracking. explain your terms auto vs manual? How i get manual is knowing what auto GB gives me..... once i know that then i can decide to manually raise the digits up or down from what the machine recommended. IE...... in my wet sand if i auto GB it gives me 4 in beach 2, BUT i make the decision to run below that ..... so i manually move it to the default setting of 0. Both ..... manual and auto GB are fixed GBs..... only tracking is continuously checking the GB. We on the same page?

 

[sgoss66]

BobOso --

Dewcon is right; we may be defining terms differently. Minelab has made these terms a bit confusing, in terms of the way they have chosen to use them on the Equinox. For the sake of definition of terms...

"Auto" ground balance on the Equinox is not what many of us typically think of as an "auto" ground balance; usually, when someone talks about "auto" ground balance on a machine, they are referring to a "tracking" ground balance -- which is of course an algorithm built into the unit that allows the ground balance number the machine is using to CHANGE, automatically, as the ground conditions change (I am sure you are familiar with "tracking" ground balance). On the Equinox, though, the ground balance mode on the machine that "automatically adjusts as ground conditions change" has been labelled "TRACKING" ground balance by the folks at Minelab. And based on what you are describing, it sounds like TRACKING ground balance may have been what you were using, when you were talking about the machine "filtering out good targets."

AUTO ground balance on the Equinox is simply referring to one of he ways the machine permits a user to SET a FIXED ground balance (i.e. by pumping up and down while holding the button, and allowing the machine a few seconds to arrive what the best ground balance number is AT THAT SPOT where you are setting it.) But once it is set, it is SET. In that way, the "end result" of setting ground balance through the AUTO ground balance process, on the Equinox, is the same as setting the ground balance through the MANUAL ground balance process. In other words, whether you set your balance using the "auto" procedure, or you set it using the "manual' procedure, the end result is the same -- in that, you have set your Equinox at a single, FIXED ground balance number.

TRACKING, on the other hand, is the Equinox's ground balance mode that operates continuously via machine-based algorithm, adjusting/changing the ground balance number over time, as you detect. And yes, when using tracking, you certainly COULD track out small items in hot ground -- such as those gold nuggets you described...

Steve

 

[trojdor]

What Steve said...

 

[Jason in Enid]

I understand the meaning of the terms, and the uses of GB. I have been using my EQX with a GB of 0 because the soil around me isn't terrible and ML has said to leave it alone if it isn't causing problems. However, I have played around with the GB feature and I'm perplexed about its auto mode. I can manually change the setting and set it to a neutral number while pumping the coil. But I can set the GB with auto mode IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT and get a MUCH higher number. I'm talking about manually getting a GB value of 5 but auto sets it at 37. Has anyone else seen this happen?

 

[BobOso]

Help me understand this Bob....... we clearly understand the term tracking. explain your terms auto vs manual? How i get manual is knowing what auto GB gives me..... once i know that then i can decide to manually raise the digits up or down from what the machine recommended. IE...... in my wet sand if i auto GB it gives me 4 in beach 2, BUT i make the decision to run below that ..... so i manually move it to the default setting of 0. Both ..... manual and auto GB are fixed GBs..... only tracking is continuously checking the GB. We on the same page?

sorry way too many detectors over the years, as Steve stated, I should be saying auto tracking. But yes it has deleted coin signals as well. there is a guy on youtube that also explains this about the nox (Derek McLennan)

 

[BobOso]

All the time Jason, which is why I no longer use the "Auto Tracking" which It may just be me, but I found it deletes (tracks out) signals.

 

[jtalley007]

As you keep sweeping and listening to determine if it’s a good target, I think the machine says to itself “the ground is changing, I need to adjust and it dials it out”

That’s why I don’t like it but have heard in bad ground it can be necessary

JMHO

 

[UtahRich]

Here's a good U-tube video on the how-to's of ground balancing the Equinox. Hope it helps.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwhnBCTgCKg


Rich (Utah)

 

[5900_XL-1]

As you keep sweeping and listening to determine if it’s a good target, I think the machine says to itself “the ground is changing, I need to adjust and it dials it out”

That’s why I don’t like it but have heard in bad ground it can be necessary

JMHO

I agree.I believe that auto GB can easily dial out a good target, yet the FBS machines seem to do ok with the built in auto mode. I'll still select manual GB with any machine I select.