question on vaqero:shrug:

[C.J.M.]

Acording to manual on vaquero ground balnce: it says to go five turns clockwise and then 2-3 counterclockwise?Youtube has guy doing this on a brand new Vaquero which did not give him any depth H e goes by the book on youtube and has a scale shows very little depthCheck out other balancing methods and shows starting at 12 0'clock and got better results on the negative side.What say ye?Thankscjm

 

[fltacoma]

Excellent question! The manual states that as a base line for ground balancing. For some reason with the Vaquero's, if you go slightly negative, you usually yield deeper depth as much as 1.5-2 inches. 2 inches would be ideal under excellent ground conditions. Also note that it is usually best to go metal detecting a day or two after it rains because the detector can "see" deeper.

 

[Mega]

12.00 o'clock is just a baseline figure too get you started,its not set in stone but just a guideline,on my UK Vaquero it comes with both manual and fixed GB from Tesoro,which of course gives you the best of both worlds,manual for optimum performance or fixed if the ground conditions are good which for the most part here they are pretty mild,but it is a nice option to have i must admit.

 

[pinenut]

That baseline "about the middle" of the 3-3/4 turn GB pot will get you close enough to do an air test, and close enough for you to then take the detector outside and do a proper ground balance.

Basically, the more "negative" you can run your Tesoro (pretty much any), the more depth you're likely to see, especially on an air test. BUT... too far negative and you'll go nuts (or deaf). Run as far negative and as much sensitivity as you can stand, 'cause too much of either will cause constant chirping, which makes the detector unusable. You want to keep checking GB as you move around, and keep on top of your adjustment, so it's not chirping with every movement. You want it right at the edge of negative, while still having a fairly quiet "not nervous" detector.

IF you run too positive so that your detector is "always quiet" you'll not only lose depth, but also lose a good signal response on quarters and larger coins. Try it...

When setting GB outside in your soil, start off around the middle on your GB; that is follow Tesoros instructions about 5 turns left (or right), then about 2 turns back. The potentiometers Tesoro uses purposely "slip" at each end of their effective range so the pot won't be damaged. That's why Tesoro says "5 turns", rather than just starting at what you think is the middle... Once you find that approximate middle area, take the detector out to your soil for a real ground balance. After following instructions a couple times, you'll know right off if you're positive or negative.

When you get good enough, you'll want to do a "power balance", which is is to ground balance in disc mode, after getting a decent GB in all-metal. I'll let you read up on power balancing a Tesoro, a term that I think was coined by Monte Berry. Power balancing adjusts it right to the negative limit in discrimination mode, whereas if you do a regular GB in all-metal then switch to disc, the disc mode will likely be a bit on the positive side. Close enough to use, but not yet adjusted for optimal depth.

BTW, once you get the hang of it, ground balancing comes quickly and easily. The very hardest part of ground balancing any Tesoro, is finding a clean, metal and hot rock-free spot to start.

 

[pinenut]

Acording to manual on vaquero ground balnce: it says to go five turns clockwise and then 2-3 counterclockwise?Youtube has guy doing this on a brand new Vaquero which did not give him any depth H e goes by the book on youtube and has a scale shows very little depthCheck out other balancing methods and shows starting at 12 0'clock and got better results on the negative side.What say ye?Thankscjm

I just wanted to add... While youtube videos about Tesoros can be entertaining and sometimes even informative... Take all of them "with a grain of salt". Plenty of people get a new detector and immediately want to make a video...including of something as mundane as an "unboxing". Lots of these guys have no idea how to adjust and use the detector, so their video may make it look pretty bad. The Vaquero was my favorite Tesoro for a while and it is capable of very good depth, once properly adjusted. If not ground balanced properly, any detector will suck... Which is why some people prefer a "fixed" GB machine. Learning to ground balance is easier than learning to balance a bicycle. If your soil conditions never change and it's always "mild", then a fixed GB will work just fine. The "fixed" GB machines are actually adjustable, just not externally and not as finely as one with a multi-turn (external) GB pot.

Oh - apparently some may not realize that the GB pot on a Tesoro can turn in either direction... all day long; it has no hard stop at either end. BUT, you will feel that it gets a bit stiffer or tighter to turn after turning in either direction, if more than the 3-3/4 turn potentiometer is intended to go. Once you feel that stiffer, tighter turning, you've reached that end of adjustment. It's 3-3/4 turns back to the other end of adjustment, but the knob will keep turning there too...again, with a tighter feel past the 3-3/4 turns.
Where the knob is actually pointing on the GB pot is irrelevant; the pointer just shows where you last had it... When I first started using a manual GB with this type of "no end stop" potentiometer, I was concerned that the knob pointed about at the middle of the range. It really doesn't make any difference where it's pointing in its 360 degree rotation, as long as your balance is at its best setting.

 

[NCtoad]

I don't even own a manual ground balance machine...the closest I have is an F70. I do hope to try a vaquero some day. The above two posts are the clearest most concise directions I've read on ground balancing. Great post Pinenut!

 

[hatpin]

I Ground Balance just like the instruction book reads . I balance it ti neutral , slightly negative is acceptable . The grounds around my area change a lot . I'll check the balance often , it just take a second . If the machine starts getting chirpy it probably needs adjustment .


I love the Vaquero and fooled with the knobs extensively . After 6 years of using it I balance it to neutral and run sensitivity as high as I can and not be chatty . I do not crank the threshold high, set like that the pinpoint button is now rendered useless . I keep it at a hum in all metal, that way I can still use the pinpoint button not to pinpoint but to hear what the target sounds like in all metal .

Sometimes there will be a target that is difficult to pinpoint . A trick I learned is to turn the threshold way down until it makes a signal on one little spot .

 

[C.J.M.]

So you pump the coil until the hum is equal either going up or coming down on the negative side and its balanced now?

 

[pinenut]

So you pump the coil until the hum is equal either going up or coming down on the negative side and its balanced now?

Yup. On Vaquero, with it either in all-metal on the knob, or with the pinpoint button pushed in (the way most do it). You pump the coil up & down from an inch above the ground, to about a foot or so. You want the low threshold hum to stay about the same, indicating that ground minerals are balanced out (ignored). If the threshold volume increases as the coil approaches the ground, it's too positive. If volume decreases as the coil gets closer to ground, it's too negative... You actually want it slightly negative for best depth...but not too far negative. Before you set the ground balance, set your threshold to a low, steady hum, then do your ground balance. I'm another who doesn't like the threshold set too high. With headphones, I usually set threshold to the slightest hum I can hear...
If too low (quiet) you'll lose depth. If threshold is set too high, you'll hear deep targets louder, but it'll be harder to tell how deep they are, and the poinpoint function won't work.
Set it at a low hum, then ground balance.

When you want to try a "power balance" (later on), ground balance as you normally would in all-metal, then switch to disc. In disc, hold your coil 1" over clean ground (no metal spot) and qiuckly lift the coil straight up while listening carefully... if it makes a chirp when lifting, then it's a bit too negative. It will probably be quiet during that test, if you were just balanced in all-metal. Continue quickly lifting the coil up from 1" above ground, and keep turning your GB a little more negative until it does give a chirp each time you lift the coil, then STOP going negative. At this point, you keep lifting the coil, and just go back slightly positive 'till the chirp is gone. At that point, your detector is "power balanced" in discrimination mode, where you should get maximum depth. My explanation may sound confusing, but with a little practice, it's actually easier to do than explain. ^_^

 

[BarberBill]

The blurb I read years ago that made balancing simple for me is to think of the threshold hum like a radio. If it raises as the coil goes down turn the knob back a bit, if it goes quiet, turn it up a bit. Once your close, tweak it with small adjustments. And always be sure you are over a clean spot of ground.
BB

 

[REVIER]

I made up a simple thing that helped me remember how to do this when I first got my Vaq..."Loud Left".
On the downstroke if it gets louder turn the knob to the left.

 

[REVIER]

I made up a simple thing that helped me remember how to do this when I first got my Vaq..."Loud Left".
On the downstroke if it gets louder turn the knob to the left.