Hi Guys I have tried my best to follow the instructions to ground balance my new Vaquero. Just when I think it doesnt change in sound as I lower the coil to the ground it changes on me. Even when I think I have it ground balanced I will raise and lower the coil to the ground once last time to be sure it is right and it will change on me. Has anyone else experienced this and does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe I am tone deaf. Hope someone can set me straight.
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Vaquero Ground Balancing
- Thread starter somedad56
- Start date
jeff@middlesex
New member
if your finding the tone increases ever so slightly as you lower the coil to the hunt position. Then that will be okay as it is ground balanced more positive. If you drop it to the ground and it goes quiet before it hits the hunt position then that needs to be fixed. The hardest part of ground balancing is actually finding a clear spot to do it in. Be sure when you do bring it to the ground it is at the actual height you will be hunting at. Not higher or lower.
Thanks for the info! Usually what I try to do is get the machine to where it goes null as I lower the coil to the ground, then I know I have to begin working in a positive direction to get the sound back. Typically I find that when I do this I adjust it too much and I then get a raise in sound as I lower to the ground, so I slightly turn the knob toward the negative side to get it back. Is this method wrong? I just think by starting with it not producing a sound as I move toward the ground (null) that it gives me a start place which is to start turning the gb knob to the + and then back a little to the - if I overshoot where it should have been. The more I play with the Vaquero the more I realize just how user friendly its gb feature is. I had an old old Tesoro Bandito and I found it at the time extremely difficult to balance but now compared to other machines with manual gb I find that Tesoro has made all of their machines user friendly to gb over the years.
You are doing it right. If you are hunting in ALL METAL you will want a PERFECT GB. If you are hunting in discriminate you will want a slightly positive GB. I will not go into all the details.... Keep in mind the Tesoro has a 3 1/4 turn POTS for the GB. I think this is really a mistake that they have made. TROY detectors use a 10 turn POTS and that allows for finer adjustment. I personally think that they went cheap and found a deal on the 3 1/4 turn. Although I do like my Vaquero. Another reason you may have to keep changing your GB is b/c the soil minerlization is changing on the land you are hunting. It is almost unheard of to be able to GB your machine one time on a hunt and leave it there. I added some rubber washers under my POTS and that helps keep them in position. Without the washers you can barely hit dial and it will go way off. Let me know if this helps. If not I'll just shut up hehe ...
Manganos,
I agree 100% with what you have said. I did not think about the idea of adding washers to make the gb stay in place better...nice idea. I came from a background of Ham Radio, and as you said the tuning pots on these are not good enough for fine tuning. I dont know why Tesoro has done this but I do know that in all of the electronics I have bought I always put in a high quality tuning pot. Why go to the trouble of designing something to do what you want but make it fall short through the lack of being able to fine tune it? I will say this though....Tesoro is still in my eyes the easiest (most user friendly) machine to ground balance. Manganos...how do you think the X5 compares to the Vaquero in depth and performance for relic and coin hunting? Thanks again for your reply.
I agree 100% with what you have said. I did not think about the idea of adding washers to make the gb stay in place better...nice idea. I came from a background of Ham Radio, and as you said the tuning pots on these are not good enough for fine tuning. I dont know why Tesoro has done this but I do know that in all of the electronics I have bought I always put in a high quality tuning pot. Why go to the trouble of designing something to do what you want but make it fall short through the lack of being able to fine tune it? I will say this though....Tesoro is still in my eyes the easiest (most user friendly) machine to ground balance. Manganos...how do you think the X5 compares to the Vaquero in depth and performance for relic and coin hunting? Thanks again for your reply.
Ahhh good ole ham radio. I'm KE4MBN 
I think the Troy is a better made machine as Troy has opened one up and shown me the innerds I can't really say how they compare as I do not have a Troy as of yet. I'm waiting for him to come out with his new machine. He does not make the X3 or X5 anymore so if you get one it will be used or just old stock. 73 and maybe catch ya on one of the ham bands
I think the Troy is a better made machine as Troy has opened one up and shown me the innerds I can't really say how they compare as I do not have a Troy as of yet. I'm waiting for him to come out with his new machine. He does not make the X3 or X5 anymore so if you get one it will be used or just old stock. 73 and maybe catch ya on one of the ham bandsMaybe this is why he left Tesoro to make his own machines. Personally I have heard nothing but great reviews from it. I have used a Tejon and Vaquero and I love both machines. I am waiting on Troy to release his new machine...and if it is good ill buy it.I am also looking at the Nexus machines. Thanks for your replies!
I've sold most of my "other" detectors I found myself not using. Now I'm down to my Vaquero and my Nautilus DMCIIb. I'm done until the new Troy comes out. I have to admit I like my Nautilus better then any other detector I have owned. I traded in a Minelab Explorer for the Nauty and haven't looked back. The Minelab is a great machine but not for me
Tony
Member
10+ turn GB pots are not really necessary for typical coin machines that are looking for coin/ring sized targets. 10 turn, 20, and even higher resolution GB pots are usually associated with gold prospecting units that are looking for pinhead sized targets of irregular shape. Higher resolution GB pots are needed to fine tune more accurately against far more variable ground minerals. Hunting for coin sized targets doesn't really need that sort of range where the target signals are more pronounced. Also, having more GB range can lead to an increased likelihood of novices, etc having a poorly balanced detector.
Tony.
Tony.
with low threshold(about 1 oclock position)lower the coil and at 2 inches high youll hear the change.dont worry about sounds when you raise it!the object is no change in the sound when you touch the ground or a little raise.so you have to listen what happens from 2" to 0".easy!
I actually preferred to run my GB slightly on the cooler side. I found that iron affected the machine less than if I was hunting hot or balanced. I also did not notice any loss in depth, It did however cause the machine to be ever-so-slightly less sensitive to tiny bits like chain. When I started to run the machine cooler my coin to garbage count got better.
YMMV
YMMV