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whats the big deal about having a ground balance on your md
- Thread starter gringoo
- Start date
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
Simple put, you will miss deep targets but here is everything you want to know and more you don't on ground balancing from the master, George Payne.
http://jb-ms.com/Baron/gb.htm
http://jb-ms.com/Baron/gb.htm
POLEWAGGER
New member
Some very good reading! Thanks Larry!
I thought these were very important points.
This was true in my case...
"If the ground is very heavily mineralized due to natural mineralization or pollution, a fixed GB machine would probably be of no value. An error of several degrees, as I point out above, will translate into a negative offset totally masking all targets. To make matters worse, most detectors are designed to work in moderately mineralized ground. Where the ground strength is not excessive. High mineralization will overdrive the front-end circuits of most detectors making them useless. Raising the coil above the ground will eliminate front-end saturation. However, as an operator you may never know just how high to raise the coil in order to avoid saturation."
This too...
"There is no question that a fixed detector design would be less sensitive than a design with a manual adjustment. It is interesting to note that normally an air test will not reveal any difference between the two. The reduction in sensitivity will only take place when you use the fixed ground balanced detector in mineralized ground.
The fixed ground adjust phase is generally calibrated using a typical coil. The phase difference between coils of the same size is usually small, 0.1 degrees or less. Coils of different sizes would be more. A well designed series of coils will keep this variation within acceptable limits. Coil inductance, wire size and operating frequency have to be monitored closely to keep this from being a problem. Overall, in a good design the phase difference between coils is not a problem. You would probably experience more sensitivity change due to the coil
I thought these were very important points.
This was true in my case...
"If the ground is very heavily mineralized due to natural mineralization or pollution, a fixed GB machine would probably be of no value. An error of several degrees, as I point out above, will translate into a negative offset totally masking all targets. To make matters worse, most detectors are designed to work in moderately mineralized ground. Where the ground strength is not excessive. High mineralization will overdrive the front-end circuits of most detectors making them useless. Raising the coil above the ground will eliminate front-end saturation. However, as an operator you may never know just how high to raise the coil in order to avoid saturation."
This too...
"There is no question that a fixed detector design would be less sensitive than a design with a manual adjustment. It is interesting to note that normally an air test will not reveal any difference between the two. The reduction in sensitivity will only take place when you use the fixed ground balanced detector in mineralized ground.
The fixed ground adjust phase is generally calibrated using a typical coil. The phase difference between coils of the same size is usually small, 0.1 degrees or less. Coils of different sizes would be more. A well designed series of coils will keep this variation within acceptable limits. Coil inductance, wire size and operating frequency have to be monitored closely to keep this from being a problem. Overall, in a good design the phase difference between coils is not a problem. You would probably experience more sensitivity change due to the coil
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
George's writings get technical pretty fast for some, so thanks for putting the importance of GB in your own words polewagger. This is why I don't understand why Tesoro has so many fixed GB machines when most of the country/world is mineralized to some degree, mild to wild, and users would benefit from an adjustable GB at very little additional expense to themselves in the manufacturing, but back on subject:
A proper ground balance is the single most important thing to do before hunting (after the on-off switch) if your detector allows it. A fixed GB is fine for the casual hunter or beginner but if you take the hobby seriously, you really need a machine with the GB.
A proper ground balance is the single most important thing to do before hunting (after the on-off switch) if your detector allows it. A fixed GB is fine for the casual hunter or beginner but if you take the hobby seriously, you really need a machine with the GB.
Yep, ground balancing is important. I got so use to ground balancing my Eldorado, Vaquero and Bandido all the time that I forgot that my Golden doesn't have a manual ground balance. I was out in the field with my Golden just pumping a way and rotating the notch width knob before I realized what I was doing.
tabman
tabman
True. But the interesting part is that the g/b changes constantly and it would seem that a fixed g/b set to the relative mineralization in your area would work just fine. I mean, in the real world, the ideal would be to ALWAYS be tuned to the ground, which is constantly changing. I was wondering if you noticed this to be true when you reset your Cibola, Larry, to adjust the internal trimmer to match the relative mineralization.??
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
That is a good point Slingshot. When I first got my Cibola, I set the trimmer for my ground which is very mineralized black dirt and it worked great. BUT, Nancy and I like to go camping and our toys goes with us, ground conditions changes from one extreme to the other when we get to sandy ground, that is when I decided to do the GB mod, plus I REALLY like the trigger P/P. Don't get me wrong, not everyone needs a variable GB on their detector to have fun especially if you are hunting primarily in one area and if someone is confidante enough, it is easy to set the trimmer to your ground and forget it. I bought a used Cibola and I was not getting very good depth with it but in ten minutes I had the trimmer set for my ground and all was well. I don't know if the trimmer was factory set, or if a previous owner had the trimmer set to his ground, but the point is that it was not set for MY ground and I was not getting the performance that I expected from it.
Most preset ground balances are set slightly positive and work to a degree in most areas however simply put a proper manual ground balance setting equates to more depth and a stable unit.
Why do companies sell units with factory set ground balances is probably due to the cost which varies greatly and thus they can sell the unit at lower costs to the consumer and of course more units being sold. All comes down to profits and marketting and certainly not my expertise.
Why do companies sell units with factory set ground balances is probably due to the cost which varies greatly and thus they can sell the unit at lower costs to the consumer and of course more units being sold. All comes down to profits and marketting and certainly not my expertise.
Think of Gb Control as a radio Sound control knob.. As you lower the coil to ground If sound goes up ..turn it down..If sound gets lower turn it up.. Raise and lower coil turning knob Up/Down till sound stays the same... or as some like just a little raise in sound..For positive Gb....
BarberBill
New member
I've posted a number of times that if one is going to have only one detector, it should have either true auto ground tracking or manual ground balance. In milder soils where you may do fine without it, manual ground balance is still a plus and is essential in areas where mineralization is a problem. I do well in my soil with several different preset detectors, but my soil is quite mild. Even then, I own several detectors that either have manual GB or true auto tracking.
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