Automatic vs Manual ground balance

[Rammjäger]

There is a question I have not quite clear yet :
Manual vs. automatic ground balance .

Is there any difference at all between both ?

I guess some other metal detectorists ask themselves the same question
sometimes as well.

 

[airscapes]

There is manual ground balancing, Automatic ground balancing and auto tracking.

First off, it was over a year before I read what ground balancing actually did..and the full name of it in the Whites world (Ground Elimination Balance) which make more sense to me.

I am sure each manufacture does it differently to some extent but the bottom line they all need to achieve is to eliminate the Ground Minerals so the machine does not pick them up rather than the target.

So when you ground balance, your machine reads the VDI of the ground, and then ignores that number or range of numbers. (this has nothing to do with discrimination it is at a lower level in the machines function)

Manual ground balance requires you to do a process and set thing to achieve an good ground elimination balance. There are some tricks that can be done (so I have read) under certain circumstance that are helpful to have the ability to Manually GB. If the machine does not also have auto track, depending on your ground conditions you may need to balance often while moving along.

Autotrack will track the ground and adjust as you move along and the ground changes so you do not need to keep GBing you machine every 10'.

Auto ground balance provides a method to achieve a good balance without entering numbers. Example (whites higher end machines you hold the coil up in the air and hit a button, the machine beep and tells you to place it on the ground in a spot with no target away from metal and hit a button. Done. Then if you have auto track on it keep things in balance.

Machines with just autotracking like lower end Whites have the ground VDI perset to the common value and the auto track tweaks it up and down. This is used more on the turn on an go machine.

Which is better.. if given a choice between all the I would take the something that has the ability to Auto/Manual Track or not track.. more flexible the better chance you have of getting good results no matter what the ground conditions.

Hope that helps

 

[Martin_V3i]

I will never trust auto track.

 

[Rammjäger]

There is manual ground balancing, Automatic ground balancing and auto tracking.

First off, it was over a year before I read what ground balancing actually did..and the full name of it in the Whites world (Ground Elimination Balance) which make more sense to me.

I am sure each manufacture does it differently to some extent but the bottom line they all need to achieve is to eliminate the Ground Minerals so the machine does not pick them up rather than the target.

So when you ground balance, your machine reads the VDI of the ground, and then ignores that number or range of numbers. (this has nothing to do with discrimination it is at a lower level in the machines function)

Manual ground balance requires you to do a process and set thing to achieve an good ground elimination balance. There are some tricks that can be done (so I have read) under certain circumstance that are helpful to have the ability to Manually GB. If the machine does not also have auto track, depending on your ground conditions you may need to balance often while moving along.

Autotrack will track the ground and adjust as you move along and the ground changes so you do not need to keep GBing you machine every 10'.

Auto ground balance provides a method to achieve a good balance without entering numbers. Example (whites higher end machines you hold the coil up in the air and hit a button, the machine beep and tells you to place it on the ground in a spot with no target away from metal and hit a button. Done. Then if you have auto track on it keep things in balance.

Machines with just autotracking like lower end Whites have the ground VDI perset to the common value and the auto track tweaks it up and down. This is used more on the turn on an go machine.

Which is better.. if given a choice between all the I would take the something that has the ability to Auto/Manual Track or not track.. more flexible the better chance you have of getting good results no matter what the ground conditions.

Hope that helps

Thank you Airscapes,
that was very helpful .I guess people who live in high mineralized areas
are those who need a well ground balanced machine.
In my case,I have a Tesoro Cibola with auto ground balance.
The Tejon and Vaquero are fitted with manual ground balance.And the Lobo has auto-traking.
Some have even modified the Cibola adding an extra pod for manual ground balance.

 

[Walknstik]

Rammjager the Cibola has a pre-set ground balance that was set at the factory with the coil it came with to perform under most ground conditions it will encounter around the globe. As you stated above some will add an external manual ground balance adjustment on it in order to have more control over ground balance for their particular area. My Troy Shadow X2 has a pre-set ground balance and it is one of my favorite detectors to swing

 

[Just Piddling]

Walknstik has it correct as to the Cibalo having a preset GB. Most of the time set to the positive side.

As far as I know machines with auto ground balance all require some action on the operators part to set the GB.