• Forum server maintanace Friday night.(around 7PM Centeral time)
    Website will be off line for a short while.

    You may need to log out, log back in after we're back online.

Equinox ground balance , and a question or two....

ohiochris

Elite Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2009
Messages
6,186
Location
Findlay , Ohio
Ground balance usually does not make much of a difference in multi frequency mode , according to Minelab it should make no difference at all ,.....BUT.....I just watched a video where ground balancing did in fact seem to help the nox hit on a deep dime a little better. The comparison was between ground balance of 0 and where the machine ground balanced at 5 , which is not much of a change in the balance value.....so I can only imagine how much a proper ground balance may help if the ground balanced at a much higher number. I havent tested it myself , I only watched the video , but it still seems that ground balancing in multi mode could help squeeze that extra fraction of an inch of depth out of the equinox.

As for my own observations , the depth gauge seems to be more accurate if ground balanced , opposed to the factory balance of 0. Has anyone else noticed this ?

Something else I noticed in the video is beach mode was significantly deeper than park or field on the dime , in the standard topsoil i this particular field the test was done......atleast in a clean soil environment. Has anybody else noticed beach mode performing better on dry land ?

The video I refer to is located here.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLNLbCoCNFQ
 
In the fields where I hunt my nox will ground balance at around 65. I usually just leave it at zero as its very unstable at such a high number. Your never gonna find much stuff at depth in these types of conditions and when you do it was probably a very poor signal to begin with.. I doubt I have ever recovered a small coin size object at more than 6" in my fields. Now if your detecting flat terrain like a beach or field that has just been rolled then you can run at high gb numbers but crop stubble or bumpy terrain better to leave it at zero.
 
Last edited:
Soil mineralization levels will dictate how depth is affected when trying to use a zero GB.
You won't get my 9" deep clad dime here with a 0 GB.

My GB in park 2 field 2 usually runs around 50 ish.
And running GB at ground setting doing auto GB.

As far as finding nonferrous coin sized, button sized in polluted sites.
Gotta watch the Nox very capable to pull 8-9.5" deep items like this out.
Field 2 mode I have pulled coins at 8" (not many) deep in a site I've pounded with a load of detectors.
Field 2 seems depth is somewhat less than park 2, make no mistake though field 2 is knife like in polluted sites. Real thin finds field 2 seems to really like better than the other detect modes. I don't use gold modes much.

A 3 cent made of nickel, it is possible for it to hide on you using park 1 and park 2, and field 1 detect modes, field 2 may sniff it out. I am basing this on actual head to head of the 4 detect modes on targets located using park 2 and field 2 and comparing to all other detect modes, then digging the suspect target.

Any new 800 Equinox owner who has run Deus and LF coils and made some nice finds in a polluted site (nails, iron bits and rust). You need take Nox back in there. Watch what happens. A tip use speed 7 park 2 and field 2.
 
Last edited:
The deepest coins I have found so far using park 2 after ground balancing were a silver dime and a silver quarter roughly 8 inches. It hit hard on them and ID'd them correctly among some shallower trash. But after I read ground balance dont matter much in multi , I have been hunting in 0 GB which apparently is a mistake because if I auto GB the detector it runs up into the 50's and 60's. Since the primary effect of GB in multi mode is depth I may have missed something at the extreme depth range of the detector. I think Minelab needs to retract their comments about GB'ing not really being necessary in multi mode.

What really surprises me though is beach mode being better for deep silver , atleast thats how its starting to look. But that has me confused about what I am giving up to hunt in that mode , since there is always a tradeoff somewhere.....you manipluate the settings for one particular target you usually lose a little something in some other aspect. Like switching to a larger coil for depth loses some target separation or ID.
 
The deepest coins I have found so far using park 2 after ground balancing were a silver dime and a silver quarter roughly 8 inches. It hit hard on them and ID'd them correctly among some shallower trash. But after I read ground balance dont matter much in multi , I have been hunting in 0 GB which apparently is a mistake because if I auto GB the detector it runs up into the 50's and 60's. Since the primary effect of GB in multi mode is depth I may have missed something at the extreme depth range of the detector. I think Minelab needs to retract their comments about GB'ing not really being necessary in multi mode.

What really surprises me though is beach mode being better for deep silver , atleast thats how its starting to look. But that has me confused about what I am giving up to hunt in that mode , since there is always a tradeoff somewhere.....you manipluate the settings for one particular target you usually lose a little something in some other aspect. Like switching to a larger coil for depth loses some target separation or ID.

Have you tried running in ground tracking vs ground balancing? In theory ground tracking would be the way to go with machines that offer that option.It would keep a correct ground balance as you move over the ground,changing all the time.
 
Have you tried running in ground tracking vs ground balancing? In theory ground tracking would be the way to go with machines that offer that option.It would keep a correct ground balance as you move over the ground,changing all the time.

Ground tracking works, but some fringe detected could be missed by using.
I will see if I can find a post by an actual tester and copy and post here.

Here is what actual prerelease tester has stated.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fringe depth targets.............. regardless of s
> ize................ can easily be tracked out.
> Small gold jewelry targets can be tracked out.
> Be conservative in its use.

Also I'll share this as gee whiz.
Folks can use at their own risk, depending they may see benefits.
NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> martygene........ let me see if I can get into tro
> uble with this one. Yes..... you are correct. But.
> ........ almost completely/unsuspectingly...... Be
> ach Mode-2 is deepest/best Mode for silver dimes/q
> uarters...... as Beach Mode-2 utilizes the lowest
> grouping of Freq's on the entire platform. A very
> discrete/finite/precise (variables removed) test-g
> arden will reveal this. Dirt mineralization/condit
> ions 'might' alter this data. For dirt hunting....
> . you will find that you will use Park-1, Field-1
> & Beach-2 more-so for EMI mitigation...... assumin
> g utilization of higher Sens settings. If you can
> 'get away' with using Beach Mode-2 whilst inland..
> .. this will be the better choice. Don't be afraid
> to use a 'beach' mode.... for inland hunting.
 
Have you tried running in ground tracking vs ground balancing? In theory ground tracking would be the way to go with machines that offer that option.It would keep a correct ground balance as you move over the ground,changing all the time.


Ive thought about it but it shouldnt theoretically be an advantage over ground balancing except in extreme conditions where the ground can change substantially and often. I will get around to testing it though
 
Back
Top Bottom