Ground Balance Equinox in All-Metal?

Ive started using the PP function to find a clean spot. Sometimes in all metal it will report back iron grunts -8 or -9 that arent actually targets, and pp will tell you this. If I still cant find a spot, i use tracking GB and let the detector do the work.

sdub said:

Curious about how to auto ground balance the Equinox. Several sites I'm searching have scads of iron as well as pipes, and it's difficult/impossible to find a spot that doesn't have a signal.

But I auto ground balance in all-metal/horseshoe mode. And I often switch the detector to all-metal when searching.

Should I be ground balancing in all-metal? It doesn't say in the manual, and I prefer a ground grab.

And if there's no area clear of a signal in all-metal, should I auto ground balance by moving the coil side to side instead of up and down?

Thanks!

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Minelab dropped the ball big time in their insisting that ground balancing the Equinox is not necessary and just leaving it on Zero is fine. That way they could keep saying the Nox is a grab and go detector in order to sell more of them to less experienced detector users. So they did not explain ground balancing well at all in the manual and also insist on using the term All Metal for what happens when one presses the horseshoe button. All Targets Accepted would have been more accurate.

I think you are asking if say, doing a ground grab in Park 1 without the horseshoe button engaged is the same mode as doing a ground grab with the horseshoe button engaged........ There is no "All Metal" mode on the Nox. All pressing the horseshoe button does is remove the discrimination pattern. You are still in the same mode per the example, Park 1. So, doing a ground grab without the horseshoe button pressed in Park 1 on clean ground should give you the same value as doing a ground grab with the horseshoe button depressed over the same clean ground in Park 1. If you change to Park 2, etc. or change to a single frequency in Park 1 you have to ground balance again.

It is a really good idea to do a ground grab with the horseshoe button engaged or by first using the pinpoint mode if you want to get the absolute most out of your Nox and find really clean ground.

I have done a ground grab over tree roots/trunks, over boulders, at the parking area, where ever I can find some clean ground.

Thanks for the quick responses!

I'll try PP to locate some clean ground.

jl1252 said:

Ive started using the PP function to find a clean spot. Sometimes in all metal it will report back iron grunts -8 or -9 that arent actually targets, and pp will tell you this. If I still cant find a spot, i use tracking GB and let the detector do the work.

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jmaclen said:

It is a really good idea to do a ground grab with the horseshoe button engaged or by first using the pinpoint mode if you want to get the absolute most out of your Nox and find really clean ground.

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Emphasis is mine in the above quotes, and apologies in advance to jmaclen, as I realize I’m only highlighting half his sentence

I know a lot of folks use this method to find “clean” ground before performing a manual ground balance, but whenever I’ve attempted to do it this way in a very trashy area, the ground balance numbers turn out wonky.

For example, I have a farm field that I hunt where I know the ground balances between 15-25 consistently when the ground is clean, but when I get close to the former building areas, it can be virtually impossible to find a target free area even with the 6” coil - machine gun staccato of iron with the horseshoe engaged. If I activate pinpoint to find “clean” ground, then perform a manual ground balance, more often than not, I end up with a GB number in the 70s or 80s...clearly over a metal target despite pinpoint claiming it was all clear. At best, I might get something like a 35-40 number, which still makes me suspicious knowing the “normal” numbers for the field.

This happens because of the way the pinpoint function works on the Equinox - it automatically tunes when you activate it, but it also automatically retunes as you swing. This means that if you are hunting in extremely iron infested ground and try to use pinpoint to find clean ground, the first iron target you swing over starts the retuning process...smaller targets will soon become invisible as you continue to swing looking for a clean spot, and suddenly bad ground magically sounds clean other than the largest targets! But when you do the ground balance, that hidden small iron fatally skews the GB. I have no doubt that the method can work well in relatively clean ground where the lower target density allows the pinpoint function to work as expected, but in heavy iron, it just won’t.

Here’s a couple of posts by ToySoldier from a previous thread describing how the Equinox’s pinpoint works in better detail:

https://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=3238553&postcount=15

https://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=3237440&postcount=13

Anyway, all that said, I always ground balance the Equinox before and during every hunt. I activate the horseshoe button to find clean ground. If proves to be impossible to find “clean” ground using the horseshoe, I’ll reduce sensitivity and try again. If I get to the point that sensitivity has been reduced too much to be effective for hunting, I’m more likely to just hunt with GB 0, or, in the case of the field mentioned above where I’m familiar with reasonable numbers, I’ll use those GB numbers.

you are gonna have to dig a large 16 inch or so wide plug and remove every piece of metal until it gives no signal. then you ground balance.

jmaclen said:

If you change to Park 2, etc. or change to a single frequency in Park 1 you have to ground balance again.

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I am curious about this statement with respect to the new 4KHz mode on the Equinox. If I go to a park and search with 4KHz, and then switch to Multi (or vice versa) to check a signal, do I need to do a ground balance every time?!

oaktree said:

I am curious about this statement with respect to the new 4KHz mode on the Equinox. If I go to a park and search with 4KHz, and then switch to Multi (or vice versa) to check a signal, do I need to do a ground balance every time?!

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Ground balance numbers are only for the mode or single frequency you are in. They don't carry over to the other modes or single frequencies within a mode. Once you set it for 4 kHz in Park 1 it is good for the rest of the hunt. You might need to do a ground grab the first time you switch to Multi. So it depends on your soil conditions and if you are after really deep targets at the edge of the Equinox detection ability. If you have mild soil, default zero may be just fine for all of your hunting no matter what mode or frequency you use. If you don't have mild soil, you might want to get into the habit of doing a ground grab for each mode or single frequency that you might be using before you start detecting. It only takes a few seconds.....

I hunt in all metal mode almost exclusively these days. I use ground tracking at all times. I have had no issues running this way and never have to do a ground grab. The auto tracking is very effective in my testing and hunts. I used it on my CTX as well with great success.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

detectorben said:

I hunt in all metal mode almost exclusively these days. I use ground tracking at all times.

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I am new to MD'ing (February of this year), and I've seen some others say this. I don't understand that. Not disagreeing/arguing, just trying to understand...why would someone purchase a nice, expensive detector with a visual target ID system, notch filters/discrimination only to not use those features?

I fully understand those with the mentality of "dig it all" so nothing is missed...but then why not just get a good, deep PI detector without advanced discrimination or an VID system?

detectorben said:

I hunt in all metal mode almost exclusively these days...

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hddeuce03 said:

I am new to MD'ing (February of this year), and I've seen some others say this. I don't understand that. Not disagreeing/arguing, just trying to understand...why would someone purchase a nice, expensive detector with a visual target ID system, notch filters/discrimination only to not use those features?

I fully understand those with the mentality of "dig it all" so nothing is missed...but then why not just get a good, deep PI detector without advanced discrimination or an VID system?

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Like detectorben, I also hunt about 95% of the time with nothing notched/no discrimination. It’s not that I “dig it all”...on the contrary, I‘m actually pretty selective about what I dig. I just feel I get a more complete picture of a target in less time when I can hear all of the tones, and I can make a more informed decision about whether the target is worth digging or junk. Essentially, I’m buying that advanced detector mainly for its other features, not necessarily its ability to discriminate. For example, with my Equinox, I’ve developed my own “coin program” that I use in parks - nothing is notched out, I just use the machine’s other advanced features to alter the volume and tones for the non-ferrous ranges that are less likely to be coins. That way I can still hear other targets that might be interesting if the depth is right.

So it really depends what you’re interested in finding. I prefer to hear the targets that many other detectorists would notch out...many of my best finds have come from “hunted out” parks where I’ve selectively dug mid-tone or Zincoln signals.

oaktree said:

I am curious about this statement with respect to the new 4KHz mode on the Equinox. If I go to a park and search with 4KHz, and then switch to Multi (or vice versa) to check a signal, do I need to do a ground balance every time?!

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I ran a test just a while ago, on a 9' buried dime with a GB-d 4khz single frequency. With the same GB number from 4khz, just switching to Multi, and I got the exact same depth/tone performance between 4khz and multi. Just sayin'. I don't see another GB need myself, at least not in Texas clay.

In my area I quit ground balancing. I just leave it at FP ,0.
The Nox will run right out of the box.
Doug

Donut said:

In my area I quit ground balancing. I just leave it at FP ,0.
The Nox will run right out of the box.
Doug

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You guys are super lucky. No way I could do that where I hunt.

Donut said:

In my area I quit ground balancing. I just leave it at FP ,0.
The Nox will run right out of the box.
Doug

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Agreed. I haven’t ground balanced in over a year. I leave it at 8 and that seems to work best in my area’s soil. GBing was throwing me off when i used to do it, especially when I was in a trashy area. I guess I’m blessed with sweet soil.