Ground balance

aviationgale said:

I have the AT Pro, and I read somewhere that if you run it a negative ground balance that it may help gain an inch or two in depth. (reads 76, but you lower to 66) Any truth to this? Thanks, Aviationgale

Click to expand...

I wouldn't suggest that, but I haven't worked with an AT pro for a few years and don't know how the Ground Balance adjustment is tied in with it's design.

You don't have a traditional Threshold-based All Metal mode to compare a 'spot-on' GB with a setting in the Disc. mode, and if the Ground Balance is too negative you'll end up with a lot of false signals that can impair performance while driving you nuts.

Some of the different makes and models out there have a GB that affect the All Metal mode only and the Disc. mode is fixed. Some have the GB function with the Disc. mode, but it is circuitry-controlled to only vary within a limited range so as not to go too negative.

Some, like the White's Classic series, have the Disc. mode reference off the All Metal mode's GB setting slightly negative so you must have a very slightly positive GB in All Metal mode. Whereas most Tesoro's have a circuitry design where the Disc. mode has a positive offset from the All Metal mode's GB setting, and it is true ... with most Tesoro's ... that you might enhance the Disc. mode's performance a little with a slightly negative GB setting in All Metal mode.


If detector features a manual GB adjustment, then my personal preference is to 'Power Balance' the detector, and that is adjusting the Ground Balance in the Discriminate mode to the point it is just barely noisy (meaning slightly negative GB'ed) and then gently increase the GB to be close to spot-on in the Discriminate mode for peak performance.

The best advice I can give anyone is learn and know the limitations and interaction of the GB adjustment for each detector you own, and unless you know for a fact that you can off-set it in the All Metal mode to enhance the Discriminate mode, it is best to adjust the GB to be as close to spot-on for any search area.

Monte

I use negative ground balance on the AT PRO and the F75 LTD. Contrary to what some people say, it does help to locate deeper targets.

I have never had any problems with it giving false signals.

graybeard said:

I use negative ground balance on the AT PRO and the F75 LTD. Contrary to what some people say, it does help to locate deeper targets.

I have never had any problems with it giving false signals.

Click to expand...

I've had the same results, no false signals either. I was just curious. Thanks