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ATX Ground Balance


LipCa

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Turned my ATX on today and it makes no noise when I pump it to ground balance it.  Still makes noise over targets but I don't know if it is ground balanced.  

Anyone else had this problem?

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I'll try that Steve  I did loan it out to someone that had never used it before.   Maybe something got pushed that shouldn't have.

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  • 4 months later...
On 3/8/2018 at 4:32 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

PI detectors are pretty forgiving on ground balance,

Is this why the ATX is ideal for heavily mineralized conditions? ... and by "forgiving on GB" does this mean the ATX will perform well despite operator error in GB adjustment?

btw, LipCa this same thing happened to me, was baffled why it made no sound pumping it to GB, so reading your post and what Steve provided helped me too  ... thanks, both of you    

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/20/2018 at 3:06 PM, Mac said:

Is this why the ATX is ideal for heavily mineralized conditions? ... and by "forgiving on GB" does this mean the ATX will perform well despite operator error in GB adjustment?

btw, LipCa this same thing happened to me, was baffled why it made no sound pumping it to GB, so reading your post and what Steve provided helped me too  ... thanks, both of you    

All PI detectors by design inherently ignore ground and saltwater better than VLF detectors. Early PI detectors were originally dedicated to saltwater beach use because of this, since even without a ground balance circuit they handle the conditions well. This is another way of saying that basic PI detectors are inherently less sensitive to low conductors than VLF detectors.

However, in the process of developing PI detectors that are more sensitive to low conductors (gold specifically) the machines also became more sensitive to ground and salt. This is the basic inherent problem in all metal detector designs. How do you enhance the response from desirable targets while dealing with the inevitable enhanced response to undesirable items? Ground balance attempts to address that concern. Still, in most low mineral ground not only is the ground balance control ineffective on a PI like the ATX, but in fact you can get better performance by shutting it off completely. I the case of the ATX, this is done by resetting the machine to factory settings and then leaving the ground balance control alone and tracking off.

 

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2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

low mineral ground

Steve, the million dollar question I struggle with at times is how to know what the mineralization may be in an area, such as grounds never having been detected before, by myself or others -- for example, a person with a claim that they inherited and know there's never been any metal detector used onsite -- thus, how to discern low from moderate, high, or extreme mineralization conductivity? Are there indicators applicable, or is it a judgment call with some luck thrown in?  

Thank you for this guidance! Literally everything in the forums that is specific to my detectors and hunting conditions are in the process of being studied rather than just read. I am determined to master the ATX to the same extent as the GB2. You are absolutely exceptional as a teacher of technical content; high-level expertise and technical knowledge mastery is just incredible, and is not taken for granted. 

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28 minutes ago, Mac said:

 thus, how to discern low from moderate, high, or extreme mineralization conductivity? Are there indicators applicable, or is it a judgment call with some luck thrown in?  

The combination of ground balance control and sensitivity control tells you. If you can run the ground balance control to both extremes while at maximum sensitivity and the detector does not react to the ground when bouncing the coil over the ground, you have low mineral ground.

If the ground does react but easily ground balances to a stable setting while at maximum sensitivity you have moderate ground.

If you can't get a decent ground balance at max sensitivity then you must lower the sensitivity until the machine becomes stable enough to get a good ground balance. The lower you have to go, the more extreme your ground is.

What is considered low or high mineral ground is relative to the detector. A PI may be just fine in ground that drives a Gold Bug 2 nuts.

I don't tell my detectors what to do. My detectors tell me what to do. You need time and experience to learn how to hear what they are telling you. In simple terms, if any detector is extremely erratic, the machine is yelling at you saying "lower the sensitivity/gain". The assumption there is that the detector is working properly, there is no electrical interference, and it is ground balanced as well as can be.

GB Numbers = Mineralization?

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