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Setting And GB Question


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Thanks Steve (and everyone else).

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Well I may ruffle some feathers but that is not my intent.

Personally I would never ever not ground balance a detector that has that capability for two primary reasons.  One, I don’t want to wonder if I missed a target by a half inch of depth because my ground balance was off.  Two, it may have an effect on rejecting iron signals since in reality ground balancing is part of the discrimination chain where you are discriminating out the ground to hear metal signals.

The Equinox presents an interesting case because of the multiple frequencies and based on this quote from Bruce Candy:  “However, the reality is that soils do not have resistive VRM signals that are the same for different VLF transmitted frequencies.”  VRM =  Viscous Remanent Magnetism

Therefore based on the above quote when operating simultaneously in 5 different frequencies, and depending on the ground, there could be 5 different ground balance points.  And, with the information that there is some sort of different frequency weightings with mode selection then things can get very complex.

Now there are situations where you will never be able to get a solid ground balance point no matter what you do.  A typical one is a gravel bank that consists of pebbles/stones that come from different rock types and therefore each pebble has it’s own ground balance point.  You can ground balance, then move the coil 1/4“ left or right and the balance changes.  The method I have used in this situation is to use automatic or manual GB and note the number.  Then I repeat the procedure 5 times while moving the coil slightly left then right of my starting point.  I take my lowest number and highest number and manually adjust for a number half way in between.  If the detector is still too chatty I lower sensitivity till I’m comfortable.  On the Equinox the Speed and Iron settings may provide other possible remedies.

Auto tracking.  The big bugaboo on auto tracking has been that you will track out a target.  That is of course going to depend on how aggressive/fast the process is on a particular machine.  For those who are worried about this you can test it yourself quite easily. The Equinox GB range is (-)9 to 99 so for this test you will need to locate some clean ground with a GB point in the 50 to 60 range.  You will also need a stopwatch or some device with a stopwatch function(phone, tablet).   Simply manually set the GB to (-)9 or 99, set tracking on, click stopwatch, move coil at regular detect height over the ground like you would search.  When detector reaches a balanced condition click stopwatch off.  This should give you an idea of how fast/aggressive the tracking is, whereupon you can feel confident that it will or won’t track a target out.

 

 

 

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"Personally I would never ever not ground balance a detector that has that capability for two primary reasons."

I tend to agree. I found no mention of GB in the quick start a bit odd but, hey, I'm not an engineer and I have to assume the ML folks know what they're doing. That said, I do like to keep things simple and will manually GB the Nox before swinging.

Thanks for the tips!

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5 hours ago, Richard Williams said:

"Personally I would never ever not ground balance a detector that has that capability for two primary reasons."

I tend to agree. I found no mention of GB in the quick start a bit odd but, hey, I'm not an engineer and I have to assume the ML folks know what they're doing. That said, I do like to keep things simple and will manually GB the Nox before swinging.

Thanks for the tips!

Actually GB is mentioned right there in the note on the quick start guide on p. 12 of the users manual stating: 

"If excessive ground noise is heard after performing the Quick Start steps, carry out the Ground Balance procedure (page  40). If excessive noise is still being experienced try adjusting the Sensitivity to a lower level to reduce noise (page  34)."

Though admittedly not mentioned on the separately provided in-box corresponding quick start guide.

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On 4/12/2018 at 3:14 PM, Chase Goldman said:

Actually GB is mentioned right there in the note on the quick start guide on p. 12 of the users manual stating: 

"If excessive ground noise is heard after performing the Quick Start steps, carry out the Ground Balance procedure (page  40). If excessive noise is still being experienced try adjusting the Sensitivity to a lower level to reduce noise (page  34)."

Though admittedly not mentioned on the separately provided in-box corresponding quick start guide.

Yeah, I was referring to the "4 easy steps to get started." I've never seen even a turn on and go machine that offers GB options not even make a mention of it. To me, it's so fundamental. That said, I did exactly what the "4 east steps" are and my first signal and first recovery with the Equinox was half of a British Rev War cartridge box plate! But here's the kicker - I lost it! I hope to go back tomorrow to find it AGAIN. I think I just dropped it very close to where I dug it. Hoping I can find the other half as well.

bcbp1.JPG

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That’s what I was referring to also (they are duplicated in the manual on p. 12, but unlike the card, include a couple key amplifying notes, including a reference to GB).

Basically, if you are not hearing ground noise when you swing (more prevalent when in AM) you don’t have to GB because MultiIQ can compensate somewhat automatically around the default or manual GB setting unless it changes by more than approximately 15 or more phase points, based on my experience.

Wow.  Hope you find your relic again.  A real dirt fishing analogy, “the one that got away.”  At least you have the picture.

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18 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

That’s what I was referring to also (they are duplicated in the manual on p. 12, but unlike the card, include a couple key amplifying notes, including a reference to GB).

Basically, if you are not hearing ground noise when you swing (more prevalent when in AM) you don’t have to GB because MultiIQ can compensate somewhat automatically around the default or manual GB setting unless it changes by more than approximately 15 or more phase points, based on my experience.

Wow.  Hope you find your relic again.  A real dirt fishing analogy, “the one that got away.”  At least you have the picture.

"At least you have the picture." Yes. Got video as well. I'm hopeful I can find it. Will update if I do.

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I found it yesterday - in another pocket on my pants!:rolleyes:

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