Axiom Programming Bug Or Quirk

[Jeff McClendon]

Thanks Knomad for your posts and your linked video. I can’t explain what is happening in it. All I can say is that I too have experienced some weird stuff using the DD coils in Fine Mode that completely stops being weird when I switch to Normal. Using Fine Mode with Slow or Medium speed while this is happening has no effect from my experience. 
 

Here is the video I sent to Garrett showing another instance of this odd behavior. This video is not showing the only time this has happened. I made the video to demonstrate what I was experiencing during long sessions with the Axiom in Fine Mode using the 11X7" DD coil with sensitivity at 3 or less and then switching to Normal Mode and the coil would behave normally.

The ground conditions for the video were moderate to high iron mineralization and slightly damp ground. EMI levels were very low.

 

[CarsonChris]

I've had issues with granite bedrock using a vlf. Not sure why the PI is having an issue? Could there be an extreme amount of magnetite in the granite?  I've been in locations where the magnetite is so extreme the detectors won't work. Those areas are in locations where granite has decayed. 

[abenson]

That's weird Jeff. I've not had issues like that at all.

[phrunt]

Thanks for the video, Jeff, that's happening to someone else's detector I know but they just thought it was normal behaviour.  I've been trying to tell them it's not likely normal, now I can prove it to them 🙂

[Knomad]

Jeff, the difference from what you experienced and what I did is it appeared to balance pretty well in my case, BUT, lost most sensitivity in fine mode.

A second thought is that although it was not noisy ground on that hillside that hill was about 10 feet above the same wash with the Extreme Black Sand that I showed in another video earlier and how salt mode and zero thresh hold setting worked.  But it appeared to be pretty solid granite with some crevasses I was detecting. SO, perhaps it had a higher level of black sand than it appeared.  If I ever go back to that spot I will check it with my trusty Whites GMT, I do miss it's constant magnetic sand readout.

[Jeff McClendon]

A ground balance of 15/00 is not normal unless your coil is over salty ground conditions or in saltwater. That is what showed up on your Axiom in the video before you switched to Normal Mode. Before you made that switch to Normal, I could briefly hear some coil noise from not being ground balanced when you moved the coil away from the target to make the switch to Normal.

I would often get ground balance numbers like 15/00 or some other value/00 with my original 11X7"DD coil using Fine Mode and my Axiom would not be ground balanced. That was not over ground with salt content. The replacement coil does that sometimes too...........

I hadn't noticed it before until I posted my video here but, the sensitivity to both wild targets in my video was substantially lower when my Axiom was in Fine Mode compared to when I swept those targets in a properly ground balanced Normal Mode.

[Knomad]

Yes there was a slight out of balance reaction, but really not much more than normal, and was not abnormally noisy. it makes sense that it acts much like salt if it has high black sand levels, because I know in Extreme Black Sand it could not balance AT ALL in ANY mode, and fine mode was completely unusable at any settings, But as I pointed out in the last video the BAZAAR Thing is it detected decently in EXTREME levels of Black Sand in Salt Mode and MAX Sensitivity..! BUT was unusable because of ground noise, UNLESS threshold was at zero.! Then it had only occasional breakthrough ground signals, AND did OK on target depth, nearly silently.!

It is obvious that Fine Mode does not like noisy ground even in slow speed, if it involves black sand, I am just surprised it can seem OK but lose so much sensitivity apparently from balancing out ground level targets in fine mode under certain conditions.

[Steve Herschbach]

I need to double check but any 00 reading may indicate a channel is NOT ground balanced but in an overload state, which would mean all bets are off as far as detecting. It might give the appearance of being ground balanced when it is just the opposite. That is why I suggested trying the same ground after a reset and not doing a ground balance. The machine will act more like a pure PI and will function just fine in most cases with slow and even coil control since the autotune will smooth the ground signal. It can even have better depth in milder ground though the worse the ground, the more unmanageable it will be. See this ATX video for reference to the method…

 

[Knomad]

OH, I was assuming that the Second Balance was not used unless it was activated by doing the Double Balance Routine where you hold the balance button down for an extended period and moved to the second item to balance like a hot rock.

If I understand you Steve than the secondary balance IS used by the system after a factory reset even WITHOUT a secondary balance routine being manually called for, Is that correct.?

I will have to experiment with the Factory Reset and NO balancing, I know that will work on some ground, but these new machines are so sensitive they tend to be very noisy on a lot of ground even balanced, so that would limit use of that technique.  That No Balance and Max Sensitivity in Black Sand, But No threshold to eliminate ground noise I mentioned I find most interesting, it literally acts like a Super Noise Filter. That needs more experimentation in other conditions.!

This machine is new to Me and I have much still to learn about it, and so far have only used it a half dozen times, I generally like it, but as with all my detectors each is better suited to certain uses and conditions than others.

[Steve Herschbach]

The Axiom is a dual channel (dual ground balance points) PI and the numbers have nothing to do with the extended ground balance system hot rock notch method. It is showing you the two ground balance settings. See this thread below for an explanation of what is going on.

I was only suggesting you try the "no ground balance" thing to isolate the issue you are having, not suggesting it is a general hunt mode.