Equinox GB Tracking & Silver... does Minelab admit to problems with it?

[TomNWMI]

A well designed auto tracking GB should not respond to any metal ferrous or non. Gold hunters know that tiny gold will track out but also that it only takes a few sweeps away from the target to reset the GB. The small response from tiny gold can be just barely above the level of the ground signal in highly mineralized gold fields.

Minelab has a lot of experience developing machines for hot ground, they are located in Australia after all. That said they do like to throw us a curve ball now and then. I haven't experimented much with auto tacking on the Equinox however, with X-Terra I leave it on all the time. On that machine it did act like an iron pre-filter of sorts aloowing improved see-thru in nails.
Before the release of the X-Terra 70 I was able to use the 30 model which was released earlier. After receiving the 70 it quickly became apparent that something was wrong with the 70 they sent me. It would not see several co-located targets that the 30 hit on easily. Fortunately I remembered my experience from testing and using the Fisher Coinstrike which was that Letting tracking see a bit of the iron pollution in the ground enhanced the detectors performance in iron and by a lot! So I turned tracking on, swung the detector over the iron infested ground a few sweeps and when I went over the location of that signal it came in clear as a bell. If I hadn't done that I would have never known and chalked the 70 up as an also ran to its little brother.

These are my experiences reported as I see it.

So with the Equinox does that make it 6 of one and a half dozen of the other, or is their only one solution to this tracking on, tracking off debate.

 

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[PowerDubs]

I run tracking gb all the time and have been cleaning up on silver this year.

 

[brianc053]

Hi all. I’m a relatively new Nox 800 owner (50 hours or so) and I still don’t understand how to configure:
- auto GB
- auto tracking GB
- manual GB

The last one I think I understand: I click settings twice to get to the Ground Balance and then hold down the settings button as I pump it over the ground.
But what about the other two?

I’ve read the manual, I’ve even bought and read Clive James Clynick’s book but for some reason the auto vs auto tracking thing eludes me.

 

[vferrari]

Hi all. I’m a relatively new Nox 800 owner (50 hours or so) and I still don’t understand how to configure:
- auto GB
- auto tracking GB
- manual GB

The last one I think I understand: I click settings twice to get to the Ground Balance and then hold down the settings button as I pump it over the ground.
But what about the other two?

I’ve read the manual, I’ve even bought and read Clive James Clynick’s book but for some reason the auto vs auto tracking thing eludes me.

The manual is excellent, explains the difference in easy to understand lingo, here’s a link (for those who don’t have it downloaded):

https://www.minelab.com/#product-download-category-files-305749

BTW what you are describing is auto GB. The machine is AUTOmatically adjusting the GB setting while you pump.

Manual GB means you adjust the number yourself (MANUALLY) while pumping using the +/- buttons until the ground noise tone goes away.

Tracking GB is engaged by single pressing the accept/reject button while in GB setting mode and you will see the tracking symbol on the screen. GB will adjust on the fly while detecting while sending (TRACKING) changes in ground mineralization.

Again, this is all described in detail in the manual, so if it is unclear after the first read, read it again now after this brief summary and it might finally click.

 

[MackDog]

I run auto balance and check it frequently. In some of the areas I hunt you can go from a balance of 12 to 60 just by going on a hill slope. I found a Canadian fish scale at close to 9 inches everytime I went over the target it stayed the same. I check my GB alot while detecting and it's usually with in a point or 2 when you are in automatic

 

[Iron Buzz]

Hi all. I’m a relatively new Nox 800 owner (50 hours or so) and I still don’t understand how to configure:
- auto GB
- auto tracking GB
- manual GB

The last one I think I understand: I click settings twice to get to the Ground Balance and then hold down the settings button as I pump it over the ground.
But what about the other two?

I’ve read the manual, I’ve even bought and read Clive James Clynick’s book but for some reason the auto vs auto tracking thing eludes me.

I was confused at first about the difference between the terms "Auto" and "Tracking", thinking they were the same. Auto simply means that you don't just put in a number... you pump the machine over a clean area of soil and let it determine the ground mineralization. Tracking is the mode that continually samples and adjusts as you are detecting.

 

[Donut]

I agree they should be treated separately.
Auto ground balancing (pumping
Tracking continuously checks the ground as you go.
But I would think you would need to do a ground balance to get a reference point for the tracking. But I’m not sure if that is correct or if you can just turn tracking on and go.
So in tracking it’s is monitoring the minerals in the ground as you go so if you pass over a target (which is a mineral) several times couldn’t it cancel the target out thinking the target is the ground.
Doug

 

[brianc053]

I was confused at first about the difference between the terms "Auto" and "Tracking", thinking they were the same. Auto simply means that you don't just put in a number... you pump the machine over a clean area of soil and let it determine the ground mineralization. Tracking is the mode that continually samples and adjusts as you are detecting.

Thanks, I feel less stupid now.
I appreciate all the comments. It helped clarify things.

 

[vferrari]

I agree they should be treated separately.
Auto ground balancing (pumping
Tracking continuously checks the ground as you go.
But I would think you would need to do a ground balance to get a reference point for the tracking. But I’m not sure if that is correct or if you can just turn tracking on and go.
So in tracking it’s is monitoring the minerals in the ground as you go so if you pass over a target (which is a mineral) several times couldn’t it cancel the target out thinking the target is the ground.
Doug

Doug,

I do an Auto pump GB before I put the detector in Tracking mode to get GB in the ballpark. Tracking is not super responsive and is really designed to adjust for small changes in GB from the last measured point. If you start at 0 but the ground is really at 75, it will take several minutes for Tracking to get there, small increments at a time. So, yeah, you are right to initially do an Auto or Manual pump GB first to give tracking a good GB starting point.

GB is looking for changes in distributed magnetite level concentration, not just any abrupt change in the ground reference caused by iron or other targets in the ground. I suspect it has setting to ignore large changes in ground reference presuming those are discrete targets. That combined with it's relatively slow and small response keeps it from cancelling out legit targets. HTH

 

[Donut]

Vferrari
I agree and I ran the Xterra 70 and it works exactly as the 800 and it I believe the 800/600 are takeoffs from the Exterra and back then over the years people were on occasion had a problem that in auto targets were being masked out , but not all the time. So if the ground balance in auto tracking are somewhat close the the ground balance level it could balance it out. So I’m just saying to be aware that it could happen.
Ive had that happen a couple times.

Doug

 

[treasureguy56]

That has been my experience, as well. That said, though... you never know what you may have missed.

True , but also true of every detector and detectorist . There are hundreds of different detecting conditions and combinations to try and prepare for - probably why a site is never hunted out !