how to Ground Balance your detector!

[DutchDiggers!®]

sup my tector friends,

let's make a thread/topic on the most difficult thing in history of metal detecting...GROUND BALANCE!

if everyone who owns a detector, and ofcourse knows how to perfect GROUND BALANCE his/her machine, writes here a simple and understandable explenation on how to do it, we all can benefit from it and make metal detecting alot more fun and easier!

wow..that was a mouthfull!!! haha

in other words...tell us all how to "ground balance" your type of detector and KEEP IT SIMPLE but EXPLAIN IT WELL!

let me kick this topic off..

i have a Garrett ADS III master hunter (1982)



*before beginning with the GB procedure, this is very important to do first!

the GB knob is a 10 turn knob which will give a 'slight' drag when the end of rotating is reached! you will be able to turn some more, but it will be invain because you are PAST the end!
so...before turning your machine on, turn this GB knob all the way to the right OR left untill you feel the slight drag.
then STOP turning it right THERE!!! lol
now turn the knob >> 5 << times back and you will be right in the 'centre' position!

ok...let's do this sh*t...

- turn disc. knob to zero (0) position

- put sens. knob to max position

- put little AUDIO knob to a 'just hear-able "hummm" sound'

- put switch on the housing to manual position

- press switch on handle to left 1 second and release (VLF ground cancel mode is now ON - top red light on meter blinks!)

- hold coil about 10" above the ground (horizontal level)

- bring coil down to about 4" above the ground
(if the hummm goes louder you have to turn the GB knob >> 2 << full turns to the right (decrease)

- raise the coil again to 10" above the ground and press the switch on the handle to the left for 1 second and release (this will reset the hummm again to the start level - level of sound you began with..)

- repeat the procedure and listen to the hummm...if it still goes louder when you lower the coil, again do the previous procedure and give it another >> 2 << full turns!

- repeat...(when you lower the coil again and the hummm goes down now - softer - you turned too far and have to turn the GB knob >> 1 << turn to the left! (Increase)

watch out with headphones on your ears because the noise can be VERY loud at once!
but if you press the switch on the handle quickly to the left (1 sec) it will re-ajust to the basic hummm again ('soft' hummm)
so dont worry!

- repeat now untill the hummm stays the same - up and down! (it doesnt have to be exactely the same...but 'close enough' will do!)

NOTE: ofcourse if the 'hummm' sound went down (softer) >> AT THE BEGINNING << of this procedure, then reverse everything i just told you!
just go 'left' when i said 'right', go 'up' when i said 'down' and go 'clocwise' if i said 'counter-clockwise'!
you get my drift right...

now flip the switch on the housing back to automatic position and your ADS III is ready to rock!
(But you can also leave it in manual to search in the non-motion mode ofcourse!)

this may look like a sh*tload of text but i wrote it in the easiest 'understandable'way possible so you never have to wonder: 'what da F__ is he talking about now' hahaha

hope all you ADS III users are a bit helped out with this n keep the faith...its not the end of tecting! theres always some1 who can help ya!

DIG ON!

GK

 

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[TerryC]

To ground balance GMT or Gold Bug 2:
1. Go to youtube and type in TERRY CIESZKI. Several of my videos will be listed.
2. Scroll through the second page of videos till you get to the video headed GMTGB2 (Oct 5 2010)
3. Watch video
4. Or look up same in TNet archives.
There are better videos and instructions, to be sure, but I am kinda partial to mine. TTC

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Sup' DutchDiggers!? Nice old Garrett. Looks pristine too.
I now regularly swing an Etrac. To G.B., I hold "coil above soil" approx 12inches, push the noise cancel button and wait 60 seconds. That's it!? I love it.
Machine also shows ground changes.
Good luck
Peace

 

[fistfulladirt]

Oh thank goodness for the newer technology.

 

[mikeraydj]

For Fisher F5, Put detector in all metal mode pump the coil over a piece of ground that has no targets and hold phase lock button. When it beeps twice you are balanced. If ground conditions change, you can just pump coil again and hit phase lock and it will match the current ground reading. Pretty easy.

 

[locater]

For BH Platinum: put in all metal, hold 1' from ground, press button, lower to 2". When ground mineralization number stabilizes and tone sounds, you're done. About 30 sec.

With CTX 3030: turn it on, DONE!
Noise cancel can be pressed as with Etrac, but it's for EMI if any, not ground mineralization. I guess it's one of those things some folks refer to as, "BELLS AND WHISTLES". To me, it's just, a VERY efficient and VERY useful tool in simplifying one of the most critical aspects of a detector. It continues to track and adjust to changing ground conditions automatically. It can be manually done also, if desired.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Whites M6- set your discrimination level, turn the sensitivity/on knob to factory pre set mark pump coil few inches above metal free ground and your all set!
Where I hunt finding a metal free spot is challenging, sometimes you have to clear one, then ground balance.

 

[TerryC]

For those seeking GB info.... there is a pattern emerging here. The BASIC requirement is to PUMP the coil above the ground a certain number of inches high. That tells me that GBing circuits are probably pretty much the same throughout the industry. With that said, it seems GBing is pretty easy stuff to learn and carry over to just about any machine. TTC

 

[Limitool]

On my White's Spectrum XLT e-series after I choice my program the machine tells me to hold the machine waste high and hit enter. When it beeps it says lower to the ground and hit enter. When it beeps again get to swinging because your GB'ed.

 

[locater]

Oh thank goodness for the newer technology.

Uh-Oooh, looks like someone slept in the rumble seat of the Model A. :-)

 

[Moresound]

Anyone rely on auto balancing?

 

[DutchDiggers!®]

guess some folks do but this topic is for helpin ppl out that struggle with manual ground balancing their teccies
so on here its ALL manual GB Moresound

DIG ON!

GK, DutchDiggers!®

 

[DDancer]

Just follow the manufactures instructions. *shrug* If you have not got the manual look it up. When it comes to GB manual settings can have advantages over auto GB *if your machine is so equipped*. A lot of people do seem to have problems especially with older machines so advice is to find a local club and get some training Interesting to see others little tricks for GB here though. Thanks.

 

[TerryC]

Auto GB can, at times, can be very frustrating. In a location having GOBS of hot rocks, you can MISS a nugget by actually balancing it out! TTC