What are the symptoms when a detector is running "Unstable"

[Cleetus]

Just trying to push my detector to max sensitivity. I was running at 18 (out of 20). It was chattering and all over the place, but this was when I was swinging. The ground was full of a LOT of targets (mostly bad) and I had the discrimination off to all Zones but Iron......so maybe this is to be expected. I dropped the QXT to sensitivity 16, and not sure if it really changed anything. But as the detector was laying flat on the ground while I dug, I noticed, after a minute or so it would mildly chirp or hum. What I'm wondering is: was this from running it too high, or maybe a just ground balance thing........All in all, I'm quite happy with this unit. I got it last Wed. and have taken it out for a few hours every night. At first I was digging 20 trash , one penny, . Then it was quarter, dime, penny, 17 trash.....lol....... Yesterday I dug about 20 coin targets, but NO trash. Today I dug two trash targets and a pile of nickels. But the trash was an old beer bottle cap, and a flat piece of beer can metal, about the size of a 50 cent piece, laying flat 2" down. So I guess that could have fooled a lot of guys......One last thing, I did dig a really strong signal only to find a measely Lincoln penny 8" down ( I measured). So I know when I have this QXT tweaked right, I can get there if I need to.

[ivan salis]

when one runs one's sen level too high -in a vain attempt to get "more depth" chatter amd poor proformance is to be expected * -- the term "ground balance" means just that --the maximum amount of electronic signal that the ground will usefully absorb -- trying to "push" too much signal into ground that can not accept it just causes feed back that hurts rather than helps * -- think of your signal as if it was water --the "ground" can only hold so much of it * there is a saturation point --all it can take in-- when your detector is putting out as much signal as the ground can take in --you are at peak detecting proformance or "ground balanced" --minerals in the soil and rocks and iron deposits can cause lots of ground balancing issues -- a properly set machine will give you better proformance than a "overly" hot chattery machine will. -- some times a bit less is better than trying to push the max level

[Sandman]

Ivan is right on the GB issue. Less is more. But there is more to detectors being unstable than just using to much sens. Your detector can be chattering while it is being held still with the coil off the ground 3 foot. There can be many reasons and they can vary by location or even time of day. Turn off cell phone just to be sure.

http://detectorstuff.com/2009/08/05/...-dave-johnson/

[a4wdguy]

Instability can be a bit subjective, really. If you set up your detector and ground balance it, hold it with the coil in the air about waist level. Listen to the audio and observe the visual display. If you get an occasional chirp in your headphones, or mark on your display, this is spurious noise and of no concern. However, if the "target return where there is no target" happens to the point the sound or signal is blanking out real targets, you have a problem and your detector is unstable.
Even though this is the United States, where if some's good, more's better, running your detector at max sensitivity is not always beneficial.
My favorite analogy is the headlights of your car. On a clear night (ground with little mineralization) you can drive with your high beams on and see for "miles" (max sens). However, in the fog (increased mineralization) you can see better using the low beams. Using high beams in this situation can actually blind you to hazards.

If you are hitting pennies at 8 inches, you aren't doing too bad at all. Set up a test garden and get to know your machine and you'll do just fine.

[Neil in West Jersey]

The symptoms are frustration, agitation with frequent outbursts of foul language.

[ivan salis]

thats the munsters address * 1313 mocking bird lane .

[Neil in West Jersey]

thats the munsters address * 1313 mocking bird lane .

http://tinyurl.com/876gxbx

Yes, they lived here before me!

[Cleetus]

I'd like to get permission to hunt your yard, if you wouldn't mind?