Cibola, Vaquero ground balance changes with frequency switch

[steve1357]

Observed something new today I havent seen.

Grabbed my Cibola and was testing a new coil in the garden. Just wasnt doing great, so I checked the ground balance. The thing was pushing a tone. Noticed the frequency switch was in f2, switched it to f1 and was pulling a tone and got expected depth. F1 pulled a tone, f2, f3 was pushing tones.

Got the Vaquero out and duplicated the same thing. Set balance on f1, was pushing a tone in f2, f3.

Moral of the story is, check your ground balance if you're having to swap frequencies.

Didnt think the frequency switch shifted it enough to make a difference, but if you have a Cibola, keep it in mind.

If your detector is set even a little positive, it will kill depth. A little negative is a good thing.

 

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[steve1357]

Did some more testing and adjustment with the Cibola.

Use f3 to set ground balance on your largest coil you plan to use. Ground balance will go negative as you switch to smaller coils, the most negative on the smallest.

Also f2 with same coil will be slightly more negative than f3, and f1 (center position) will be the most negative.

All three frequencies and coils from 12x10 to 5 3/4 seem stable now when I pump the coil in disc mode.

Ymmv, beware the usual hazards, etc.

 

[Terry Soloman]

You need to have any new coil tuned to the box on Tesoro preset models. I just bought a 11 x 8 epsilon for the Mojave I bought. Both will go to Prescott so they can be properly sync'd.

 

[steve1357]

You need to have any new coil tuned to the box on Tesoro preset models. I just bought a 11 x 8 epsilon for the Mojave I bought. Both will go to Prescott so they can be properly sync'd.

Agreed

the 11x8 is probably positive with the Mojave tuned for the 7"

 

[luvsdux]

I've noticed on my Conquistador (preset ground) that the response to the ground in all metal will vary due to the frequency switch setting. Not by a great lot, but enough to be noticeable if you're looking for it and may offer a slightly better setting for some locations.
luvsdux

 

[Stoof2010]

I saw a video about this on YouTube before.
I have always set my GB is freq 2 (left) then freq 1 is a bit negative(center) and 3 is a bit positive.
You can also set 3 neutral and then 2 is a little negative and 1 is even more negative.
Cool find!! If I didn't see the video I probably wouldn't have noticed haha

 

[Tony (Michigan)]

Steve1357, How do you set ground balance on the Cibola since it doesn't have a manual GB?

 

[steve1357]

Steve1357, How do you set ground balance on the Cibola since it doesn't have a manual GB?

Nobody should be retuning their internal ground balance adjustment on their Cibola.

 

[pinenut]

Nobody should be retuning their internal ground balance adjustment on their Cibola.

Why is that? I would.

Aside from the trim pot being a bit fragile, there's no reason you can't adjust the GB to suit your most frequently hunted areas.
Some folks go so far as to remove the internal trim pot and replace it with an external adjustment.. That'll void your warranty of course, but it does work and costs very little to do.

 

[steve1357]

Why is that? I would.

Aside from the trim pot being a bit fragile, there's no reason you can't adjust the GB to suit your most frequently hunted areas.
Some folks go so far as to remove the internal trim pot and replace it with an external adjustment.. That'll void your warranty of course, but it does work and costs very little to do.

I wanted to tow the company line and not lead anyone astray.

My 10 turn potentiometer hasn't come in yet...

 

[Stoof2010]

The internal pot is fragile. But also surprisingly stubborn to clip off the board haha.
The mod isn't bad. But being my first I was on the edge of my seat. When all was said and done it wasn't bad in retrospect.