CTX 3030 Ground Balance Question

[gabbyhayes]

I am confused about the ground balance option.
Am I understanding the manual correctly .....leaving the GB enable option UNCHECKED is what is considered auto ground balance and should be used for most areas?
Should this also be the setting on fresh water beaches?
Thanx.

 

[gabbyhayes]

I guess not many CTX 3030 users that understand their detector here

 

[Fletch88]

Yes that is correct and should be left unchecked for all but highly mineralized dirt. From what I understand even leave it unchecked in saltwater beach detecting. I have hunted one time in highly mineralized soil in TN where it seemed to run better with GB checked and setting GB every few minutes.

 

[gabbyhayes]

Yes that is correct and should be left unchecked for all but highly mineralized dirt. From what I understand even leave it unchecked in saltwater beach detecting. I have hunted one time in highly mineralized soil in TN where it seemed to run better with GB checked and setting GB every few minutes.

Thanx.
That was all I was looking for...someone to confirm my suspicions.
I find the manual a little ambiguous at times or short on explanations.
The manual often explains the obvious, but is a little short on detail.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Yes that is correct and should be left unchecked for all but highly mineralized dirt. From what I understand even leave it unchecked in saltwater beach detecting. I have hunted one time in highly mineralized soil in TN where it seemed to run better with GB checked and setting GB every few minutes.

Yes this is correct. Feel free to give me or your dealer a ring with questions!

 

[penzfan]

Just a reminder and brief explanation of Ground Balance on the CTX from this months Minelab FBS Newsletter:

USE OF THE GROUND BALANCE OPTION ON THE CTX 3030

The last few Bootcamps I have been asking who uses the Ground Balance function and was surprised to get some hands to go up. The thing you need to remember is that this option was added for one thing and that was for hunting in SEVERELY mineralized ground where the Noise Cancel function would not help. Pressing the lower touchpad brings up the GB menu and pressing the center touchpad activates it. The downside is that you balance to the ground under the coil and if conditions change 10 feet away, performance suffers unless you redo it – it is not a tracking ground balance as found on some detectors but fixes the value to where it was when you did the GB adjustment. If you are not hunting in the Southwest or Australia, leave this function OFF and you will not have any issues. In the last two sessions, there were 5 people that had it active and when removed, they were shocked at how much more stable their detector was. Check it before you head out and make sure it is unchecked.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Just a reminder and brief explanation of Ground Balance on the CTX from this months Minelab FBS Newsletter:

USE OF THE GROUND BALANCE OPTION ON THE CTX 3030

The last few Bootcamps I have been asking who uses the Ground Balance function and was surprised to get some hands to go up. The thing you need to remember is that this option was added for one thing and that was for hunting in SEVERELY mineralized ground where the Noise Cancel function would not help. Pressing the lower touchpad brings up the GB menu and pressing the center touchpad activates it. The downside is that you balance to the ground under the coil and if conditions change 10 feet away, performance suffers unless you redo it – it is not a tracking ground balance as found on some detectors but fixes the value to where it was when you did the GB adjustment. If you are not hunting in the Southwest or Australia, leave this function OFF and you will not have any issues. In the last two sessions, there were 5 people that had it active and when removed, they were shocked at how much more stable their detector was. Check it before you head out and make sure it is unchecked.

An older thread, but very important. I wish your post was a giant-font note in every CTX box, and at the top of every CTX forum. So many people are confused by it.

 

[beerguy]

I think that the issue comes up because many other detectors are designed so that GB is crucial, where the CTX it is not.

I consider Noise Cancel to be akin to GB on other induction balance machines.

 

[penzfan]

Maybe it could be posted as a "Sticky" to help folks out...

An older thread, but very important. I wish your post was a giant-font note in every CTX box, and at the top of every CTX forum. So many people are confused by it.

 

[adamBomb]

I guess not many CTX 3030 users that understand their detector here

Get Andy's book on the CTX. It explains so much and will save you tons of time asking questions. I swear I read it once a month just as a refresher.

 

[pulltabfelix]

I bought a new CTX3030 about 5 months ago and had enabled ground balance and was ground balancing just before I started hunting a site. Now I learn that most people leave the enable ground balance unchecked with better results. Minelab manual even today does not make that crystal clear. So I was hunting with my CTX with the wrong setting. My soil in north Atlanta is fairly mild between 15-19.