Ground Balancing Question G.B. or not G.B.?

[Goldstrike]

I would like to bring up what I think is a legit question and that has not been addressed for a long time.
What do you personally do when you are in a park or any location that is so chock-a-block full of trash and it's so hard to find a spot that comes up clean enough to ground balance your detector?? I have a park that is really well used and is littered with junk, bottle caps, screw tops, pull rings, can slaw etc; The bottle screw caps that have been hit by the lawn mowers can give you some good gold like signals!!!
It's the same park that I got my last almost 10 gram gold ring about 2 weeks ago and I have a gut feeling there are more gold and silver targets still there so I'll keep looking for them!!
I believe you have to be in A.M. (All Metal) to make absolutely sure you do not have any targets under the coil before you G.B. I usually look for a clean spot but if I cannot find one that's junk free, I'll go ahead and hope my detector is working at optimum and giving me true signals/tones.
What do you usually do? G.B. or not G.B.?

 

[Mega]

One trick you could try and works very well with is carry a piece of pure ferrite like you find in old transistor radio's the aerial wire was wrapped around a ferrite strip,that always works as most detectors can be set to work 100% with a piece of ferrite passing the coil while ground balancing.Usually you can find a old scrap radio laying around in your garage or yard sales as you call them as most folks will give the things away nearly for free.

You only want the pure ferrite strip and not the copper wire,then you pass the ferrite strip pass your coil and ground balance it to the ferrite.

This may help you so give it a try.

 

[REVIER]

Here is a typical hunt, trash-wise in a very well used area in an old park I used to hunt when I lived in Alabama.
When using my Vaq I actually looked for a clear spot, but when I could not find any I would dig up everything I could in a one foot square area to GB.
Most times I would find about 10-15 targets of all kinds that I had to get out of the way, bottle caps, screw on caps, can slaw, foil and different tab types, and I would have to dig down at least 6" to get it all out most of the time.
I always hoped the spot I picked would not have any deep iron to deal with and I was lucky the few times I had to do this.

Worth it if you don't want those "what ifs" to bother you and you want to hunt at optimum levels.

 

[Steve O]

If you can get it 100 yards away, good. If not, Revier's method. If you want to risk digging one big plug, then ground balancing in the hole. Or just set it to the norm in your area. You can tell if your gb is off by the way the detector is acting....then continue adjusting along the way till it seems normal.

 

[Goldstrike]

Mega B.....I've never heard of that trick! I might just try that and see how the detector performs afterwards! thanks.....who knows, using the ferrite, I may just pick up a local radio station in my headphones and be able to detect and listen to music at the same time just kidding of course.....I'd like to know where you got that interesting idea from.
REVIER.......thanks for that idea and although it seems like it would take time, it would clear the ground to g.b. without leaving the area to find a cleaner area....thanks!
Steve O........yes, usually you can tell when you pass over known targets i.e. nickel, dime, quarter and the readings and tones that register that the detector is close to being g.b. I sometimes carry a gold ring that I know the readings on and test it in the field....thanks for your input.

 

[MarkCZ]

Well, in our city park there is a lot of trash as well, but in the most heavy hunted areas you can find a clean spot. Now what I do with detectors that have a number system for the ground balance I find the value ONCE and then I just use that as a reference, like with my Omega, 54 to 56 is the best for the 11" DD coil. From that number I can just watch the ground track value to see if it needs a slight adjustment to ground balance, now when I go to the park with the same detector but a different coil I will most likely find the need to find a clean spot of ground and re-balance, OR! I can use the same GB value and watch the ground track value and adjust accordingly.
You could find a place a little out of the way in the park and just hunt it in all metal (clean it out) and use that for your reference.
For me I found that ALL my detectors ground balance to the same value in my yard as they do in our park, so that's another idea, just find an area somewhere close enough that the soil would be CLOSE to the same mineral content and use that for a reference.

I do like the displayed number value for ground balancing because I can actually SEE IT! which means I can dial it back up at any point I want, I have one detector that has no such reference?? yes, you ground balance it, but its an automatic system that uses a hidden value system, so you can be off and not know it until you notice a poor performance problem, even a knob and scale value system is sometimes better.

I will say this too, that ground balance is Necessary for All-Metal hunting because the detector will respond to the ground minerals in a positive response, but in the discrimination mode most units even running at the lowest setting will still be way above the ground mineral level and that's why many units can get by with having a "pre-set" GB, its enough GB'ing to allow for the all-metal pinpointing. That being said I will say this! there is a number of units/models out there that the ground balance control is adjustable but it really only adjust the all-metal function of the units!. No! I have no idea of the list of them but I'm pretty certain its WAY more than we think! and I'm not saying these are bad detectors either, its just the way the designers set them up. What bothers me about it is we might think the high dollar unit in our hand is using the GB function in the discrimination mode?? but in fact, in may or may not be???
One test would be to maybe use an aged test garden an see if depth is lost when the GB is reduced while in discrimination mode?

Mark

 

[BarberBill]

I've had to look a bit for a clear space, but have always found one eventually.
BB

 

[Jeff (or)]

Wha is the model of detector you are having a GB problem with?

 

[Goldstrike]

Thanks everyone for your input's. Jeff (or) actually, I'm not having a problem with the detector. The question was what does everyone do to get around not being able to find a place in a park or any location that is free of trash targets to enable to g.b. effectively?
I'm swinging with a M.L. Safari and it ground balances fine, no problems. I think though, the question has been answered sufficiently well and it seems like it's a matter of just taking the time to clear an area or to break off from detecting and go and look for a clear piece of ground to do an accurate ground balance.
I always remember Andy Sabich's advice to ground balance often because the terrain/mineral and ground make up can change almost anywhere you hunt. He has been extremely successful in this hobby so I respect his advice on this issue.
Thank you everyone and I hope to bring in the gold/silver rings and jewellery this coming week!! Happy Hunting everyone!

 

[5900_XL-1]

I feel your pain in asking this question. Gurus from all the manufacturers sites amplify getting a good initial GB, yet it gets really dicey when they have to address the really trashy spots for that balance spot. Some say clear out a spot of all trash, yet that means that the compaction of the dirt has drastically changed if you are "diggin it all" for a clean spot.

I don't know the answer. martin

 

[Digdoggy]

I go the easy lazy way and set to gb tracking. Its a great feature on my 705. Doesn't matter if there's metal under my coil or not because gb tracking is updating every couple seconds or so.
I've gb'd manually and auto GB before switching on gb tracking and I've tested at trashy sites to see if or what the difference is and I've found its like the experts allways told me-- the performance of the VDI improves with proper gb setting. Audio and visual/screen is more stable and accurate.
HH GL
And by the way,,,, I am not a digger! I'm a Surgical Recovery Expert out to preserve history for the good of mankind.

 

[Mega]

If the park is littered with so much junk it maybe worth while also putting a smaller coil on the Safari as that could help out alot.

 

[Goldstrike]

Digdoggy, Do you have the letter's S.R.E. after your name?(Surgical Recovery Expert) that's one I haven't heard before!!! awesome! Thanks for sharing those points and yes Mega B, I sometimes go with a 6inch coil to negotiate the trash....great advice!
I do appreciate feedback on anything to do with detecting from other knowledgable detectorists as I am always on a learning curve and the moment anyone say's that they don't need anyone's input/advice is the moment we stop learning!
It's 6:15am here in Cal; and I aim to revisit 'the' park today and let you all know how I do!

 

[Mike Hillis]

My opinion is If it is so trashed with non-ferrous modern trash (read aluminum) you can't find a place to ground cancel, I'd just leave it in preset at turn on and not worry about it. For one thing, if it is that trashed out you are not going to get any depth anyway, you are just cherry picking between trash. If you own one that doesn't have a preset at turn on, just set it at the starting place you normally turn to when you start your balance procedure, ie, turn your dial to the middle starting point.

Using a piece of ferrite to ground balance with is just like using a preset balance. Won't be tuned to the ground that way either. But at least you are tuned to a known point.

But, if you are hunting in high ferrous trash the ground balance is a lot more critical and in that case I'd find a way to balance to the ground. That would include making a spot.

HH
Mike