Trying to understad GB

[heavymetal]

I followed the video instructions from the youtube video on how to noise cancel and to ground balance and I have been able to do that so far.

But what does the value of the GB really tell you about the ground your working on?

lower # means?
Higher # means?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Digger]

I think of Ground Balance as the most basic form of discrimination in that the GB setting "discriminates" out the ground effects. Your job in setting your GB is to neutralize the effects of that mineralization. It is a bit confusing in that the words used to describe mineralization and GB settings seem opposite of what you would expect. A setting of 1 is the most positive GB setting you can have with the X-Terra 70. And, the more mineralized the ground, the more positive setting you will need. A setting of 90 is the least positive GB setting of the X-70. And, the lower the mineralization, the less positive setting you will need. So, as mineralization increases, a more positive GB setting (lower X-Terra GB number) will be required to neutralize it. And, as the mineralization decreases, a less positive GB setting (a higher X-Terra GB number) will be required to neutralize the lower mineralized soil. See. I told you it was confusing!!!

Look at it this way..... if you are hunting a site that requires the X-70 to be GB at 45, and you move to another site that requires a GB setting of 30, the mineralization levels of the second site are higher than the first site. Then, if you move to a third site that will GB at 55, it is lower mineralization than either of the first two sites.

GB settings represent the amount "compensation" that the X-Terra requires to neutralize the effects of mineralization in the soil you are hunting. As I said, the lower the number, the more positive the setting will be, as required for higher levels of mineralization. And the higher the number, the less positive the setting will be for areas with lower levels of mineralization. Your objective is to set the X-Terra so that the ground mineralization has no more effect on producing an audio reponse to a target than if you were holding the coil steady in the air. I set my GB with a very low sensitivity setting. Once you properly set the GB, I raise the sensitivity setting so that it is just below a point of becoming erratic. That way I know I have neutralized the sounds made by the mineralization, maximized the depth and sensitivity to small targets, and can concentrate on either digging everything metallic, or setting the discrimination Patterns to reject various ferrous and/or conductive targets. HH Randy

 

[nugget71]

n/t

 

[nugget71]

n/t

 

[Monte]

Most detecting is done in the motion Discriminate mode. Ground minerals, even though balanced, can present some challenges because some makes and models can handle highly mineralized ground a little better than others. Detector/coil sweep speed can be a critical consideration in a more challenging ground environment.

Slow sweep models, such as the X-Terra series, can often have the performance impaired in more highly mineralized ground is the sweep speed is too fast. Some makes and models, such as the White's XLT or XL Pro can get by with a faster sweep in 'bad ground' and even perform better if swept a bit quicker than an X-Terra.

As a serious detectorist learns ANY make or model, they can gain an understanding of an optimum or functional sweep speed, and also learn when ground conditions limit a variance from that speed or perhaps permit a brisk coil movement.

Monte