SkyPilot02 are you able to field a question?

[Jim Hemmingway]

Richard,

Knowing your flair for investigating how things are put together, I was wondering if you can suggest a handy way to be able to "lock" the trigger switch into the forward (GB auto-grab) position (on the F-75) when needed for a more prolonged time period. Before taking it apart myself, I figured it might be a good idea to check with you or anyone else that may have already looked into it.

Appreciate anything you might suggest, with thanks...

Jim.

 

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[Sky Pilot]

Jim, So terribly sorry to take so long to reply!! I haven't checked the board, (I thought I did!) 'till today! If you haven't given up on a reply, I'll tell you how an idea I have either works or doesn't work, and try to let you know tomorrow!! Thank you for the compliments! 'Till then, Regards, Richard.

 

[Sky Pilot]

Jim, P.M.'ed you today. Finally! Regards, Richard.

 

[Sky Pilot]

My pleasure, Jim!! Looking forward to the great finds I'm sure you'll be posting!! Great hunting and good luck!! Regards, Richard.

 

[rjw4law]

I don't understand what you mean by be able to "lock" the trigger switch into the forward (GB auto-grab) position (on the F-75) why would you need more prolonged time?

 

[Sky Pilot]

Rjw4law, I believe the area of Canada in which Jim lives, is composed of vastly varying ground, within a rather small space. Whereas you and I live in the South, where we only have to ground balance occasionally, I am assuming Jim has to do so very frequently, so to "feel" out the area you are in, I suppose a person leaves his or her machine in G.B. mode to see how often they will need to ground balance. Am I correct, Jim? Great hunting and good luck!! Regards, Richard.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Hi rjw4law and Richard,

Not bad at all Richard, let me try filling in some detail.

I use the 75 for prospecting, that means using the all-metal motion mode a good deal of the time. The ground mineral in some areas can be both highly mineralized, and also demonstrate considerable variability.

High ground mineralization: As ground mineralization increases, the "window" of ground balance tolerance decreases; that's to say the GB must be kept very close to true ground balance compared to more lightly mineralized areas for best performance. There is less "forgiveness" from very high mineral ground in terms of staying properly balanced.

As you know, when we ground balance the unit, we balance to a certain height above the ground. In high iron mineral especially, lifting or lowering the coil beyond that GB height can cause the detector threshold to increase or decrease in sound. An example would be the spurious ground noises resulting from searching uneven rocky areas where the coil is constantly being lifted and lowered, or coming into close contact with many rocks containing various levels of iron mineralization. A fast threshold retune speed in conjunction with "autotracking" is a good way to reduce these distractions.

Variable mineralization: In some locals the ground balance can increase or decrease dramatically within a few yards. An example would be coming into contact with negative hot rocks; such rocks, for example magnetite, can demonstrate much higher GB comp points than the general terrain. On the other hand, coming into an area with "rusty" or weathered iron mineralized rocks can cause the GB to drop immediately by as much as 10 to 15 full units. Fast autotracking can ensure the unit stays balanced as much as possible under these conditions, and again... in conjunction with fast threshold retune speed, autotracking can help limit "ground noise".

That's not to say that "locking" the auto GB switch into the forward position provides "autotracking" per se. I don't know what to call it. What I do know is that the unit can be adjusted way off ground balance, and then tested for example, on a piece of magnetite (with a GB of "89"). Manually set the GB to anything you like, say "50". Make one sweep across the magnetite and a return sweep; the ground balance will adjust that quick...the detector is perfectly balanced at 89. Regardless of whether it's called autotracking or not, I call that kind of performance good enough for me.

I hope the above explains why I was looking for a way to be able to keep the trigger switch locked in a forward position for prolonged time periods. Yes, you lose ID ability in that trigger-forward position, but once a target is located, simply pull the trigger into the centre position. This eliminates any chance of "tracking" into the target, while re-establishing visual target ID.

Jim.

 

[Sky Pilot]

Jim, Wow! Now that's an explanation any engineer would be hard pressed to top! I suppose I was somewhat "on track", (LOL!!), but now it is perfectly clear! Many thanks for the expert explanation, Jim!! Great luck and Great hunting!! Regards, Richard.

 

[Sky Pilot]

Jim, I appreciate the kind words, but you already had the solution to the problem before my input. I am very happy the method works, as all great things go, "Necessity is the mother of invention"!! And you said it perfectly concerning the flow and exchange of ideas here on T-Net! Like Dad always says, "You'll (meaning me) never learn anything while speaking, only in listening is there knowledge to be gained", therefore, I listen when someone such as yourself speaks! No, there isn't any snow in my area at the moment, but it is really cold here, (We Southerners think 35 degrees is cold! LOL!), and the ground is frozen. But, as the oldtimers say, "If you don't like the weather around here, just stick around, it'll change next week!", so I foresee a detecting adventure in my not too distant future!!! Many thanks again, Jim! Great hunting and good luck!! And thank you for the very valuable information! Regards, Richard.