Michigan Badger
Gold Member
There has and always will be much discussion about the subject of ground balancing. Are the factory fixed GB machines better, worse, or the same as the manually ajusted GB machines?
As with almost everything in this hobby there is much difference of opinion in this area. Personally I think much of the problem is due to poor communications.?
Here is a short quote from one of the more respected detector dealers online. What he says here is pretty much echoed by all the other dealers I chatted with. Some won't put this in print but many do believe this from their years of selling and testing many brands.
Here are two quotes from the same dealer:
"Thank you for your interest, and I hope I can provide you the answers you need.
Ground balance is important if you hunt beaches or mine tailings.? All of these areas may have an abundance of iron (a.k.a. "black sand" or "hot rocks"), which creates ghost signals due to the extreme ionization.? Saltwater beaches are even more troublesome, because wet, salty sand has a similar effect.? Pulse induction metal detectors do not require ground balancing, and they'll work great anywhere.
If you are going to be hunting old neighborhoods, campsites, battlegrounds, etc; then you won't need ground balancing."?
"Detectors can have either manual or automatic (factory pre-set) ground balance.? Bottom line up front is that automatic (pre-set) is easier.? Manually setting your detector can increase your depth, but if you get it wrong, your results could be much worse than if you had used automatic (factory pre-set).? With that said, if you are an experienced detectorist and like to have more control, then manual is perfect.? Otherwise, it's probably better to trust the design engineers and go with auto."
As with almost everything in this hobby there is much difference of opinion in this area. Personally I think much of the problem is due to poor communications.?
Here is a short quote from one of the more respected detector dealers online. What he says here is pretty much echoed by all the other dealers I chatted with. Some won't put this in print but many do believe this from their years of selling and testing many brands.
Here are two quotes from the same dealer:
"Thank you for your interest, and I hope I can provide you the answers you need.
Ground balance is important if you hunt beaches or mine tailings.? All of these areas may have an abundance of iron (a.k.a. "black sand" or "hot rocks"), which creates ghost signals due to the extreme ionization.? Saltwater beaches are even more troublesome, because wet, salty sand has a similar effect.? Pulse induction metal detectors do not require ground balancing, and they'll work great anywhere.
If you are going to be hunting old neighborhoods, campsites, battlegrounds, etc; then you won't need ground balancing."?
"Detectors can have either manual or automatic (factory pre-set) ground balance.? Bottom line up front is that automatic (pre-set) is easier.? Manually setting your detector can increase your depth, but if you get it wrong, your results could be much worse than if you had used automatic (factory pre-set).? With that said, if you are an experienced detectorist and like to have more control, then manual is perfect.? Otherwise, it's probably better to trust the design engineers and go with auto."
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LUV those fill areas.
