the reason it settled down was likely because you Re-groundbalanced, because it doesnt sound like you changed the freq.
Being a bit too positive will cause chatter, and the simple task of rebalancing may have made enough of a change to settle it down.
Changing the freq will not improve preformance UNLESS your experiencing interference.
The increments are just too small to make meaningful differences in performance on targets or ground types. Typically..... for those kinds of changes to occur, the changes in frequencys have to be a lot bigger. (Like the difference between 3 Khz for coins....and 50 Khz for gold). higher freqs tend to favor smaller low conductors (but dont penetrate the ground as well), and lower freqs tend to favor bigger higher conductive targets (Read deep silver), and penetrate the matrix better. Tiny changes like the ones on machines to help out with interference typically have no effect of performance, UNLESS they help remove unwanted interference, and then they can make a measurable difference............. Streak!
Streak! Skypilot here! Welcome to T-Net!! What you said is basically correct, however I've found a few places where the little difference that the frequency shift made was the difference between success and failure. Sweetwater TN. is a good example! There is a farm there where Confederates camped in '63, and the '70-'75 model will not operate correctly on the preset frequency! Now, this is definitely an anomaly, yet it is that way. This farm is several hundred acres, and the area we search most is a long way from any source of EMI! Just thought I'd pass that along! Great hunting and good luck!! Regards, Richard
Just out of curiosity Richard, what are your GB settings and Fe304 meter reading at the site you mention??
(For instance...if you change the freq, and dont re-GB, then your Gb may be a bit negative, and this alone can sometimes improve target responses in funky soils.
There also "may' be a "hidden" source of Rf interference you cant hear, and changing the Freq is helping combat it, resulting in better performance. (this is probably the most likely secenario)
Both Tom Dankowski and Dave Johnson both have said that the small changes in Freq wont have any real impact on depth and performance, everything else equal, and after a lot of tests in different spots I tend to agree with them.
I'd be real curious to know what the actual mechansim is that improves perfromance in YOUR area. I'm sure your correct and that it is a verifiable improvement in performance. (heck...YOUR the one that detects there!) I'd just be curious to know exactly WHY it improves things. thanks for the reply. Always good to hear how the 75 works in other parts of the country. Streak!