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What
is Ground Balancing?
The amount of minerals in
the soil varies from
location to location.
Sometimes the composition of
minerals change within a
small amount of area. Other
locations, the mineral
composition in the soil will
be fairly consistent over a
large area. The type of
minerals contained in the
soil will also vary
according to location. For
instance, one of the more
common minerals present in
soil is iron, and some areas
of the country have high
concentrations present.
Without some method of
"ground balancing", the
metal detector would be
detecting all the minerals
present in the soil,
therefore not seeing through
them, an thus, small or
deeper targets would not
override the signals
produced by the minerals. In
extremely mineralized soil,
the metal detector would
hardly be able to detect a
target laying on the surface
of the soil.
Ground balancing the
detector is simply, the term
used to describe the
function of adjusting the
metal detector to ignore the
minerals in the soil so that
they are not detected by the
metal detector.
Various manufactures
utilize different ground
balancing options offered on
their models such as:
- Preset Ground
Balancing
- Auto Ground
Balancing
- Manual Ground
Balancing
- Combination of any
preset and manual ground
balancing
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Preset Ground
Balancing
If the
metal detector
has the preset
ground balancing
feature, it has
the ground
balance
adjusted in one
set position by
the
manufacturer,
and cannot be
adjusted by the
user. The
manufacturer has
adjusted the
ground balance
of the
particular model
to an adjustment
that they feel
will allow the
detector to
function
properly over a
wide sampling of
soils with
varying degrees
of
mineralization,
from highly
mineralized to
none. The
results of
using the
factory preset
will enable the
detector to
function
throughout the
world with its
area of varying
mineralization.
However, since
the detector has
the ground
balance
adjustment
preset, areas of
mineralization
which are higher
that the
adjustment from
the factory,
will cause the
detector to have
a "positive"
ground balance,
and likewise, an
area of little
or no
mineralization
will cause the
detector to have
a "negative"
ground balance.
To try to better
simplify all
this, let's
assume that the
factor made the
metal detector
with the
"preset" ground
balance feature.
The detector's
ground balance
adjustment has
been set by the
factory to
ignore "X"
amount of
minerals. Now
suppose you are
in a location of
the world which
has a high
concentration of
iron in the
soil, and the
amount of
concentration
was "X plus" .
Since the
detector was set
to only ignore
"X" amount of
minerals and
your area had
more than that
present, the
metal detector
is going to
detect the extra
amount of
minerals
present.
Likewise, if
your location
has a
concentration of
"less than X"
minerals, the
mineral
concentration
would be less
than the metal
detector has
been preset for,
and would be
trying to ignore
more signal than
it needs to.
The factory
preset method of
ground balancing
will enable the
particular metal
detector to
function pretty
good in any
location, but
performance will
vary greatly
from location to
location. In
some locations,
the degree of
loss of
performance will
be minimal, in
others it will
be quite
profound. |
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Auto Ground
Balancing
If a metal
detector has an
auto ground
balancing
feature, it
tries to
compensate for
the varying
amount of
minerals in the
soil, by sensing
the
mineralization
and
automatically
adjusting the
ground balance
to achieve the
best
performance. The
good side of
this feature is,
it gives a
little more
accurate control
of the ground
balance of the
metal detector
versus
mineralization,
as compared to
the preset
ground balance
feature
mentioned above.
Also, normally,
the metal
detectors with
this feature are
a little more
expensive than
the ones with
the preset
feature. I have
read that if the
detector by
chance happened
to be over a
target at the
exact time that
the "auto"
feature was
ground balancing
the detector,
that the target
would not be
detected. I do
not know this to
be a fact, only
what I have
read, but it
kind of makes
sense to me. |
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Manual Ground
Balancing
A metal
detector which
has the manual
ground balancing
feature is just
what it says,
the ground
balance
adjustment has
to be done
manually by the
user. The
adjustment will
be made by means
of a "knob" or
"touch pad"
control,
depending on the
particular metal
detector and
model. We will
touch base next
on how to
manually ground
balance the
detector.
Imagine you are
listening to
music on a
radio. To
increase the
volume, you
would adjust it
by raising the
volume control.
To decrease the
volume you would
lower the volume
control. What
has this got to
do with ground
balancing a
metal detector?
Well! The way I
figure it, if
you cannot
operate a radio,
you should not
purchase a metal
detector with a
manual ground
balance! Not
really, manual
ground balancing
a metal detector
is quite easy.
Almost all
metal detectors
have to be in
the "all metal"
mode before
making a manual
ground balance
adjustment to
the metal
detector. Also,
most metal
detectors have
what is called a
"threshold
sound" when in
the "all metal
mode."
The threshold
sound is simply
a background
sound or noise
that the metal
detector
produces when in
the "all metal
mode." The
volume of the
"threshold
sound" should be
set to the level
that enables the
user to faintly
hear the
consistent
sound.
Now to
actually go
through the
process of
manually
adjusted the
ground balance
of the detector,
the first, and
probably the
most important
factor is to
find a spot of
the ground you
are going to be
detecting, which
is not close to
any large metal
object, and free
from any metal
targets. Once
the metal
detector has
been placed in
the "all metal"
mode of
operation, and
the "threshold
sound" level has
been adjusted to
be able to
steadily, but
faintly, hear
the threshold
sound, raise the
metal detector
coil above the
ground about one
and a half or
two feet. From
this point on,
until the metal
detector has
successfully
been ground
balanced, it
will be most
important to
focus on the
audio level of
the threshold
sound. While
focusing on the
audio level,
lower the coil
of the detector
to the ground.
Now, remember
the radio volume
we talked about
earlier? If the
audio level of
the threshold
sound became
less or went
completely
quite, raise the
adjustment on
the ground
balance control,
exactly the same
way you would
increase the
volume on a
radio. Now,
likewise, if the
level of the
threshold sound
gets louder or
increases,
decrease the
adjustment of
the ground
balance control,
just the same
way you would
decrease the
volume level of
a radio. |
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Continue to
raise and lower
the coil, as
described in the
fore-mentioned
paragraph. This
can be in a
continual
"pumping motion"
of raising and
lowering the
coil and
adjusting the
ground balance
control until
the audio level
of the threshold
sound is steady
or unchanging.
Remember, if the
threshold volume
level gets
louder when the
coil is being
lowered to the
ground, turn the
ground
adjustment down.
If the threshold
volume decreases
as the coil is
lowered to the
ground, increase
the ground
balance control.
Once you have
the metal
detector
adjusted so the
threshold sound
level is the
same while
pumping the
detector up and
down to the
ground, the
metal detector
is properly
ground balanced. |
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Some metal
detector users
prefer to have
the ground
balance
adjustment set
slightly on the
positive side
(so the
threshold level
faintly
increases as the
coil is lowered
to the ground.)
Adjusting the
ground balance
in this slightly
positive level
will enable a
little more
depth in areas
which have
little to no
trash targets
present.
One thing to
remember is that
the advantage of
a metal detector
with the manual
ground balance
control is that
it enables the
metal detector
to be more
versatile in a
wide variety of
ground
mineralization
conditions. A
proper
adjustment of
the manual
ground balance
will enable a
little more
depth over most
equal detectors
without the
manual
adjustment.
However, an
improper
adjustment of
the manual
ground balance
could and in all
probability
decrease the
depth
performance of
the metal
detector
greatly. |
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The contents of this site
are copyright© 2000,Snake Grills/S&P
Treasure Finders |
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