Ground balance question

Ground balance can be set a bit negative a bit positive or spot on with a detector with a potentiometer like for instance on a Tesoro Vaquero. With a detector such what I am using (DeepTech Vista Max) that has ground balance setting with no potentiometer by holding down a toggle switch and pumping the coil up & down until the noise stops. Was curious if there is a way to set the ground balance a bit positive or negative and if so how does one do it.

I'm not familiar with the Vaquero, but is "Negative" closer to neutral ground, and "Positive" referring to ground with more minerals?

If so, I think you can make a 'positive' bias by not lowering your coil so close to the ground when you pump it.

I've never tried this, but I would imagine placing a lump of ferrite on the ground when pumping would fool the machine into setting up with a 'negative' bias.

Both of these tricks have the disadvantage of being 'uncalibrated', it's not obvious how much you've shifted the bias. How big should the ferrite be? I would make it small, ferrite rods give a pretty strong signal,even a 15mm / half-inch length of common 9mm / 3/8" rod may be too big.

If it doesn't have a usable Threshold control, I don't think you can do what you would like to?

True, you could "trick" it into a "false" positive but I don't believe you could trick it into a false negative?

I had a look at the controls on this machine and didn't see a Threshold? There 'might be' an audible drop out as you bob the coil up and down much like a 'Minelab Musketeer?'
The GB "parameters" have been preset at the factory to handle 'most soil conditions' that their physicists have deduced might occur in 'all' areas where the machine is sold.

Anyone?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2019 10:43AM by Des D.

The only way I could see would be to take a detector that shows ground balance numbers with you and see if you can find a place with higher or lower overall ground balance numbers and adjust your deeptech there.

If you have another machine that has a numeric GB readout, you could use that to try out any -/+ biasing methods, then having devised the correct approach, use it on the Deeptech.

Thanks for the replies, my Mini Max works fantastic I was just curious about the ground balance on a detector without manual ground balance control.