Tracking ground balance ..any thoughts

[2108silver1]

Any plus or minus running in tracking ground balance on equinox or xterra pro. I have always ground balanced manually was reading it may help with mineralized soil on the xterra pro

 

[goldendreams]

Any plus or minus running in tracking ground balance on equinox or xterra pro. I have always ground balanced manually was reading it may help with mineralized soil on the xterra pro

I know if ya hunt in beds of rusty square nails tracking can wreck havoc on the gb (and thats kinda like mieralized ground).. I have noticed in clean ground if you "investigate" a deep iffy signal a little bit trying to clear up the signal , tracking can mess with that signal as well.. sometimes it's hard to find clean ground but I always try to use manual and while swinging (I don't knotch anything, even iron) I just pay attention and listen for clean ground and take a second to check manually again when I come across some clean ground again..

 

[Cherry Picker]

Yeah you've got to pick the right time for manual GB vs auto. I have a few sites where I set it to auto when the ground conditions drastically change a lot. I always GB at a new site, but often end up at 88 to 90 in most tot lots.

 

[GroundSweeper]

I've always used auto and tracking. interesting reading GD's comments on it.

 

[MasonDixonMding]

I’ve used both and can’t see any difference.

 

[CharlieT84]

I know if ya hunt in beds of rusty square nails tracking can wreck havoc on the gb (and thats kinda like mieralized ground).. I have noticed in clean ground if you "investigate" a deep iffy signal a little bit trying to clear up the signal , tracking can mess with that signal as well.. sometimes it's hard to find clean ground but I always try to use manual and while swinging (I don't knotch anything, even iron) I just pay attention and listen for clean ground and take a second to check manually again when I come across some clean ground again..

Absolutely agree with what GD is saying here. I use the Equinox 800; have many hours on it (>1500) and use manual almost always. If you are using auto balance it really doesn't take too many swings over an iffy target to lose the signal. There is a good chance you are missing targets if you do that.
Never used xterra pro but wouldn't be surprised if the same were true.

 

[hoser]

I’ve used both and can’t see any difference.

I'm with ya on the MD. It's kinda unique where I live as the ground is mostly sand. I think I have had to GB only a couple of times, and even then, I didn't see any improvement.

 

[Beachhunt1]

If you are using auto balance it really doesn't take too many swings over an iffy target to lose the signal.

Certain urban myths seem to never end.
I doubt many have as much experience running tracking GB because that is what I use 100% of the time, regardless of what machine I am using. I beach hunt and tracking definitely helps with changing black sand and the transition from the wet sand to water.
I have done lots of fringe depth testing and I can say that tracking does NOT affect depth. Tracking also will not cause you to lose a target. [that is nonsense] You will not be able to find one youtube vid to prove this either. Now SOME experienced gold hunters have reported that on micro targets like .01 gram it might be possible to have tracking issues. [might]
In summary: If you have a changing mineral environment or you doubt your skills to manual GB, it is wise to use tracking GB.

 

[Longhair]

Certain urban myths seem to never end.
I doubt many have as much experience running tracking GB because that is what I use 100% of the time, regardless of what machine I am using. I beach hunt and tracking definitely helps with changing black sand and the transition from the wet sand to water.
I have done lots of fringe depth testing and I can say that tracking does NOT affect depth. Tracking also will not cause you to lose a target. [that is nonsense] You will not be able to find one youtube vid to prove this either. Now SOME experienced gold hunters have reported that on micro targets like .01 gram it might be possible to have tracking issues. [might]
In summary: If you have a changing mineral environment or you doubt your skills to manual GB, it is wise to use tracking GB.

I concur 100%! I've got thousands of hours on my machines, and I run Tracking ON exclusively. It is far more accurate than the average person is, and it continuously resets every couple of seconds.

 

[2108silver1]

I have always manually GB my equinox. Was reading that in mineralized soil running auto helps stabilize the xterra pro.Makes sense from how I have always understood an equinox uses the smf to stabilize.
Just wanted to ask . never was interested in running auto until I read this.

 

[CharlieT84]

Certain urban myths seem to never end.
I doubt many have as much experience running tracking GB because that is what I use 100% of the time, regardless of what machine I am using. I beach hunt and tracking definitely helps with changing black sand and the transition from the wet sand to water.
I have done lots of fringe depth testing and I can say that tracking does NOT affect depth. Tracking also will not cause you to lose a target. [that is nonsense] You will not be able to find one youtube vid to prove this either. Now SOME experienced gold hunters have reported that on micro targets like .01 gram it might be possible to have tracking issues. [might]
In summary: If you have a changing mineral environment or you doubt your skills to manual GB, it is wise to use tracking GB.

I do not hunt in black sand, or on a beach, or even highly mineralized ground and I agree in those situations it can help. That is what it was designed to do. I should have mentioned that in my post and not assumed the original poster was hunting in conditions like where I am at. I agree with you that in a highly mineralized environment tracking GB is a good option.
It is not non-sense that if you swing over a weak/ iffy/ deep target multiple times with auto tracking on it filters out (loses) the target. The signal gets worse after it has been swung over multiple times. At least that is how it works in my digging world using the two Equinoxes I have been using the last 5 summers. I tend to dig many iffy signals and have found that multiple swings cause loss of the target's signal quicker with the auto track on than with it off.

 

[too_pointer]

I don't GB often. But I have a Garrett AT Pro. LOL
too_

 

[goldendreams]

Certain urban myths seem to never end.
I doubt many have as much experience running tracking GB because that is what I use 100% of the time, regardless of what machine I am using. I beach hunt and tracking definitely helps with changing black sand and the transition from the wet sand to water.
I have done lots of fringe depth testing and I can say that tracking does NOT affect depth. Tracking also will not cause you to lose a target. [that is nonsense] You will not be able to find one youtube vid to prove this either. Now SOME experienced gold hunters have reported that on micro targets like .01 gram it might be possible to have tracking issues. [might]
In summary: If you have a changing mineral environment or you doubt your skills to manual GB, it is wise to use tracking GB.
[/QUOTEBeach..

For the first 1000 hours I used tracking exclusively ..but for the last few yrs I use Manual, EXCEPT on salt beach. And very mild /clean soil.
No question at least in some soil conditions a deep IFFY signal will disappear if you investigate it for 20 or so seconds trying to clean the signal up .. I've proved that to myself on many occasions

Also I never was told that tracking can mess with deep signals . I've seen it happen many times !
Just the other day I had that happen

 

[goldendreams]

I do not hunt in black sand, or on a beach, or even highly mineralized ground and I agree in those situations it can help. That is what it was designed to do. I should have mentioned that in my post and not assumed the original poster was hunting in conditions like where I am at. I agree with you that in a highly mineralized environment tracking GB is a good option.
It is not non-sense that if you swing over a weak/ iffy/ deep target multiple times with auto tracking on it filters out (loses) the target. The signal gets worse after it has been swung over multiple times. At least that is how it works in my digging world using the two Equinoxes I have been using the last 5 summers. I tend to dig many iffy signals and have found that multiple swings cause loss of the target's signal quicker with the auto track on than with it off.

10000% TRUE

 

[Beachhunt1]

It is not non-sense that if you swing over a weak/ iffy/ deep target multiple times with auto tracking on it filters out (loses) the target.

Nonsense. Just post video proof!!!

At least that is how it works in my digging world using the two Equinoxes I have been using the last 5 summers. I tend to dig many iffy signals and have found that multiple swings cause loss of the target's signal quicker with the auto track on than with it off.

I own 3 Equinox 800's 11 and 15" coils, Hunt 100% in tracking with horseshoe mode on. NEVER EVER have I auto tracked a target out and I have 1,000's of fringe target recoveries on a sand beach. Targets that are much smaller than a dime too.
If I have been able to hear it on the first hit, there has never been an issue with hearing the same target no matter how many times I swing over it!!!! EVER!!
Also, A Deus 2 with 9 and 13" coils and hunt in 100% tracking and have NEVER tracked a target out, EVER!

 

[CharlieT84]

I won't argue with you sir. Your results are different than mine. Happy hunting.