Auto Ground Balance
17
Detector performance can be negatively
affected by ground mineralization.
Apex
can be
ground balanced automatically to cancel unwanted
ground signals and obtain maximum stability and
target detection.
Note:
Always locate an area of soil free of metal
before attempting to ground balance the detector.
Apex
includes High Resolution Ground Balance, with
175 points of resolution, ranging from conductive
soil, such as saltwater beaches, to ferrous mineralized
ground. During Ground Balance function, the words
GND BAL appear on the display and the ground bal-
ance value is indicated on the LCD.
Ground Balance Procedure
Press and hold the GND BAL button while contin-
ually “bouncing” or “pumping” the searchcoil from 1
to 8 inches (2 to 20 cm) above the ground until there
is a minimal audio response from the ground. Then
release the button and begin hunting. The ground
balance value will have been indicated on the LCD. A
low ground balance value indicates conductive soil,
such as saltwater beaches; high ground balance val-
ues indicate ferrous soil.
As the detector is being ground balanced, the
ground balance value can be observed where the
Digital Target ID number would normally display.
Ground balance values from 0 to 75 are indicated
with whole numerals. Ground balance values from
75 to 99 represent hot ground, and at this point the
Apex
utilizes High Resolution Ground Balance.
Beginning at 75, the ground balance value begins
increasing in quarter-point steps. This is represented
by a whole numeral and increasing quarter-steps of
the upper bar graph.
(See illustration showing GND
BAL value of 92.75.)
Note:
If the Ground Balance setting does not
change during the auto ground balancing process,
one of three issues likely exists: the detector is either
sufficiently ground balanced already; the current
ground exhibits such neutral mineralization that
the settings will not change; or there is a metal object
beneath the coil preventing the detector from ground
balancing.
Typical Ground Balance Ranges:
80–99: Highly ferrous (magnetite, ferrous oxide min-
erals,black sands, hot rocks, terra cotta)
60–80: Moderately mineralized soils (red clay, brown
clay, iron-bearing clay minerals, etc.)
20–60: Likely an iron object
0–20: Highly conductive, non-ferrous minerals such
as saltwater
