There are varying opinions to this question but I’ve done a lot of research and testing about this very topic. From my experience ground balancing the Equinox is a good idea but not always necessary. There are many times where it isn’t necessary.
Ground balancing the Minelab Equinox should be done when the ground becomes highly mineralized or when the metal detector itself has become highly unstable and difficult to operate. There are 3 ways to ground balance the Minelab Equinox 600 or 800 and they are:
- Automatic
- Manual
- Tracking
When Should You Ground Balance The Equinox?
If you are metal detecting in average soil conditions, then you will probably never need to ground balance the Equinox. However, when you encounter highly mineralized soil you may notice that the Equinox may become increasingly unstable and act a bit erratic at times. This is a good indication that you may need to try and ground balance the Equinox.
Keep in mind all soil conditions vary. While most soil conditions do not require significant ground balance changes to the Equinox, there are times when it might make hearing a coin buried just under the surface impossible. Ground balancing can make a huge difference in the machine’s performance.
Many Equinox owners ground balance their machines despite the good or bad ground conditions. If you are a new owner of an Equinox, it might be a good habit to get into as it will keep your Equinox running at its peak performance all the time.
TIP: Make sure you always “Noise Cancel” after any major change you make to the Nox settings. This includes changing the ground balance.
How Do You Ground Balance The Minelab Equinox?
There are 3 ways to ground balance the Equinox. These 3 methods work for both the Equinox 600 and 800. We’ll go over each in detail below. But first you must select the ground balance option from the settings menu. Once you have the ground balancing options enabled(see below), you are ready to begin the ground balancing process. Lets start with “Automatic“.
Automatic. This is by far the most popular and easiest way to ground balance the Equinox. To do so, press the gear/settings icon so that it is positioned under the “Ground Balance” menu item. Press and hold the Accept/Reject button and lift the coil up and down off the ground repeatedly until you see the numbers on the screen remain the same. The numbers will change at first but once they remain the same for several seconds, release the Accept/Reject button. The ground balance will be set correctly. Now lets talk about “Tracking“.
Tracking. I do not recommend using tracking to ground balance the Equinox. The performance of the Equinox will be impacted by using this technique. However, if you run into a condition where the soil conditions are changing a lot, tracking may help keep the machine stable. To enable tracking, press the gear/settings icon so that it is positioned under the “Ground Balance” menu item. Press the Accept/Reject button 1 time. You will see an icon appear like the one pictured in the image below. That is your indication that tracking is turned on. To turn it off, repeat the same procedure again. Once you hit the Accept/Reject button the tracking icon should disappear.
Tip: Swing your coil around and listen for a quiet patch of ground before engaging the ground balance technique.
Manual. By Default and by doing a “Factory Reset” ground balance is always set a zero/0 on both the Equinox 600 and 800. If you are already in the ground balance mode of the settings menu you can manually change the ground balance by pressing the “-” and “+” keys will change the value of the ground balance. Again, I don’t recommend using this ground balancing technique. You will probably never run into a situation that would require using this ground balancing technique.
If you ground balance the Equinox but you are still experiencing noise and instability, the chances are pretty good that you are encountering electromagnetic interference (EMI) from a utility line, underground pet fence, etc. If that is the case there isn’t much you can do except try changing frequencies.
The Minelab Equinox is a very powerful and easy to use metal detector. I’ve used several different machines over the years (Whites, Garrett, XP, etc.) and the Equinox is by far the easiest and probably the best metal detector on the market. If you know how to properly set your ground balance the Equinox will operate at its peak performance and hopefully unmask all kinds of coins and relics that others have missed. Good luck on your adventures. I hope this short tutorial helped you.
Watch The How-to Ground Balance Video
