V3i's AutoTrak?

[MartinL]

Somebody asked about the tracking offset elsehwere and got the normal routing, Read pages 34 and 35 or some other pages, I personally quit listening at that point, cuz the V3i manual is a mess all by itself.

Now, today in another thread topic there, this below was written. Tell me, is it just me, or does it sound like using auto track in just about any other situation besides KNOWN and consistent ground conditions, useless? IMO, you are always guessing, and to have to find a clean part of ground to GB when the slightest, the SLIGHTEST change is made, just takes the fun out of on the fly adjustments. Might as well stay in manual ground balance IMO.

Seriously, the Too slow and the ground will get ahead of the machine. Too fast and the unit will overshoot, generating noise of its own .... Does that not interject a miriad of unknown reactions? How can you REALLY adapt to that?

The post by a guru:

I always recommend a re-balance after changing any paramater, especially RXG, DS, AM or a filter. As to tracking speed, you need to find the setting that works best in your area.

Too slow and the ground will get ahead of the machine. Too fast and the unit will overshoot, generating noise of its own .... I almost always run with AutoTrac = ON. I've never figured out how to tell when the ground is changing enough to rebalance under the coil, especially in higher mineralization venues.

If the ground terrible, then and only then will I run with tracking = LOCKED, and then I do a manual re-balance after every target or every 5 minutes ....

[CyberSage]

Martin,
As you get into ground with a higher mineralization strength autotrac becomes increasingly important. If I venture up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains along the river, it's the only way to go. There are times when it is necessary. I used to use AutoTrac all the time. I mostly hunt parks. I switched to locking and things got quieter for me, so I stick with that setting now.
You are experiencing the frustration of the manual that we all have experienced at one time or another. Carl has made some good efforts in providing more information on critical settings, but the manual still lacks in it's completeness. Fortunately there is some great information available from experienced users.
The forum where you read that post is the White's forum. It's OK to mention other forums and even provide links to the threads in question, as long as it pertains to the topic and is not blatant advertising. Thanks for your good questions Martin! We appreciate your participation on the forum. I Hope the weather is holding out for you so you can venture out to your local parks.

Jack

[MartinL]

Thanks Jack. So is there a methodology to finding the proper setting of offset number in higher mineralized ground? That is really the question from that post and here in mine. If anyone knows, you do.

To add a comment though...why doesn't Whites re-write the V3i manual? It is a known sore spot related to an elegant machine in the V3i. Doesn't make logical sense for a company so customer service oriented that they continue to have owners having to reference as many as three manuals for tidbits on their machines, or become frustrated by stock answers referencing page numbers only from asking the White's world direct questions. I just don't get it, does White not know their own machine in order to do a good manual? martin