When you hit a silver, gold, platinum ring with the X-30-50-70.?.?.?

[Icehouse]

Hello all

I was wondering/generalizing when a person hits a silver or gold or even platinum ring does the signal you receive remain somewhat constant both in tone and number like it would with a coin? I understand the variables such as target depth and target position, ground condition, nearby in-ground junk/contaminant, proper ground balancing/noise canceling and such. But if you come across a ring that may be at 1 inch or 5-6 inches deep, will it respond with (for the most part) good tone and/or numbers on the X70 assuming the other determining variables are within reason?

I have limited my question here to rings because generally rings are close to the same shape/size whilst being different thicknesses and are commonly lost by us as humans worldwide. Likewise I have included all the "X" series of minelab detectors like the X30, X50, and X70= which I presently own. I am hoping but may be mistaken that all of these series of detectors will report similarly given their particular level and/or differences/tiers.

Also, I unfortunately do not have the ability at my home=apartment to create a test bed (my landlord is detectorist devoid) otherwise I would gleefully do so. I also do not want to rely on a freshly dug hole with loose/disturbed soil and a planted gold ring to act as a test bed either because I have read that this is a unreliable means of detection.

I was hoping to gain a better understanding of my beloved X70 and the information that it is speaking when I go out hunting. I am sorry for my long post as I explain and I am grateful as always to hear your responses

 

[Jackpine Savage]

How do you tell rings from trash.

Perhaps the best answer is to learn what trash usually sounds or reads like in your area and conditions. After all, there is a lot more trash in the ground than rings! If you look at it this way, instead of seeing every peice of trash dug as a bad thing you can view at it as a learning experience instead.

Not trying to be facetious. Just some food for thought.

That said having found a few rings with the X70 in the past I can say that they will not all lock onto one number, some will some won't. Remember, the TID segments of the X70 are "normalized" for lack of a better word in software to help lock onto US coins. Because of the the TID segments are not a true phase linear scale. I think Barnacle Bill has a good post on that somewhere.

Tom

 

[Digger]

The simple answer is........ there are no simple answers. But let me take on the "easier questions" first. The X-30, X-50 and X-70 will all respond similarly to the same target. The primary difference will be due to the number of notch segments on each detector. Rings will read anywhere on the TID scale, based on size, shape and their ferrous and non-ferrous properties. As you said, target depth and target position, ground condition, nearby in-ground junk/contaminant, proper ground balancing/noise canceling will all have an effect on "how" a ring reads. In addition, we have to consider the metallic composition of the ring, in that different alloys added for strength will create different readings. For example, a 14 k yellow gold ring will read higher than a 14 K white gold ring of the same size and shape. That is because a yellow gold ring might consist of gold, copper and silver. Whereas the white gold ring might contain gold, nickel, silver, paladium and maybe even zinc. Obviously, the percentage of each component will have a direct bearing on the TID reported by the detector.

One other thing that I have found to be very interesting is how the integrity of the band itself will effect a TID reading. For example, I dug an old ladies gold class ring at an old abandoned fair ground that read an 18. When I pulled it out of the ground, I noticed the band had worn through and caused it to break. I would imagine that is how it slipped off her finger so many years ago. What I found when I pressed the two ends together is that it takes on a much higher TID reading when the "ring" is connected as opposed to the two ends being separated. If you find an old ring with a broken band, try that test yourself and you will see how much difference that "connectivity" makes on the "conductivity".

To help answer some of your questions, here is a post I've made in the past. It includes rings of all shapes and sizes, in various carat weights and alloys. The most important part of this post is a screen shot I borrowed from my "all time favorite" metal detecting book. If you enlarge that picture, you will get an idea of just how varied TID readings can be. If you haven't taken the opportunity to read the book mentioned, I'd heartily recommend it. Although it was written specifically for White's detectors, the theories explained apply to all makes and models.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?55,647958,648175#msg-648175


HH Randy

 

[Android]

I would first say that I dig all non-ferrous signals. Even iffy ones. I have only dug 11 rings so far with my x-70 and I have found those rings to be very consistent in id number. Most other items in that id range tend to change numbers when you swing the opposite direction. This is not to say that changing numbers = trash beacuse it doesn't.