Gold Fever And The Garrett "AT" Series

[John-Edmonton]

I can only speak for gold rings, as there are no nuggets around here. The sound of a gold ring is smooth and soft, compared to a square pull tab. An intact square pull tab gives a bit of a "quack" sound, quite rough due to the many sharp edges and non- bilateral shape. I am guessing that the sharp edges along with the non-bilateral shape creates many extra eddies, which account for a more rough sound compared to a circular object like a ring. However, run your coil over an older type pull tab, the beaver-tail type, and you get a nice smooth sound, just like a gold ring. So, generally, the VDI numbers don't change very much with a nice with a nice gold ring, especially if it is orientated to the coil in a even horizontal position. Now as a rule of thumb.......the higher the Karat, the lower it will read on the scale or VDI number. A lot of 10 Karat rings will read dead smack on 50 +/- a few numbers. An 18 Karat ring can read in the 40's, and a tiny, thin gold band can read in the 40's or high 30's. You have to remember that a metal detector is tweaked to respond most accurate to a coin sized object. Now throw in a tiny gold locket or earring, and again, you can find such an object anywhere on the screen. Another effect is also created by what type of material a gold ring is amalgamized with. Some common examples are nickel, zinc, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium. These various metals or combinations can also affect the VDI numbers.


So....do you dig all? If you are using a water proof metal detector, out in the deeper water, my answer is definitely YES! However, when hunting on land, don't dig the strong shallow targets, with the VDI's in the 20's or lower. However, dig all the stable, soft sounds where the VDI numbers don't fluctuate very much, and do use your iron audio to rule out bottle caps. And.......... be prepared to dig a zillion junk targets, as many other targets will mimic a gold ring. There is no easy way to get gold, either in a processed form like jewelry or a nugget in the raw. It takes a lot of work. Don't blame the metal detector for digging a lot of junk, but blame the beverage and beer companies for producing a a product which sounds like a gold ring. There is no metal detector which will dig only gold and disc out the other junk. If someone tries to sell such a machine, run fast!


Remember, metal detecting is a hobby, and hobbies are meant to be enjoyed. If you set yourself up for high expectations for finding a ton of gold with one, be prepared for a disappointment. Use your machine often, learn it well and you stand to get the best rewards.


Below are my gold rings for this year so far. And I had to dig a ton of junk to get them,

 

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[gleaner1]

Frikin totally awesome.

 

[Infowarrior]

Friggin awesome collection!!! What type of location do you hunt at for these rings, beaches?

I have been eyeing up the AT pro as my future upgrade...

 

[Sandman]

John that was a very good post explaining about the disc of metal detectors. However most hunters will still not learn from it and wait for the screen to tell them it is a ring.

 

[signal_line]

Thanks for the info, John. I read that many alum items have alloys in them and the alloys is what makes the tone vary a bit. Watching the Garrett video, the guy uses Iron Audio and says the pull tabs give just a faint iron sound. At the beginning of the video he said he was using DISC 2 which has iron discrimination setting at 35.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

GREAT post John! VERY true words in there. Great info! Thanks for the post!

 

[John-Edmonton]

Friggin awesome collection!!! What type of location do you hunt at for these rings, beaches?

I have been eyeing up the AT pro as my future upgrade...

Water (freshwater) and mainly sports fields.

 

[John-Edmonton]

John that was a very good post explaining about the disc of metal detectors. However most hunters will still not learn from it and wait for the screen to tell them it is a ring.

You bring up an excellent point Sandman.Too many people read too heavily into what a TID machine is presenting to them from a target. Metal detectors are tweaked to get their best performance for coin sized objects. If you rely too much on that information and don't dig a lot of targets, the guy following your footsteps will dig those targets and get the most/best finds.

You have mastered your metal detector when you get to the point where you tell the detector what is under the coil, not the other way around.

 

[DirtyTrinkitDigger]

Great information John for a newbie like me. I have worked on learning my tones with my AT Pro and am wondering if there is a thread that I have overlooked here at TNet on AT Pro custom settings that people have used with success. I understand that humidity, temperature and ground minerals will be different for everyone, but I would sure like to see someone of the others custom settings.

 

[TheOldMan]

Well stated John. And I got a very large plastic jar overflowing with junk that I have found in the quest for gold and silver items this year. It is most certainly true that many of us detectorist pass over the gold rings and such in a hurried search for a coin indicating signal. One good gold item dug in the top six inches of soil or sand will make for far more in valve than a pile of deeply dug silver coins.

 

[Jeremy S]

Thank you for the very informative post! I have owned my AT Pro for about a month, after exclusively using an Ace 250 for the 7 months before. With the Ace 250, I found just about every type of metal imaginable, except for gold. I'm still learning the At Pro, but have been in a "dig everything" mentality to help ensure that I don't miss anything good while learning this machine. It is real easy to dig only "high" signals and cherry pick what you dig.

I recently undertook the challenge to find a 14k yellow gold ring in a park that a fellow dropped while playing some kind of sport. The park is very big, used many times a year for big events (at least one a week), concerts, etc, but is less than 10 years old. The guy has the area where he lost this ring narrowed down to a sizable plot, probably at least 100' X 200'. Today was my first day out there, so I was only looking for and hitting shallow targets, and walked away with a ton of clad and bottle caps. This post gives me a better idea of what to expect when I put my coil over some gold.

I always assumed that a gold ring would read 50+, to the low 70's on this machine. Not owning anything gold, nor ever finding a ring, I had no way to test this.

 

[JT1080]

Nice John!

Your posts are always informative and enjoyable to read. Thank you for taking the time to help out others. Folks like you are what make this forum valuable.

 

[John-Edmonton]

Thanks JT. It's always a privilege to be able to help shorten the learning curve for metal detecting users. The guys using Garretts on this forum have been such a great bunch. There is rarely a fight here and trolls just don't post here. All the best!

 

[Jeremy S]

While searching a park today for a lost 14k gold ring (per a lost Ad), I found some other good finds, along with my FIRST gold ring ever. My detector was indicating a solid 47, and about an inch under ground was this little 10k ring. I also pulled out a nice silver bracelet from the same park, along with a pile of clad coins. Very good way to spend my Thanksgiving day!

The silver bracelet was reading 67+/-.



John, the information you posted about how this detector will react to gold was dead on!

 

[s.c.shooter]

John,thanks for the info, it will be very helpful I'm sure. Planning on going somewhere tomorrow. Maybe I'll find my first gold since last November!

 

[John-Edmonton]

John,thanks for the info, it will be very helpful I'm sure. Planning on going somewhere tomorrow. Maybe I'll find my first gold since last November!

Good luck

 

[John-Edmonton]

While searching a park today for a lost 14k gold ring (per a lost Ad), I found some other good finds, along with my FIRST gold ring ever. My detector was indicating a solid 47, and about an inch under ground was this little 10k ring. I also pulled out a nice silver bracelet from the same park, along with a pile of clad coins. Very good way to spend my Thanksgiving day!

The silver bracelet was reading 67+/-.

View attachment 703840 View attachment 703841

John, the information you posted about how this detector will react to gold was dead on!

Congratulations on a fine looking gold ring. Hope it's the first of many more to follow..........

Heck.....you have the Garrett Gal's attention.........

 

[Trackerman]

I can only speak for gold rings, as there are no nuggets around here. The sound of a gold ring is smooth and soft, compared to a square pull tab. An intact square pull tab gives a bit of a "quack" sound, quite rough due to the many sharp edges and non- bilateral shape. I am guessing that the sharp edges along with the non-bilateral shape creates many extra eddies, which account for a more rough sound compared to a circular object like a ring. However, run your coil over an older type pull tab, the beaver-tail type, and you get a nice smooth sound, just like a gold ring. So, generally, the VDI numbers don't change very much with a nice with a nice gold ring, especially if it is orientated to the coil in a even horizontal position. Now as a rule of thumb.......the higher the Karat, the lower it will read on the scale or VDI number. A lot of 10 Karat rings will read dead smack on 50 +/- a few numbers. An 18 Karat ring can read in the 40's, and a tiny, thin gold band can read in the 40's or high 30's. You have to remember that a metal detector is tweaked to respond most accurate to a coin sized object. Now throw in a tiny gold locket or earring, and again, you can find such an object anywhere on the screen. Another effect is also created by what type of material a gold ring is amalgamized with. Some common examples are nickel, zinc, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium. These various metals or combinations can also affect the VDI numbers.


So....do you dig all? If you are using a water proof metal detector, out in the deeper water, my answer is definitely YES! However, when hunting on land, don't dig the strong shallow targets, with the VDI's in the 20's or lower. However, dig all the stable, soft sounds where the VDI numbers don't fluctuate very much, and do use your iron audio to rule out bottle caps. And.......... be prepared to dig a zillion junk targets, as many other targets will mimic a gold ring. There is no easy way to get gold, either in a processed form like jewelry or a nugget in the raw. It takes a lot of work. Don't blame the metal detector for digging a lot of junk, but blame the beverage and beer companies for producing a a product which sounds like a gold ring. There is no metal detector which will dig only gold and disc out the other junk. If someone tries to sell such a machine, run fast!


Remember, metal detecting is a hobby, and hobbies are meant to be enjoyed. If you set yourself up for high expectations for finding a ton of gold with one, be prepared for a disappointment. Use your machine often, learn it well and you stand to get the best rewards.


Below are my gold rings for this year so far. And I had to dig a ton of junk to get them,

View attachment 700987

John your a legend in your own right! Killer haul of rings way to go

 

[Will3133]

I can only speak for gold rings, as there are no nuggets around here. The sound of a gold ring is smooth and soft, compared to a square pull tab. An intact square pull tab gives a bit of a "quack" sound, quite rough due to the many sharp edges and non- bilateral shape. I am guessing that the sharp edges along with the non-bilateral shape creates many extra eddies, which account for a more rough sound compared to a circular object like a ring. However, run your coil over an older type pull tab, the beaver-tail type, and you get a nice smooth sound, just like a gold ring. So, generally, the VDI numbers don't change very much with a nice with a nice gold ring, especially if it is orientated to the coil in a even horizontal position. Now as a rule of thumb.......the higher the Karat, the lower it will read on the scale or VDI number. A lot of 10 Karat rings will read dead smack on 50 +/- a few numbers. An 18 Karat ring can read in the 40's, and a tiny, thin gold band can read in the 40's or high 30's. You have to remember that a metal detector is tweaked to respond most accurate to a coin sized object. Now throw in a tiny gold locket or earring, and again, you can find such an object anywhere on the screen. Another effect is also created by what type of material a gold ring is amalgamized with. Some common examples are nickel, zinc, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium. These various metals or combinations can also affect the VDI numbers.

So....do you dig all? If you are using a water proof metal detector, out in the deeper water, my answer is definitely YES! However, when hunting on land, don't dig the strong shallow targets, with the VDI's in the 20's or lower. However, dig all the stable, soft sounds where the VDI numbers don't fluctuate very much, and do use your iron audio to rule out bottle caps. And.......... be prepared to dig a zillion junk targets, as many other targets will mimic a gold ring. There is no easy way to get gold, either in a processed form like jewelry or a nugget in the raw. It takes a lot of work. Don't blame the metal detector for digging a lot of junk, but blame the beverage and beer companies for producing a a product which sounds like a gold ring. There is no metal detector which will dig only gold and disc out the other junk. If someone tries to sell such a machine, run fast!

Remember, metal detecting is a hobby, and hobbies are meant to be enjoyed. If you set yourself up for high expectations for finding a ton of gold with one, be prepared for a disappointment. Use your machine often, learn it well and you stand to get the best rewards.

Below are my gold rings for this year so far. And I had to dig a ton of junk to get them,

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=700987"/>

This guy knows what he is talking about! Thanks for sharing!

 

[wouldtick]

I am very new to the hobby. Been saving my money for a year. I have ben out around twelve times with a friend and we have only found clad. I still love it. I love being outdoors and just the thought of what if? This was a great post for a beginner. Thank you for writing it.