Found gold. Am I doing something wrong?

[mcb]

I'm using a Fisher f70 which I'm still getting the hang of. I set the ground balance and keep sensitivity at 10. I get a hit with almost every swing at this old park I go to, mainly trash. So far I've been so overwhelmed I haven't been digging every signal. I decided to dig the signals under the benches last Wednesday. My finds: pull tabs, cigarette foil, and a gold wedding band (ironically the band is similar to another members find). Anyway, the ring gave off a signal in the 90's, I found this odd, I thought gold gave off a reading closer to ten. The exact reason I keep sensitivity low. I shared this with the guy I bought the detector from. He said to keep the settings the same, if I don't find trash I'll miss the good stuff. The park dates back to the 1800's so maybe that's why I'm picking up so many signals. It's also one of the less used Parks in that area now. Occasionally kids are there playing but that's rare. There's more runners and walkers then anything else. Sadly it looks run down. What I'd like to know is why the ring gave off a reading in the 90's? Is that the norm? Could I have missed another signal and just got lucky? Should I keep the settings the same or switch them up with all the hits I'm getting? Probably sounds idiotic but I'm getting signal after signal! I'm about to take pictures of the ring and post them.

 

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[Mzjavert]

As long as you are not getting EMI or other interference, turn up the sensitivity. I normally keep mine at 8. (My detector's sensitivity range is 0 to 10.) So crank it up to about 80%. As far as trash. Yeah, it can get overwhelming. You could dig everthing at the start of your hunt, then turn up the discrimination later to snag coins and hopefully silver.

As far as gold goes...it can read from foil on up.

 

[vpnavy]

You might also consider browsing (posting request, etc.) on Sub-Forums: Fisher Research Labs...

 

[mcb]

Here's the pics, I messed with the color a little to show more clarity.

 

[RobRieman]

Thats one sweet ring if the diamonds are real. Great find!

 

[sliverofsilver]

real nice ring, great pics also,shows the detail well.
nope you are doing it right
HH

 

[mcb]

I'm not sure if the diamonds are real. Its definitely 14k. Eventually when time permits I'm going to take it to a jeweler I know. He has a device that can tell if the diamonds are real. Just in case someone's wondering, I have the ring sizer because I make wire wraped jewelry. I'm hoping to make it back out to the park today if the weather permits. I want to take a short video of how crazy the signals are. I bet it's 90% trash *sigh I appreciate all the feedback! If it weren't for the pointers I've found on this site I'd be lost.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

I'm not sure if the diamonds are real. Its definitely 14k. Eventually when time permits I'm going to take it to a jeweler I know. He has a device that can tell if the diamonds are real. Just in case someone's wondering, I have the ring sizer because I make wire wraped jewelry. I'm hoping to make it back out to the park today if the weather permits. I want to take a short video of how crazy the signals are. I bet it's 90% trash *sigh I appreciate all the feedback! If it weren't for the pointers I've found on this site I'd be lost.

mcb, I don't have comment on your particular detector and its settings, but want to comment on the aspect of the junk and "missing good stuff" your mentors have told you:

It's no secret that if a person runs high discrimination, he risks missing gold rings. Because gold and aluminum share the same conductivity ranges, per their respective sizes. However, as you are discovering, there are some junky inner-city-urban parks, where it just doesn't pay to be a "hero" and strip-mine out the aluminum, to find those lone gold rings, IMHO. You say "90%" of it is trash? Sigh ... I WISH those were the ratios. Most of us would GLADLY dig 9 pieces of trash for each gold item. I can think of parks where a person would litterally dig 1000 pieces of aluminum (and clad and zinc, etc...) , before ever finding a gold item. So a lot of guys will crank the disc. up, pass the low conductors, and try to listen for just the deep high conductors (old coins) when hunting junky parks. Because ...... if gold rings were your goal and objective, what are you hunting junky inner-city blighted parks for, in the first place? The advice of simply turning down the disc. and digging till your arms fall off is *NOT* the recipe for finding gold rings. It's already a given that gold rings tend to read low. The much BIGGER part of the "recipe" is WHERE you hunt, if gold rings are your goal. Go to swimming beaches, and your junk ratio will drop, and ring/jewelry ratio will rise.

At swimming beaches, cool waters shrink fingers. People lather up with slippery suntan lotion. People frolicking around throwing balls and such. People thrusting their hands in and out of the sand to dig (which pulls off rings). And my favorite: People taking off their rings and jewelry for "safe-keeping" And quite frankly: sand is easier to dig in. The "beaches" need not be ocean beaches. Even lakes that have swimming beaches will have the same set of ingredients.

 

[cudamark]

You might try using a smaller coil to help separate targets. It's possible that combined readings are giving you a false number. Does the ring still give a high reading now that it's out of the ground and away from other targets?

 

[mcb]

The park isn't inner city. Its actually a small town which used to be all farming back in the 1800's. Its a wealthier area now. They have 2 Parks but the one I'm detecting at is their worst. The pavilions and benches are falling apart and the lawns look trashy. The other park is used for school sports, constantly being updated, the lawns remind me of a golf course. The other 10% of finds have been coins but nothing older then the 70's, a horse shoe, keys, and the ring. I mostly find coins if anything. I don't detect for anything in specific, just enjoy doing it. I like that I never know what I'll find and my kids love it too. I've been using an 11" coil but do have a 10" and 6.5". I'll have to switch out the coils to the 6.5". I didn't even think about testing the ring after I dug it but will.