Broken rings and chains with the CTX 3030

[cdv1]

I'm fairly new to the CTX and just getting into seeing what all the adjustments can do for you with this machine. I primarily beach and water hunt and will be using the CTX for this purpose most of the time. This morning I decided to do some testing in the yard with an assortment of rings and a medium gold chain just to see what the CTX could do for me. All of the rings rang out like I thought until I got to a 10k broken claddagh ring I got last week with the Excal. This broken ring almost never sounded off with a tone until I had the coil almost on the ring and doing the Minelab wiggle on it. What I did notice though (which I thought odd) was that the Threshold blanked over the ring about 95% of the time. That I thought was interesting so I tried the chain both straight and balled up and came up with again almost the same results as the broken ring! I then changed search modes from Beach to Relic and found the detector sounded off more often on the ring and chain in that mode... it didn't give a tone 100% of the time but more like 75% of the time with the coil height above the targets about 2 inches.. A slower and shorter swing of the coil did make a difference in the repeatability of the target response.

So, now even though I don't hear a tone but hear the threshold break and it is repeatable, its time to locate the target (threshold break), make slow small swings to almost pinpoint the target (Minelab wiggle), then either dig and investigate or switch modes to give me more information about what may be down there... this is a very interesting machine.....
As a side note, I thought maybe I had my Threshold volume to high and that was causing the blanking of the targets, I did further testing and what I found was the Threshold volume didn’t seem to make a difference with the blanking going over the targets.

Cliff

 

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[Sandman]

Cliff, first off I don't have a CTX yet but what you are describing happens with all the detectors I've use on chains or broken rings. The eddy field on the broken ring doesn't last long so the detector "thinks" it's junk. As for the chains, the CTX doesn't see the huge chain but the individual links. Some guys say BS, their detector finds gold chains when the true of the matter is told, the detector sounded off on the larger clasp or a pendent. In my experience the Tiger Shark is the only one in my collection that can see those thin gold chains, but it can also find bird shot. So its a two edged sword.

 

[cdv1]

Agreed and I don't want anyone to think I found the answer to finding chains, it was just an observation I made testing today. I found the broken ring with the excal in pp and it barely sounded like.... fitzzz... I just dug for the H of it. I bought the chain.....since I can't find any.
Cliff

 

[GreenMeanie]

I found two chains with my CTX in the last few weeks.
I am guessing they where in a BALL for my detector to find them.

 

[cdv1]

I found two chains with my CTX in the last few weeks.
I am guessing they where in a BALL for my detector to find them.

Gold chains? Anything on them such as charms that may have been easier to pick up with the machine?
Cliff

 

[Sandman]

The thin gold chains are passed by most detectors even if they are balled up as the detector doesn't have an eddy field carried from one link to another. Maybe if they were soldered together they would sound off loud like any good target. It is the clasps and any pendants that the detectors sees.

 

[cudamark]

On a related side note.....if you're looking to find a fine linked chain (gold or otherwise), use a gold machine, like a Gold Bug, Goldmaster, etc. They can "see" the individual link....and as Sandman mentioned......every piece of bird shot and other tiny garbage as well. They're pretty frustrating to use on the beach as your #1 detector though. Just too many targets.

 

[GreenMeanie]

Some junk chains nothing on them.

Gold chains? Anything on them such as charms that may have been easier to pick up with the machine?
Cliff

 

[Rawhide]

This is not so easy a topic to enter. I find chains, gold, silver, and otherwise. I did not know why I was finding them, till I read a very good article on another forum. I dont cross post, but here is what the guy said. The Short version, Iron discrimination.

 

[Rawhide]

Cliff, first off I don't have a CTX yet but what you are describing happens with all the detectors I've use on chains or broken rings. The eddy field on the broken ring doesn't last long so the detector "thinks" it's junk. As for the chains, the CTX doesn't see the huge chain but the individual links. Some guys say BS, their detector finds gold chains when the true of the matter is told, the detector sounded off on the larger clasp or a pendent. In my experience the Tiger Shark is the only one in my collection that can see those thin gold chains, but it can also find bird shot. So its a two edged sword. View attachment 834784

Know how small a target your machine can and will detect. Bird shot can be a pain, but I love that I can see it. Not only do I set my detector up with good targets, but I use junk targets to see what else is being seen at what depth.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

The thin gold chains are passed by most detectors even if they are balled up as the detector doesn't have an eddy field carried from one link to another. Maybe if they were soldered together they would sound off loud like any good target. It is the clasps and any pendants that the detectors sees.

Good post!