Question for all you CTX3030 guys

[leviathanrick]

I found 2 gold items since I got my 3030 in February. Tiny 14K baby ring on beach rang up 12-04 and a 22K charm in a sand volleyball court rang up 12-12. Have not pulled gold out of the dirt. Was wondering if anyone could share their gold finds and their numbers. I think I a missing gold targets.

 

[RustyGold]

I'll run my 14k wedding band under my CTX coil and report back to you!

 

[RustyGold]

Andy Sabisch's has a new book out for the CTX.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Fe Co numbers for gold vary significantly as gold is alloyed with different metals to increase hardness and change color. Instead, focus on Fe Co number on frequently found objects such as coins and pulltabs, which are much easier to identify as they are the same size, shape, and alloy (depending on country and when minted).

 

[DeepseekerADS]

You should spend some time in the Minelab forum here....

Minelab

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... Was wondering if anyone could share their gold finds and their numbers....

As you know, the ctx has a 2-axis TID reading/coordinates. And let's say it were theoretically possible to go into a jewelry store, and air test 150 gold targets. Eg.: bracelets, rings, charms, necklaces, amulets, etc..... LIke if you had a buddy who owned a jewelry store that let you sit there for 2 hrs air-testing on his counter. I suspect you could have 100-ish different TID coordinate readings. Naturally some rings would be very close, since they might be the same weight, shape, karot, etc... But all-in-all, the TID's would be "all over the board".

Because gold jewelry is infinate in how many shapes and sizes it can be. Then factor in different karots, then factor in yellow vs white vs platinum, etc... And for every TID coordinate someone can come up with that a certain ring read at, I gaurantee you that there will be 50 foil or aluminum nugget wads that read exactly at that same TID

Unlike coins which ........ every single penny or dime coming off the assembly line is 100% alike. Even tabs (assuming un-broken, un-bent, etc...) are fairly consistent, since they too come off the assembly 100% alike (assuming same-type-tabs).

But not so with gold jewelry. There's infinate sizes and shapes. And don't forget: Size plays into the resultant TID. Not just composition (karot, alloys, etc...). That's why an entire aluminum can might read "quarter". Yet a snippet of the can (or the tab) reads nickel or tab or whatever. Yet in each case, the composition remained exactly the same: aluminum.

Therefore it won't do you much good to have an inventory of various other people's gold they've found. Suffice it to say, that ring sized stuff made of alloyed gold (ie.: not pure gold) is going to be mid to low conductors. And unfortunately, aluminum and gold share the same conductive ranges Some very fat chunky men's gold rings can read up near zinc, but ....... most all others are mid to low conductors.

Thus your best bet to "finding more gold", is not to worry about what #'s other's rings read at, but to find places that gold jewelry is more likely to be at: Namely, swimming beaches.

 

[leviathanrick]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It was very helpful. Happy hunting.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Rick: Even tough the CTX 3030 has a visual display, you will be most effective once you have learned the tones of common cookie cutter objects such as pull tabs, and common coins: Nickles, Pennies, Dimes as you can more rapidly detect and retrieve targets by ear. Initially, this can be confusing as the tones that you will hear will depend on the mode you have selected as well as how you have modified that mode. I usually carry sample(s) these items, embedded in a plastic bottle cap by wax so that it does not sink and throw it ahead of my search coil for reference so that I can compare the known reference tone to the detected target.

What you want to look for on the display is the square that the accept /reject cursors are displayed.
From this you can rapidly tell if the target is a low coductor, mid conductor or a high conductor or iron.
This is very accurate and reliable. Don't forget to look at the depth on the display which is also helpful.

The TID numbers are accurate for cookie cutter type objects such as clad coins, which are in the discrimination range. For instance a copper clad penny (zincolin) usally has an Fe (Ferrous) number of 12 and Co (Conductive number of 37). However, this is for a freshly dropped coin (no corrosion) that is flat (not on edge) and not to deep. Occasionally, a mid size mens wedding band (14K) will show up with the same numbers - I have one.

Be aware that it takes time for the TID numbers to settle when you change direction of sweep as in pinpointing or changing coil sweep speed. You will also find that the FE numbers tend to change more than the conductive numbers.

Where these numbers work really well is for correlation - determination of like targets at same depth.
For instance, it is not uncommon to find five more freshly dropped corrona bottle caps near where you find one, or even several cases, where there was a party, which you can disregard once you have dug on.

Subject to having sufficient time, energy, and no competition the best discriminator is your shovel
as you will never know for sure until you dig it.

Thanks everyone for your replies. It was very helpful. Happy hunting.

 

[Fletch88]

What Tom said^^^. The key is to hunt where jewelry is most likely lost, ie. Swimming holes, volleyball courts, beaches, etc, not go to a trashed out park and "dig foil and tabs till your arms fall off"!