Jump to content

Bill Watson's Gold Ring Vdi Chart, With Notes From Steve H


Recommended Posts

11 minutes ago, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

any detector (with a VDI or tone ID) those deep gold will come up as Negatives, Nulls or as Iron.

It’s the same for gold prospecting, and then some, and is why most nugget hunters employ a PI and dig everything. The more mineralized the ground, the worse the issue.

I'm a big fan of VLF when time is limited. It makes sense to try and not waste that time digging junk. But in general I am and always will be a PI dig it all kind of guy, as I have seen way too many gold items identified as ferrous by the best discriminating detectors made, not to mention masking issues. Dig it all solves that, and makes detecting so simple even a cave man can do it! :smile:

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Regardless of machine most people walk over gold and don't dig the iffy targets on the beach based solely on VDI's. In the wet sand at depth every ring I've recovered usually grunted as iron on my Nox until a scoop or two of sand was removed and a clearer picture/tone/VDI developed. If you want the gold you need to be prepared to dig it all and ID the find yourself. My beaches are mostly always sanded in somewhat so the chance of making a wet sand find with a clear tone and ID on the first pass is as a rare as getting a Deus II in the first shipment. A repeatable iron tone is a digger. 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

Just my opinion but I think VDI numbers can be a curse on the wrong beach.

A video you did a few years back with the CZ detecting a gold ring deeper than the other detectors in your test but the big thing went LOW tone .... that and a couple other things change me around to go all metal most of the time and use disc just as an information check ... added to depth and size information.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, tvr said:

A video you did a few years back with the CZ detecting a gold ring deeper than the other detectors in your test but the big thing went LOW tone .... that and a couple other things change me around to go all metal most of the time and use disc just as an information check ... added to depth and size information.

Yes! I remember, I met up with 2 hunters in NJ..(winter 2012). they were from NY.. The Target was a 5 gram 14k wedding band wedding band, The At Pro got it at 10 inches... the excalibur 14 inches, and that Hot CZ was hitting it at 18 inches.. but he had to be right above it and it was a Low like Iron. 

Bob and I just ran into each other last week, i think he let that CZ20 / 21 go.. pictures below

 

You know Steve Nago, Was a Fisher Factory repair Tech many years. I've taken him out a few times with his CZ 20 and now he uses the Nox.. I had him going, telling him about all the gold I've dug that started as a ghost signal/one way faint, nulls.... He's funny, said he feels sick now that he knows he has missed so many possible gold ring by skipping the lows.. Steve has modified several CZ-20/21....adds a fourth tone..for pennies ....and I think some clad? The guys is amazing, he worked at NSA 40l years, and got many awards for the computers he design and setup. Now retired... I sent him the Barracuda to play with, I got it warmed up but a weak signal.. time to turn it over to the Master from John Hopkins.. 

 

SNAG-0008.jpg

SNAG-0005.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

Steve Nago

Noga ... typos ... we all do it. Funny he is using a NOX. He hated Minelab. Haven't talked to him in years. I should though. He might be able to fix the ground balance issue with the CZ20 I still have ... it was his detector that I bought when he was going to a "new" CZ21. Pinpoint button removed and hole sealed to prevent the most common failure mode when in the water. He was doing a lot of CZ5s in waterproof boxes at the time I got the CZ20 from him. I got a CZ5 with a Sunray FZ12 coil when I was looking for the coil; bought the package so that I could get the coil and sold Steve the CZ5. Still have the coil on a CZ6A. A few years back was over a silver ring on wet salt sand with the CZ6a and the FZ12 ... had a guy I had talked to on a few trips to the beach who had gone from a CTX to the NOX and he could not hear a thing on the ring with the NOX; said there was nothing there. Gave him the CZ and he said, yup there is a target ... three or four scoops later, up comes the ring. The old CZs are no slouches.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, tvr said:

Noga ... typos ... we all do it. Funny he is using a NOX. He hated Minelab. Haven't talked to him in years. I should though. He might be able to fix the ground balance issue with the CZ20 I still have ... it was his detector that I bought when he was going to a "new" CZ21. Pinpoint button removed and hole sealed to prevent the most common failure mode when in the water. He was doing a lot of CZ5s in waterproof boxes at the time I got the CZ20 from him. I got a CZ5 with a Sunray FZ12 coil when I was looking for the coil; bought the package so that I could get the coil and sold Steve the CZ5. Still have the coil on a CZ6A. A few years back was over a silver ring on wet salt sand with the CZ6a and the FZ12 ... had a guy I had talked to on a few trips to the beach who had gone from a CTX to the NOX and he could not hear a thing on the ring with the NOX; said there was nothing there. Gave him the CZ and he said, yup there is a target ... three or four scoops later, up comes the ring. The old CZs are no slouches.

The old pirate last trip up got gold at Sandy Point.. I went on a reconn to the old beach area with the AQ, he took the Nox looking for fresh drops..... He was funny, said I should have been digging gold...instead of playing. He skunked me with the Nox..

 

20210606_094758.jpg

20210606_094752.jpg

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/1/2022 at 10:32 PM, phrunt said:

For the amount of targets I've dug I seem to struggle to find rings,

 

This is because you most likely are hunting for coins with coins in mind...it would be like a deer hunter saying he does not get many ducks when he is deer hunting 😄 

strick

  • Like 2
  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, strick said:

This is because you most likely are hunting for coins with coins in mind...it would be like a deer hunter saying he does not get many ducks when he is deer hunting 😄 

strick

You're probably right, the rings I have found have been purely by accident 🙂

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...