HOW TO READ RINGS

As a rule be careful !!!

With false reads you can spoil scientific data and get a lot of trouble to people, who try to clear out strange reads.

Learn the FONTS !

Be careful with different fonts while reading the code. Try to exclude all other possible characters. Here is some examples with DIN and Aeronaut fonts. Note that it is very easy to mix 1, T, L, and J, if fonts are narrow. Very often people mix 4 and A, which look very similar, specially, if number 4 is "closed" (see Aeronaut-fonts below). It is easy to read wrong pairs 0 - U, 7 - Z, K - X and V - Y, specially, if the whole character is not visible. In Aeronaut fonts it is easy to mix 3, 5 and letter S. In DIN fonts there is easy to mix 3, 6, 9 and 8, which look very similar. Dirt, mud, shit etc. increase risks for confusions. Sometimes false reads are made because the characters are read upside down (W - M and 6 -9).

These risks are the reason, why I like to use in my rings the best mixture of these two fonts, thought it demands some more time and trouble in engraving.

Position and type of the rings, additional marks..

Write down also the leg, position of the ring (upwards, downwards, upside-down) and the type of the ring (long, low, vertical, horizontal, number of codes) and all additional marks (like dots). In many cases they can be used to ensure strange reads.

Condition of the ring..

It is important to observe and inform also the condition of the ring. It helps the projects to estimate the remaining life time of the ring. The rings can be partly broken, so that some characters can be missing. The texts wear often so that one of the codes is very worn, but the code on the other side of the ring can be quite OK.