First hunt with CTX 3030 ...

I recently traded for a new Minelab CTX 3030. The new seals and armcuff design.Traded a Excal II and a model 1021 CZ 3d, Tom D. Calibrated to 11.9" on a dime, with all three coils, Blackwidows headphones, and a Sunray pinpointer plus $350.00. Good deal or not, your opinions welcome. I really hated trading the CZ away, but I still have my CZ 6a and an AU-21x (Tom's customized CZ 3d). I really beach hunt more than relic hunt this time of year until hunting season ends. Bought Andy Sabisch CTX 3030 Manual and made some minor adjustments to the factory programs to eliminate the problem with iron rap around false signals. The programs worked amazingly well. Dug very little trash, the machine balanced extremely well for it's weight and took far less toll on my body than the Excall in the water and on the wet sand. Best of all it could have two targets under the coil and register both at the same time. It really locks on good targets and gives accurate depth readings in the top ten inches of Va. Beach, using the stock 11" coil, which is moderately mineralized for a beach. Even on my first hunt and at night the controls were easily accessed without any problems. I dug so many coins at 6" to 12" with great ID that I was impressed, which is not something that happens to me often (being impressed). Also hit on a gold grill at 6" with a reading of 12-03. Turned out to be 14k so I was happy. I am sure any water detector that I have would have hit it, but at 20 minutes passed low tide I doubt that I would have ever got to it using my other detectors digging iffy signals so much of the time. Minelab was so slow to use thicker gaskets to solve their leak problems and improve the locking ad cuff, but finally came through. Maybe they just hate to take suggestions from people who do not have a college degree, but in the end the cost of repairs got their attention. They have the engineers to develop top technology and do, just sometimes their response is slow to improve the simple flaws. With the CTX 3030 that was what, 10 years? Great product, poor customer relations in my opinion.
So how good is the CTX on relic sites and what patterns and adjustments work best in your areas? Please include what state or part of the country you hunt in. I like experimenting on this machine. Most of my machines are beep and dig for relic sites except for my CZ 6a.
Sorry, but I have no photo bucket account, so no pictures. But anyone who wants to see some of my finds or just talk detecting can email me at: nlewis1035@yahoo.com ...Stuart

For relic hunting,,I use combined mode open screen.

Ferrous coin with lots of iron,,,,in a cleaner site with higher minerals,,ground coin.

Fringe depth detected targets--- dig all hints of mid and lower tones--- as long as you have your low and mid conductors set up below high tones.

As far as target ID when relic hunting,,, don't dwell on it much.

Fringe depth detected,,,ID may jump around all over the place.

For maximum depth capabilities ,,,run manual sens as high as you can stand,,,sweep SLOW.

Thanks for sharing your hunt story.
I like to read about them,,,especially when they involve a detector I use.

Cheers.

Thanks TNSS, I do understand what you are saying, relic hunting dig the fringe targets on some of the sites that I hunt even the iron signals are worth always digging. On those the TDI original is hard to beat. Beach hunting with the CTX 3030 is strait forward except in very trashy areas. Coin and relic hunting is much more complicated with most sites having heavy iron contamination. My question would be can the CTX come close to the depth of a TDI in moderate to high mineralization on digging good targets verses bad on average? On good descriminated targets at shallower depths I would imagine the CTX beats any machine out there once you learn the numbers that the CTX gives on each particular target. Maybe I am comparing apples to oranges with the Minelab verses a PI unit, but I have not heard of a CTX winning a relic hunt in central Va, only a GPZ 7000 or a TDI. Don't get me wrong. The CTX is awesome on the beach, I already see that after only one hunt. Without a doubt the best I have used for beach and shallow water. I have already used most of what is out there. I will get much better with time on this machine. No doubt. I am hoping it will be just as good on coin and relic hunting...Stuart

search and recovery Wrote:
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> Thanks TNSS, I do understand what you are saying,
> relic hunting dig the fringe targets on some of
> the sites that I hunt even the iron signals are
> worth always digging. On those the TDI original is
> hard to beat. Beach hunting with the CTX 3030 is
> strait forward except in very trashy areas. Coin
> and relic hunting is much more complicated with
> most sites having heavy iron contamination. My
> question would be can the CTX come close to the
> depth of a TDI in moderate to high mineralization
> on digging good targets verses bad on average? On
> good descriminated targets at shallower depths I
> would imagine the CTX beats any machine out there
> once you learn the numbers that the CTX gives on
> each particular target. Maybe I am comparing
> apples to oranges with the Minelab verses a PI
> unit, but I have not heard of a CTX winning a
> relic hunt in central Va, only a GPZ 7000 or a
> TDI. Don't get me wrong. The CTX is awesome on the
> beach, I already see that after only one hunt.
> Without a doubt the best I have used for beach and
> shallow water. I have already used most of what is
> out there. I will get much better with time on
> this machine. No doubt. I am hoping it will be
> just as good on coin and relic hunting...Stuart


In the higher mineralized soil,,like indicated 5 and 6 bars on a Fisher F75,,, the CTX is crippled tremendously,,,no comparison to pulse u it.
I have not ran a TDI,,do have a GPX.
Old .Daniel can tell you a thing or 2 about how they compare.

Should also point out,,,CTX in milder ground,,,there are other detectors that can actually strike deeper (coil size for coil size).

When you move into medium mineralized soil to above average mineralized soil--CTX shines moreso vs many others,,,and yes the great I.d even at depth,,,,but any person who has a lot of experience with CTX,,,will tell you,,,in an good producing site,,,don't totally depend on ID to make a dig or no dig decision.

If I were going to relic hunt,,,I would have everything set to low tone as far as setting up the screen,,,,this will help with having to investigate all the false high tones,,,which are trademark with the detector,,especially running higher manual sensivity. ( Assuming you are operating in a dig all nonferrous protocol).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2016 03:12AM by tnsharpshooter.

best way to learn that unit and get the most out of it and make it easy is to put in it Combined mode..

turn tracking off..

pull your ferrous bin down to 32...set tone for the ferrous bin low as it will go HZ wise..

nails read 34 so they will low tone..because the ferrous bin will be collapsed to just 33-35 for the low tone now...remember the ferrous bin reads from top to bottom.. top being the lowest number and bottom being the highest...

there is 4 top bins from left to right these are the conductive bins..They Will be above the 32 Ferrous line and read left to right .set them all to the same hz...Iike the Highest available...

the you have a two tone machine that runs like a F19 tone break wise...

Simple to run and the iron falsing is very easy to tell as it will flip flop from low to high even on wide ope sens..

don't worry about I.D. numbers just dig all high tones that are smooth...flip flop tones are big iron...after about 40 hours you cna play with more tones if you like but for now just learn the unit and this is the easiest way and most productive as it will talk to you ...those high tones that don't flop but sound different from the Good high tone will also stand out at you..they will sound forced after a while compared to a legitimate round high tone...

This is why I love the CTX the best of all FBS units ..I can make it run like a VLF ..

Combined mode offers great advantages to not having to use one mode or the other unless you were to use a pattern...you can now use both at the same time no disc/pattern needed..the super sensitive Conduct mode and the super efficient Iron I.D. mode combined..



Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Thanks for the really good info TNSS and Keith. The CTX looks like a computer geeks dream at first glance more than it does a strait forward metal detector. But as I get to understand better how it can be adjusted and set up in different ways for different hunting senarios I begin to understand just how simple it can be to use. I, no doubt, have a long learning curve ahead of me with this machine, but am surprised at how fast I am beginning to understand the settings and how they actually work. This is one machine that I think is going to be with me for a very long time....Stuart

search and recovery Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the really good info TNSS and Keith.
> The CTX looks like a computer geeks dream at first
> glance more than it does a strait forward metal
> detector. But as I get to understand better how it
> can be adjusted and set up in different ways for
> different hunting senarios I begin to understand
> just how simple it can be to use. I, no doubt,
> have a long learning curve ahead of me with this
> machine, but am surprised at how fast I am
> beginning to understand the settings and how they
> actually work. This is one machine that I think is
> going to be with me for a very long time....Stuart

You are welcome.

When a person understands the ID system on the detector,,,and can learn to distigusish iron falses-- all down hill from there.

Does take a lot of patience with coil sweep,,especially in heavier iron and nails.