CTX 3030 @ the beach

Wow is all I can say about this detector! Just got back from Gulf Shores area for an archery shoot we had down in Foley, AL. We made a mini vacation of it and stayed a couple extra days and I brought a couple detectors with me for the beach. The weather was nice down there; lows in the upper 50s at night and highs near 80 during the day. The water is still warm too. I didn't get to get out in the water much due to the waves being so rough. There was only one calm day and that was one of the days we had to go be at the archery range for the tournament. But I still gave it a go one day even though the waves beat me bad.

I will say this...it was the first time I have had the CTX on the beach. Overall on land here in TN, I am not that impressed with its ability for going deep and especially not as a relic hunting machine. I like it for coin hunting though. Here at home, it does good to get down 6 to 8 inches on a coin with ID.

However, down on the beach and in good sandy soil...this is a totally different animal and one heck of a beast. My scoop was practically worthless and it is a 9 inch model. It just doesn't remove enough sand to get down to the target. I found that in dry sand, when I got a signal, the best thing to do was move about 7-9 inches of sand with my foot and then scoop the target out of the hole. I could not believe how deep the CTX is on the beach AND how accurate the IDs are. When I was here back in October, I had the MX Sport with me and I though it done a fair job. Two things plagued it though....the crown bottle caps and the water rushing over the coil in the wet sand. The crown caps sound good on the MX Sport no matter what; specially the ones that are deeper and rusted. On the CTX though...the target trace is a dead giveaway on them. It will give a splattering/shotgun effect over the crown caps, where as the alloy targets will not splatter around. I dug three of them....two to figure out what they were, and one just to take home for future testing on other machines. I left the others for other people lol. The bad thing about that beach area is that it is extremely soft white sand and has no hard pan under it....I dug a toy car that was at least 18-20 inches deep that hadn't even begin to rust yet....so it hadn't been there long. The only signals you get on the dry sand are small foil signals and they are all deep too....not hardly any heavy stuff like coins, etc. I don't know if they are so deep that they are out of detecting range or if the tractor sweeps take that stuff with them when they do the beach. They have big tractors that rake the beach every day; I didn't see any kind of catching devices on them though but I imagine they probably help bury recently lost stuff since they are technically just smoothing the beach out from all the many foot prints, etc.

Out in the wet sand...the CTX purrs like a kitten. Even out in the water, it was quiet. I did get some coins out there but the water about beat me to death from it being fairly rough that day I got out in it. I did talk to a fella that was hunting the water with an Excal 2 one day...maybe the first day we were there. He had 3 junk rings that he had found that morning but said it doesn't get good until the tourist season kicks in during the hotter months.

I only found 2 junk ear rings and some clad coins but I didn't spend but a few hrs hunting. Just not enough time to get out and do it. I know when I go back, we will be there a whole week and I can't wait for that. The water hunting is fun. It was still warm water but not like it will be in the summer. It was still tolerable...and I couldn't believe I was in the water in February lol

Oh...the other machine I brought was the TDI. Note to self....DO NOT ever bring the TDI to the beach again UNLESS you have a backhoe to dig with. The problem with it though is that the crown caps sound SUPER good on it too...and they give a high tone. I thought I would run it in low conductive and dig only high tones....was a great idea til I discovered the crown cap thing. There are just hundreds of them on the beaches....not sure why, since the beaches all have rules against glass containers on the beach and all those caps come off glass containers You will wear yourself out digging the beach with a TDI.




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Looks like a BLAST !!!

Welcome to Florida (and ALA) depth!!!

Thanks Daniel.

What VDI numbers was the MXS giving you on caps?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2017 02:19AM by Detectorist.

Cool beans Daniel

now you know why I keep a CTX around too = I don't need to go to FL to get the depth I get here in my dirt with one!

Detectorist -- On the MX Sport, it depended on whether they were rusted or not and how deep they were. If they were deeper and rusted like most of them are, they would give a dime ID initially. I mean a good steady dime ID. Then when you dig it up and got it into a tailing pile, it would give jumpy ID numbers from nickel to dime range. The CTX would show the target trace as having multiple red/orange splatters all over the screen on shallow ones and deep ones; rusted ones and non rusty ones. It just has a more accurate way of IDing them.

I concentrated on targets that were in the 12-06 to 12-20s range on the CTX hoping for gold. I set a tone bin up for that range and made it easy...but I got excited every time I heard that assigned tone and saw the low 12 line numbers and a concentrated target trace area. I knew it was foil or something low conductive. Both earrings came up in that range but neither were gold.

October can't get here fast enough now. I want another crack at the water hunting.

Daniel Tn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Detectorist -- On the MX Sport, it depended on whe
> ther they were rusted or not and how deep they wer
> e. If they were deeper and rusted like most of th
> em are, they would give a dime ID initially. I me
> an a good steady dime ID. Then when you dig it up
> and got it into a tailing pile, it would give jump
> y ID numbers from nickel to dime range. The CTX w
> ould show the target trace as having multiple red/
> orange splatters all over the screen on shallow on
> es and deep ones; rusted ones and non rusty ones.
> It just has a more accurate way of IDing them.
>
> I concentrated on targets that were in the 12-06 t
> o 12-20s range on the CTX hoping for gold. I set
> a tone bin up for that range and made it easy...bu
> t I got excited every time I heard that assigned t
> one and saw the low 12 line numbers and a concentr
> ated target trace area. I knew it was foil or som
> ething low conductive. Both earrings came up in t
> hat range but neither were gold.
>
> October can't get here fast enough now. I want an
> other crack at the water hunting.

Does the MXS also misidentify them in regular dirt?

In the wet sand...... you really need to dig the 12-01's - 12-20's. You will almost never dig actual chewing gum foil.... in the wet slope. Also....... look at Digs-a-lot posts.

Only 6-8" good id on coins? Damn, I get good id on 10+" when I am in ground that has them. (east TN). May I ask what part of the state (geologically) you are in?

And if you think the CTX is good on the beach now, put a 17" coil on it and prepare to wear your digging arm out!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2017 03:08AM by Champ Ferguson.

No idea about the regular dirt. I don't have an MX Sport anymore and never encountered the crown caps other than at the beach.

Nasa Tom -- I spoke with some guy that was interested in my metal detecting. He said he comes down to that beach every year and stays the winter in the condos. He said the last hurricane to hit the gulf...which was Ivan in 2004....sanded everything in really bad. He said it changed the whole landscape of the beach and the areas just off shore. I went and looked it up and saw the damage to the areas I stayed in. Each condo has its own outside swimming pool...and some of the photos they showed were before and after photos of these pools, filled completely in with sand after Ivan! There are no rocks or even hard layers of shells that I hit while digging on the beach itself. Down in the wet sand areas, the signals are far and few between. I was digging everything if I got a signal down there; especially near the towel line area. That was what was discouraging about the dry sand area...the light weight foils like those gum wrappers, etc...were extremely deep. In my mind, I figure this stuff stratifies and heavy items will be with heavy items and light items will be with light items...and to me, the lack of coins and other heavier metal objects was a bad sign. But as they say, stuff is where you find it. Not a lot of people were in the water while we were there; but that wetsand area gets a ton of traffic with people walking the shore, shell hunting, etc. It's a constant parade of people...but they aren't really doing anything to lost jewelry doing that. I figure in the water is going to be my best bet...and maybe luck up on the towel line if someone has taken their jewelry off up there.


Champ -- I'm in Southeast TN.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2017 03:19AM by Daniel Tn.

Here in Hawaii the CTX with 17" coil goes way deep ...not much mineralization. Fortunately most drops are found within a few weeks and are not too deep (< 8") in the sand zone. Some exceed 12" where they intersect the shore/mixing zone ... tends to draw a crowd when you dig out those deep ones, which I prefer to avoid. Murphy's Law operates here too, so you always get a deep one in the worst location.

Out in the water but inside the shore breaks, the rings/coins are mostly shallow (<4"), likewise with coral bottoms. I use the 17" coil mostly just to cover more ground faster than the 11". I use the DetectorPro Detecting Pal swing support to reduce the fatigue. In the water I have Easy Swing Arm that I've attached to the lower mount. The Easy Swing let's me guide the coil through the water (water resistance against the coil/rod is tiring otherwise) and the swing support helps a bit too.

Johnny -- That is a good looking setup. I noticed really quick that if I hunted in the gulf or ocean with the CTX on a regular basis, that I would need some modification to help swing it in the water. The constant motion of the water/waves made it really hard to swing the detector in the water...especially with the pulling feeling it was doing when the tide was going back out. Freshwater hunting is 10x easier...and even it is hard compared to hunting on land. After hunting in the gulf waters for about 45 mins to an hour....when I came out of the water, that machine felt light as a feather. You are right about the curious onlookers and people in general. I would get up really early and hunt or go late of the evening into the night...other wise, there were too many curious people stopping to talk. I know they are just being friendly...most that talked to me were older retired people that come there for the winter to escape the cold and snow back home. They call themselves "Snow Birds" and they will stay at the condos for 2-3 months a year at a time. But my time there is limited to just a few days versus their several weeks...so I tended to try and be very short in conversation. When I go back, I will have a slightly modified setup for down there. I plan on hunting the water next time instead of the dry sand. I may have one of the new CoilTek 9x14 coils too; I will watch the forums and see how people are liking them before doing that though. I have til October before I will be making a trip to saltwater.

Right now I'm thinking about selling my Sovereign GT and TDI, and getting an Excalibur 2. That would be the equiv of the Sovereign but in a waterproof housing....since it looks like the beach thing will be a ongoing thing for the wife and I, it would be handy having 2 waterproof machines.

Got any tips for avoiding jellyfish while in the water? Those suckers are bad down at the gulf. I don't know much about marine life...but I saw something up on the shore that I first thought was a turtle. I went over to it and it was a big jellyfish that had washed up on the wet sand...looked like a big pile of snot....and it was as big as my 11 inch coil on the CTX. That's why I thought it was a turtle. The others I've seen were much smaller.

Nice setup JohnnyA

Daniel Tn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Got any tips for avoiding jellyfish while in the w
> ater? Those suckers are bad down at the gulf. I
> don't know much about marine life...but I saw some
> thing up on the shore that I first thought was a t
> urtle. I went over to it and it was a big jellyfi
> sh that had washed up on the wet sand...looked lik
> e a big pile of snot....and it was as big as my 11
> inch coil on the CTX. That's why I thought it was
> a turtle. The others I've seen were much smaller.

Wetsuit Daniel

Daniel, Wear long pants in the water, no exposed skin. I use to wade fish the Gulf, Texas coast, the man-o-war were all over the place....never had a problem with long pants on.

Last year while detecting one of my saltwater beaches using 17" coil I got a 12.31 signal at bottom of slope at waters edge in pebble layer. it was a deep 10.6 gram 10k ring. From then on I dig the 12.01-12.35 signals. Fresh zinc pennies read 12.37 on my machine but the corroded zincs can/will read lower.


John

Ive ran into an occasional jelly fish.......but a lot of those things you see washed up arent really jelly fish that sting. The things you have to watch are the sting rays down here. They like to bury themselves in the loose sand areas and some times during the year you really have to shuffle your feet. Other than that the Gulf is pretty tame..... and i spend a good deal of time in the water. Xcal and CTX are a good combo.... thou we need something we can use in the salt that might catch us some smaller gold. Toms right not a lot of gum foil out there..... but you can get into wash areas where a lot of old can slaw settles on the bottom or gets moved toward shore with the looser sand.

Dew

Quote

=The constant motion of the water/waves made it really hard to swing the detector in the water...especially with the pulling feeling it was doing when the tide was going back out.

Daniel, the slightest under-current takes its toll on the arm as you said, and when the waves are pushing the detector about (and me too) it gets darn difficult to detect let along recover a target. So, the extra control the Easy Swing arm gives lets me move the coil along without stress. Really just slight turn at the hip and with two control points the detector obeys. I can hunt all day in the water with this set up and the 17" coil. If the waves are pounding it is hopeless though, I'll not bother. I've had that rouge wave smack so hard nearly lost everything to the ocean. I think the hardest detecting on earth is done in the surf. I really need to get my diving cert.

We have the box jelly fish invasion here about 9-12 days after the full moon. The lifeguards post warning signs. Problem for me is I hit the beaches in the dark, around 5AM before people arrive. I stay out of the water until it's light and work the sand first. But you can't really see the jellyfish when the light is low. They post jellyfish warnings online - I usually check when planning my hunt, along with tidal info. If they're around I'll skip it.

I wear a light wet-suit short-sleeve vest and wet-suit shorts - but with my arms exposed a jellyfish would do some damage. Funny thing, I figured the water would be warmish in Hawaii, but stay in there for an hour and even with a partial wet-suit I'm cold. I'm going to have to invest in a heavier suit. Water steals your body heat like no other.

A week ago I had a target I figured to be a quarter in the surf-zone. Of course people gathered to watch. I told them it wouldn't be much probably just a coin, hoping they'd move on. I guess they didn't believe me or had high hopes a gold doubloon was in the basket. When I flashed them the quarter one lady said "Oh how nice", not sarcastically but like you might say to a child who wanted you to see their stupid stick-figure drawing. Yeah, I'm 69 and collect clad coins ... pity me.

Johnnyanglo

Those rogue waves can come out of no where. When we were there in October, it was still very warm and there were lots of people in the water. I was out there enjoying the view of the bikini clad gals, when I happened to be looking at the right place at the right time to catch a wave that knocked the top off a very top heavy gal. Wowziers! She fixed it, looked around like she hoped nobody saw it, and then not even 2 minutes later, had it knocked off again by another wave. That sure beat anything I was finding in the sand that day. Hahah.

I have been collecting Clive & Gary Drayton's books on beach hunting. It's all new to me but I could adjust to it very quickly and leave these Civil War relics behind. The tourism directory for Alabama says there are 32 miles of beaches in the gulf...I know where we stay in Orange Beach, as far as the eye can see in either direction, is just white sugar sand and turquoise water, and hundreds of condos. THAT is a lot of area for jewelry to be lost and for it to hide in. I have seen a lot of people detecting the dry sand of the beach, but most of them have no idea what they are doing...walking in straight lines and never swinging the coil. The only one I've saw that was a player in the game, was the guy this time around with the Excal 2 that had been in the water. He said he was from Pensacola and normally hunts that area; but came over to the AL side just to get a change in scenery. I like hunting the beach at night; the only people out there are the kids looking for those sand crab things or romancers walking the shore. Otherwise...after about 11 o clock, you have it to yourself. I'm used to working 3rd shift at night so that fits me just fine; even on vacation.

I have seen a lot of people detecting the dry sand of the beach, but most of them have no idea what they are doing...walking in straight lines and never swinging the coil.

There are a few here with a detector that clearly know their business - but ... there are many more waving the detector about without a clue. I know I've got a good chance in the sand, that it hasn't been hunted previously, when coins are popping all about. There is one guy with a home built PI unit with a wafer thin coil and flat stem that he whips quickly through the water like slicing a hot knife through butter. He's not playing around. Great idea but sucks for me. But no one can get it all.