I'm in dire need of some tudoring! CTX 3030....

I'm fixing to hit the water any day now as soon as work quits interferring with my life. I'm a seasoned water hunter but am going to put the 3030 in the water this year. Someone tudor me as to what I need to do to make sure the 3030 holds up even though it's supposed to be waterproof and many places have failed in certain areas of the machine. IOW water ready for the CTX dunking. There's so little info anywhere seems like. Tudor me like a government mule, lay it on thick.......

Silicone grease on the battery box seal. Take it out and clean it lube, install. After every hunt repeat. I haven't hunted in water with mine, but have followed closely in what folks are doing. Seems to work. Look forward to your finds Jack. Maybe the sand/mud will be softer than your kiln dried ground lol.

Here's the best thing to do to waterproof the 3030 Jack

gets good at 3:30 minutes in - that's where it starts to show you how

[www.youtube.com]

enjoy

Sorry fot this Tom, but FROG over on treasure net has made some great strides in getting them truly water proof..... he dives with his. His post address the seals. Also DONT lean on your machine when digging it wears out the cam lock and shafts.

Any idea about what headphones would be best? Fixing to order some just don't want to have to try several brands. Also what about the coil wire connections, good to go?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2015 05:11PM by Jack Flynn.

Jack Flynn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Any idea about what headphones would be best?
> Fixing to order some just don't want to have to
> try several brands. Also what about the coil wire
> connections, good to go?


The Detector Pro CTX 3030 waterproof are what I have/use Jack but any of the water phones are all about the same when it comes down to it - the DP's just look better and have a slightly more comfortable fit

as for the coil connectors - the silicone grease trick is all I use around the threads and it's good to go - just make sure they're snug.

Good luck out in the water and post up some GOLD!

The circumference of the O-ring track in the battery compartment is just a bit over 260mm in length. Divide this by Pi and we get a suitable diameter of 82.76mm for an O-ring to fit perfectly. The goal is pick one that is closest to the desired 82.76mm diameter measurement to fit the 260mm battery slot circumference.

The O-rings are listed by inside diameter and cross-section thickness. Therefore, the center point of the ring (to get the center-point diameter) is the cross-sectional thickness plus the inside diameter. For instance, a 2.62mm cross-section on a 80.6mm inside diameter ring (80.6mm x 2.62mm) would yield a center point diameter of 83.22mm, which is too big.

According to my calculations the closest replacement O-ring available from the online store is either 80mm x 2.5mm (which yields a circumference of 259.181mm) or 79.5mm x 3mm (same result, 259.181mm). Either one should fit the battery slot perfectly (the 3mm cross-section thickness may be unnecessarily large and put strain on the case clips when closing, so I'd stick with the 2.5mm one.) This is only if you want the most perfect fit possible. I've been using a 80mm x 2.0mm which is 0.76mm diameter too small (2.4mm circumference too small), but since it is elastic rubber it fits fine anyway. The 80mm x 2.5mm would have a better fit and is the ideal thicknesss, without being too thick.

80.0mm x 2.50mm Battery O-Ring:[www.theoringstore.com] for a $1.36 plus shipping


The USB port is a bit unusual.The USB port cover has an inside diameter of about 21mm. For the USB port, the O-ring only needs to have an inside diameter less than 21mm, a little smaller is necessary to ensure a snug fit, so 20mm diameter O-ring is good. The O-ring cross-sectional thickness has been recommended to be 2mm, which is fair since that is the width of the nut the O-ring will seat against. But consider that ideally we'd want the CTX port cover rim to seat directly on the center of the O-ring when tightened down.

Thus, we'd want the ideal O-ring diameter to include its cross-sectional thickness, that is, the center-to-center diameter of the cap should equal the ring's thickness plus its inside diameter.The port cover cap has a 23mm diameter from rim-center ro rim-center. You still need to keep the ring inside diameter at 20mm to seat snugly to the port, but an additional 3mm cross-sectional thickness to center the cap rim over the center of the O-ring.

Therefore, the ideal USB port cover O-ring would be 20mm x 3mm [www.theoringstore.com] $0.63

A 2.50mm x 80mm ring and a 3mm x 20mm ring comes to $1.99, plus $5 shipping, and you have a water-tight CTX-3030.

I use a little silicone grease along the edge fittings of the battery compartment and the threads of the USB port. Some also add an acetoxy silicone sealant (bond) to the USB port threads to keep it from backing away. It has low shear strength so the cap can easily be removed later to access the USB port.

Some examples of acetoxy silicone sealant:

[www.amazon.com]

[www.amazon.com]


All the credit for the initial discovery of these rings goes to Frogmaster-riviera who promoted and led the way to seal the CTX to scuba depths. Minelab should pay him a finder's fee or buy the right of use.

The CTX connectors work fine.... in fact we use them on the Xcal end caps now. I dont agree all water phones are created equal. The GGA a lot better than the yellows. Ole beach nuts skullies are the best ive used.

Johnnyanglo's information on the O-rings is spot on for keeping the CTX dry, only thing we differ on is the use of silicone. I prefer my O-rings dry which aids in any sand removal that may infiltrate the seam between the battery and housing. I hate messing with grease and sand mixed..... I remove the battery after every water hunt to charge (even if it was a short hunt) which also serves to inspect the compartment to ensure no water has seeped in. What most fail to realize is the O-ring is the seal when compressed, silicone grease is only a "rubber" conditioner not a seal. I never pull the battery without removing the O-ring and cleaning it....well, let me say one time I got lazy and that is the only time I had problems.....it has never happened since, always with a dry (no silicone) O-ring. Clean the O-ring, clean the sealing surfaces on the housing and battery and put it all back together, this has been my routine for well over 1500 hours using the machine with the battery under saltwater. I do also use a wide rubber band around the battery clamps, my mind thinks it helps so I'll continue to do that also.

Frogmaster Riviera did all CTX users a favor experimenting with his unit. I initially felt it was unnecessary since I only had the one problem BUT the larger O-ring does a better job and the cost is considerably less than the ML red silicone seals.

CTX connectors work well as stated above. Any time you remove (disconnect) them, use a toothbrush to clean the threads and if it makes you feel better, lightly lube the threads for the connector.

None of the UW headphones available commercially have enough volume especially if you have any hearing problem....yes, lots of people use them and they do work BUT you will have problems when there are waves and wind in the background.... you don't know how inferior they are until you try OBN's skully phones. I was able to take the volume from Maximum down to 15, and they are still loud enough.... the GGUW's, the GGA's and the Koss Yellows all have to have the volume max'd out for my hearing.

Good Luck
Cliff

Agree with Cliff above ... the UW Headphones at max volume are inferior.

Next, I use the silicone grease on the rim of the battery case - it makes a tight seal when closed. You are correct ... you have to take out the O-ring and wash it off, clean the grove with a swab and all surfaces to include the battery pack. It's a ten minute chore .. every time.

To keep the sand off I use an old cloth carry sack that just fits the back part of the CTX - great.

Anyone have a tip for keeping the CTX screws from oxidizing and coating with white powder? I used 5% vinegar and got some of it off ... any better ideas?

Do NOT use silicone grease on the 3030 o-ring. I have used it on every other water machine I've ever owned, but the dainty o-ring they used is will get "micro abrasions" as Minelab explained to me and actually cause leaks by attracting sand while using silicone grease. . It will also make cleaning the small groove out with a compressed air more difficult. Simply rinse the o-ring with straight water, inspect closely and replace in clean, dry groove.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2015 08:54AM by Fletch88.

Johnnyanglo try some beeswax just put a dab on them and when it wears off do it again works great and cheap .