CTX 3030 dirt hunters......

[Digger]

Why do you think there are still old coins "hiding" out there? Do you think it is due to extreme depth or target masking? I realize opinions will vary. But based on the part of the Country in live in and the places I like to detect, I believe there are more old coins still hiding out "here" due to their being "masked" by adjacent targets, opposed to being buried at extreme depth. I've found that, when properly adjusted, the CTX 3030 is capable of providing a depth of detection comparible to (or better than) most other detectors I've used. Have I used deeper seeking detectors? Yes, I've owned detectors that would hunt deeper than the CTX 3030. But none offered the depth and the separation characteristics, combined with the assignable audio and visual target "trace" information, of the CTX 3030. In my opinion, the flexibility and functionality of the CTX 3030 provides an opportunity to take our detecting skills to a whole new level. You just have to learn how that functionality can be applied to your sites and your style of detecting and make the adjustments required to maximize its performance. At least that is how I see it, based on my hunts in places that many considered to have been "hunted out".

QUESTION: for the CTX 3030 users who have recovered coins from sites that were thought to be "beat to death" .........to what do you attribute your success?

DISCLAIMER: Is the CTX 3030 for everyone? Certainly not. And no one here is going to try and convince you otherwise. If you have another detector that detects as deeply as you want, and you are confident that there are not any good targets being masked by adjacent "trash, then stepping up to the CTX 3030 may not be for you. But if you're not using a CTX 3030, please post the location of the sites you hunt to this forum, so CTX 3030 users can "further our research" regarding all those coins being hidden by adjacent targets.

JMHO HH Randy

 

[Larry (IL)]

Most of my best finds with the CTX were masked targets that the CTX "saw through" while many of the deep IH's that I have found were just too deep for other detectors to see. IMHO

 

[fsdigital12]

Found a Mercury dime in my backyard which was beat to death by me over the years, Used a Vaquero,DFX and Etrac. Lot of iron nails in my back yard, I think the other machines were getting nulled out.

The CTX found it through the iron thanks to Ferrous Coin/Combined Mode

 

[jtram]

Digger if this post was directed towards me from the questions I had posted on the classroom forum I did not mean to offend you or anyone else. The questions I asked were so that I may understand this machine better. This is the first FBS machine I have owned and the only guidance I receive is by reading posts or asking others for help. I have owned several different detectors over the years and feel that I understood them quite well. With that being said I am learning the CTX as I go and from the advice I receive from other members on this forum.
I don't have the advantage of hunting several times a week usually only on the weekends and want to make the most of the limited amount of time that I have. I have had a little success with the CTX and can't wait to get back into some civil war camps to see what real depth I can achieve with this machine. Maybe I asked the question wrong or I mentioned another minelab detector other than the CTX. If that is the case the only detector that will be mentioned from this point forward will be the CTX. I had made some modifications to GH's programs and was wanting others opinions on the changes or if there was something else I should try.
Sorry again if I offended anyone on this forum

 

[rjfjedi]

Dont apologize for asking questions. The only way to learn is to ask. If someone does not like your question then they have the option to ignore it. So I say ask away and ask as many times as you like till you understand what it is that you need to learn.

And as for iron masking good coins. I have found silver and wheaties and even clad that I couldnt find with my other detector. The way the CTX finds those hidden coins is unreal. I feel there are tons of coins out there to find that have been masked by iron.

Good luck

Rocco

 

[Digger]

Actually I hadn't read your post on the Classroom yet. So no, my question in this post was not directed toward you. It is something my brother and I were discussing earlier today, as we have for years. I'll take a look at that post on the Classroom and (hopefully) be able to respond to your questions. Don't hesitate to ask honest questions. And please don't assume that, when I ask an "obscure" question, that I have ulterior motives. Sometimes I just ask questions to get more insight into something that has me scratching my head! And the question of depth vs masking has been at the top of that list for a long time. HH Randy


P.S. I've moved the original post you referenced from the CTX Classroom to this forum, so more folks can respond. HH

 

[jtram]

OK thanks guys. I am starting to really like this machine. I found my first Indian first silver and first gold with it this weekend. Earlier I the week I found a few bullets and a saddle shield. And the big one for the weekend was a gold pocket watch. Maybe it's just gold plated but it was yellow when it came out of the ground.

Thanks for all the help and advice from everyone

Jim

 

[jimzilla]

I have been killing worked out sites since I got the CTX. SO far over 200 silver coins in 3 months with the CTX in worked out sites. I think my success has to do with GPS mapping in combination with the various functions of the CTX. I always hunt an area in ground coin, then ferrous coin, then high trash, (all in manual)...then I do the same all in AUTO. The mapping works great as well.

 

[squirrel1]

Here's my opinion on the CTX. It's a super sniffer on coins for me excluding nickels. I rate it as fair on nickels. The CTX handles EMI better than my f75se, etrac, V3i. This means a lot more than some may think. In ideal ground/EMI conditions there may be better detectors out there for say relics, coins, or low conductors. But hunting in those ideal conditions don't come often to say the least. For silver coins I don't think it can be beat from day to day hunting. Deep low conductors may be its downfall, but looking at other machines that maybe better on deep low conductors, they are not as good on deep moderate to high conductors. The ease of operation cannot be beat by any machine I know of. There really isn't much to adjust and its automatic ground balance is where the machine shines. And let's not forget the other minelab machines are no slouches either when compared to other brands for finding coins. I feel the CTX is not swing speed sensitive as opposed to another high end machine I won't mention. Will you dig iron with the CTX, you betcha. But remember this machine is looking for coins/silver and is looking deep. If one will stick with 2 way consistent hits or better the quantity of iron will not be much. We all are guilty especially when we have already found some nice coins deep at a site we may give one of those 1 way sweet signals at try. Or quite the reverse we haven't found anything and get desperate and say what the heck and give an iffy or 1 way hit target a try. That's what is nice about metal detecting, the only thing you really sacrifice by going after one of those questionable targets is time. Again the time factor is what makes the CTX great. We spend less time digging junk and instead dig the repetitive signals with good to excellent target ID and fill our pouches. I know there are some out there that still question the CTX and some think it's merely an etrac with a color screen with waterproofing. I have 2 etracs and I promise you the CTX has more to offer for finding treasure especially in the iron pits and even with the 11" coil. I don't have a 6 inch coil for my CTX yet, but I'm having fun with the 11" coil thus far. I can say without hesitation a very high percentage of my finds in areas already supposedly depleted by v3i and etrac were coins in iron or on edge and some of the coins weren't deep either. Let's sit back and watch what the other detector manufacturers bring forward.

 

[ronfin]

Target masking, and quicker TID recovery with the faster processor have made this machine "find" coins our other machines have missed. Luck is a contributing factor, but when I look at the same patch of dirt I hit over and over with my ETRAC, and then it stopped giving up any coins, and walk in with the CTX and find 6 silver dimes, I'm VERY impressed.

 

[jimpugh]

[size=large]I just got all my coils................. my huntin partner still has his coils on back order........

One reason it is finding "The Goods" is first it is a Minelab .....not just any it is ... The... Flagship... Minelab

And the biggest reason is it can see Multiple targets under the coil Simultaneously.

Now this Important fact can be lost in the sizzle .....if you do not mind the devil in the details.

Choosing a few proper(Most Important) settings and proper sweep speed. R KEY

our season will pick up soon.... (storms out of the way ).... we hunt year round ...but Best fields... and water in the winter... sand moves more and snakes will be moving slow.

this machine has found things that others(ALL OTHERS) have missed for thirty years.......when i say others i mean bus loads of so called experts ....

It works real good in the water can be as deep as a pulse if you know what your doing........never said that about any Excal.... I got 4 of em ....Swords and wots etc.

enuff talk they sold to many of these ...things.... me & shawn.... do not want to see more .....most people do not know how to dig a deep hole with out a Mess....

Happy Trails
jimpugh[/size]

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

I fully believe the unmasking ability of the CTX is what is its best ability. The easy targets aren't out there for easy pickings anymore.

 

[earthmansurfer]

Why do you think there are still old coins "hiding" out there? Do you think it is due to extreme depth or target masking?

As the CTX, Deus and other faster/unmasking machines have shown us, there are still A LOT of targets out there that are masked. The CTX seems to have an edge in that it is FBS AND FAST.
Regarding depth, I always hear most people saying "Most coins are at 6 inches or so and there are just not many coins deeper than 9 inches." Until someone takes a PI machine through those areas, how can one possibly know there are not many deeper coins out there? I remember watching a Minelab video of a hunted out Roman spot on a hill where a guy took a top of the line Minelab PI unit there and was digging lots of coins that VLF machines could not touch (12" - 15" range). The CTX does not have the depth of a PI unit of course, but it does seem to open up those deeper spots that the E-Trac/Explorers could somewhat hit but not clean out.

QUESTION: for the CTX 3030 users who have recovered coins from sites that were thought to be "beat to death" .........to what do you attribute your success?

I really think the CTX's speed combined with FBS(2) technology is opening things up that in the unmasking department. That unmasking, as you said, seems to occur much deeper than other detectors can do (at least in tougher ground). The VID is more stable at depth and the signal strength at depth also seems stronger, at least thus far in my somewhat iron mineralized ground.

Albert

 

[schvarzy]

Hello everyone,

I am using th ctx under water in slightly salted water. So far no gold found.... There should be some where I am looking and i wonder if my settings ar correct.... Does anyone has any idea? I go in beach mode, sensitivity to manual, set around 18 while he suggested level shld be 14. Detector seems stable. Can find many coins but just no gold...I have an excalibur also and my friend suggested i should use it like he does ( he does find gold rings...).... It would work better.

Any suggestions ar welcome

 

[mtwolf2270]

I truly believe, it is mostly the unmasking as I have seen it, too many times, with my own eyes in sites I know, I and my hunting buddy pounded with Etrac and Se Pro. I also think it is more stable on the deeper targets. Things I dig with the CTX that are keepers, I know would have been to iffy on the SE and I would have walked away from them. So, IMHO it is FBS 2, the seperation and recovery speed . That make it (again IMHO) the best Machine, I have ever owned and when I leave a site, I feel like, I have left nothing or very very little behind. If it is still there it is cause my coin never passed over it. HH all

Matt