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CTX acting up

J

jas415

Active member
When I turn the machine on, after it being shut off for 12 hours or so, with the stock big coil attached, not the 6" or 17", I usually select up the stock 'coin' program, then the modified GH program and then noise cancel. I almost always run it with open screen, manual sense at about 25 to 28, and seawater enabled, For the past few weeks I have been experiencing the same issue with the larger coil but now it has started with the small one also. .For the first 15 to 20 minutes the tones are muffled and considerably off tone. The VDI's are totally screwed up and are like 24-49, 04-28, really off.

The actual target tones are pretty good, just the iron and other signals are really off. The target icon is non-existent and when I toss a coin down on the ground and sweep over it, the target icon will be washed out, splotchy, and tend to move from lower numbers area up to the area where it should be but still splotchy and ragged. After maybe 1 minute or so of sweeping the icon will be a bit more solid but still not strong. The actual target tone will be there but sort of off kilter. On the sweep it will register targets at 5 or 6" on ALL targets, and when I pin point the depth reads '0' in all cases. I can switch to the stock coin program with the toggle feature and the exact same thing happens. No VDI numbers, or really squirrely ones, and in pin point it is always '0' on depth and most of the time no VDI numbers at all

After about 15 to 20 minutes of hunting, it will come around and be the solid machine is always has been. It is almost like it warms up and then gets strong and solid in all areas. I traded the large coil with the dealer for his and had the exact same issue. I have had the issue when no other machines were around me, not even within sight. No power lines, no underground, etc. I even put the 17" on here at the house and when the machine is warm, like I just turned it off, then the change of coils makes no difference. When I havent turned it on for 12 hours or so, then I have the issue. And today it happened with the small 6" coil also.

I think I will call Minelab and see if there is anything I can do other than send it back in for a diagnostics checkup. Any ideas about some adjustment or setting I might make to get her back on track? Sending it back for a week or two will require me to really get familiar with the new F75 I just got a as a backup for it. I suppose that could be the issue, the CTX is so sensitive that when I put them both in the back seat of the truck the CTX starts to pout because it has to share the floorboards with the Fisher. .
 
Just send it in as it will come back great and you can trust it. I just got mine back a couple weeks ago to fix the gps and check all my coils. The 17" was replaced and works better. When i talked with them they did warn me about it being sensitive to cold. You need to come up with a description of how to demonstrate the problem you see. Check to see if it is temperature or just on time that it is sensitive to.
 
have you tried performing a master reset?
 
jas415,
Intermittent behaviour like that virtually guarantees a trip to ML.
I've seen one act in a similar fashion that got dunked without the headphone port plugged...any chance it took an unsafe swim?

I'm afraid it's probably wishful thinking to hope for an easy software fix for what's probably a hardware problem.
On the bright side, Minelab does a thorough job.

Meanwhile enjoy the F75...is it the newest Ltd_2?

mike
 
ML said ship it back, so it goes back today. I tried several things, including swearing at it but it did not listen. Swapped coils with my dealer, did several power resets, plugged in the pc to see if that would help, removed, reset and re-installed two of the primary programs I use, tried a different wireless module, tried it on headset and without, totally away from any power stuff, but it just seemed to need to warm up. 20-30 minutes and it is great. By the way it is not cold here in Houston. 78-80 yesterday.

Because it is pretty squirrelly the first few minutes it cost me a Walker because it was not getting any depth or correct signals. Buddy got it with his CTX. The F75 is a new one with all the upgrades, so I will reset my brain and attempt to decipher those different tones and VDI's.
 
bklein said:
Just send it in as it will come back great and you can trust it. I just got mine back a couple weeks ago to fix the gps and check all my coils. The 17" was replaced and works better. When i talked with them they did warn me about it being sensitive to cold. You need to come up with a description of how to demonstrate the problem you see. Check to see if it is temperature or just on time that it is sensitive to.
Click to expand...

What does Minelab say about cold temperatures affecting the CTX? I wonder if these issues are related?

My machine locked up with me while hunting. It was about 39-40 deg F. I had been detecting about 30 minutes, lost all sound in the headphones, the screen locked with the current readings. Sweep the coil and got no sound and the screen did not change. Pressed the menu buttons with no response. Finally had to hold the power button to shut off. Restarted the machine and all returned to normal.

Do we have a software issue?
Kurt
 
I've been using mine in the lower 30's this winter without a single problem from mine. Cold weather shouldn't affect the CTX unless there is an underlying problem.
 
Having purchased mine last Fall, I've used it a lot on 20's and 30's F with no problems. Even coil on ice has worked.
 
I was surprised to hear him suggest that but I let it go because I'm in So. CA and it rarely gets cold.
I dont desire to start a scare - i would think you could easily determine if cold was a probem for your detector or not.
 
It could be that he has water vapor inside that precipitates when its cool and goes into less problematic vapor phase when warmer.
 
The Ctx will run below 0 The screen gets a little sluggish. You need to send it off I just got mine back with a similar problem. a new processor and coil and its running like a top!
 
I did not mean that the machine was reacting to cold weather. All I said was it seemed like it needed to 'warm up'! Just my choice of words to describe what was happening. Not some idea that the CTX was sensitive to Houston's 60-80 weather. I doubt very seriously if there is any connection at all to the weather, moisture or anything like that. I think it is simply some sort of hardware issue creating a software response symptom. As I said after it runs for 20-25 minutes it runs great! Heck, it has been a great machine and when I get it back it will be even better! I have roughly 1600 to 2000 hours of use on it over the past 30 months and it has been exceptional!! And, I am not in the least worried about it or Minelab's service! As I said, I posted the issue because I wanted to see if there was others that had the same issue and if there was a simple fix for it.

Along the same subject, it would be wonderful if Minelab would create a link whereby a person could go to the link, plug their CTX or E-Trac in the PC, then run some diagnostics software on the detector, the site create a 'report card', and if there were issues the Minelab software would automatically create an RMA and all the pertinent emails for sending it back. Or, maybe instructions on how to clear the issue.

Oh, well, I am training on new tones and 'dig or no dig' feedback from the F75.
 
Laplander,
What symptoms did your CTX display to make you send it for repair? I just got mine back a couple of months ago from a display replacement.
 
jas415 said:
I did not mean that the machine was reacting to cold weather. All I said was it seemed like it needed to 'warm up'! Just my choice of words to describe what was happening. Not some idea that the CTX was sensitive to Houston's 60-80 weather. I doubt very seriously if there is any connection at all to the weather, moisture or anything like that. I think it is simply some sort of hardware issue creating a software response symptom. As I said after it runs for 20-25 minutes it runs great! Heck, it has been a great machine and when I get it back it will be even better! I have roughly 1600 to 2000 hours of use on it over the past 30 months and it has been exceptional!! And, I am not in the least worried about it or Minelab's service! As I said, I posted the issue because I wanted to see if there was others that had the same issue and if there was a simple fix for it.

Along the same subject, it would be wonderful if Minelab would create a link whereby a person could go to the link, plug their CTX or E-Trac in the PC, then run some diagnostics software on the detector, the site create a 'report card', and if there were issues the Minelab software would automatically create an RMA and all the pertinent emails for sending it back. Or, maybe instructions on how to clear the issue.

Oh, well, I am training on new tones and 'dig or no dig' feedback from the F75.
Click to expand...

Wishful thinking. How do you propose this to work when no error reporting or recording? It would be like plugging up a car with no check engine light.
 
A lot of low tone falsing and the screen would throw up multiple targets that didn't match an actual target. hope that answers your ? t8474kj1
 
Laplander,
Thanks for the information, I will call Minelab tomorrow about this issue. The next weekend I hunted, after the machine had the software lockup, it did give repeated low tone falsing. I dialed the sensitivity down to stop the falsing, but it did not help. Appreciate you help.
 
Diagnosis requires a controlled environment. Having someone send signals from an unregulated environment using non standard targets with uncontrolled motions would be of little help.
 
It was shipped from here in Houston last Friday and with all the snowy weather in the Chicago area I would doubt it has arrived there. I dont know if I get a notice or not but will check.

Drjohn71a "Diagnosis requires a controlled environment. Having someone send signals from an unregulated environment using non standard targets with uncontrolled motions would be of little help."

My glass is always half full. I am not trying to be argumentative or start a 'whizzing contest", just posing a possible online 'problem solving' function. There is a way to do everything! The "controlled" part is very simple. I did not envision any 'uncontrolled motions", non-standard" etc.. I simply meant run a diagnostics of the computer inside the head unit and see if it has an issue. They only specified sending back the "control head", not coils, shaft, etc.. I could do the EXACT same thing at home that they are going to do at the service center! Plug it into a computer and run some online diagnostics on it. I doubt seriously if someone there is going to have some sort of mechanical robotic arm precisely waving a target in front of anything. My point in the idea is to save a bit of time and money by using some sort of online diagnostics that could determine if there is an internal electronic tuneup adjustment that could be made without the shipping costs, lack of detecting time, and to get a better customer service system going.

Almost every computer made today has a software running in it that can be 'trouble shot' via the internet and if there is an issue it can be easily uninstalled and re-installed. A corrupted file can be easily re-installed. It aint rocket science.
 
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