ironman200081
Active member
Happy Anniversary, Minelab CTX-3030!
I made it out over the weekend for a hunt near a public school. The site has both historic coins and Civil War relics. It has seen some dirt moving in the past, so you run in to the awkward feeling of digging 9-inch deep clad at times. I was lucky to pull a few silver, including a 1943-D Walking Liberty half. The half came in at 12-44/45 because it was on edge in the hole. It was only 4 inches deep -- surprised the other fellas over the years missed it! Found a tiny child's sterling and turquoise ring that, by the craftsmanship, looks like Indian jewelry. It came in at 12-37 at 4 inches.
I also found four Civil War bullets - one dropped .69 French triangle, and three shot .58 carbines. The French triangle came in at 12-39 at 6 inches and the carbines were 12-37 at 8 inches. Not a bad "anniversary" hunt with the CTX.
Last Memorial Day Weekend, after a few weeks of teasers and tales, Minelab released the wonderful gift to us insane enough to call this our hobby. I fell for the CTX the instant it was dubbed "The Future of Discovery" and promptly put in my pre-order. She arrived the Wednesday after Memorial Day, looking sharp and sleek right out of the box. Much to the dismay of Eleanor, my E-Trac, I named the CTX "Chloe" and carefully pieced her together as per the instructions. After a little pattern editing on Xchange 2, I hit the dirt and haven't stopped since. poor Eleanor was quickly sold off.
In the year that I have had the CTX, I have noticed a marked improvement in the number, quality, and diversity of finds. Although I came to it as an experienced E-Trac user, it admittedly took about 100 hours of swinging before I felt comfortable with the CTX. In fact, I still feel that I am learning more and more about the machine at every subsequent hunt. The features I have grown to love are the weight balance, Target Trace, custom tone bins, the GPS mapping feature, and the Smart coil technology. I would like to share some observations about the CTX:
1) I read the user's guide and followed Minelab's instructions and recommendations. Other than the first initial issue with the firmware, which was patched with an easy download, I have experienced ZERO issues with the CTX. I haven't wrapped the coil wire in an armor sheath nor have I clad Chloe in bubble wrap. My coil wire is fine. Yes, the lower shaft can stick if you don't wash or wipe it after your hunts like the user's guide recommends. Yes the battery gasket can come out if you pop out the battery while inverting the machine. I did, however, install a screen shield which did save Chloe from my own carelessness on a recent occasion. She took a shovel hit right to the screen; tore the cover but not a scratch on the screen. Many of the "issues" I have read about with this machine have been operator-related.
2) The CTX learning curve did not seem too bad, but I did come to it from an E-Trac. The CTX itself is not an upgrade for the E-Trac, it is a whole different species of detector. However, the FBS and FBS2 technologies are similar in their operation and hunting/swing style.
3) The CTX will not walk out to a park, find silver, dig it up for you, and serve it to you with an ice-cold michelada in your lawn chair. Sorry. In my opinion, during late last summer and fall, folks were expressing some frustration with the CTX because the number of their finds did not quadruple over their previous machines. I believe that the price of the machine combined with Minelab's excellent branding campaign may have inflated some expectations about the machine. Folks forgot that as with a new pair of undies, you need some adjustment time to get used to a new metal detector. The CTX is a stellar machine, and is the best all-purpose detector on the market once you learn what it can do, cannot do, and what it is telling you.
4) The 6" and 17" Smart coils are great enhancements. Yes, they cost as much as a trunk-load of Bounty Hunters and Old Milwaukee Light. And yes, they are both specialty, situational coils. But it is astounding how many times the right situation for these coils arises at sites. I have a certain site that has area where each one of the three CTX coils is appropriate. Obviously, the 6" is best for high-trash (especially high-iron), but I would not dream of using it on a large, moderate to low trash area. Talk about spending a month to hunt a spot! Likewise, the 17" coil excels in low trash areas, particularly relic sites on fields or open areas of parks. The extra sweep size can save you plenty of time while working an area, not to mention you do see an extra inch or so of depth. The accessory coils are much like new detectors themselves; it will take some experience hours to be as proficient with them as one is with the 11" coil.
I learn more about this machine after each hunt. Thanks to these forums, I have been able to learn even more. For example, I have recently tried tinkering around with Two-Tone Ferrous settings and trying to decide which situation is the best to apply all the different sound and discrimination options of the CTX. I am glad to see that the CTX has gained the respect of the detecting community in the past year and is not viewed as "just an overpriced E-Trac with bells and whistles."
I made it out over the weekend for a hunt near a public school. The site has both historic coins and Civil War relics. It has seen some dirt moving in the past, so you run in to the awkward feeling of digging 9-inch deep clad at times. I was lucky to pull a few silver, including a 1943-D Walking Liberty half. The half came in at 12-44/45 because it was on edge in the hole. It was only 4 inches deep -- surprised the other fellas over the years missed it! Found a tiny child's sterling and turquoise ring that, by the craftsmanship, looks like Indian jewelry. It came in at 12-37 at 4 inches.
I also found four Civil War bullets - one dropped .69 French triangle, and three shot .58 carbines. The French triangle came in at 12-39 at 6 inches and the carbines were 12-37 at 8 inches. Not a bad "anniversary" hunt with the CTX.
Last Memorial Day Weekend, after a few weeks of teasers and tales, Minelab released the wonderful gift to us insane enough to call this our hobby. I fell for the CTX the instant it was dubbed "The Future of Discovery" and promptly put in my pre-order. She arrived the Wednesday after Memorial Day, looking sharp and sleek right out of the box. Much to the dismay of Eleanor, my E-Trac, I named the CTX "Chloe" and carefully pieced her together as per the instructions. After a little pattern editing on Xchange 2, I hit the dirt and haven't stopped since. poor Eleanor was quickly sold off.
In the year that I have had the CTX, I have noticed a marked improvement in the number, quality, and diversity of finds. Although I came to it as an experienced E-Trac user, it admittedly took about 100 hours of swinging before I felt comfortable with the CTX. In fact, I still feel that I am learning more and more about the machine at every subsequent hunt. The features I have grown to love are the weight balance, Target Trace, custom tone bins, the GPS mapping feature, and the Smart coil technology. I would like to share some observations about the CTX:
1) I read the user's guide and followed Minelab's instructions and recommendations. Other than the first initial issue with the firmware, which was patched with an easy download, I have experienced ZERO issues with the CTX. I haven't wrapped the coil wire in an armor sheath nor have I clad Chloe in bubble wrap. My coil wire is fine. Yes, the lower shaft can stick if you don't wash or wipe it after your hunts like the user's guide recommends. Yes the battery gasket can come out if you pop out the battery while inverting the machine. I did, however, install a screen shield which did save Chloe from my own carelessness on a recent occasion. She took a shovel hit right to the screen; tore the cover but not a scratch on the screen. Many of the "issues" I have read about with this machine have been operator-related.
2) The CTX learning curve did not seem too bad, but I did come to it from an E-Trac. The CTX itself is not an upgrade for the E-Trac, it is a whole different species of detector. However, the FBS and FBS2 technologies are similar in their operation and hunting/swing style.
3) The CTX will not walk out to a park, find silver, dig it up for you, and serve it to you with an ice-cold michelada in your lawn chair. Sorry. In my opinion, during late last summer and fall, folks were expressing some frustration with the CTX because the number of their finds did not quadruple over their previous machines. I believe that the price of the machine combined with Minelab's excellent branding campaign may have inflated some expectations about the machine. Folks forgot that as with a new pair of undies, you need some adjustment time to get used to a new metal detector. The CTX is a stellar machine, and is the best all-purpose detector on the market once you learn what it can do, cannot do, and what it is telling you.
4) The 6" and 17" Smart coils are great enhancements. Yes, they cost as much as a trunk-load of Bounty Hunters and Old Milwaukee Light. And yes, they are both specialty, situational coils. But it is astounding how many times the right situation for these coils arises at sites. I have a certain site that has area where each one of the three CTX coils is appropriate. Obviously, the 6" is best for high-trash (especially high-iron), but I would not dream of using it on a large, moderate to low trash area. Talk about spending a month to hunt a spot! Likewise, the 17" coil excels in low trash areas, particularly relic sites on fields or open areas of parks. The extra sweep size can save you plenty of time while working an area, not to mention you do see an extra inch or so of depth. The accessory coils are much like new detectors themselves; it will take some experience hours to be as proficient with them as one is with the 11" coil.
I learn more about this machine after each hunt. Thanks to these forums, I have been able to learn even more. For example, I have recently tried tinkering around with Two-Tone Ferrous settings and trying to decide which situation is the best to apply all the different sound and discrimination options of the CTX. I am glad to see that the CTX has gained the respect of the detecting community in the past year and is not viewed as "just an overpriced E-Trac with bells and whistles."
