Had my new ctx 3030 for less than a week now ,upgraded from the at pro ,so still learning with it. The ground here is still frozen in ill. I have a small test garden I planted in the summer. Now I have a clad quarter burried at about 8" .with the stock coins mode and all stock settings from the factory ,I barley get a chirp. Sometimes it will and sometimes it won't. And from all different angles. I know air testing isn't all that accurate,but when I did the air test I get around 8 " ,also very faint. From previous posts I have read from different forums and videos people are getting up to 10" or under with average signal. Is this machine at its max for a clad quarter at 8" ?? Or what do I need to do to the stock coins mode to make it sing at 8 to 10 inches. ?? Or is this machine faulty from the factory? The main reason I got the ctx is because of its depth that people have praised about ..any help on this will be grateful...
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ctx depth question
- Thread starter hiluxyota
- Start date
If you are using the factory stock modes, you aren't likely maximizing the potential of your CTX3030. Factory stock modes are:
[attachment 284823 ctxfactorypresets.jpg]
You are correct that frozen ground can influence depth of detection. As will the length of time that a target has been buried. If you are using the stock coin program, the amount of discrimination isn't a reason to not detect the quarter. And without knowing more about your circumstances and what some "adjustments" might produce, combined with you being "new" to the CTX, it is far too soon to consider it being a faulty unit. Recognizing your frozen circumstances, if it were mine, the first thing I would do is set the Noise Cancel channel. Next, I would set the Threshold to a barely audible sound. Remember, you have individual Threshold settings for each device you are listenting with. (detector speaker, detector headphones, Wireless mod speaker, wireless mod with headphones) Also note that you adjust the Volume Gain, Volume LImit and Threshold Pitch per each device. IF you change devices, you must set those parameters. After you set up the audio to your preferences, I would turn Recovery Deep ON and offset the Auto Sensitivity by +3. If you want, you could also switch to manual Sensitivity and see if you can run with a level higher than Auto will get you in that specific site. Much of that will depend on the mineralization and adjacent targets.
These few steps should increase your detection depth substantially. Now, when you get out in dirt you can dig, depending on the site, you might want to change the Separation mode from High Trash to either Low Trash, Ferrous Coin or Ground Coin. Each of these modes implement different degrees of filtration. You might also change the Tone ID profile to fewer than 50 tones, until you get more accustomed to the sounds of the CTX. JMHO HH Randy
[attachment 284823 ctxfactorypresets.jpg]
You are correct that frozen ground can influence depth of detection. As will the length of time that a target has been buried. If you are using the stock coin program, the amount of discrimination isn't a reason to not detect the quarter. And without knowing more about your circumstances and what some "adjustments" might produce, combined with you being "new" to the CTX, it is far too soon to consider it being a faulty unit. Recognizing your frozen circumstances, if it were mine, the first thing I would do is set the Noise Cancel channel. Next, I would set the Threshold to a barely audible sound. Remember, you have individual Threshold settings for each device you are listenting with. (detector speaker, detector headphones, Wireless mod speaker, wireless mod with headphones) Also note that you adjust the Volume Gain, Volume LImit and Threshold Pitch per each device. IF you change devices, you must set those parameters. After you set up the audio to your preferences, I would turn Recovery Deep ON and offset the Auto Sensitivity by +3. If you want, you could also switch to manual Sensitivity and see if you can run with a level higher than Auto will get you in that specific site. Much of that will depend on the mineralization and adjacent targets.
These few steps should increase your detection depth substantially. Now, when you get out in dirt you can dig, depending on the site, you might want to change the Separation mode from High Trash to either Low Trash, Ferrous Coin or Ground Coin. Each of these modes implement different degrees of filtration. You might also change the Tone ID profile to fewer than 50 tones, until you get more accustomed to the sounds of the CTX. JMHO HH Randy
Dirtbag Kevin
New member
I had the same problem for my first 2 months.. Im in northern California with pretty heavy ground mineralization. I was using auto +3 and only pulling max of 6" targets. 
The number to the right on my sensitivity panel (recommend sensitivity setting) was always lower than 18 or so. I finally played around with the manual setting and took to 26 comfortably. My first time out with this at the same old "practice" park, I pulled 9 rosies, 2 murcs, and a 13" deep war nickel. So my question to you is, What is the recommend sensitivity number on your machine?
The number to the right on my sensitivity panel (recommend sensitivity setting) was always lower than 18 or so. I finally played around with the manual setting and took to 26 comfortably. My first time out with this at the same old "practice" park, I pulled 9 rosies, 2 murcs, and a 13" deep war nickel. So my question to you is, What is the recommend sensitivity number on your machine?AngelicStorm
New member
Roland58 said:
I believe it depends on soil conditions too. You must have some really good soil. I tend to max at 8" on a penny or dime. Quarters max at about 9"-9 1/2" here. EMI may play a part in my differences too. Maybe you are in a EMI free environment or there is very little of it around.
foreign object
New member
Manual Sen.and --deep on--can be your friend when it comes to depth. I just received my 6" coil and it will easily hit a dime at 8" and deeper.A 10" dime will break the threshold from any angle and will hit it some times but not enough to make me want to dig at most places i hunt. I do have fairly mild soil around here which helps.
Right now i can not say that using ---deep on-- really brings a lot to the table as far as actual depth but it does help you hear the deeper targets better( which in a way is a increse in depth i quess you could say). I generally run Volume Gain at around 26 to 27 and at this point cant say that any higher helps any.
I am new to the CTX but at this point i think that running in Manual Sen. with the ability to quickly change the amount of Sen.is the biggest factor in gaining depth.
Right now i can not say that using ---deep on-- really brings a lot to the table as far as actual depth but it does help you hear the deeper targets better( which in a way is a increse in depth i quess you could say). I generally run Volume Gain at around 26 to 27 and at this point cant say that any higher helps any.
I am new to the CTX but at this point i think that running in Manual Sen. with the ability to quickly change the amount of Sen.is the biggest factor in gaining depth.
Were those targets found in the stock coins mode? And did you change anything with the stock coins settings to get that depth ? I think the ground here in il is pretty good. ,so the quarter at 8" should be ringing hard if the machine is setup rite. Haven't tried manually sens yet. I did try deep on ,but still no different. And the coins that were found at those depths mentioned were obviously silver ,so silver must be even higher conductive .probably why my signal on a clad quarter at 8" isn't hitting as hard ....
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
What part of Illinois are you from? The ground can vary quite a bit depending where you are. I live close to Peoria and the ground is moderately mineralized. A silver dime at 8 inches is obtainable but a lot depends on many factors including moisture, size and metallic content of the target and how long it has been in the ground as well as swing speed, nearby trash and other factors.
I think with practice you will not have a problem with a silver coin that has been in the ground for 50 years or longer at 8 inches. Before the big freeze here I found a half dime at about 8 inches and I use Auto +3. I suppose I could get a little more depth going to manual but depth is not my primary concern.
When you get out in the field, you will have a chance to make adjustments on an aged deep target to really get your CTX dialed in.
I think with practice you will not have a problem with a silver coin that has been in the ground for 50 years or longer at 8 inches. Before the big freeze here I found a half dime at about 8 inches and I use Auto +3. I suppose I could get a little more depth going to manual but depth is not my primary concern.
When you get out in the field, you will have a chance to make adjustments on an aged deep target to really get your CTX dialed in.
I'm in minooka ,near joliet .with the at pro I would ground balance and the numbers would come in the 80's then I would manually back it down about 7 to 10 from that. so honestly don't really know how mineralized the soil is here . I assume its low. Now a question I have ,and the instructions does not really say you should ground balance in low mineralized soil. It tells you it should not be enabled in mild mineralized grounds. And its best used in ground coin. With stock settings the Target seperation is in hi trash ...should I be ground balancing in the stock coins mode anyways??? I know with the at pro I would get better depth by ground balancing at every ground I hunted and backing it down manually a bit .. so my question would mostly be should I balance each time in auto every time like I did with the pro to get more depth??
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
I would leave the manual GB alone and let the CTX do it's thing. It doesn't hurt anything to try it but there are a lot of benefits leaving the GB in Auto. I can't think of anyplace in Illinois that would benefit with manual GB.
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
Auto GB and Auto Sensitivity all the time for me. Manual GB is for VERY mineralized ground like California black sand and Culpeper Va. IMHO.
This and lots more info are explained in detail in the CTX Resource Forum http://www.findmall.com/list.php?87
This and lots more info are explained in detail in the CTX Resource Forum http://www.findmall.com/list.php?87
I don't mean to jump in to confuse things......but don't get Auto GB and Ground Balance (enabled or not enabled) confused. Ground Balance can be either Enabled or NOT Enabled. It comes "preset" as NOT Enabled. If you Enable GB, you must then set the level of GB by using what they refer to as Auto GB.
When the CTX3030 is operating with Ground Balance NOT enabled, it is running in what many of us refer to as a Tracking mode. Actually, it is one step ahead of tracking in that it cancels (or ignores) the effects of the ground, not simply compensate for them. What that means to the detectorist is that the detector is constantly analyzing the soil, and updating the ground phase setting on the fly, to optimize the performance in that soil. If you enable Ground Balance, then you are turning OFF what we call sometimes refer to as Tracking, and you can now set the ground phase level by using the process that Minelab refers to as Auto GB. This allows the CTX3030 to select what it determines to be the proper ground phase for where the coil is currently being bobbed, and locks it in until you do another Auto GB or disable GB. If you do another Auto GB, it again sets (and locks) the ground phase of the CTX3030, based on where the coil is at that precise moment in time. If you turned GB enabled OFF, it would take the CTX3030 back to what many of us call a Tracking mode. And again,this is where the CTX3030 constantly monitors the soil conditions, and adjusts the ground phase to cancel out the effects of the ground, "on the fly". JMHO HH Randy
When the CTX3030 is operating with Ground Balance NOT enabled, it is running in what many of us refer to as a Tracking mode. Actually, it is one step ahead of tracking in that it cancels (or ignores) the effects of the ground, not simply compensate for them. What that means to the detectorist is that the detector is constantly analyzing the soil, and updating the ground phase setting on the fly, to optimize the performance in that soil. If you enable Ground Balance, then you are turning OFF what we call sometimes refer to as Tracking, and you can now set the ground phase level by using the process that Minelab refers to as Auto GB. This allows the CTX3030 to select what it determines to be the proper ground phase for where the coil is currently being bobbed, and locks it in until you do another Auto GB or disable GB. If you do another Auto GB, it again sets (and locks) the ground phase of the CTX3030, based on where the coil is at that precise moment in time. If you turned GB enabled OFF, it would take the CTX3030 back to what many of us call a Tracking mode. And again,this is where the CTX3030 constantly monitors the soil conditions, and adjusts the ground phase to cancel out the effects of the ground, "on the fly". JMHO HH Randy
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
Sorry Randy and others, the Auto GB confusion is my fault, I should have said Tracking is what I use.
So with your experience with the ctx,on low mineralized soil ,should I always just keep it ticked on enable?? Or should I just automatically do an auto gb anyways for performance and depth?? And should I use it mostly with coin-ground ,as the manual says it works in conjunction with ,instead of the hi trash that the coins mode came preset with ?? Trying to learn what the best setups are for this machine for maximum performance ,until I can get some hunt time ......
hiluxyota said:
I think you might still be a bit confused on the terminology. The CTX3030 has two modes of compensating for ground mineralization. If you do NOT check the GB enable, the CTX will automatically ignore the effects of mineralization. If you are in an area with high levels of mineralization, you might find it performs better by enabling the GB, then allowing the CTX to find the proper ground phase by implementing the Auto GB procedure. In low or moderately mineralized soils, do NOT enable the Ground Balance. Leave that box unchecked, as it comes preset from the factory. And since that means that the detector is not implementing manual ground balance, and is instead operating in what some commonly refer to as a "tracking" mode, you don't need to perform and Auto GB. Tracking means that the CTX will continually monitor the soil conditions, and automatically ignore the effects of that soil.
In the 3+ years I've been using the CTX3030, I've only hunted two sites that required use of manual Ground Balance. And in both cases, they were sites I visited while field testing, hundreds of miles from my home. In both of those highly mineralized sites, I enabled GB and used Auto GB to allow the CTX to set the proper fixed ground phase. Once it is set, it won't change until you do another Auto GB or switch off the Enable. But for 99.9% of my hunts, I do NOT enable GB. Therefore I don't have to set a fixed GB, by using Auto GB.
If you have a site that is highly mineralized, setting a fixed ground phase could improve the performance. At those sites, combining a fixed G B with Ground Coin separation should provide you the best results. To operate with this scenerio....select Ground Coin Separation......Enable GB and do the Auto GB process (as described in the manual, where you turn on Auto GB and bob the coil) At this point, your CTX will be operating with a fixed ground phase that was set, based on the soil under the coil as you performed the Auto GB "bobbing". It will stay at this fixed ground phase setting until you perform another Auto GB, or take the checkmark out of the Enable GB box.
If you remove the checkmark from Enable GB, you have disabled GB and will now be back in what many of us call the "Tracking mode".
To answer your question regarding your low mineralization, I would NOT be using GB Enable in those sites or even in moderately mineralized sites. In this "tracking mode", the processor of the CTX is extraordinarily quick at keeping up with the ground matrix. The type of target separation you chose should be dependent on the types of targets in the site. If you are looking for coins around old nails at an old farmsite, you could benefit from using Ferrous Coin. If you are looking in a modern park that is littered with pull tabs and foil, you could benefit from using High Trash. If you are hunting a private yard that is relatively free of trash, Low Trash would be a good choice. As I mentioned above, I seldom hunt areas with high levels of mineralization. As such, I've not found Ground Coin (or enabling GB) to be particularly beneficial in my neck of the woods. HH Randy
Unfortunately, the CTX doesn't have a soil mineralization indicator, as such. Some of the functional indications could be extreme lack of depth.....super low Auto Sensitivity levels......irratic behavior that changing the NC channels won't resolve.......continually falsing...etc. If you go to your local Soil Conservation offices, they could tell you the soil matrix in that area. And if you let folks know what part of the Country you are hunting, others on this forum who hunt that area can help answer your mineralization question. HH Randy