Has anyone tried the CTX 3030 for "Nugget Shooting"?

[dgatley]

I know the CTX 3030 is designed and promoted as a coin and relic detector, but given it's specifications, scanning frequencies, and incredible discimination capabilities, I believe this unit would make a great gold nugget shooter.
Certainly, it is not on the level of a GPX 5000, but I'm hoping that when dialed in on sensativity and descimination - that it will become a great gold detector - certainly for "picker-sized" and above.

Is there anyone out there that has tried the unit as a gold detector?
Any advise?
Cooler prospecting weather is just down the road (in SoCal and Arizona), and I'd love to share the results/finds.

DG

 

[dgatley]

-- moved topic --

 

["Dr.Tones"]

I know that nuggets have been found with it, however... The FBS technology doesn't fare well on the sub gram stuff. Especially if its spongy. I've air tested some nuggs with good results over the one gram size now mind you, these were air tests and gold fields are highly mineralized. If you have a trashy mining camp in an area known for nuggets it might be worth while discing out the trash and giving it a go.

 

[stitchlips]

For what its worth. I use the CTX on the beach and I have found tiny pieces of gold pretty deep. Some hair thin chains and quite a few earring backs.

 

[dgatley]

Thanks for the feedback Dr Tones & Stitchlips.

I'm breaking in and still learning my new CTX waiting to give it a serious try in AZ or No. CA (Nuggyland).
I have an associate that is a mining engineer in Canada, and he had several CTX 3030's that he has used to "prospect" for remaining gold streaks in Historic Mines. He plans to pump these out if there's enough evidence of remaining ore in the mines. He has found the CTX's quite useful by just dialing back the Sensitivity, and these are fundamentally trashy-old-mine areas.

Perhaps I'm over zealous about the unit's capabilities, but the published specs on this machine match or beat, in many cases, acknowledged other detectors in this type of detection. Albeit, Stitchlips is working in a beach environment, but his success reflects exactly what I theorize will work in the known nugget producing areas, and yes - it may miss the finer sized Pickers but short of High-banking, or sluicing, dredging, or otherwise panning a prospect - I'm not looking for the "fine sized" nuggets. We'll see, I had just hoped to find anyone that had tried the CTX in the goldfields.

As a Beach hunting tool, relic, or coin-shooter, this unit is fantastic, better than any of my prior detectors - although ML's 705 is another great detector.
If all fails, I may have to bite the bullet and graduate to ML's 5000 and quit fooling around trying to make other machines match my desires.

Anyway, thanks.

 

[Spectrum]

Use a 6" coil, just my 2 cents.

 

[nuffe2106]

How to edit / make this nugget program ??

 

[KinTN]

...If all fails, I may have to bite the bullet and graduate to ML's 5000 and quit fooling around trying to make other machines match my desires....

Note that there are rumblings that Minelab is about to release a new 'latest greatest' gold machine (GPZ 7000). With a latest greatest price point to match.

 

[deep-digger-dan]

Search "California relic adventures" on YouTube. Nuggets galore.

 

[Johnnyanglo]

Gold nuggets are weak low conductors - the FBS has only two frequencies 3.125KHz and 25KHz. Neither is suited to the task. The low freq isn't going to drive much electron flow to get a resistive response and though 25KHz on paper would be a great frequency to do the job, in reality it is just a weaker harmonic of the primary. It won't have much impact. So, gold nuggets might be possible if they were large or pure enough - but you'd be kinda hammering a nail with a screwdriver, if you know what I mean.

Johnnyanglo

 

[deep-digger-dan]

Gold nuggets are weak low conductors - the FBS has only two frequencies 3.125KHz and 25KHz. Neither is suited to the task. The low freq isn't going to drive much electron flow to get a resistive response and though 25KHz on paper would be a great frequency to do the job, in reality it is just a weaker harmonic of the primary. It won't have much impact. So, gold nuggets might be possible if they were large or pure enough - but you'd be kinda hammering a nail with a screwdriver, if you know what I mean.

Johnnyanglo

Looks like the FBS is working very well for these guys.

CA Relic / Metal Detecting Adventures: HUGE Gold…: http://youtu.be/c1xGb3AMApY


CA Relic / Metal Detecting Adventures: Another HU…: http://youtu.be/mo7LQDZ6_VE


CA Relic / Metal Detecting Adventures: UNBELIEVAB…: http://youtu.be/BmGnmFUwq6k


CA Relic / Metal Detecting Adventures: 15 Gold N…: http://youtu.be/1Hqqvd0Mg9I

 

[KinTN]

Pretty sure FBS uses more than 2 freqs.

 

[steve herschbach]

Nugget detecting is what I do. I have a CTX 3030. I have not bothered with it yet for nugget detecting. Why? It is a poor choice. You can find gold nuggets with ANY metal detector. People finding gold nuggets with a CTX means nothing. I can find gold nuggets with an Ace 250 but that does not mean it is a great nugget detector.

Suffice it to say reading specs ignores reality, and reality is if multi frequency was good for prospecting you can bet Minelab would promote it as such. Putting all the punch into a single frequency is more effective for prospecting. That is why any engineer at Minelab would tell you to use a Eureka or even a 705 to look for gold before using a CTX. BBS and FBS are not particularly effective on small gold nor do they get anything more than ok depth in the type of ground found in the goldfields. Those are the facts and you can take them to the bank.

That said, if you already have a CTX, by all means, go out and give it a go prospecting. Detectors less capable find nuggets. Many nuggets I find would have been found with any detector I had in my hands. The secret like anything else is putting yourself in good locations and working hard. But if you are serious about prospecting, invest in a detector designed for the task.