Having fun playing with my new/used CTX

[jkline]

Been using an etrac for a couple years... thought I would try something different, especially as I hunt in iron infested areas with an annual jaunt to saltwater.

I think the ctx pinpoints better than the etrac... and I seem to be having less issues with iron falsing. I certainly dig less trash.. Depth reading is almost always underestimated by 2 or 3 inches. I prefer etrac tones.. Love how customizable the ctx is. The gps isn't as useful as I hoped. I hunt large ballfields and was hoping my 'track' would be saved. It seems after a certain amount of time earlier tracks vanish. Wireless-- awesome. Not having to worry about rain is fantastic.

All in all, I like the machine, but am glad I bought a used one. The cost of a new one, for me, even though I can afford it, just wouldn't have been justifiable.

Jury is still out if I will keep both machines or will sell one of them.

 

[Bardstown Hunter]

I bought a new one 2 weeks ago. I find that my pinpoint is off a couple inches and depth is also off a little. Other than that I have no complaints. I have found tons of clad so far but no deep silver. I’ll figure that silver out. Had a equinox before. Haven’t messed with GPS yet.

 

[jkline]

I've only found a silver ring (other than a ton of clad), and it rang up a solid 8 49, in wet, sandy soil. From what I gather from other posts on this and other forums, is that if you are going to be cherry picking silver by skipping penny signals, then you will be missing silver.

 

[Bardstown Hunter]

I dig all solid targets. I have found a lot of stuff in same place with ctx that my equinox 800, Excalibur, and my AT Pro didn’t

 

[IDXMonster]

Two hints....first, use 50 tone Tone Profile and High Trash Target separation to cherry pick silver in areas which aren’t stupidly contaminated. In 50 tone you can change the first “bin” and the last “bin”. Set the low to 75 and high to 1200. This is similar to maximum Variabiltiy on the eTrac, though not quite the same tones. Similar though. Silver will inevitably NOT fall below 45 on the CO side, even at depth. IF you use Ferrous/Coin Combined like EVERYONE seems to....silver can fall as low as 41-42 on the CO side regularly. This is why people say you HAVE to dig copper to dig silver. You do not.
Second...I think you meant depth is “over-estimated”...and this occurs when pinpointing is not EXACT. A PP which is 1” off center will tell you the target is 1” deeper as a loose rule. The further off your PP is, the deeper it will FALSELY claim your coin is.
If using the 17” coil, expect that the target will be 1-3” SHALLOWER than reported, even with an exact PP. Just the nature of the beast.
The short story...the better YOU are as an operator, the better the MACHINE will be. ANY machine. But this one in particular because there is ALOT to learn to be able to utilize all of what it has to offer.
Its sweet that you got one! Just keep going and pay attention.

 

[Bardstown Hunter]

Awesome
I will see if I can figure out those settings. My have questions in the future. I’m going to a 100 year old post office property this weekend. Building is no longer there.
I hope I get lots of 45 tones
Are you running in all metal?

 

[jkline]

Thanks! Mainly I'm using ground- coin and low trash, sometimes experimenting with high trash. I still am digging up some bent nails, but less than the etrac.

I've been playing with lots of programs, but I think I like the one that is similar to Andy S's etrac program best. I've been using combined tones. Though I love silver, I'm looking for gold too.

 

[Bardstown Hunter]

I’m with you on the gold. I found 12 gold this year at saltwater beach’s with equinox. All in loose sand except 3 in the water. I never have really focused on silver until now. The only gold I have found not at beach was in a park full of trash total luck that I dug it. 1st photo attached. Now I plan on going back there and putting CTX to the test. 2nd photo is a few of the rings i have gotten since June this year. All with NOX

 

[jkline]

Great finds... I've dug hundreds of pieces of trash in vain attempt to put gold in my pocket. A buddy and I have scoured the local university and have scored about 70 silver rings between us--- the only gold I've found is a 10k florette on a silver ring. Anyway, it's out there.

The only true gold ring I found was at Cannon Beach, OR. A thin band that rang up 12 19.

 

[ironman200081]

Awesome, welcome to the CTX club! I came to the CTX from the E-Trac as well. The hardest thing for me to learn was to not dig "iffy" iron signals. Whereas with the E-Trac, iffy iron signals would sometimes turn out to be deep silver, they have always been rusty iron with the CTX.

 

[jkline]

I'm really impressed with the ctx. Went to a sidewalk strip I have hit 4 times with the etrac-- lots of iron trash, but have pulled out a few wheaties and two rosies. The CTX pulls out two tokens and 5 wheaties-- the oldest is 1915, which I nailed with my shovel-- dammit!

One of those pennies was sandwiched between two bent rusty nails.

I'm not sure if my etrac will be getting much use anymore, unless it is to use its small coil. The ctx was able to barely discern what it could not.

 

[u2robert]

I wish i had a CTX maybe one day I will buy one.

 

[jkline]

I'm liking it. Was it worth the $1,400 I paid for it? I can't answer that. Not alot of silver in my part of the world... no beaches nearby... and the etrac does find coins, just more junk too.

If you can afford it, why not? If you can't, then I probably wouldn't. It is a hobby however, and doesn't have to make economic sense to participate. It's the thrill of the chase for me, and I'm finding it more satisfying than hunting and fishing right now.

 

[trojdor]

"If you can afford it, why not? If you can't, then I probably wouldn't. It is a hobby however, and doesn't have to make economic sense to participate. It's the thrill of the chase for me, and I'm finding it more satisfying than hunting and fishing right now."

Well put. We can sometimes take ourselves too seriously, and forget that we do this for fun. It's a hobby, and it's meant to be enjoyed.

Very few hobbies will stand up to the scrutiny of a financial audit / cost analysis, LOL.
Have fun, and HH,

mike

 

[IDXMonster]

"If you can afford it, why not? If you can't, then I probably wouldn't. It is a hobby however, and doesn't have to make economic sense to participate. It's the thrill of the chase for me, and I'm finding it more satisfying than hunting and fishing right now."

Well put. We can sometimes take ourselves too seriously, and forget that we do this for fun. It's a hobby, and it's meant to be enjoyed.

Very few hobbies will stand up to the scrutiny of a financial audit / cost analysis, LOL.
Have fun, and HH,

mike

“Cost analysis”....HA! I have analyzed my cost/return ratio. Turns out...I lost! You’re right though guys, this hobby offers something not measured in raw cash, which sadly many people cannot understand....

 

[Jim Robertson]

Been using an etrac for a couple years... thought I would try something different, especially as I hunt in iron infested areas with an annual jaunt to saltwater.

I think the ctx pinpoints better than the etrac... and I seem to be having less issues with iron falsing. I certainly dig less trash.. Depth reading is almost always underestimated by 2 or 3 inches. I prefer etrac tones.. Love how customizable the ctx is. The gps isn't as useful as I hoped. I hunt large ballfields and was hoping my 'track' would be saved. It seems after a certain amount of time earlier tracks vanish. Wireless-- awesome. Not having to worry about rain is fantastic.

All in all, I like the machine, but am glad I bought a used one. The cost of a new one, for me, even though I can afford it, just wouldn't have been justifiable.

Jury is still out if I will keep both machines or will sell one of them.

They are truly great machines. I have owned a couple of them. Great machine for the beach. I have found many rings over the years with it. Also a few pair of Ray Bans. You have to be careful not to mess them up when you dig them up. But the machine will let you know the size of the target slow down and watch what you are doing. I like the large coil for the beach just to heavy for very many hours of hunting. Even with the Eq 800 don't think I would sell my 3030. Good luck with the 3030. Hang in there. HH

 

[jkline]

Went out for a quick evening hunt yesterday to a spot that has been pretty well pounded for 40 years. The settings for today were: open screen, deep on, fast off, combined tones, high trash, normal tones.

At a snails pace I was meandering, overlapping swings, and a brief high tone came through the iron 'thunks'. The screen read 30 48, but I noticed on each swing there was something in the 12 40's. Another swing after some wiggling got me a 12 45. I almost walked on, because I had just dug a memorial that rang 12 45 (it was alone in the hole). This target was deep-- about 9", and with some effort, out pops the face of lady liberty.

After my happy dance, I tested the memorial and the merc for readings-- they both ring 12 45. I can't figure that one out.

For people researching this machine (and boy did I research)-- I appreciate the time I swung an etrac. I listened for tones more than I looked at the screen. A super experienced etrac user like, say, Elmy might have gotten that coin; I don't think I would have. For me, the ctx makes it all easier.

I look at my etrac gathering dust, and unless it is to use the small coil, I just have no desire to swing it again. I'm thinking of selling it and getting an excaliber... we'll see.

 

[Robin (Big Fang)]

Been using an etrac for a couple years... thought I would try something different, especially as I hunt in iron infested areas with an annual jaunt to saltwater.

I think the ctx pinpoints better than the etrac... and I seem to be having less issues with iron falsing. I certainly dig less trash.. Depth reading is almost always underestimated by 2 or 3 inches. I prefer etrac tones.. Love how customizable the ctx is. The gps isn't as useful as I hoped. I hunt large ballfields and was hoping my 'track' would be saved. It seems after a certain amount of time earlier tracks vanish. Wireless-- awesome. Not having to worry about rain is fantastic.

All in all, I like the machine, but am glad I bought a used one. The cost of a new one, for me, even though I can afford it, just wouldn't have been justifiable.

Jury is still out if I will keep both machines or will sell one of them.

jkline, What do you think about the weight of the CTX? I have been thinking about getting one.

 

[jkline]

It's heavy, but not a dealbreaker. Sometimes I'll switch to my off hand for awhile. To be fair, the etrac has me do the same thing. For somebody that doesn't have a strong arm, I'd consider the F75. A buddy (Ronstar) uses one-- he cleans house with it, and it feels 1/3 the weight of the minelabs.

 

[Ronstar]

Yeah but your 3030 sounds pretty when it fires up!!! I thought they felt pretty similar but then I havent swung it more than a few seconds. Is that the stock coil? That could be part of it if its not. Otherwise, maybe you need to do a few more 12oz curls!!!!! Lol