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New CTX, what programs

golfer

New member
OK, I'm really not well versed in metal detecting, only a few months with a XLT years ago, it quit and life got in the way. Anyway, came back to the CTX which I know was a good decision but need some help/suggestions. I know the CTX comes with 5 programs which I thought to begin with plus saw a 4 step program of Harry's [I believe I have that correct]. Thought to start with that some but would like a good park program to begin with, have read in Andy's S. book that the canned ones with the CTX were not that good. Can you help me find just one program to work with when I get bored with the 4 step program and need a break.
Thanks for looking and have a great memorial weekend.
 
Check out the small red rectangle at the top of this page for some help. and you tube has lots of modes too.
 
Just use what’s on the machine . Being new to the CTX can be a bit overwhelming at first. Just don’t try and run it too hot at first, nice and easy.
Learn all the controls and settings and what they do . Do all the research and watch some YouTube’s , there are some good ones with useful info.
Read Andy’s book and read it again.
I’d suggest a test garden with objects you would hope to find . A good place to get an idea of what a setting does in the somewhat real world.
After you get a good understanding then change the programs
Good luck
BT
 
Ben Town said:
Just use what’s on the machine . Being new to the CTX can be a bit overwhelming at first. Just don’t try and run it too hot at first, nice and easy.
Learn all the controls and settings and what they do . Do all the research and watch some YouTube’s , there are some good ones with useful info.
Read Andy’s book and read it again.
I’d suggest a test garden with objects you would hope to find . A good place to get an idea of what a setting does in the somewhat real world.
After you get a good understanding then change the programs
Good luck
BT

Excellent advice right here! When dispensing such,we who have been doing this more than the OP must be aware that he is not at our “level”...yet. It is better to miss targets initially and have some success by picking out the more obvious ones,IMHO. The part Ben said about “learning the controls and what they do” is paramount. Know WHAT you are adjusting and WHY. Get proficient with getting around the menus and how to get where. Put it this way...I figured it out,and if I figured it out,YOU can figure it out. I’m one of the worst operators of electronics I know. My kids run circles around me with this stuff. My 14 year old is re-coding XBox games AS HE’S PLAYING THEM. You know that one Russian guy who twirls his pen in The World is not Enough? That’s him. YOU can run a CTX,trust me. Above and beyond all...trust the machine. The minute you start thinking you are smarter than it,you will be digging junk at warp 10. Don’t do it. If it says it’s junk,assume it’s junk,especially right now. It has the most accurate target ID anywhere,use it to your advantage and come back to some of those “sketchy” signals later....they will give you something more to learn about at that time. Don’t go to a rotten site with a great machine and think it’s not working correctly. Since I’m a coin hunter,I’ll speak from my point of view. This machine is still,to me,the king of coins.
 
Yep, spend some time reading through the tutorial threads at the top of the page. I hate to admit but I'm starting to get a touch rusty on it CTX. It's been over a year since I've put serious hours on mine. Since I got the EQX, all my CTX hunts have just been "turn on and go" without bothering with adjustments.

I will say that you need to give it time to REALLY learn. You can be up and hunting really fast. But learning the nuances and behavior takes longer. After 10 hours you should be OK. After 50 you should feel you have a solid grasp of it. After 100 you should be close to vulcan mind-meld with it. But you have to ACTIVELY use it. Scan targets from all angles. Think about how "big" the response is. How round, or hollow, or clipped it sounds. How does it respond in pinpoint?. What it the VDI doing? solid? bouncing? up/down - left/right? does it pinpoint where it responds in hunting mode? finally, dig it and see what it is. Keep a mental sheet of all those things and what you got from what depth?

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but people who hunt passively never really learn it and end selling it and complaining that it never did what everyone said it could. People who actively hunt just smile and say "its done more than I ever thought it would"
 
Jason in Enid said:
Yep, spend some time reading through the tutorial threads at the top of the page. I hate to admit but I'm starting to get a touch rusty on it CTX. It's been over a year since I've put serious hours on mine. Since I got the EQX, all my CTX hunts have just been "turn on and go" without bothering with adjustments.

I will say that you need to give it time to REALLY learn. You can be up and hunting really fast. But learning the nuances and behavior takes longer. After 10 hours you should be OK. After 50 you should feel you have a solid grasp of it. After 100 you should be close to vulcan mind-meld with it. But you have to ACTIVELY use it. Scan targets from all angles. Think about how "big" the response is. How round, or hollow, or clipped it sounds. How does it respond in pinpoint?. What it the VDI doing? solid? bouncing? up/down - left/right? does it pinpoint where it responds in hunting mode? finally, dig it and see what it is. Keep a mental sheet of all those things and what you got from what depth?

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but people who hunt passively never really learn it and end selling it and complaining that it never did what everyone said it could. People who actively hunt just smile and say "its done more than I ever thought it would"

VERY well said! Sometimes people just skim over the basics and never really “get into it”. This is a machine that a person can get into! Now...I have to go “get into” my Equinox! I’m getting the feeling that there is much more than meets the eye...
 
Thank you all for your replies they are most helpful and I understand your suggestions, because they make perfect sense. The point of my question may have been slightly missed in that Andy S. indicates on page 74 of his book " most of these preset Modes have "flaws" that if not corrected, will virtually ensure that good finds will be left for the next detectorist". This is why I raised the question of one good park or park/coin program I could rely on while working with the CTX. The idea of working with a program with "flaws" concerns me.

What do you think, should I be concerned about his statememt?

Thanks again for your help, and happy Memorial Day.
 
In his book there are some changes that he outlines for each program mainly discrimination pattern, go ahead and update that , very easy and will be a learning experience too.
I did it to kinda learn how to change and adjust the amount of discrimination but I don’t think they make the stock programs flawed and useless at all.
The program “set up” is one mans idea of what the settings and discrimination need to be for a particular hunting site and stile. So what someone else creates is just a good starting point for you to work with and design for your ground conditions and everything else that effects the machine.
When you learn and understand the CTX that’s when you will want to adjust the programs to your particular needs for any given site or situation.
I’d also recommend after you get to know the machine , go back to your first hunting sites and go over them again with your personalized patterns, you maybe surprised.
It’s all about understanding the machine .
Let us know how it goes
BT
 
golfer said:
What do you think, should I be concerned about his statememt?

.

Its true, but not as bad as you are thinking. The factory mode settings are VERY good and I always recommend new users to stick with them while they are still learning the detector. The downside of the presets is that they meant to keep users from being overloaded with trash. You can get better performance, but at a price.

I tell new users not to go jacking around with settings early on because it will make things more confusing and take a LOT longer to fully understand. All the settings on the CTX affect the outcome of other settings. If you dont understand these interactions your just making random changes. Read the manual several times. read Andy's book a couple times too.

The one change I recommend from the start is notching-in the silver dollar zone which is blocked by default in some modes.
 
I think it's more important to ask "why this setting?" than "what setting?" Being a customizable machine, there are seemingly infinite ways to set up different modes. My best advice is to ask an experienced user why they use certain settings in certain circumstances. What tweaks work best for depth, and what work best for target separation, etc. Then take that mode and do your own experimentation. When you get a target signal, switch modes and note the differences. Find what works best for you. Good hunting, you'll love this machine.
 
Something I would add is to decide whether you want to learn Ferrous coin or one of the other three process modes and stick with it. Low/high trash were easier to learn for me and I never have really gotten a full grasp of ferrous coin when hunting in gobs of iron. Also make sure to use target trace and target trace pinpoint as they greatly help with identifying trash, large aluminum, and false signals. SubeMinelab has some of the best short videos demonstrating these things of any I have looked at.
 
Can't add to the excellent advice above except to say Congrats on a great machine if you do land, sand or surf. I know because I do all 3 with my 2 1/2 yrs old CTX 3030 w 11" and 17" coils. Double that about Andy Sabisch's CTX 3030 book, a must read - I know because I read it 3x and use it as a reference often.
 
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