Proud new CTX owner

[Underground214]

First and foremost, thanks go to Bart at Big Boys Hobbies for spending the time to educate me on the CTX and for delivering on time as promised "Thanks Bart" Secondly I still consider myself a novice detectorist after two years ( Thanks GKman) mostly due work and family dominating most spare time...but in a good way. The past two years were spent behind a Garrett ACE 350 and although it produced very well, I felt it was a natural progression to take this hobby to the next level.
Today the CTX arrived and I felt like a kid at Christmas time. All assembled and ready to give it a test ride......and I get called in to work, plus this weekend my kids need me. But next week I am going to make it happen.
So if anyone has any CTX advice, words of wisdom, horror stories, tips or tricks on the CTX, or migraine saving shortcuts they would like impart, please feel free to enlighten me, but be gentle,I'm still a novice. As said the ACE is a turn on and hit the ground running detector, whereas the CTX seems to be a much more studious machine.....happy hunting

 

[silverchef]

Welcome to the club! There is a lot of great info at the resource center-it is the red banner above on the CTX forum page. You might be in for quite the learning curve coming from a garrets but hang in there. I would say out of the box just go with one of the preset modes until you learn some of the features and can customize it better for your area and style of hunting. Good Luck!

 

[MARK (LI)]

I just got one recently also.....I was overwhelmed by it, and I have been using MInelab machines for over 20 years...mostly the BBS machines, but I did have an Explorer, which was their first FBS machine....then I went on this forum and asked a lot of questions ( that probably sounded dumb to the guys using the machine for a while)I got great responses and support.... and now have it under control....as silverchef said just use a simple preset mode to start, although that can be a little frustrating...I tried "coins" in my backyard and went crazy...then I downloaded Harryh's training modes and got the machine to run smooth as silk.

Part of my frustration in learning the machine was that I did not realize that it could be used easily with the factory modes, and I had a bit of a problem downloading the xchange program that comes with the machine....once Harry helped me through that and explained things in understandable terms ( I found the manual to be ridiculously complicated) I was home free and loving the machine...I hunt saltwater beaches and it runs smoother than an Excalibur or Sovereign, and they are terrific machines.....one bad thing....you will be working hard to dig out those deep targets...the machine goes deep

 

[GKMan]

Congratulations! I definitely look forward to getting out with you! The previous posters gave some good advice that should be followed. I haven't used Harry's setup but I have heard they work well for someone new to the CTX...

Hopefully we will be getting out there making some great discoveries soon...

 

[Underground214]

Will do, thanks. Not implying that my old Garrett 350 is a toy as it has done its job we'll above and beyond what Garrett claims, but I knew heading into this that the CTX would open up new doors to this hobby by being able to tailor program specific settings that more closely matched my style and areas I most frequently detect. I did spend some time in the resource center at your suggestion and it was most helpful. If each day I discover or learn one new thing......then the future or rather the past, should be kind to me.

 

[Underground214]

Thanks Mark, I did take GKman and silver chefs suggestion and spent a few hours in the resource center and online. The information was most helpful and your suggestion of starting with preset factory settings sounds like a logical approach. By tomorrow midday I should be able to give it a test ride and I also plan on setting up a few planned test holes with known targets at different depths to add a variable to see what type of burp, beep, whine or snort sound the targets cause the CTX the emit. Thanks for your input, I'll keep you posted.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Will do, thanks. Not implying that my old Garrett 350 is a toy as it has done its job we'll above and beyond what Garrett claims, but I knew heading into this that the CTX would open up new doors to this hobby by being able to tailor program specific settings that more closely matched my style and areas I most frequently detect. I did spend some time in the resource center at your suggestion and it was most helpful. If each day I discover or learn one new thing......then the future or rather the past, should be kind to me.

Coming to the CTX from a Garrett is a big change. Some people pick it up fast, some people take a little more time. Best advice I can give you is to take your time and don't give up if it seems frustrating. For the beginning, stick to targets that give you a solid tone from all directions. Targets which are erratic, jumpy, or not consistent are very likely an iron false. After you gain confidence, then start looking at those jumpy targets. Some can be good items next to iron, but there are specific ways to figure out if you might have one of those.

 

[Underground214]

Thanks Jason, I did get out a bit for the first time today and what you say is accurate. I also noticed that I need to slow down and try to enjoy the ride to avoid frustration. I understand the learning curve will be part of the experience but did manage to hold my own today with a couple of unidentified finds......thanks

 

[doc1964]

Welcome to the CTX club! I'm sure you'll do great with it and I look forward to seeing what you find. I only run 2 modes on my CTX - one 50 tone high trash mode and one combined ferrous-coin mode (wide open screen). They compliment each other in the field and I jump back and forth between them depending on whether I'm in heavy iron or not.

Don't fiddle around with settings too much at first, you'll just get confused. My suggestion would be to run the default set up or one of the good ones from the resource center - run it, dig a lot of targets and pretty soon you'll be tuned in to what she's telling you.

Good luck!

 

[Underground214]

Thanks, day one was like the day we all got our first computer, we held the mouse tight and clicked on everything just to see what happens. Yup,I did that but now have it out of my system, and yes I feel better. Moving forward I will do as you suggest as it seems practical. I understand baby steps and am ok with that. Hopefully the CTX and I bond before winter hits or I may have to take a vacation south because I won't last until spring....thanks

 

[jerseyjim]

Hi and welcome, Check out you tube metal detecting ctx 3030. They have a lot of great videos that were put together in the UK. Good luck.

Jim

 

[Underground214]

Thanks, it's late and I'm sitting here now about ready to go blind from research and have just been officially threatened with bodily harm from my family saying " if you turn that thing on one more time I'll *%#&¥* then something about if I knew what time it was.....of course I do, the CTX has the time. Most of the videos were a great start and I think it's slowly sinking in. More time in the field will tell but today I found an old gadget and small hook used to extract sap from maple trees for syrup. Had to research what it was but I did find something....so it's a win win, learned something and had fun.