Question about the sensitivity readout...

[sgoss66]

Hey everyone...

Took my CTX out on its "maiden voyage" today. Let's just say I'm highly impressed. Very happy that a lot of the knowledge I gained about using Explorers over the past 7 years translates over pretty well to the CTX. First coin at my beaten-to-death park was a Sacagawea dollar; haven't dug one of those in ages and was a nice "inaugural" coin! Second, and last coin, was a 1920 wheat cent, perfectly vertical/on edge, at a measured 8" deep. There's a story to tell with that dig, but I'll do that later! HIGHLY impressed with this machine...

Anyway, one thing I'm confused about...

Here is a screen picture from my CTX today.

[attachment 351797 sensitivityCTX.JPG]

I was running auto +3, as you can see. What I don't understand is the white and green numbers. I THOUGHT the white was the sensitivity I'm actually running, and the green was the suggested sensitivity. But, as you can see, the white number is saying "28" (which I am almost sure is the sensitivity the machine is currently running at), and yet the green number is saying "20" -- the "suggested sensitivity," right? The reason I am confused is, if the "suggested sensitivity" is 20, I would have thought "auto +3" would mean the machine would run at 23. But it's not, it's at 28.

Can anyone explain?

Steve

 

[sprchng]

You will find the sensitivity it appears to be running at is often more than the preset.
Most of the time in my dirt what is suggested is single digits to maybe 12 and the CTX still manages to get into the mid teens.
It's a decent , quick method to judge the mineralization in the ground.

 

[sgoss66]

Gotcha, sprchng.

Thanks!

Steve

 

[Jason in Enid]

yeah, you have the definition of the 2 numbers correct, but it doesnt always make sense why the actual is so much higher than the suggested. I just let it do its thing.

 

[Dan(NM)]

Hey everyone...

Took my CTX out on its "maiden voyage" today. Let's just say I'm highly impressed. Very happy that a lot of the knowledge I gained about using Explorers over the past 7 years translates over pretty well to the CTX. First coin at my beaten-to-death park was a Sacagawea dollar; haven't dug one of those in ages and was a nice "inaugural" coin! Second, and last coin, was a 1920 wheat cent, perfectly vertical/on edge, at a measured 8" deep. There's a story to tell with that dig, but I'll do that later! HIGHLY impressed with this machine...

Anyway, one thing I'm confused about...

Here is a screen picture from my CTX today.

[attachment 351797 sensitivityCTX.JPG]

I was running auto +3, as you can see. What I don't understand is the white and green numbers. I THOUGHT the white was the sensitivity I'm actually running, and the green was the suggested sensitivity. But, as you can see, the white number is saying "28" (which I am almost sure is the sensitivity the machine is currently running at), and yet the green number is saying "20" -- the "suggested sensitivity," right? The reason I am confused is, if the "suggested sensitivity" is 20, I would have thought "auto +3" would mean the machine would run at 23. But it's not, it's at 28.

Can anyone explain?

Steve

The white number is the actual sensitivity in the machine is running, the green number is the recommended sensitivity setting. You can double-check this by going into your manual sensitivity setting and adjust the level, the white number changes as you make the adjustments. The green number will change according to the ground conditions or emi. I think the auto sensitivity setting overrides the processor that the machine uses to determine optimum performance. I'm out hunting right now and I switched over to Auto sensitivity - 3 it's still running 4 4oints higher than what the machine recommends. At + 3 it's running nine points higher then the green number.

 

[sgoss66]

Ok fellas, thanks. Sounds like mine is not the only one.

This thing runs so stable at auto +3, I can't imagine why you'd EVER want to run it as low as the green number shows...

Steve

 

[Jason in Enid]

Ok fellas, thanks. Sounds like mine is not the only one.

This thing runs so stable at auto +3, I can't imagine why you'd EVER want to run it as low as the green number shows...

Steve

I know some users swear by running manual as hot as possible. I have checked many highly broken and iffy target signals. I almost always hunt in auto +3. To date, I have never had a single iffy target that cleared up by switching to manual. Just throwing out my personal observation, YMMV.

 

[IDXMonster]

Yep,same here. Although I have found some good targets using Manual,literally 95% of them have come from Auto+3. I don’t think it’s like “semi auto” like an Explorer,it’s a different deal between the two in the CTX. It doesn’t seem to just take the Manual level and crank it down like an Explorer might,there’s something else in play,or a whole different process. In today’s conditions,with sometimes hundreds of years worth of rotting iron and small flake,Manual sens seems to grab ALL of that stuff,giving you a very chirpy experience. Auto has basically NONE of that,yet is able to reach very deep. Manual MAY get a very fringe target but overall,you’ll be listening to a symphony of tiny falsing,when in Auto you can pay attention to the stuff that REPEATS. It doesn’t have to be a banging quarter signal...it just has to repeat within your pattern with numbers that are somewhere close. If you stick to that,you’ll do well. I’ve had signals get WAY WORSE going into Manual to check them,especially with the 17” coil. That’s because now it’s paying attention to all that little stuff,whereas in Auto it was just latching onto the one good target. Highly conductive targets will be the CTXs bread and butter,expect to eat well.

 

[sgoss66]

Thanks for the additional info, Jason and IDX.

I always ran my Explorer as hot as I could run it. I just go used to "mentally filtering out" all the noise, treating it as "white noise."

I am going to run for awhile in auto +3. I think what I'll do is re-check all of my deep targets found in auto+3 by switching over to maxed-out manual, to see what the effects are...

Steve

 

[dewcon4414]

Steve..... i run manual 23 and my machine recommends around 13 most of the time in salt water. It makes slight adjustments in fluffy to hard pan. However, in auto+3 things change. It changes a good bit more......my machine might run 26..... with a recommended 18. So i wonder if in manual its a fixed GB ..... but in auto it isnt? Not so sure if its running GB constantly changing for me if its a good thing...... it may be running a PLUS GB missing tiny gold.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Steve..... i run manual 23 and my machine recommends around 13 most of the time in salt water. It makes slight adjustments in fluffy to hard pan. However, in auto+3 things change. It changes a good bit more......my machine might run 26..... with a recommended 18. So i wonder if in manual its a fixed GB ..... but in auto it isnt? Not so sure if its running GB constantly changing for me if its a good thing...... it may be running a PLUS GB missing tiny gold.

You shouldnt be using the ground balance feature with your soils! 99% of the time ground balance isnt needed, and using it when not needed will actually hurt your performance. The auto sensitivity is used in place of a ground balance. If things start getting too hot, it lowers the sens level and raises it when things get quiet.

 

[IDXMonster]

Just search posts from “Digger”(Randy Horton) and scan them for this subject matter. He explains it quite well in detail. If you check the GB box in that particular menu,then it will be set for the patch of dirt where you perform the GB. If the ground matrix changes 10 feet away,you have effectively made your performance worse. Leaving the GB box UNCHECKED will allow the automatic ground tracking to work as designed,it’s balancing things on the fly,and adjusting Sensitivity accordingly when in Auto.
Most people will never hunt a site that requires it being manually ground balanced...a very few will. ML could have easily just not even given the user to Manually GB the machine,but they don’t roll like that.

 

[mrwilburino]

The reason I am confused is, if the "suggested sensitivity" is 20, I would have thought "auto +3" would mean the machine would run at 23. But it's not, it's at 28.

Mine also runs about 8 points higher than the suggested sensitivity in auto +3, usually mid 20's or higher. Wish they would give us an auto +4. +3 runs a little too quiet in my ground.

 

[Architex]

If you're after coins change the noise cancel channel to 6 - see if it helps depth. It does on mine.

 

[metalpopper]

Hey everyone...

Took my CTX out on its "maiden voyage" today. Let's just say I'm highly impressed. Very happy that a lot of the knowledge I gained about using Explorers over the past 7 years translates over pretty well to the CTX. First coin at my beaten-to-death park was a Sacagawea dollar; haven't dug one of those in ages and was a nice "inaugural" coin! Second, and last coin, was a 1920 wheat cent, perfectly vertical/on edge, at a measured 8" deep. There's a story to tell with that dig, but I'll do that later! HIGHLY impressed with this machine...

Anyway, one thing I'm confused about...

Here is a screen picture from my CTX today.

[attachment 351797 sensitivityCTX.JPG]

I was running auto +3, as you can see. What I don't understand is the white and green numbers. I THOUGHT the white was the sensitivity I'm actually running, and the green was the suggested sensitivity. But, as you can see, the white number is saying "28" (which I am almost sure is the sensitivity the machine is currently running at), and yet the green number is saying "20" -- the "suggested sensitivity," right? The reason I am confused is, if the "suggested sensitivity" is 20, I would have thought "auto +3" would mean the machine would run at 23. But it's not, it's at 28.

Can anyone explain?

Steve

**********************************************​

Hi Steve!.......just spotted this post to-night 1~12~2017


I don't have a CTX3030, but here's my take on your confusion:-

The screen showing WHITE 28......That is the level you've chosen to apply if/when, you use MANUAL SENS.

But you tell us that you are now running in AUTO-SENS. Plus 3.

That means the CTX is Auto sensing a level of 17 and adding your +3 extension i.e. 17 + 3 =20.....that's the green indicated level.......matt

p.s. So your ground STATUS is being assessed as 17.........which I think correlated with other postings you've made (?).

 

[metalpopper]

[attachment 352390 Steves.jpg]

 

[Jason in Enid]

No metalpopper, you are incorrect

 

[sgoss66]

Matt --

That is not it. When that picture was taken, my manual sensitivity was set at "30." If I switched to manual, that 28 changed to "30" -- in other words, it would change immediately to show that I was then at manual 30. However, even doing so (switching to manual 30), the green number (suggested sensitivity) remained at 20. Additionally, if I moved to a different location and the green number went down to, say, 18, the white number (the sensitivity number the machine was currently running) would likewise go down a digit or two, to 26 or 27. The white number is DEFINITELY the value of sensitivity that the machine is currently running at -- whether in auto, auto+3, manual, whatever the case.

So, since I was in auto +3 at that point, we can conclude that the machine was "wanting" to run at 25, such that if I was running regular auto, with no "+", it WOULD have been running at 25. But running at auto +3 had it thus running at 28.

Steve

 

[IDXMonster]

Steve-
The machine is measuring the ground on 3 channels...hi,med,low
The white number on the left is your running number...either the Manual level you have set or the highest of the 3 channels. Lets say...
Channel 1 is running 20
Channel 2 is running 22
Channel 3 is running 24
The average is 22. This is your green number,your suggested sensitivty.
When in Auto,for a readout it will use the highest of those 3 channels,24.
In Auto +3 the white number would read 27. The green number would be 22.
Sometimes the hi,med and low channels are further apart,depending on conditions. Such as....
Channel 1 is running 20
Channel 2 is running 25
Channel 3 is running 15
The average is 20,again,your suggested sensitivty number in green.
You can now see how the running(white) and green(suggested) could be 8 points apart. Because it’s using the highest of the 3 channels as a readout which is the mid channel at 25,adding the “+3” causes it to be at 28.
When you choose Manual sensitivty all of the 3 channels are commanded to that value. This can be detrimental to not only your ability to hear real targets amid the ground noise,but also the machines ability to electronically sort the “wheat from the chaff” and report real targets with any kind of accuracy.
In very clean black dirt or straight sand is where I might give Manual sensitivty a try,IMHO.
Clear as mud?

 

[sgoss66]

NO, IDX. Very clear, actually.

Where did you learn that part about how the machine is using "three channels" to test the ground, and the average is the "suggested sensitivity" -- the green number? I did not know that...very good stuff, right there.

Steve