There is nothing wrong with GoneHuntings programs.......if you are hunting in the same places that Evan is hunting. The programs he has posted were developed for his sites, his style of hunting and the types of targets he is looking for. And that is exactly the point I've been trying to make since the introduction of the CTX 3030.......what works well for one person in one part of the world is likely not the best "set up" for someone else in another part of the world. And depending on the soil conditions, those two worlds can be as little as a few miles apart. To optimize the performance of the CTX 3030 (or any detector), we have to learn the functionality. Recognize that the sounds one person likes to listen for are not necessarily the same sounds you hear well. Know what Separation modes are best for the soil conditions we encounter. Learn how to incorporate both audio and visual "indicators" for the types of targets you seek. Select how many tones you want to listen for, and whether they are ferrous, conductive, or a combination of both. Go through each of the "settings" and develop programs that are personalized to you for use at your sites. You might find that many of the programs are similar in discrimination Patterns, but vary with audio response or separation modes. As I said, learn which functions are best with various site conditions and build your programs based on those factors.
With that said, you indicate you have a small coil that nulls all the time. With the conditions you describe, a small coil is your best bet. Do NOT enable GB. Allowing the CTX 3030 to self adjust to changes in ground phase is much more reliable than setting a ground balance and running with it. Especially in areas with the amount of targets you indicate this site has. I would suggest you use less discrimination so that you are hearing tones for those targets that are now being rejected. Nulling seems to make us a bit complacent when listening for that slight chirp of a coin, in amongst iron. Set the Tone ID for the 50 conductive if there is an abundance of non-ferrous trash. If most of the trash is ferrous, I prefer Combined audio. Regardless of which you chose, slow down your sweep speed to a point that you hear each target individually. Overlap your swaths by at least one-third and work the area from multiple directions. I would turn Fast ON and Deep OFF. This will allow the CTX 3030 to react more quickly to individual targets. I would also suggest you lower your sensitivity. Although running with a high amount of sensitivity can enhance the response of coins, it also enhances the response of every other metallic target, as well as ground noise. If you are running with Auto and a positive offset, lower it to Auto or you may even have to incorporate a negative offset. If most of the trash is ferrous, then I'd recommend using FE/Coin Separation. If you have an abundance of both ferrous trash and non-ferrous trash, running in High Trash might produce better results. Again, this is something you will just have to try for yourself. I would implement Target Trace so that I could see those targets that might be directly adjacent to the trash. You might not hear all the coins. But if you keep an eye on the smartscreen, you will see them.
Primarily, I hunt in a 35 mile radius of my home. But even at that, I have more than a dozen programs I have saved for particular sites. It all depends on the amount of trash, the type of trash, the soil conditions and the types of targets I am looking for. Again, GoneHunting's settings were developed for the places he hunts. And if your situation is similar, they could work well for you. But don't assume that what works well for one person (or one site) will work the same for you, or at all of your sites. Learn the functionality of your detector, understand how one setting might best be used for optimum performance in a particular site, and build your programs based on what you have to work with.
It is all about Arts and Science...... the engineers who designed the CTX 3030 did so based on science. Using that functionality effectively is an art. JMHO HH Randy
