Thank you for your Explorer/CTX 3030 evaluation Bryce----much appreciated.

[Dave-IL]

I was there to witness it.

I don't think he even included those hours in his review total.
He wanted to make an honest, truthful, and very thorough, side by side comparison between the Explorer SE vs the ctx over undug targets but did not want to "step on anyone's toes". He did not state the fact that much of his side by side comparing was done WHILE USING THE STOCK PRO COIL ON HIS SE for that VERY reason...but I will state it for him.
The results were exactly the same each and every time here at our sites and in our soil. The Explorer SE came out on top.

I KNOW...because I was one of the guys getting spanked...and there were two others as well...but whether or not they want to reveal who they are is their business.

He never used an E-Trac at any time during the comparing....only The Explorer SE and his Explorer 2 a few times.

Albert I want to add that I love your videos and thank you for the time you take to put the informative posts together.
I have learned a lot by viewing them and they have helped me out in the field. Thank you again. You are a credit to the hobby.

Bryce you did a nice job and put in a ton of hours and hard work putting your post together. Good job on it.

 

[earthmansurfer]

Hey Dave, thanks for the nice words. If the weather cools down (hopefully Friday) I'll get back out and can make more!

Thanks for adding that Bryce also used the stock coil. It wasn't clear in his book, I mean post ;-) That raises my eyebrows a bit higher!

On a positive note I have just been using the stock coil on the CTX, I feel like though it doesn't get the separation of the 6", it gets better separation than the stock E-Trac coil (probably due to the faster recovery and better unmasking abilities.) And it gets comparable depth to the 13" Detech, at least in my ground. I also feel like I can cover ground a bit quicker in trashier spots.

Dave - What is the mineralization like where you guys hunted? In most places (no side by side) I pulled another 3 or so coins with the CTX where I had hit hard with the E-Trac. But in one small strip I pulled more coins (over 15) with the CTX than I had found with the E-Trac. They were all at 8"-9". The difference being the ground - this one spot had more sand and less mineralization. That "strip" is the first place I hit with the CTX and I thought "Oh my god, this really is a lot better than the E-Trac" and I posted those results. But then as I got into more mineralized ground (my typical ground) the CTX was not finding much more than the E-Trac.

Those of us who spent the cash on the CTX have to grin and bear it. At least my back is a bit better, ends up being cheaper in the end when you consider chiropractor visits and what not.

Albert

 

[earthmansurfer]

Bryce - Since the post has been moved. How about pinning it somewhere. Since there the reply feature has been disabled. It is just going to fade away fast and many will miss it. Or enable the reply feature....

Thanks for the great comparison!
Alberrt

 

[wpaxt]

Well done, Bryce.

 

[Critterhunter]

Also, Bryce was using the 10X12 on the Explorer and putting that up against the stock CTX coil. So, though I agree with his findings, his findings were using stock coil vs. 10X12. Apparently, the CTX with the stock coil is deeper than an E-Trac/Explorer with the stock coil - though I don't see where he did that. I didn't see where Bryce said the CTX isn't a coinshooter?
Albert

Well I see above in response that indeed he did use the Pro Coil on his Explorer for comparisons too. But even if that was not the case, I think one of the points he was making in the article (maybe I'm wrong...should read it again) is that by the time he bought the 6" and 17" coils for it to improve it's comparison in some aspects to the Explorer, he was now in over 3K or so. True, the 12x10 improves both depth and separation, and true that it's an aftermarket coil that doesn't come with other Minelabs, but what I got out of that read was that with the proper aftermarket coils (which are fairly inexpensive even when bought new), you are pretty much armed for bear in any given situation (depth or unmasking). The 12x10 for outstanding maximum depth on coin/ring sized targets, along with excellent left/right separation abilities that enhance unmasking...And then a 6" trash coil for the worst of heavy trash which will still get outstanding depth but will take unmasking to even greater heights of performance.

I was primarily interested (and waited eagerly for many weeks) for anybody to do this kind of in depth comparison of another Minelab using a few quality aftermarket coils to see how that performed. The CTX looks to be an excellent machine, but there are many of us who just wanted to know if the right coils could make the need for an upgrade in machines less of a clear cut choice, because it's obviously a lot easier to swing the money for a few used or new coils than to upgrade machines. It appears those coil options more than did what I personally needed to see to make my decision, and I'm sure others were waiting for the same thing to decide for themselves as well. That's what I got out of reading that excellent article anyway...Exactly the kind of information I wanted to find out to help me decide just what I was going to do...

And so once again I say thank you Bryce for such an excellent read and the hard work you and your friends put into making the comparisons. You've done a great service to us other Minelab users torn between the machine we love now and the doubt as to if we could hold our own with the right coil options, wondering if we needed to bite the bullet and make the leap to another machine.

For those where money is not really an issue, the CTX offers some unique features that some might find they would like to have. Bryce did a good job of pointing those out, so as said his article was not a hit piece by any means IMO...

 

[LFarthing42]

This was a very helpful post.....errr book
It is information like this and the honesty you showed that are an asset to the hobby.

 

[dirt doctor]

An excellent job on sharing your findings Bryce .Thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule to do this .

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Yes, I totally agree. Thankyou. The feeling that this was nothing more than a glorified water-proof Etrac, is more or less born out in your report. Not that there's anything wrong with "glorified re-packaged" machines, but it definately is food for thought if someone thinks they will have something that magically opens up that next inch in their worked out silver parks.

thanx for taking the time to type that all out. We all owe you a 12-pack of dark beer! haha

 

[Markdb61]

Very nicely done and thank you for taking the time.