Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
The CTX3030
- Thread starter GKMan
- Start date
timholliday
New member
From what I can gather, the FBS 2 has a much faster processor. I'm not sure if the headphone receiver is waterproof. The coil says CTX 11 on it so I wonder if is different from the pro coil.
Minelab has never marketed a bad product so I just want to know how much its gonna cost. I hope I can afford one someday cause if it hunts as good as it looks its gonna be awesome. I just bought a used Etrac and I knew before I bought it how good it was. Now I just need to get off my butt and start hunting for clad to pay for this new beast.
Shane
Shane
Lipservice
New member
hydrodog said:
That ruins it. Let's see what the new Fisher is like at the end of the year.
I'm blown away... by the weight!
Lipservice
New member
Yup... this pig weighs TWICE what the Deus weighs in at!
I'm 64 years old, and the ETrac is a killer on my arm... this weighs even more.
Obviously not chest or hip mountable. Minelab must not listen to it's customers... look how many have complained
about the ETrac's weight over the last couple years.
I'm 64 years old, and the ETrac is a killer on my arm... this weighs even more.
Obviously not chest or hip mountable. Minelab must not listen to it's customers... look how many have complained
about the ETrac's weight over the last couple years.
I have both XP Deus and Etrac. Lately I'm using more the Deus basically because it is my new toy and because of weight. I'm still liking the Etrac as it overperforms the Deus in certain areas. Before that, I had V3i and Etrac and even being V3i slightly lighter I selected to stick to my etrac because of performance and setup simplicity (as compared to V3i, and I was really a V3i power user).
Having said that, if CTX3030 weight is confirmed (5 pound 3 ounces) it will be heavier than etrac so for me is definetively a no go
Really sad Minelab is not listening to their customers.
Having said that, if CTX3030 weight is confirmed (5 pound 3 ounces) it will be heavier than etrac so for me is definetively a no go
Really sad Minelab is not listening to their customers.
Eddy Current
New member
What if the CTX3030 combines VLF with PI technology?
some thoughts here:
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1692572
--Eddy C.
some thoughts here:
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1692572
--Eddy C.
earthmansurfer
Active member
Steve O said:
That weight is a big giant let down. Even perfectly balanced 5lbs is 5lbs. I just don't get it. They lost sales to the Deus based on the weight I thought. Unless this thing does better in iron, it's still complimentary to the Deus.
I'm sure it's deeper but at 5lbs, man, terrible Minelab, just Terrible.
Shenandoah Digger
New member
It doesn't look like it could weigh 5 pounds, but maybe that cordless drill battery pack weighs three pounds or so. If in fact it does weigh 5 pounds, Minelab's not listening. It does look like the balance would be pretty good though.
GKMan
Well-known member
I don't like the idea of swinging that much weight around but in some of the urban parks I hunt it will be a welcome addition to the pepper spray and my pointy lesche digger that I carry while detecting there. But when I am out in the fields and hills for any length of time I just unwrap my swingy thingy from around the shaft and strap it on, that keeps me going for hours
Andy Sabisch
Active member
The specs as shown on the Minelab site - limited as they might be - state that the unit operates on "FBS 2" and shows the FE-CO scale as being the same as the E-Trac so it woudl appear that it is a deriviative of the current FBS platform and not a combination of VLF and PI technology
Andy
Andy
brother steve
Member
It has the optional string trimmer coil for brushy areas! i hope the weight thing is wrong. 5 pounds is a killer unless your underwater.
Critterhunter
New member
WARNIG!: This turned out to be a MONSTER of a long post! So bail now and use the scroll bar before you get sucked in! You don't have to read this, so please don't state the obvious. I know it's way too long but it just turned out that way.
OK, I'll be the bad guy here. Well, I see some others are let down too...But I'm REALLY let down and I'll REALLY be the bad guy here and give you my thoughts...
First and foremost price...Are they kidding me? From the suggested retail price you can just about buy an Excal for your water hunting along with an Etrac, SE Pro, or a Sovereign GT and have both bases covered that way...And at MUCH less weight too boot! You'll at least for sure, depending how much they lower the price, be able to buy one of those machines (Etrac, SE Pro, GT, or Excal) new and the other one used to have all your bases covered. Would you rather have two excellent machines, or just one machine for your money that has some extra but somewhat questionable features on it?
Don't expect the price to fall all that much from the suggested retail price. Why? Because the Etrac is too new to drop the price on it, so this machine is probably going to be at least $400 to $600 higher than the current Etrac price. For that reason I also don't see the Excal being discontinued. In terms of raw power the Excal is still heads and shoulders above the competition, and while some people can afford to spend over $1000 for one of those, this machine is just too far out of many water hunters price range.
In terms of features...One of the reasons I left the Whites line was because they seemed to think having endless features and functions crammed into a machine made up for what I really cared about...And that's performance. There's a fine line between useful features and a total boondoggle, or at least what is good (and useful) versus what becomes really tacky. Everybody has their own criteria for this, but for me the question always is does the function increase the machine's performance where it counts in the ground, or is it just some shiney new object to dazzle the consumer with and try to sell them the sizzle and not the steak. I don't care about the sizzle, I want to know how good the stake tastes.
I have the feeling Minelab might have crossed over that line. I'm starting to think their techs might have been getting drunk in the bar with the Whites techs and the ideas got a little crazy.
You should have listened to your customers. Mostly what they've been concerned about his weight and price. The performance was already there. You didn't address either one of those things with this new machine.
GPS? From what I understand (last time I read about it...Maybe I'm wrong?) consumer available GPS resolution can only put you within 10 to 50 feet of a spot, where as the military does have higher resolution ability for weapons systems but it's illegal in the consumer market. So don't think GPS on this thing is going to say allow you to carefully grid while water hunting so you don't miss any spots and don't have to use landmarks to mark where you left off. It just won't do as well as lining up a nearby landmark with your eye to mark off where you left off. You've got GPS in your car. You've got GPS in your phone. Do you really think you'll wander off in the woods without your phone and have to rely on your detector's GPS to find your way back? A gimmick in my opinion. Another flashy shiney item to grab the consumer's eye and make them buy on impulse.
Do you really want to feel like you just left the office (in terms of using the computer on your detector) after a day of metal detecting? Not me. Relaxation is what it's all about, and in a strange way it's about getting away from all that technology out there that intrudes in our lives. Cell phones, smart phones, cars that tell you to fasten your seatbelt or that it's time for a tune up, and so on. I just want to hunt with my machine and dig, and have raw enough power to keep up with the big boys.
Since we are talking about a dual purpose water/land machine my next several comments will be in that direction concerning what I would have liked to have seen in a Minelab model to do those things. Keep in mind I'm not talking about a new land detector, but rather a water & land detector meant for those two purposes. Very important to remember that in respect to what I have to say next. Again, not talking about a machine meant for land only and designed to have improvements in performance in that respect.
I was hoping for a waterproof but cheap machine designed to compete with the excellent price of the AT Pro, and one that would be as light as an AT Pro so that it was just as comfortable to use on land as in the water. Full function LCD screen on a LIGHT waterproof machine makes it perfect for land or water just like the AT Pro, and with the cheap price of the AT Pro Garrett has a big winner on their hand. Sure, it isn't as deep as an Excal and it won't handle salt water nearly as well as an Excal either, but for fresh water, some salt water ability (though performance drops a good bit there), or hunting in the rain the AT Pro is a real winner at it's low price. It may not be as deep as a Minelab on land either, but it's a fast machine for those who like to swing faster in heavy iron and such and have less chance in missing targets. Read quite a few stories of guys finding more silver in heavy iron and such that they missed with their Minelabs.
What I was hoping for was a waterproof machine that was perhaps scaled down in functions (like say the Safari is), that was light, cheap, and with a full LCD display to go head to head with the AT Pro...Making it the perfect land and water detector. Actually I was kind'a hoping to see a Excal/Sovereign BBS hybrid (ONLY to keep the price lower) in that it was waterproof but light, with a full function LCD screen, or at least basic VDI display built in without any programming features (to keep it simple & cheap), at an affordable price.
By using the older (but still very good and just as deep as anything on the market in terms of raw power) BBS technology, and a simple LCD VDI display with perhaps at the most a few simple programming options, they could have kept the cost in say the $700 to $1000 range and they could have replaced the GT and the Excal with one machine that combined the best of both worlds. That would make good business sense, because now you only have to manufacturer one machine to fill the void left by the two other machines when they discontinue both of them with it as their replacement.
Don't mean to push BBS (PLEASE don't take offense! FBS is great. I'm talking about keeping the price low here!) is still light years ahead of what the competition has, and with the proper coil (like the 12x10 I'm using on my GT) I've found I have been easily able to see any deep or severly masked coins my friend with a top of the line detector has had me check in the field. At least put a Pro Coil on it or some other larger coil to push the depths further than the current 10" coil on the GT or Excal, just like they did to with the 11" Pro Coil to push the Etrac and SE a bit deeper than prior models. In terms of raw power the older Minelab technology can hold it's own with any machine on the market. Not trying to push the older multifrequency technology of the GT or the Excal as the answer to all life's problems so again PLEASE don't take offense.
I'm mainly talking about getting the price down in a machine to compete with the AT Pro by using older Minelab technology here that to this day still leaves the competition from other manufacturers in the dust.
About the only thing on this machine that intrigues me is what they call FBS 2 and Smart Find 2. More than likely those are software changes to the processing and not really any quantum leap in ability. VLF machines are ruled by certain laws of physics that can't be changed. In short, where the real unmasking ability lies is in just how sharp the coil's detection field is. If it sees shallower trash first the field can't reach the deeper coin in any way. It can't see around corners either.
Sure, you can increase the processing speed, but all that means is you can swing faster without as much of a chance of missing targets. Keep your sweep slow and you'll have no recovery or unmasking issues, so long as the coil has a good sharp detection field, such as a Pro Coil or a 12x10.
Depth? Again, it's hard to push what Minelab currently has in VLF technology much deeper. You can't really increase the depth of the detection field without increasing coil size or the power to the TX coil inside it. Why do you think they went from the old 10" coils on the Explorers to the 11" Pro Coil? One of those reasons was to increase it's depth a bit more, and another was to increase separation abilities. Had they been able to increase the depth some other way via technology do you think they would have bothered with the expense of manufacturing a new coil?
I doubt this new machine will have any better depth or unmasking ability because of those things described above. Better ability to handle rougher ground minerals and so be able to see targets that the other Minelabs might have trouble with in the worst of ground conditions that even they have trouble handling? Perhaps, but I don't see a quantum leap here. In terms of most grounds I bet the other machines are just as deep. If there was some giant leap in depth or unmasking ability I would think that would have been a big advertisement point to make even in the initial limited release of information on this detector. Instead they choose to talk about GPS and highlight that.
In summary (I know...THANK GOD) ....Too much money, too heavy, and with too many questionable features. I feel it's a fish out of water of sorts. Can't use all those fancy LCD and GPS features when your detector is under water while your waist deep, but they'd be nice for land hunting...But then that's where you might as well buy one of the existing Minelabs that already perform heads and shouldlers above the competition. Waterproof for hunting on land in the rain? So stick a rain cover on your current machine. I don't think it's going to be a big seller. They've priced themself out of the hobby for one thing IMHO, and might have should have known when to say "when" when cramming new features into it. There comes a point where less is more.
So I'm sure I'll be raked over the coals on this, if anybody has even bothered to read through this novel of a post (Probably not!
), but that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Try to be easy on me and not get personal. Going out to have a cigarette and think about the fact that I probably should have kept my mouth shut and not drawn any unneeded fire. 
OK, I'll be the bad guy here. Well, I see some others are let down too...But I'm REALLY let down and I'll REALLY be the bad guy here and give you my thoughts...
First and foremost price...Are they kidding me? From the suggested retail price you can just about buy an Excal for your water hunting along with an Etrac, SE Pro, or a Sovereign GT and have both bases covered that way...And at MUCH less weight too boot! You'll at least for sure, depending how much they lower the price, be able to buy one of those machines (Etrac, SE Pro, GT, or Excal) new and the other one used to have all your bases covered. Would you rather have two excellent machines, or just one machine for your money that has some extra but somewhat questionable features on it?
Don't expect the price to fall all that much from the suggested retail price. Why? Because the Etrac is too new to drop the price on it, so this machine is probably going to be at least $400 to $600 higher than the current Etrac price. For that reason I also don't see the Excal being discontinued. In terms of raw power the Excal is still heads and shoulders above the competition, and while some people can afford to spend over $1000 for one of those, this machine is just too far out of many water hunters price range.
In terms of features...One of the reasons I left the Whites line was because they seemed to think having endless features and functions crammed into a machine made up for what I really cared about...And that's performance. There's a fine line between useful features and a total boondoggle, or at least what is good (and useful) versus what becomes really tacky. Everybody has their own criteria for this, but for me the question always is does the function increase the machine's performance where it counts in the ground, or is it just some shiney new object to dazzle the consumer with and try to sell them the sizzle and not the steak. I don't care about the sizzle, I want to know how good the stake tastes.
I have the feeling Minelab might have crossed over that line. I'm starting to think their techs might have been getting drunk in the bar with the Whites techs and the ideas got a little crazy.
You should have listened to your customers. Mostly what they've been concerned about his weight and price. The performance was already there. You didn't address either one of those things with this new machine.GPS? From what I understand (last time I read about it...Maybe I'm wrong?) consumer available GPS resolution can only put you within 10 to 50 feet of a spot, where as the military does have higher resolution ability for weapons systems but it's illegal in the consumer market. So don't think GPS on this thing is going to say allow you to carefully grid while water hunting so you don't miss any spots and don't have to use landmarks to mark where you left off. It just won't do as well as lining up a nearby landmark with your eye to mark off where you left off. You've got GPS in your car. You've got GPS in your phone. Do you really think you'll wander off in the woods without your phone and have to rely on your detector's GPS to find your way back? A gimmick in my opinion. Another flashy shiney item to grab the consumer's eye and make them buy on impulse.
Do you really want to feel like you just left the office (in terms of using the computer on your detector) after a day of metal detecting? Not me. Relaxation is what it's all about, and in a strange way it's about getting away from all that technology out there that intrudes in our lives. Cell phones, smart phones, cars that tell you to fasten your seatbelt or that it's time for a tune up, and so on. I just want to hunt with my machine and dig, and have raw enough power to keep up with the big boys.
Since we are talking about a dual purpose water/land machine my next several comments will be in that direction concerning what I would have liked to have seen in a Minelab model to do those things. Keep in mind I'm not talking about a new land detector, but rather a water & land detector meant for those two purposes. Very important to remember that in respect to what I have to say next. Again, not talking about a machine meant for land only and designed to have improvements in performance in that respect.
I was hoping for a waterproof but cheap machine designed to compete with the excellent price of the AT Pro, and one that would be as light as an AT Pro so that it was just as comfortable to use on land as in the water. Full function LCD screen on a LIGHT waterproof machine makes it perfect for land or water just like the AT Pro, and with the cheap price of the AT Pro Garrett has a big winner on their hand. Sure, it isn't as deep as an Excal and it won't handle salt water nearly as well as an Excal either, but for fresh water, some salt water ability (though performance drops a good bit there), or hunting in the rain the AT Pro is a real winner at it's low price. It may not be as deep as a Minelab on land either, but it's a fast machine for those who like to swing faster in heavy iron and such and have less chance in missing targets. Read quite a few stories of guys finding more silver in heavy iron and such that they missed with their Minelabs.
What I was hoping for was a waterproof machine that was perhaps scaled down in functions (like say the Safari is), that was light, cheap, and with a full LCD display to go head to head with the AT Pro...Making it the perfect land and water detector. Actually I was kind'a hoping to see a Excal/Sovereign BBS hybrid (ONLY to keep the price lower) in that it was waterproof but light, with a full function LCD screen, or at least basic VDI display built in without any programming features (to keep it simple & cheap), at an affordable price.
By using the older (but still very good and just as deep as anything on the market in terms of raw power) BBS technology, and a simple LCD VDI display with perhaps at the most a few simple programming options, they could have kept the cost in say the $700 to $1000 range and they could have replaced the GT and the Excal with one machine that combined the best of both worlds. That would make good business sense, because now you only have to manufacturer one machine to fill the void left by the two other machines when they discontinue both of them with it as their replacement.
Don't mean to push BBS (PLEASE don't take offense! FBS is great. I'm talking about keeping the price low here!) is still light years ahead of what the competition has, and with the proper coil (like the 12x10 I'm using on my GT) I've found I have been easily able to see any deep or severly masked coins my friend with a top of the line detector has had me check in the field. At least put a Pro Coil on it or some other larger coil to push the depths further than the current 10" coil on the GT or Excal, just like they did to with the 11" Pro Coil to push the Etrac and SE a bit deeper than prior models. In terms of raw power the older Minelab technology can hold it's own with any machine on the market. Not trying to push the older multifrequency technology of the GT or the Excal as the answer to all life's problems so again PLEASE don't take offense.
I'm mainly talking about getting the price down in a machine to compete with the AT Pro by using older Minelab technology here that to this day still leaves the competition from other manufacturers in the dust.About the only thing on this machine that intrigues me is what they call FBS 2 and Smart Find 2. More than likely those are software changes to the processing and not really any quantum leap in ability. VLF machines are ruled by certain laws of physics that can't be changed. In short, where the real unmasking ability lies is in just how sharp the coil's detection field is. If it sees shallower trash first the field can't reach the deeper coin in any way. It can't see around corners either.
Sure, you can increase the processing speed, but all that means is you can swing faster without as much of a chance of missing targets. Keep your sweep slow and you'll have no recovery or unmasking issues, so long as the coil has a good sharp detection field, such as a Pro Coil or a 12x10.
Depth? Again, it's hard to push what Minelab currently has in VLF technology much deeper. You can't really increase the depth of the detection field without increasing coil size or the power to the TX coil inside it. Why do you think they went from the old 10" coils on the Explorers to the 11" Pro Coil? One of those reasons was to increase it's depth a bit more, and another was to increase separation abilities. Had they been able to increase the depth some other way via technology do you think they would have bothered with the expense of manufacturing a new coil?
I doubt this new machine will have any better depth or unmasking ability because of those things described above. Better ability to handle rougher ground minerals and so be able to see targets that the other Minelabs might have trouble with in the worst of ground conditions that even they have trouble handling? Perhaps, but I don't see a quantum leap here. In terms of most grounds I bet the other machines are just as deep. If there was some giant leap in depth or unmasking ability I would think that would have been a big advertisement point to make even in the initial limited release of information on this detector. Instead they choose to talk about GPS and highlight that.
In summary (I know...THANK GOD)
....Too much money, too heavy, and with too many questionable features. I feel it's a fish out of water of sorts. Can't use all those fancy LCD and GPS features when your detector is under water while your waist deep, but they'd be nice for land hunting...But then that's where you might as well buy one of the existing Minelabs that already perform heads and shouldlers above the competition. Waterproof for hunting on land in the rain? So stick a rain cover on your current machine. I don't think it's going to be a big seller. They've priced themself out of the hobby for one thing IMHO, and might have should have known when to say "when" when cramming new features into it. There comes a point where less is more.So I'm sure I'll be raked over the coals on this, if anybody has even bothered to read through this novel of a post (Probably not!
), but that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Try to be easy on me and not get personal. Going out to have a cigarette and think about the fact that I probably should have kept my mouth shut and not drawn any unneeded fire. Blank Planet
New member
personally i think they tried to hard and well it just is to much for park hunters etc..why do i need GPS to find the park 
maybe it would be great for nugget hunters or places where there are no land marks, anyway lots of features if you need them then that's great, i don't need them on a FBS machine, interesting to find out what FBS2 does if they just made a etrac with FBS2 it might have been a better seller providing FBS2 is a big step forward, we will all find out soon enough hey.
BP
maybe it would be great for nugget hunters or places where there are no land marks, anyway lots of features if you need them then that's great, i don't need them on a FBS machine, interesting to find out what FBS2 does if they just made a etrac with FBS2 it might have been a better seller providing FBS2 is a big step forward, we will all find out soon enough hey.BP
I am pretty sure US buyers are just a small percentage of MInelab Buyers... I suppose if you were in the outback of Australia GPS would be a nice feature.. Plus it is something else to Play with LOL
Many Mark on their GPS units all spots they detect...
I just wonder how much power all this extra stuff is going to take away from detecting depth and operation.. EMI Interference can be from internal too. F75 being an example when powered up high..
Many Mark on their GPS units all spots they detect...
I just wonder how much power all this extra stuff is going to take away from detecting depth and operation.. EMI Interference can be from internal too. F75 being an example when powered up high..
Critterhunter
New member
Very good point. EMI (electrical mechanical noise) doesn't just come from outside sources. All that extra electronics crammed into that thing for GPS and such might make it a bit unstable when trying to raise sensitivity as high as you can say on an Etrac, SE Pro, or Sov/Excal.