What i like and don't like on my CTX 3030.

[Doctorcoinz]

I have owned my ctx for about 3 to 4 months now and been on around 30 hunts with the machine. Overall i like the detector but for me it has a few things that i don't like too much.
I would like to start with what i like about the ctx , things that make it more enjoyable than say the explorers. There are 4 main things that i like, things that are pleasing all the rest of the bells and whistles i don't care for to be honest. So lets start with the first feature i really think is nice and thats the wireless headphone feature, it feels good not been wired to the detector it feels very nice infact. More freedom of movement is nice with the wireless but i have to say the price of the wireless module seems insanely high for what it is. The next thing i really like is been able to detect in rain and not to have panic attacks over water getting inside the unit. This is a cool feature i like it a lot. The third thing i like is the feel of the ctx when swinging , it's nice it's a pleasure for the most part. On some hunts where targets a few and far between though it still can get a bit tiring as we all know digging gives a rest to the swinging arm a nice break if you know what i mean. The fourth thing i like is the long battery life with the lion battery pack compared to the explorer, double the battery life of an explorer which is nice. Now as for all of the rest of what the ctx offers such as gps , colour screen , fbs 2 etc well to be honest i don't find these improvements make any noticeable difference to say using an SE or explorer 2. The ctx without any doubt what so ever does seem to sniff coins from amongst the iron a fair amount better than the explorers.
the accuracy of the digital numbers seems a bit more solid on target lock on and gives a slight improvement over the explorers . The target trace feature so far i am not seeing it makes any big differences to finding stuff. I am sure it might give a bit more information over buried targets but it takes a lot of learning to do from what i see. The depth of the ctx on coins don't seem any much better than an explorer , if the ctx is actually deeper on coins over say an explorer then it's only a slight depth improvement . I don't find deeper with the ctx than i did with explorers. I feel i have paid all the money for wireless and a better swing , with longer battery life and water proofing!

 

[parkgt]

I agree with your likes. I do use a harness, so I don't have total freedom even with the wireless. I use a molle belt harness with a Swingything and the unit is basically weightless with the stock coil and is a slightly back heavy with the 6". The bungee does allow me to set the unit down besides me to recover targets with out any difficulty.

I ran without target trace today and really felt I was missing the added confirmation that the visuals give; although I don't know if I missed anything without using it. I will not be trying that experiment again, seeing the circle fill with red is bliss.

The one thing that bothers me compared to the 705 I have is the ability to clearly separate pennies from dimes. With the 705 I always knew which of those I was targeting. Even after a almost a year with the CTX I still dig pennies that I guess I am too eager to dig as dimes.

 

[Ferrous Bueller]

I find target trace bogs down the ctx some. I turned it off as it never told me anything my ears didn't already know from the audio response.

 

[Altamaha]

I agree with you for the most part regarding the CTX features:

1. Even though the target ID is a bit more accurate & the machine has better separation in iron, than the Explorers, I have yet to find coins as deep as I have with the Explorers & I purchased/have been using the CTX 3030 since just after they were released.

2. It is nice to be able to detect in the rain because the detector is "Water Proof", thought if I was a water hunter I don't think that I would trust it after all of the complaints that I have heard about leakage! I would go with the Excalibur.

3. The color screen is definitely nothing to get that excited about as it has the same glare/difficult to see (especially in bright sun light) problem as the Explorers. Plus the colors instead of being high definition/contrast (which would probably help) are somewhat washed out!

4. Not impressed at all with the so called wireless feature (which really isn't wireless) as the headphones are still tethered to the wireless module with the headphone cord which presents the same old problem with strain/wire breakage at the plug in point as when plugged into the detector itself. I have already gone through two pair of headphones with broken cord wires using this thing. Plus I find the wireless module pairing/connection process to be a pain/time consuming, so I don't even bother using it any more. Would have been nice if Minelab had developed a real set of easy to connect wireless headphones like the V3i, considering the ridiculous price that they charge for the wireless module.

5. I do like the target trace feature as I find it helpful in discerning good targets in iron infested areas.

6 The layout/balance is definitely better than the Explorers and overall it is a fun detector to hunt with.

7. The lithium battery is also nice.



My two cents!