Big Boys Hobbies

CTX 3030 & Target Trace

Rattlehead

Rattlehead

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Jan 9, 2012
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Cave Spring, GA USA
When I first got my CTX almost a year ago, I thought the Target Trace feature sounded neat in theory but figured it was probably a bit gimmicky. I was wrong. Turns out this is (IMHO) one of the most useful features that the CTX has over other detectors.

A lot of the sites that I hunt are blanketed with iron such as small nails and other junk. While there's a lot of good targets still in the ground, most detectors can't see them due to being masked. This is where Target Trace can be really beneficial.

Just a couple of days ago I was detecting a neighbors yard that I've been hitting regularly since 2009. Years ago, a structure had been torn down there so its littered with nails and other bits of iron. Anyway, I got a blip of a high tone with no TID on the display. I couldn't get it to repeat again no matter how many directions I tried sweeping. No audio what-so-ever other than the first little blip... but I could clearly see a trace leading from the bottom right where iron reads, up to the area where coins generally fall. When I pulled the trigger to pinpoint, I noticed two darkened spots. One in bottom right, and another in the coin range. This is a dead giveaway that there's a good target being masked by iron. So to satisfy my curiosity, I brought out the Deus to check if it could see the target. Nope. Nothing but iron grunts. So I dug out the plug and found 3 nails and a wheat in it. Pretty amazing if you ask me!

Thats not the first time Target Trace has helped me spot coins mixed with iron either. On one of my other sites it's helped me find several silvers that I would have missed without it. As far as I'm concerned, Minelab really hit a home run with this feature.

I know you guys who have been using the CTX for a while already know about Target Trace, but I'm posting this in hopes that its helpful to new CTX owners.

Try this: Go to one of the most trashy sites you know of that has produced keepers in the past. Make sure Target Trace and Target Trace Pinpoint are ON. I'd suggest running in high trash mode since nothing is pushed toward the 12 line.

Sweep slowly and on any hint of a high tone check the screen. Look for any smears like the one in the first picture below. If you see one, hold the trigger and pinpoint. Notice a couple of distinct dark spots filling in like shown in the second picture below? Dig it! You might be in for a pleasant surprise!
 

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Here is where target trace can really help a person.

The ole CTX can give an average TID on colocated nonferrous targets.

Take a shotgun shell and a silver dime,,,it is very possible for the CTX to give like a 12-34 TID on some thing like this here,,,but if an op will watch,,,the target trace will be trying to build on the right side of the cursor,,,you see this,,good sign of a higher conductor nearby.
Worth digging IMO.
Has netted me some good finds.
 
Yes, its not limited to picking targets from iron. It also works with lower conductors as TNSS mentioned. Just an all around useful tool IMHO.
 
Good experiement,,,lay a nickel and dime down real close to one another and sweep and monitor target trace,,,,you may have to adjust your spacing a bit,,,but you'll see what we are referring to.
Stringy like line that builds.

The nickle here would be simulating a pull tab sorta.
 
I figured the first pic out ,I think it was you that said look for the small black dots a while back ? I've seen the black clouds build up like in the second pic display but I passed on digging them. Now I know I'm missing something, Thank you
 
Very helpful! I've seen a gone hunting video where he pulled I think 3 different coins out of a plug and he knew there was multiple non ferrous objects in the hole. Amazing technology. I will use that feature eventually when I'm ready. Thanks for sharing!
 
Rattlehead said:
When I first got my CTX almost a year ago, I thought the Target Trace feature sounded neat in theory but figured it was probably a bit gimmicky. I was wrong. Turns out this is (IMHO) one of the most useful features that the CTX has over other detectors.

A lot of the sites that I hunt are blanketed with iron such as small nails and other junk. While there's a lot of good targets still in the ground, most detectors can't see them due to being masked. This is where Target Trace can be really beneficial.

Just a couple of days ago I was detecting a neighbors yard that I've been hitting regularly since 2009. Years ago, a structure had been torn down there so its littered with nails and other bits of iron. Anyway, I got a blip of a high tone with no TID on the display. I couldn't get it to repeat again no matter how many directions I tried sweeping. No audio what-so-ever other than the first little blip... but I could clearly see a trace leading from the bottom right where iron reads, up to the area where coins generally fall. When I pulled the trigger to pinpoint, I noticed two darkened spots. One in bottom right, and another in the coin range. This is a dead giveaway that there's a good target being masked by iron. So to satisfy my curiosity, I brought out the Deus to check if it could see the target. Nope. Nothing but iron grunts. So I dug out the plug and found 3 nails and a wheat in it. Pretty amazing if you ask me!

Thats not the first time Target Trace has helped me spot coins mixed with iron either. On one of my other sites it's helped me find several silvers that I would have missed without it. As far as I'm concerned, Minelab really hit a home run with this feature.

I know you guys who have been using the CTX for a while already know about Target Trace, but I'm posting this in hopes that its helpful to new CTX owners.

Try this: Go to one of the most trashy sites you know of that has produced keepers in the past. Make sure Target Trace and Target Trace Pinpoint are ON. I'd suggest running in high trash mode since nothing is pushed toward the 12 line.

Sweep slowly and on any hint of a high tone check the screen. Look for any smears like the one in the first picture below. If you see one, hold the trigger and pinpoint. Notice a couple of distinct dark spots filling in like shown in the second picture below? Dig it! You might be in for a pleasant surprise!
Click to expand...


Here, I'm finding that most good or semi good targets turn black clouded like your bottom picture. It can be anything from lawn mower hit matchbox car pieces to coins.
 
Yeah its pretty cool! Works good with the 17" on the beach too. I pulled a fish hook and a dime out the same hole a couple days ago laying right next to each other.
 
not meaning to hijack the thread here but I have a question about target trace. Anyone been successful finding a coin in iron with target trace past about 6 inches? I love the feature but have not mastered a target trace for deeper coins
 
Dflan83 said:
not meaning to hijack the thread here but I have a question about target trace. Anyone been successful finding a coin in iron with target trace past about 6 inches? I love the feature but have not mastered a target trace for deeper coins
Click to expand...

On my beach with the 17" coil it works a whole lot deeper than 6". But we get over a foot deep here with the big coil at the beach.
 
Looking at the first screen I see it hit at 20.45 you just caught this coin with where your disc is set at . That's why it was hard to get that blip of a high tone again.

If your disc was set at the 32 line you would of got a high tone both ways okay now your fe line would also have to be set at 32 or 35 I prefer 35 . All targets with iron will high tone from 31 up to the 12 line if your fe line is set at 32 if they can high tone some are masked to much and well be silent .

All targets that read 32 ferrous to 35 ferrous will low tone even if your fe line is set at 35 with no disc so remember all targets go low at 32 .

I run with my fe line at 35 and i'm disc from 32 down to 35 disc or no disc there still going to low tone this well knock out most of the nails at this setting .

Now going back to the first screen 20.45 is a easy target to get a high tone if you were not disc out where you were if your fe line was set at 32 you would get a high tone also disc from 32 to 35 I have dug coins with iron from 31.45 all the way to 12.45 . Just remember if your fe line is set at 30 you well only get a low for a 31.45 there by missing it and if your fe line is set at 20 all those #20 to 31 well go low you will not get a high tone.

Now the second screen has a 14 .45 and a 28.45 the 14.45 is say sweep right to left hit coin better than the sweep from left to right which was 28.45 it's building both hits but from different directions the 28.45 would be a low tone because of your disc if your disc was set at 32 to 35 you would get a high tone on the left to right hit only if your fe line was set at 29 to 35 remember where ever your fe line is set all targets below it go low. On this screen I would have dug either of the traces that where left there both are out of the iron .

If your disc is set at 20 and below you well get a null if your fe line is set at 20 all targets well go low that are below 20.

So I set my fe line at 35 and disc from 32 to 35 to get rid of nails does not matter if your fe line is at 32 or 35 it's all going to go low from 32 down.
So if you want that 31.45 and above to go high you have to set your fe line at 32 or lower being 35 .

High trash works pretty well but it well still throw a false on the 12 line just as ferrous coin I run ferrous coin combine

Now depending on how well the target is masked you will get no audio on some hits but target trace will show it you will get better trust me but you have to understand what I just told you.

One other thing on building targets use pinpoint sizing with target trace it will leave it on the screen better than normal which rachets your sence down to better pinpoint. Now your trace will only be as good as how much sensitivity you are using the more sence the better the trace the less sence the weaker the trace . This also carries into pinpoint using weak sence will build a weak target in normal or sizing high sence #s will build a better trace try it to see what i'm talking about .

I have many videos on funmall hopes this helps you on your way. phew that was long winded .sube
 
CTX 3030 & Target Trace

I should have mentioned, the images in the first post aren't the actual traces from the wheat & nails I described. Those two images were screenshots taken from one of my videos just for demonstration purposes (a Barber quarter mixed with iron). The pattern I was using when I found the wheat & nails was the one from my Dirty Frog program, which is similar to the Tadpole pattern as far as iron disc which is only in the bottom right corner. I usually run it in combined mode with ferrous coin when hunting in heavy iron but decided to use high trash on that particular day.

Still good and valid info you provided sube. Thanks for posting. A user by the name of khouse posted a video last year which shows an example of how lowering the FE line in your pattern on an Etrac can really help with hearing coins near iron. Pretty amazing, and same applies to the CTX. I still like to use the standard Trashy Park pattern with 50 CO & high trash occasionally. Especially for some quiet coin shooting in cleaner ground.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
CTX 3030 & Target Trace

Dflan83 said:
not meaning to hijack the thread here but I have a question about target trace. Anyone been successful finding a coin in iron with target trace past about 6 inches? I love the feature but have not mastered a target trace for deeper coins
Click to expand...



The deeper the target (or the lower the sensitivity), the weaker the trace will be. To see a better build on deeper targets I would try sizing pinpoint mode as sube suggested.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
sube said:
Looking at the first screen I see it hit at 20.45 you just caught this coin with where your disc is set at . That's why it was hard to get that blip of a high tone again.

If your disc was set at the 32 line you would of got a high tone both ways okay now your fe line would also have to be set at 32 or 35 I prefer 35 . All targets with iron will high tone from 31 up to the 12 line if your fe line is set at 32 if they can high tone some are masked to much and well be silent .

All targets that read 32 ferrous to 35 ferrous will low tone even if your fe line is set at 35 with no disc so remember all targets go low at 32 .

I run with my fe line at 35 and i'm disc from 32 down to 35 disc or no disc there still going to low tone this well knock out most of the nails at this setting .

Now going back to the first screen 20.45 is a easy target to get a high tone if you were not disc out where you were if your fe line was set at 32 you would get a high tone also disc from 32 to 35 I have dug coins with iron from 31.45 all the way to 12.45 . Just remember if your fe line is set at 30 you well only get a low for a 31.45 there by missing it and if your fe line is set at 20 all those #20 to 31 well go low you will not get a high tone.

Now the second screen has a 14 .45 and a 28.45 the 14.45 is say sweep right to left hit coin better than the sweep from left to right which was 28.45 it's building both hits but from different directions the 28.45 would be a low tone because of your disc if your disc was set at 32 to 35 you would get a high tone on the left to right hit only if your fe line was set at 29 to 35 remember where ever your fe line is set all targets below it go low. On this screen I would have dug either of the traces that where left there both are out of the iron .

If your disc is set at 20 and below you well get a null if your fe line is set at 20 all targets well go low that are below 20.

So I set my fe line at 35 and disc from 32 to 35 to get rid of nails does not matter if your fe line is at 32 or 35 it's all going to go low from 32 down.
So if you want that 31.45 and above to go high you have to set your fe line at 32 or lower being 35 .

High trash works pretty well but it well still throw a false on the 12 line just as ferrous coin I run ferrous coin combine

Now depending on how well the target is masked you will get no audio on some hits but target trace will show it you will get better trust me but you have to understand what I just told you.

One other thing on building targets use pinpoint sizing with target trace it will leave it on the screen better than normal which rachets your sence down to better pinpoint. Now your trace will only be as good as how much sensitivity you are using the more sence the better the trace the less sence the weaker the trace . This also carries into pinpoint using weak sence will build a weak target in normal or sizing high sence #s will build a better trace try it to see what i'm talking about .

I have many videos on funmall hopes this helps you on your way. phew that was long winded .sube
Click to expand...
that is a eye opener, thank you.
 
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