Minelab CTX 3030 - Getting acquainted & questions for other owners

BBsGal

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It's been an interesting week so far just getting acquainted with the ctx 3030, and I had an "aha" moment yesterday on how patterns = discrimination, and also on using the tones as cues to dig... and am starting to make sense of the vid numbers. Yay! When I first turned this machine on and tried it out I was completely lost, so progress feels pretty good.

Also found my first "older" coin yesterday, a '56 wheatie with it at about 6" deep, kinda neat for just learning it and playing around. This was at one of my regularly hunted permission sites and I've been over that same area dozens of times, so now I'm wondering what else I've missed!

Boy, I gotta say it's so very different from any of our other detectors, and it's also kinda heavy for me but hopefully if I keep going my swinging arm will get stronger :lol: I've looked at various harness/sling setups but they all seem to have real drawbacks, so I'm still pondering that whole situation.

I did go ahead and order rechargeable batteries for the thing since it came without any battery pack, and I had to get the AA holder for the thing which is working fine but eating a lot of alkaline batteries.

So the things I wonder about from other CTX owners is this... should I invest the $$ in the little coil for trashy areas (most of my hunting is in this type of situation), and what other accessories do you feel are indispensable to running this detector?

The other thing... This one also (from estate sale) came without the wireless audio module and no headphones. At the price for the module plus headphones, and having had pain issues with headphones in the past (my Garrett's just about kill me and haven't found a set yet that don't hurt) is it worth the $$ to go wireless? Or does anyone use ear buds with it instead of full headphones and how is that working?

I think that's about all I have for questions so far, I'm sure I'll have more as I go along. :yes:
 
I would not like to be without the wireless module. I bought the 6" coil, used it twice and it is for sale here at the forum. In my opinion, the stock coil works better but apparently I never found the application spot to warrant the use of a smaller coil. I would rather risk missing shallow masked targets that the smaller 6" coil may or may not be able to detect than to run the shallow running 6" coil with the risk of missing deeper unmasked targets. I hope you can make sense of my post. The original battery pack last really well, compared to the AA battery pack but then you would need the charger as well and the cost is up there for those. The battery would be cheaper as you might be able to source a rebuilt pack, I see people advertising wanting packs and modules that no longer take a charge so they can rebuild them.
 
Firstly...it is weird it didn't come with the wireless setup,that's one of its claims to fame. Sure it's not around the estate somewhere? It's worth asking if you can.
Secondly...if you're hunting "trashy areas", you must consider what type of trash you have. Lots of old nails and iron? You need to learn to use Combined audio with the Ferrous Coin separation option. Read about it, watch videos on it.
If you have a lot of Conductive Trash like pulltabs and aluminum type stuff, 50 tone Conductive may suit you better. Most guys have two Modes set up and toggle between them depending on their hunting conditions. Again,read about it and watch videos til your eyes bleed.
Thirdly...you CAN use earbuds or phones plugged right into the machine, but if you have the resources,get the WM10 module and charger. NOT being tethered to the machine makes hunting much more do-able.
Lastly....watch videos and read the manual. Visit as many forums as you can to glean information about setups and what works for people who hunt what you hunt. Not everyone's setup is going to work for YOU, it takes many hours to become one with your machine and to truly KNOW what works for YOU.
If you like old coins,go hunt where old coins will be. Using the coins mode to start seems like a good starting point, but become very familiar with Combined audio with Ferrous Coin separation. It's worth repeating because this setup is capable of finding non-Ferrous items very close to or touching Ferrous junk in a more proficient manner than other setups. Read about Target Trace and how to interpret it so you can make use of a GREAT feature the CTX has.
In the end, a comfortable setup allows for the hunter to find more by swinging longer. The Pro-Swing 45 harness is pricey to some but worth every penny to me. With the stock coil you'll find most of what's out there to find. The 17" coil will find that same stuff easier and some deeper stuff as well. The smaller 6" coil would be for a place that is a real mess that can't be tamed with the other coils, it requires much patience. I have all 3 coils, and use the 17" most of the time because of where I hunt....wide open parks and ball fields.
Good luck going forward, don't be afraid to invest some money in another coil and the WM10. Each thing you add will make you smile a little bit more...
 
It's been an interesting week so far just getting acquainted with the ctx 3030, and I had an "aha" moment yesterday on how patterns = discrimination, and also on using the tones as cues to dig... and am starting to make sense of the vid numbers. Yay! When I first turned this machine on and tried it out I was completely lost, so progress feels pretty good.

Also found my first "older" coin yesterday, a '56 wheatie with it at about 6" deep, kinda neat for just learning it and playing around. This was at one of my regularly hunted permission sites and I've been over that same area dozens of times, so now I'm wondering what else I've missed!

Boy, I gotta say it's so very different from any of our other detectors, and it's also kinda heavy for me but hopefully if I keep going my swinging arm will get stronger :lol: I've looked at various harness/sling setups but they all seem to have real drawbacks, so I'm still pondering that whole situation.

I did go ahead and order rechargeable batteries for the thing since it came without any battery pack, and I had to get the AA holder for the thing which is working fine but eating a lot of alkaline batteries.

So the things I wonder about from other CTX owners is this... should I invest the $$ in the little coil for trashy areas (most of my hunting is in this type of situation), and what other accessories do you feel are indispensable to running this detector?

The other thing... This one also (from estate sale) came without the wireless audio module and no headphones. At the price for the module plus headphones, and having had pain issues with headphones in the past (my Garrett's just about kill me and haven't found a set yet that don't hurt) is it worth the $$ to go wireless? Or does anyone use ear buds with it instead of full headphones and how is that working?

I think that's about all I have for questions so far, I'm sure I'll have more as I go along. :yes:

First congrats on your new to you detector.

As far as what to do for headphones.
If you decide to purchase headphones for CTX,,recommend you make sure you tell a dealer/sponsor they will be used on Minelab CTX,,,the reason is not all headphones are compatible with CTX.

You ithat be able to get an adapter so you can use the cheaper headphones like is used on a Sony Walkman. Not sure if this ideas will work,,it did for me using Etrac.

The wireless module is not required,,IMO just a nicety.

As far as the smaller coil,,in heavier iron and nails,,trash it will help you.
I have seen not so good reports on the 5x10" joint aftermarket coil,,,I would recommend the 6" Minelab coil for CTX,,,consider buying used and save a few bucks.

I think you should consider a harness.
There are some cheaper ones out there,,and they have quick disconnect,,which is a necessity in my book.

A harness will make longer detecting sessions more enjoyable.

If you have not got the book written about CTX,,you might consider getting.

There is lots of info on this forum to guide you.

CTX is not hard,,,once you understand how the ID system places targets,,higher vs lower conductive,,,and what iron sounds like,,and it tendencies when studied using the mighty CTX.

A very good coin machine,,but needs to be swept on the slower side,especially to tag the deeper coins.

Btw if you haven't already done so,,seriously consider putting screen protector on your detector's screen.

Wally World and other places has the needed materials to install.

On your buying rechargeable AAs for your CTX,,,I strongly consider you get 2 complete sets. One set may not last too long,,key things to do,,,turn OFF backlight,,turn off GPS,,and use headphones vs external speaker.

Again congrats on your detector.
 
Firstly...it is weird it didn't come with the wireless setup,that's one of its claims to fame. Sure it's not around the estate somewhere? It's worth asking if you can.
Secondly...if you're hunting "trashy areas", you must consider what type of trash you have. Lots of old nails and iron? You need to learn to use Combined audio with the Ferrous Coin separation option. Read about it, watch videos on it.
If you have a lot of Conductive Trash like pulltabs and aluminum type stuff, 50 tone Conductive may suit you better. Most guys have two Modes set up and toggle between them depending on their hunting conditions. Again,read about it and watch videos til your eyes bleed.
Thirdly...you CAN use earbuds or phones plugged right into the machine, but if you have the resources,get the WM10 module and charger. NOT being tethered to the machine makes hunting much more do-able.
Lastly....watch videos and read the manual. Visit as many forums as you can to glean information about setups and what works for people who hunt what you hunt. Not everyone's setup is going to work for YOU, it takes many hours to become one with your machine and to truly KNOW what works for YOU.
If you like old coins,go hunt where old coins will be. Using the coins mode to start seems like a good starting point, but become very familiar with Combined audio with Ferrous Coin separation. It's worth repeating because this setup is capable of finding non-Ferrous items very close to or touching Ferrous junk in a more proficient manner than other setups. Read about Target Trace and how to interpret it so you can make use of a GREAT feature the CTX has.
In the end, a comfortable setup allows for the hunter to find more by swinging longer. The Pro-Swing 45 harness is pricey to some but worth every penny to me. With the stock coil you'll find most of what's out there to find. The 17" coil will find that same stuff easier and some deeper stuff as well. The smaller 6" coil would be for a place that is a real mess that can't be tamed with the other coils, it requires much patience. I have all 3 coils, and use the 17" most of the time because of where I hunt....wide open parks and ball fields.
Good luck going forward, don't be afraid to invest some money in another coil and the WM10. Each thing you add will make you smile a little bit more...
 
Arrrgghhhh! Too late! Oh well, what has been said above...I think most everyone agrees on the basics. David just types faster than me:lol: Everyone types faster than me...
 
Arrrgghhhh! Too late! Oh well, what has been said above...I think most everyone agrees on the basics. David just types faster than me:lol: Everyone types faster than me...
Did you type it all out separately or just double post around TNSS ?:?:
 
Am I seeing his post duplicated, before and after your initial post ?Maybe I have to cut back on the sodium chloride drops....:lol:

May be.

Now to be honest here,,,I have responded to similar/like questions folks ask about the same model detector.

How I reply,,if one will look back through history on this forum,,,I will post similar info. (Not cut and pasted)

Logical ain't it,,,if the same or similar question is asked,,,I give the same or similar answer.

You ask me today what 2+2 I'll tell you 4.
Ask me tomorrow it will still be 4.
 
Congrats and be patient. Way too many people buy it then sell it before giving it a chance. Took me a full year to really understand what its telling me.
 
We were just all typing around the same time...
Mike,I was lucky to have the CTX just start finding stuff immediately but it's amazing how much potential it has as things get more difficult to find. It's really in a league of its own,whatever league that is. Now that I've had mine a year it's hard to imagine using anything else just because...there's much more for me to know about it and detecting in general. My main focus will always be silver coins though so I tend to gravitate toward what will find me more of those. Once I start hitting those gold coins though....now THATS what I'm talking about!;)
 
Congrats and welcome to the CTX club. Kinda surprised this was not mentioned earlier but if you get in the water and like to hunt around rocks, for me nothing beats the 6in coil, its light and deep and more importantly a lot less drag than the 11 in coil in the water.
For hunting in the trash the 11 in coil does a very good job and for the most part stays on my machine when I am land hunting. The water is the opposite for me most of the time unless I'm on a beach then I cover more ground with the 11 in coil.

GL HH
check out the ctx programs thread
 
Thanks all, you all gave me a lot to think about and I appreciate your feedback!

I would not like to be without the wireless module. I bought the 6" coil, used it twice and it is for sale here at the forum. In my opinion, the stock coil works better but apparently I never found the application spot to warrant the use of a smaller coil. I would rather risk missing shallow masked targets that the smaller 6" coil may or may not be able to detect than to run the shallow running 6" coil with the risk of missing deeper unmasked targets. I hope you can make sense of my post. The original battery pack last really well, compared to the AA battery pack but then you would need the charger as well and the cost is up there for those. The battery would be cheaper as you might be able to source a rebuilt pack, I see people advertising wanting packs and modules that no longer take a charge so they can rebuild them.

Interesting, after using the stock coil I'm kinda liking it, I can see where the 6" might come in handy but in fewer situations. I'm already thinking I need to figure out the audio thing as I hate, hate, hate getting my wires jerked around when I'm trying to dig something up.

Firstly...it is weird it didn't come with the wireless setup,that's one of its claims to fame. Sure it's not around the estate somewhere? It's worth asking if you can.
Secondly...if you're hunting "trashy areas", you must consider what type of trash you have. Lots of old nails and iron? You need to learn to use Combined audio with the Ferrous Coin separation option. Read about it, watch videos on it.
If you have a lot of Conductive Trash like pulltabs and aluminum type stuff, 50 tone Conductive may suit you better. Most guys have two Modes set up and toggle between them depending on their hunting conditions. Again,read about it and watch videos til your eyes bleed.
Thirdly...you CAN use earbuds or phones plugged right into the machine, but if you have the resources,get the WM10 module and charger. NOT being tethered to the machine makes hunting much more do-able.
Lastly....watch videos and read the manual. Visit as many forums as you can to glean information about setups and what works for people who hunt what you hunt. Not everyone's setup is going to work for YOU, it takes many hours to become one with your machine and to truly KNOW what works for YOU.
If you like old coins,go hunt where old coins will be. Using the coins mode to start seems like a good starting point, but become very familiar with Combined audio with Ferrous Coin separation. It's worth repeating because this setup is capable of finding non-Ferrous items very close to or touching Ferrous junk in a more proficient manner than other setups. Read about Target Trace and how to interpret it so you can make use of a GREAT feature the CTX has.
In the end, a comfortable setup allows for the hunter to find more by swinging longer. The Pro-Swing 45 harness is pricey to some but worth every penny to me. With the stock coil you'll find most of what's out there to find. The 17" coil will find that same stuff easier and some deeper stuff as well. The smaller 6" coil would be for a place that is a real mess that can't be tamed with the other coils, it requires much patience. I have all 3 coils, and use the 17" most of the time because of where I hunt....wide open parks and ball fields.
Good luck going forward, don't be afraid to invest some money in another coil and the WM10. Each thing you add will make you smile a little bit more...

Makes sense! BB has to go back to the people who had the sale and do some work so he'll ask about the missing stuff. Hopefully they'll be able to find them. If not I may have to just bite the bullet & get at least the audio module.

Glad to hear the stock coil is decent, I have a sniper coil on my old F2 that I really like but at the same time, it really slows things down it's so tiny...

Interesting points about the audio ferrous coin separation thing, most of my trash seems to be pull tabs and beer cans.

First congrats on your new to you detector.

As far as what to do for headphones.
If you decide to purchase headphones for CTX,,recommend you make sure you tell a dealer/sponsor they will be used on Minelab CTX,,,the reason is not all headphones are compatible with CTX.

You ithat be able to get an adapter so you can use the cheaper headphones like is used on a Sony Walkman. Not sure if this ideas will work,,it did for me using Etrac.

The wireless module is not required,,IMO just a nicety.

As far as the smaller coil,,in heavier iron and nails,,trash it will help you.
I have seen not so good reports on the 5x10" joint aftermarket coil,,,I would recommend the 6" Minelab coil for CTX,,,consider buying used and save a few bucks.

I think you should consider a harness.
There are some cheaper ones out there,,and they have quick disconnect,,which is a necessity in my book.

A harness will make longer detecting sessions more enjoyable.

If you have not got the book written about CTX,,you might consider getting.

There is lots of info on this forum to guide you.

CTX is not hard,,,once you understand how the ID system places targets,,higher vs lower conductive,,,and what iron sounds like,,and it tendencies when studied using the mighty CTX.

A very good coin machine,,but needs to be swept on the slower side,especially to tag the deeper coins.

Btw if you haven't already done so,,seriously consider putting screen protector on your detector's screen.

Wally World and other places has the needed materials to install.

On your buying rechargeable AAs for your CTX,,,I strongly consider you get 2 complete sets. One set may not last too long,,key things to do,,,turn OFF backlight,,turn off GPS,,and use headphones vs external speaker.

Again congrats on your detector.

Sounds like good advice, I did get the Sabisch book on the machine and without it I'd still be lost I think. I'll check into the screen protector, didn't even think about that, and the double set of rechargeables, makes sense to have two ready to go. I've had to replace batteries more than once out hunting!

Congrats and be patient. Way too many people buy it then sell it before giving it a chance. Took me a full year to really understand what its telling me.

Thanks, I'm fairly patient these days, getting too old to rush a whole bunch! :lol: It's funny, it seems easier for me now learning the CTX than it was with the F2 I think just since I know more what to expect.

We were just all typing around the same time...
Mike,I was lucky to have the CTX just start finding stuff immediately but it's amazing how much potential it has as things get more difficult to find. It's really in a league of its own,whatever league that is. Now that I've had mine a year it's hard to imagine using anything else just because...there's much more for me to know about it and detecting in general. My main focus will always be silver coins though so I tend to gravitate toward what will find me more of those. Once I start hitting those gold coins though....now THATS what I'm talking about!;)

You and me too, love me some silver coins, if I found gold I think it would probably kill me :grin:

Congrats and welcome to the CTX club. Kinda surprised this was not mentioned earlier but if you get in the water and like to hunt around rocks, for me nothing beats the 6in coil, its light and deep and more importantly a lot less drag than the 11 in coil in the water.
For hunting in the trash the 11 in coil does a very good job and for the most part stays on my machine when I am land hunting. The water is the opposite for me most of the time unless I'm on a beach then I cover more ground with the 11 in coil.

GL HH
check out the ctx programs thread

Thanks! I haven't thought too much about water hunting yet, but there's a swimming lake not far from me that should have some goodies in it. I will check the program thread, thanks for that tip.
 
If you get a module, you will still need the charger so you might as well buy a battery pack as well because the charger is for both items. I seen a module and battery pack for sale at the Findmall forum classifieds but they were already sold.If you buy a screen protector, buy a non glare screen protector.They are most helpful. Like TNSS said, learn to use the target trace feature.Good luck and many finds with the CTX.
 
If you get a module, you will still need the charger so you might as well buy a battery pack as well because the charger is for both items. I seen a module and battery pack for sale at the Findmall forum classifieds but they were already sold.If you buy a screen protector, buy a non glare screen protector.They are most helpful. Like TNSS said, learn to use the target trace feature.Good luck and many finds with the CTX.

Thanks, I did not know that!
 
The XP Deus wired backphones work phenomenal on the CTX. You can plug them into the wireless module or feed the wire inside your shirt so it's out of the way and is long enough to seem like you done have a chord at all. Good luck, the CTX has found me tons of silver and should serve you well. BTW, XP deus wired backphones are only 20 bucks, so cheap.
 
The XP Deus wired backphones work phenomenal on the CTX. You can plug them into the wireless module or feed the wire inside your shirt so it's out of the way and is long enough to seem like you done have a chord at all. Good luck, the CTX has found me tons of silver and should serve you well. BTW, XP deus wired backphones are only 20 bucks, so cheap.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check them out.
 
It's been an interesting week so far just getting acquainted with the ctx 3030, and I had an "aha" moment yesterday on how patterns = discrimination, and also on using the tones as cues to dig... and am starting to make sense of the vid numbers. Yay! When I first turned this machine on and tried it out I was completely lost, so progress feels pretty good.

Also found my first "older" coin yesterday, a '56 wheatie with it at about 6" deep, kinda neat for just learning it and playing around. This was at one of my regularly hunted permission sites and I've been over that same area dozens of times, so now I'm wondering what else I've missed!

Boy, I gotta say it's so very different from any of our other detectors, and it's also kinda heavy for me but hopefully if I keep going my swinging arm will get stronger :lol: I've looked at various harness/sling setups but they all seem to have real drawbacks, so I'm still pondering that whole situation.

I did go ahead and order rechargeable batteries for the thing since it came without any battery pack, and I had to get the AA holder for the thing which is working fine but eating a lot of alkaline batteries.

So the things I wonder about from other CTX owners is this... should I invest the $$ in the little coil for trashy areas (most of my hunting is in this type of situation), and what other accessories do you feel are indispensable to running this detector?

The other thing... This one also (from estate sale) came without the wireless audio module and no headphones. At the price for the module plus headphones, and having had pain issues with headphones in the past (my Garrett's just about kill me and haven't found a set yet that don't hurt) is it worth the $$ to go wireless? Or does anyone use ear buds with it instead of full headphones and how is that working?

I think that's about all I have for questions so far, I'm sure I'll have more as I go along. :yes:

If you do not use the small coil and hunt very trashy areas you are missing things without a shadow of a doubt. I have dug pennies as deep as 8 inches with my 6 inch coil. I predominately hunt extreme trash areas and i would not even own my CTX if i had to use the stock coil for those areas. Hunting trashy sites is not your best bet to learn your CTX. Now when i say trash, my Deus sounds like a machine gun firing, that is how bad a lot of my sites are. Read Andy's book and watch videos and practice in areas like parks away from picnic benches where trash is not bad. Your swing speed needs to be very slow in extreme trash sites, just cannot emphasize this enough. Lot of settings from stock need to be changed for max success. I got frustrated and sold my first two before finally keeping my third one.
 
If you do not use the small coil and hunt very trashy areas you are missing things without a shadow of a doubt. I have dug pennies as deep as 8 inches with my 6 inch coil. I predominately hunt extreme trash areas and i would not even own my CTX if i had to use the stock coil for those areas. Hunting trashy sites is not your best bet to learn your CTX. Now when i say trash, my Deus sounds like a machine gun firing, that is how bad a lot of my sites are. Read Andy's book and watch videos and practice in areas like parks away from picnic benches where trash is not bad. Your swing speed needs to be very slow in extreme trash sites, just cannot emphasize this enough. Lot of settings from stock need to be changed for max success. I got frustrated and sold my first two before finally keeping my third one.

Thanks for that info and advice, I'll heed it. I played around today for just a little bit in a trashy area of our park and it about wore my poor ears out. I'm seriously wanting the little coil and think since the other accessories were found that will be my big splurge. I sure liked the one for my F2, it found so much that the bigger coil just couldn't pick out and I hoped the one for this machine will be as good.
 
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