CTX3030 replacement

[maxxkatt]

Minelab introduced the Etrac in 2008 and the CTX3030 in 2012. Thus a four year span between the successor to the Etrac.

There has been no real Minelab successor to the CTX3030 and it is certainly not the chatty Equinox 800.

10 years has passed since the introduction of the CTX3030 and with new hardware, battery and software technology one would think that Minelab could produce true follow up to the CTX3030.

Is the XP Deus 2 possibly the closest successor to the CTX3030? Or does Minelab think the future of metal detecting based on other platforms, not the CTX3030 platform.

Just take the CTX3030 and put in a very light modern battery and reduce the overall detector weight and I would be happy if they didn't change anything else.

Maybe Minelab will not produce such a machine due to the success of the heavy, heavy sales of the Nox line. Well, other companies have failed to obsolete their own machines only to have other companies like the French company come in and scoop up sales with their new XP Deus 2 or the nokta detectors Legend metal detector.

This is probably just wishful thinking on my part that Minelab would make such a new CTX3030.

 

[Dflan83]

I'm very certain minelab has been working on a successor to the CTX for a long time. That being said, I dont think they expected equinox sales to cannibalize into the ctx and other lines they have.

My 2cents on this is. They are simply watching the market and waiting for the right time to release the successor. If you have a good detector right now its definitely not obsolete and while I dont have a deus II, I think my ctx and equinox could do about everything a deus II can.

 

[Surf Master]

Dirty 30

Is here to stay for a while , wanting a waterproof pi with gold technology out of them next ! Came off two e trac's to a 3030 myself , water hunting the most now .

 

[longbow62]

Maxxkatt I keep seeing people writing about a CTX replacement. Do you mean Flagship model or a new detector based on the CTX, and labeled suchl? If they could have made FBS II faster or deeper I don't think they ever would have came out with the Equinox.

I'm pretty sure Minelab could shrink the CTX or for that matter the Etrac down into a lighter package by now if that would have helped the company's bottom line. They didn't do that they came out with the Equinox instead.

That leads me to believe Minelab didn't think it was possible to improve on FBS II or worth the trouble to just put the CTX in a lighter more modern package. I'm not sure why Minelab thinks it's not worth the trouble when there is a lot of people who would love the idea of a CTX in a lighter more ergonomic package. I think they would have sold well a few years ago. I'm not so sure if they would today.

The Equinox was a big hit and it finds lots of goodies for lots of people including me. It does it at a lower price point than both the CTX and the Etrac. I think I posted on another forum I have a theory the Equinox was a kind of a bare bones test bed experiment for the first version of Multi-IQ. They did several updates tweaking and improving it. There have been no updates for a while now, and I figure there will not be anymore. My guess is they are concentrating fully on the next Flagship detector whether that will be Multi-IQ based or not.

Only Minelab and those folks who might be beta testers know what's going to be Minelabs next hobby/treasure detector. It could be a new technology altogether or could be updated Multi-IQ with added and improved features. We are all speculating and hoping for what we personally would like to see.

The bottom line is in my opinion the CTX and Etrac technology is what it is and Minelab has moved on to what they consider to be more promising platforms. I guess we will just have all to wait and see. I've said I'm personally not buying another detector until Minelab releases their next one. I can't buy every detector that comes out and I'm sticking with the company I trust the most.

 

[ToySoldier]

I thought the CTX came out with a lithium battery pack option?

 

[tnsharpshooter]

 

[Rattlehead]

I’m all in for a lightweight updated CTX. Take my money please!

While I think Multi-IQ and FMF are great, they’re nothing like Minelab’s FBS technology. Nothing is! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: FBS is something special.


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[IDXMonster]

I thought the CTX came out with a lithium battery pack option?

Yep, the stock rechargeable battery for the CTX is Lithium Ion. The other shell that comes with it can hold ‘ AA’s. The GPZ battery also plugs right into the CTX, albeit a little bigger.

 

[IDXMonster]

I thought the CTX came out with a lithium battery pack option?

Oh yeah…you might be thinking of Lithium POLYMER….different animal and very light. The kind used in RC stuff…

 

[IDXMonster]

Maxxkatt I keep seeing people writing about a CTX replacement. Do you mean Flagship model or a new detector based on the CTX, and labeled suchl? If they could have made FBS II faster or deeper I don't think they ever would have came out with the Equinox.

I'm pretty sure Minelab could shrink the CTX or for that matter the Etrac down into a lighter package by now if that would have helped the company's bottom line. They didn't do that they came out with the Equinox instead.

That leads me to believe Minelab didn't think it was possible to improve on FBS II or worth the trouble to just put the CTX in a lighter more modern package. I'm not sure why Minelab thinks it's not worth the trouble when there is a lot of people who would love the idea of a CTX in a lighter more ergonomic package. I think they would have sold well a few years ago. I'm not so sure if they would today.

The Equinox was a big hit and it finds lots of goodies for lots of people including me. It does it at a lower price point than both the CTX and the Etrac. I think I posted on another forum I have a theory the Equinox was a kind of a bare bones test bed experiment for the first version of Multi-IQ. They did several updates tweaking and improving it. There have been no updates for a while now, and I figure there will not be anymore. My guess is they are concentrating fully on the next Flagship detector whether that will be Multi-IQ based or not.

Only Minelab and those folks who might be beta testers know what's going to be Minelabs next hobby/treasure detector. It could be a new technology altogether or could be updated Multi-IQ with added and improved features. We are all speculating and hoping for what we personally would like to see.

The bottom line is in my opinion the CTX and Etrac technology is what it is and Minelab has moved on to what they consider to be more promising platforms. I guess we will just have all to wait and see. I've said I'm personally not buying another detector until Minelab releases their next one. I can't buy every detector that comes out and I'm sticking with the company I trust the most.

Very well stated all around. Even though we users really like what we individually use for various reasons, it’s already out, and some have been out for awhile. From a business POV, re-hashing things too much leads to stagnation. Whites and Tesoro come to mind of recent demises. Innovation these days is HUGE…it is EXPECTED. I will wait as well for the next ML offering to see what is next in a line of damn good machines.

 

[IDXMonster]

I’m all in for a lightweight updated CTX. Take my money please!

While I think Multi-IQ and FMF are great, they’re nothing like Minelab’s FBS technology. Nothing is! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: FBS is something special.


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I couldn’t agree more DeWayne. People by now are sick to death of the two of us crowing away about FBS/2 machines, but those who have had success with them know why. Testing and test gardens can show performance of machines in a controlled scenario with known targets…which is absolutely useful for establishing a baseline in those exact conditions. But when you’re out in a world FULL of ground polluted with modern trash, ACCURATE TID can be a very useful thing. HOW FBS/2 is running algorithms to subtract the bad from the good is WAY beyond my pay grade, but I just know that it does a great job around here. Lighter? Yes please! Faster? No. FBS/2 is slower because it is doing ALOT of processing to reach the conclusion that it does. They have undoubtedly figured out that “speeding it up” results in TID that isn’t as accurate, which completely defeats the entire purpose. It won’t work flawlessly everywhere, that’s a given. But it sure works in enough places that keeps me in the game.
Now go make a video so I have something to watch!

 

[Rattlehead]

Now go make a video so I have something to watch!

I tried man! Hunted for 6 hours today and all I have to show for it is a pile of trash and an aching back.


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[Rattlehead]

I have literally stared at my CTX and Deus, wondering how I could mount the CTX control unit onto the Deus shaft. I get some ideas, then I get to the battery part and remember that I don’t know squat about electronics.

Think I’ll put them in the closet together. Maybe they’ll mate and produce a lightweight hybrid?


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[IDXMonster]

I have literally stared at my CTX and Deus, wondering how I could mount the CTX control unit onto the Deus shaft. I get some ideas, then I get to the battery part and remember that I don’t know squat about electronics.

Think I’ll put them in the closet together. Maybe they’ll mate and produce a lightweight hybrid?


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Hopefully the breeding program results in the best of both, not the worst…

 

[Rattlehead]

Hopefully the breeding program results in the best of both, not the worst…

Yeah really. It'll probably turn out to be a 5 lb detector with no stand and a rear mounted coil.

 

[IDXMonster]

Yeah really. It'll probably turn out to be a 5 lb detector with no stand and a rear mounted coil.

 

[maxxkatt]

I have literally stared at my CTX and Deus, wondering how I could mount the CTX control unit onto the Deus shaft. I get some ideas, then I get to the battery part and remember that I don’t know squat about electronics.

Think I’ll put them in the closet together. Maybe they’ll mate and produce a lightweight hybrid?


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How much for the pick of the litter?

 

[Rattlehead]

How much for the pick of the litter?

I'm keeping that one for myself.

 

[maxxkatt]

I'm keeping that one for myself.

what will we call them ctxd2doodles?

 

[Rattlehead]

what will we call them ctxd2doodles?

X-LAB D230 Pro Silver-Seeker.