Minelab CTX3030 tips, settings, questions

[Paulmarr]

Good choice Mike - you will be happy to know at the end of your hunts you can wash your detector under the tap with no fear of ruining it! Screen and all!

 

[kirkn]

hi, let me know how u go, im also thinking of getting one, enjoy

 

[Shelton]

Minelab CTX3030 beach hunting presets by Gary Drayton (factory beach mode preset)

1. Rocky Areas on the Beach and water
- Pattern 1
- Pattern 2 in cross reference with Pattern 1 for checking
- Target Trace
- Target Separation Low Trash or High Trash
- Recovery Deep OFF
- Recovery Fast ON
- Seawater ON on lower parts of beach
- Sensitivity manual
- In water try dig only low and high tones

2. Rough Surf Hunting
- Recover Deep OFF
- Seawater ON
- Target Separation Low Trash
- Volume Gain few numbers down to cut false signals
- Sensitivity Auto

3. Deep Water Hunting
- Pattern 2
- Seawater ON
- Sensitivity Manual to MAX or AUTO +3 (rolling surf) until threshold becomes unstable
- Volume Gain 24 for flat surf Volume MAX
- Recovery Deep ON
- Recovery Fast OFF
- Target Separation Low Trash

4. Shallow Water
- Seawater ON
- Sensitivity AUTO or manual to first unstable at fully submerged section try to wait few minutes to stabilize temperatures
- Volume Gain 22-24
- Recovery Deep OFF
- Recovery Fast OFF
- Target Separation High Trash

5. Eroded Beaches
- Pattern 1
- Sensitivity Manual try to crank up to maximum
- Target Separation High Trash
- Volume Gain 24
- Recovery Deep OFF

6. Wet Sanding

Hard packed sand

- Seawater ON
- Pattern 2 or Relic Search Mode
- Sensitivity Manual
- Recovery Fast OFF
- Recovery Deep ON
- Target Separation choose to conditions
Soft sand
- Pattern 2
- Sensitivity Manual or Auto +3
- Recovery Fast ON or OFF (dependent on the amount of targets)
- Recovery Deep ON (for soft sand on lower beach)
- Recovery Deep ON
- Target Separation choose to conditions

7. Dry Sanding
- Pattern 1
- Target Separation High Trash
- Recovery Fast ON
- Recovery Deep OFF

8. Shipwreck Beaches
- Pattern 2
- Sensitivity Manual
- Recovery Deep ON
- Target Separation Low Trash or High Trash conditions
- Volume Gain 24
- 4 CO Tones
- Target Trace ON

9. Tourist Beaches
- Pattern 1
- Sensitivity Manual or Auto
- Recovery Deep OFF
- Recovery Fast ON
- Target Separation High Trash
- 4 CO Tones
- Target Trace

 

[mike90199]

hey guys mike here .well I gotta say I bit the bullet and got the ctx 3030 and the last 2 weeks im pretty happy with it .in the last 2 weeks I have found $22 in 2 and 1 dollar coins but the last 2 days I found 12 of those dollars just working out what numbers they fall under.ive realized 2 and 1 dollar coins are almost always 12-38 and 12-39 .I cant believe how good this detector is tho .its so sensitive I have to turn it down to 5 or I end up digging a creator in the sand .

I also like minelabs service one of the feet broke off of my machine I don't know how it happened but I rang minelab and they sending out a new set of feet and a new arm rest cause the one that came with the machine was stuck in lock so I had to force it on .apart from these minor things im really happy with the machine its ability to discriminate between targets and the target trace are great features .

anyway guys I don't wanna go on but the more I use this machine the more I fall in love with it .who knows 3 months down the track I might run into the dreaded screen problems that everyone is reporting but im glad I got a company like minelab behind me in case anything does happen .im still getting used to all the settings and working the machine out but slowly getting there .its quite odd tho ive found way more money at the parks than I have the beach .

pretty happy .

 

[Sa_bogan]

well im glad you like it - i havent had any issues so far and think its almost 6 months old now. I agree with the customer service as i missed out on the 17'' coil buy 2 days (included in a miners den package) and they dilivered it to the door personally. The best thing is its like having 26 detectors side by side

i look forward to seeing what you find on the beaches

 

[mike90199]

well ive searched a few beaches and haven't really found much to be honest but maybe its something to do with the settings Im using or something .I also noticed that if I put it on manual sensitivity and put it on 24 it starts going scatty with false signals but again maybe im using it wrong .but apart from a few things im really glad I got this detector cause I know with the technology in it it wont miss much .

in parks I use 5 sensitivity ,fast recovery,deep off,and ferrous coin I think .

would like to hear what your settings are for parks and beaches bogan .

what have you found with your ctx have you made any more vids on youtube yet .

sorry for a million questions .

oh so you still got the 17 inche coil .man it isn't cheap hey .

 

[Sa_bogan]

As a quick setup for the beach I use preset beach mode with fast recovery, high trash and saltwater. If its falsing a lot I would take it down a few notches and make sure to use noise cancel before you start. Even though you have fast recovery on I would sweep fairly slow and if you get an iffy signal that you can hear through the mulling dig, it could be a good target being masked by iron. Not only that I would Also recommend going over the same ground from a different direction if you get a lot of nulling as you might find a signal that was masked from the original direction

As for parks I haven't even used it on land so I'm not very helpful here.

I haven't made anymore videos but will have something up there soon.

I still have the large coil and to be honest without a harness I get tired pretty quick but its worth having. The stock coil IMO is the best to use and wouldn't mind trying a 6" do see how it performs in extreme junk areas.

Good luck and remember to try different areas on the beach

 

[mike90199]

thx for the advice man .yeh I actually got one of those pro swing harnesses haven't tried it yet but heard they are pretty good for taking the weight off.

 

[mike90199]

hey kirkn im still learning the machine but as it stands in the last 3 days with about 2hrs detecting all up ive found $28 in 1 and 2 dollar coins .i really like the ctx cause i have the piece of mind that if this machine cant find it nothing will .i got out of my car today and literally turned on the detector and took 4 steps and got a solid 12-38 it was another $2 coin this thing just rips them out of the ground .i found $4 in less than 15 mins .

and to think the first 2 days i had it i was thinking of swapping it for a etrac wow what a mistake that would of been .i didn't like it at first but then as i started to grasp the machine and the way it acted in certain areas i fell in love with it .it really is a great machine it does have its faults like reported sticky shafts ,water leaking in the back of the unit (which ive stated in past is a major design flaw by minelab placing a oring on the machine and then expecting customers to take it out clean it and put it back in without having a pressurized tank in your back yard this is surely gonna fail and leak eventually for everyone ).so i wont be submersing mine as your asking for trouble .when someone tells you something is water proof don't believe them .

and also the screen playing up.but you get a 3 yr warrenty and minelab have service like no other so as it is im glad i got a company like minelab behind my detector .

but ye my experience with the machine has been really good when i had a xterra 705 i was picking up so much junk even if i got a $2 coin signal but this machine seems to discriminate junk really well and the only time i ever pick up junk now is if im seeing what a new number id is .

you wont be disappointed get the ctx 3030 .

 

[gadgetman45]

Happy swinging Mike, I had only just got mine, when I had to have a shoulder op, & it just had to be on my swinging arm didn't it!!, look forward to reading about your experience with it.
GM

 

[stevo]

You've gotta love the invention of the 1 and 2 dollar coin..like finding gold...

 

[PhaseTech]

I use the CTX a bit on the beach. My settings are a fairly open pattern, Low Trash, Deep, Saltwater Off (unless going in the water), Long Audio.
I always use manual sensitivity on the beach, push it till it starts to chatter, then adjust your Noise Cancel manually to see if it goes quiet.

I won't use High Trash unless I am getting nulls on every sweep. The Low Trash helps to stabilise the ID a bit on the deep ones.

A short session working a stormwater gutter netted these:

The two coins at the bottom are interesting. the one on the left looks like copper but is extremely thin. Possibly a badly corroded 2c piece? The one on the right is a 1865 english 3pence. Small pieces of lead and brass along the bottom show the sensitivity of the CTX and Coiltek 10x5" combo.

Mike, happy to send you my beach mode file if you want to try it.

Nenad

 

[Dejan027]

G'day everyone,

Has anyone here used the new coiltek coil?

I was told that coiltek only made 200 coils and that there was no plan to make anymore.

Mine should arrive on Monday #169..

 

[PhaseTech]

Yes I have one and I like it. Very sensitive, glides along dry sand and early morning wet grass. Ive given it 3 parks hunts and 1 beach hunt and no complaints so far. Got a few 20c and $1 coins from good depth so it will still punch down.

 

[PhaseTech]

looks like a weapon!

 

[Dejan027]

Thanks for that.

Can't wait to get mine.

 

[Goldpick]

Any reason why it is only going to be made in limited numbers, considering it is listed on their current catalogue?

 

[slipped disc]

MARKETING ? like hungry jacks and mc donalds, rush in. only for a limited time. WHY ?

 

[Dejan027]

Apparently Minelab's only gave coiltek 200 smart chips.

 

[PhaseTech]

Hey guys, a few incorrect rumours in this thread. If you want accurate info, I'd suggest you talk to Trevor @ Coiltek Manufacturing.