Minelab CTX 3030? A "TRUE" Waterproof Detector?

[detectit]

Any thoughts on the NEW kid on the block -CTX 3030? Is the reading depth that big of a deal compared to the Ecal II? I want to water hunt, mainly. I want a unit that will last, and last. As anyone does. A good water/land combo unit would be ideal. With the 10' depth of the CTX 3030 Minelab, is it really a TRUE waterproof "WATER" detector? Or a great, water resistant, swallow water/land unit? I dive, and that's not much pressure. The use would be, of course, swallow water wading use only. You wouldn't DARE go further. But...later, after the warranty expires, and the unit is older, is this still going to be a good option for the money? Will it TAKE the pressure later? Is this scaring to some others, or just me? A person could HAVE two Excal's!

 

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[jtlee321]

Any thoughts on the NEW kid on the block -CTX 3030? Is the reading depth that big of a deal compared to the Ecal II? I want to water hunt, mainly. I want a unit that will last, and last. As anyone does. A good water/land combo unit would be ideal. With the 10' depth of the CTX 3030 Minelab, is it really a TRUE waterproof "WATER" detector? Or a great, water resistant, swallow water/land unit? I dive, and that's not much pressure. The use would be, of course, swallow water wading use only. You wouldn't DARE go further. But...later, after the warranty expires, and the unit is older, is this still going to be a good option for the money? Will it TAKE the pressure later? Is this scaring to some others, or just me? A person could HAVE two Excal's!

Or as I had just mentioned in another post. You could buy a brand new Excal and an E-Trac. Then you would have the best above and below water..

 

[hamiddetecting]

Can you talk Gary drayton. Do you send him message. i wish you luck.

 

[Buried Crap NJ]

Each metal detector is its own special tool. Each one has its own place in the quest for________ I don't exspect the detector to last forever.If you use the detector and not let it sit in the closet it will pay for itself in a short time! I can't seem to find any other hobby that pays for itself, or for the that matter this hobby pays for all my other hobbies as well. With a little disaplint your hobby acount will grow to a point that if a new detector comes out and you want it, you just right a check. If 5 come out and and you want them right 5 checks! If you choose to go spend each days take then your account will be zero. I will tell you not to hold the change found as its pain to count it even at the TD bank coin counter. Each bag only hold 50 bucks! took several hrs to do a five gallon bucket. I cash in weekly and deposit it in the hobby checking. IMHO

 

[Terry Soloman]

If you can't afford to spend $2,500.00 on a toy, then you can't afford the machine - period. Minelab does not cater to bargain hunters. It sells machines to hobbyists who can spend $2,500.00 like it was $250.00. For the vast majority of us a $400.00 VLF, and a $600.00 PI machine is THE way to go. We put the other $1,500.00 in the bank, giggling all the way there. You won't find ANYTHING with your 3030, that I won't find with my Sand Shark..

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

You want waste a lot of time digging iron with a minelab either. You don't need the 3030 to hunt the beach, an excal will work just great.

 

[seeker41]

You want waste a lot of time digging iron with a minelab either. You don't need the 3030 to hunt the beach, an excal will work just great.

uh-oh.......here we go!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

uh-oh.......here we go!

Not really, I'm not putting down the Sand Shark at all, I have even seriously considered buying one myself, but that doesn't change the fact you will dig a lot of iron with PI you want dig with Minelab unless you choose to

 

[bigscoop]

I'd say 80 - 90% of the finds at the beach come down to one thing, and one thing only....."Whoever gets their coil over it first!" Most beach finds are not that deep to begin with. The other 10 - 20% is more user related then the actual machine itself. If your machine is designed to handle the environment you're hunting in then you're already capable of finding 80 - 90% of those targets that are in range of most machines. Just my personal opinion but I feel it's pretty accurate. The Excal is a time tested and proven machine that is very sensitive to gold. Before I plucked out that kind of money on a CTX-3030 I'd let a year or two pass so it will have some time/user tested history behind it. Don't let all the hype talk you into anything. From what I can tell so far I don't see the "working end" of the CTX-3030 having any advantage over of the Excal once you learn the tones of the Excal. Only time will tell the true story on the new 3030.

 

[Tony in FL]

I am an Excal user and am considering a CTX 3030. While I am waiting for more user reports before making a final decision, some features that I think may make it worthy of consideration are the following:

1) 3 year warranty on the CTX vs. 1 year warranty on the Excal. Getting 3 times the warranty on a water machine is fairly significant to me.
2) easy to change coil configuration allowing one to quickly adapt to hunting conditions.
3) plenty of audio options i.e. built in speaker, wired headset, speaker in wireless unit (WM10), or headset plugged into wireless unit (WM10).
4) can be your primary land and water machine (sure the Excal can be used on land and I have done so, but it is a bit cumbersome).

I think a lot of people are getting caught up on how expensive this unit is. Granted something this expensive will not appeal to everyone, nor was it meant to. But there are plenty of hobbies where you can burn thousands of dollars that typically don't allow you to recover related costs like in treasure hunting. Particularly for water hunters one can potentially recoup the cost of an expensive machine over time (and sometimes surprisingly fast).

 

[dewcon4414]

Tony has valid points. I do like the ability to change coils and heard there may be aftermarket headphones. There will be a lot more information available from the tones.... but there will also be a lot more learning curve. Using this kind of tech out there i believe will only complicate what is a simply hear a tone and dig. To many people will over think it.... thats going to work to the advantage of the Xcals and PI diggers. We arent looking for a reason NOT to dig as much out there. We are looking for DEPTH and a way to distinguish iron. We arent looking for coins.... at least the smart ones arent. Id say the 3030 will have an advantage based on Tony's post to perhaps work as a replacement for several other machines we now use. Using what they learn..... with headphones and coil changes id prefer to wait and see if they do this with an Xcal.

Dew

 

[Craig-PI]

Tony... certain metal detector dealers offer an extended warranty on the Excalibur and GT and honestly I haven't seen any posts from anyone that make me say wow... any quality water machine will find just as much as this new detector will... I'm not a bells and whistles type of hunter.. the last thing I want on a detector I use in the water is a TID... some will want it, they can have it I'll still find plenty of gold with my two machines thats for sure

 

[lookindown]

I would take an excal and an E Trac instead of just the 3030. The 3030 costs as much as both of those put together...easy choice.

 

[SneadsFerryMD]

I think the best advantage would be only having to learn one detector. Even bouncing back and forth between my sand shark and my whites beach hunter ID throws me for a loop. Plus i would like to start doing more land detecting, adding more confusion. Plus after being blown up a few times my tone recognition is not all that great, so I am thinking the 3030's screen will give me a big advantage over an excall. So that is why I am saving all my clad/pocket change/ and my "stripper fund" (not actually a stripper fund, i take all the 1s out of my wallet every night and throw it in my dresser, after a few weeks it looks like a tip drawer), once i have more then half saved up I will make the jump and purchase it. Plus I am interested to see what other coils minelab, and coiltek will be producing for it.

I think the 3030 will be great for anyone who doesn't just detect in the same conditions all the time. We have already seen people pull up gold, and great artifacts. Minelab is not known to make junky detectors, I still have marines that swear by the F3 (no longer used by the Marine Corps). In my mind, it is doing what the AT-Pro was supposed to be, an All Terrain detector.

 

[detectit]

Thanks for all the info. That's about what I thought THer. A lot of money for water resistant unit. Not waterproof. But for sure a person shouldn't just out and buy metal detectors coming and going. Spend money because you can? That's silly huh? THAT thinking will definately help the metal detector companies make tons of gold & silver (FRN's). That may be what SOME want to do, but not I. I can buy whatever I want. Many, if I desire to. But only one GREAT UNIT at a time can be used anyway. I have a friend that seems to COLLECT them like candy. That's just not for me. Or, MANY others.

You want waste a lot of time digging iron with a minelab either. You don't need the 3030 to hunt the beach, an excal will work just great.

 

[detectit]

Yeah 3030 seems more like a very, very swallow water, land detector to me. Better be careful with it. Maybe someday Minelab will develop a 200' deep unit with those features. But on the beach, and in the water, it's not like dirt trash/treasure stuck side by side scenario. Fully different searching. Is the older Excal 800 as good as the Excal II on the beach finds? With most beach finds being swallow anyway. Sometimes people like the older, better than the newer. About the same unit? Hair splitting?

I'd say 80 - 90% of the finds at the beach come down to one thing, and one thing only....."Whoever gets their coil over it first!" Most beach finds are not that deep to begin with. The other 10 - 20% is more user related then the actual machine itself. If your machine is designed to handle the environment you're hunting in then you're already capable of finding 80 - 90% of those targets that are in range of most machines. Just my personal opinion but I feel it's pretty accurate. The Excal is a time tested and proven machine that is very sensitive to gold. Before I plucked out that kind of money on a CTX-3030 I'd let a year or two pass so it will have some time/user tested history behind it. Don't let all the hype talk you into anything. From what I can tell so far I don't see the "working end" of the CTX-3030 having any advantage over of the Excal once you learn the tones of the Excal. Only time will tell the true story on the new 3030.

 

[detectit]

Good points!

 

[baywalker]

What about the cz21?

 

[MBbeachrat]

The 3030 form what I have heard so far, is great on land and wet sand, but noisy in the surf. They are having problems with a lot of them shutting down, They are not sure what is causing the problem. I would wait, I am waiting for at least 6 months now. I tried one and was not impressed, but I am sure it is better then what I did with it.

 

[detectit]

All righty then.

The 3030 form what I have heard so far, is great on land and wet sand, but noisy in the surf. They are having problems with a lot of them shutting down, They are not sure what is causing the problem. I would wait, I am waiting for at least 6 months now. I tried one and was not impressed, but I am sure it is better then what I did with it.