CTX 3030 "word to the wise"

[Beach Papa]

I hunted the other day with the CTX some in the water and some in the wet sand. I found nothing special. This beach is popular for swimming as well as metal detecting, So I was not surprised with a few dollars in change. I knew the battery was low and would need to be charged so when I got home I rinsed the detector off as usual with the hose and particularly hosed off the battery connection because I did not want any sand or grit getting on the O-ring when I took the battery off to charge. I did NOT hit it with a hard blast of water but did specifically rinse that area. I let the detector sit over night to dry off before removing the battery just so I did not get any water dripping into the battery compartment. When I removed the battery the next day this is what I found inside:
Needless to say I was shocked. The battery was just as ugly looking. I carefully cleaned everything with electronic cleaner, paper towel, tooth brush and cotton swabs. The gunk came off but the terminal has been corroded. I assume water got into the housing when I GENTLY hosed it off. I was disappointed. I love the detector but BE CAREFUL when you wash it off, it apparently doesn't take much to breach the seal. I cleaned it, dried it, charged the battery, (I was amazed that it took a charge), put it all back together and it worked fine. Perhaps since the battery was so depleted already that it did not eat the terminal completely. Now I am not recommending anyone wet the internals of their detector as I did, but when I took it hunting today, it produced 4 rings and a bracelet for me. More goodies than I have gotten on any other hunt this year. One 14k gold at 9.6g, one silver band, one silver band with pearl and one Titanium not in the photo, since I found it for a guy on the beach. He was delighted with the return and showed his appreciation, which bought gas for the next few hunts at the beach. Happy hunting to y'all and do be VERY careful when you wash your CTX. Papa

 

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[bigscoop]

When the CTX first came out my concern was that once you got past all the bells and whistles, "was it any better at the working end then the Excal?" While the jury is still out on that I'm beginning to think that it might just be a tad bit better at the working end. So I wouldn't give up on it just yet - give them time to address the user issues they're experiencing, like the leak.

 

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[lookindown]

They have plenty of leaking problems themselves...


While I am at it, garrett advertizes that the machine can work in salt water...when it CANNOT. Ya you might get it to hit...when the object practically touches the coil. Thats it. Its wild and unstable in the salt water...and not to good in salty wet sand.

I go to the beach all the time and see people with them. They all say..."ohh it says it works in salt water". Single frequency machines just cannot cancel out ferrite.

And the ground balance. There is allegedly manual and auto. Manual imo is user based...ie setting knobs and bobbing coil. Garrett seems to think auto can be the same thing...setting a knob and bobbing the coil. Its not. Automatic GB...is just what it is...auto...ie no user input. Like the GT or Excal. It literally automatically ground balances as you go. No more worrying about missing gold because you didn't stop every ten feet and mess with the controls.

Sorry, just had to let that out. ATP is a decent land machine that can put you in freshwater on a budget, and do pretty good. And their warranty is great. But they basically say the machine does stuff that it really does not do.

Maybe where you live the AT pro doesnt work well but in Florida it does good in saltwater and wet sand. When set up to run stable it is only about two inches shallower than a CZ21. It doesn't false when a wave washes over it in ankle deep water like the CZ does. Its a little jumpy on some targets but if you go over a quarter or gold ring your not going to leave them.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Maybe where you live the AT pro doesnt work well but in Florida it does good in saltwater and wet sand. When set up to run stable it is only about two inches shallower than a CZ21. It doesn't false when a wave washes over it in ankle deep water like the CZ does. Its a little jumpy on some targets but if you go over a quarter or gold ring your not going to leave them.

Lookindown: Why do you use the AT pro in salt water, when you can use the CZ21 and be able to detect 2 inches deeper in saltwater?

 

[lookindown]

Lookindown: Why do you use the AT pro in salt water, when you can use the CZ21 and be able to detect 2 inches deeper in saltwater?

I don't use it in saltwater since I bought my CZ21 and the two inches is the reason. I used the AT one whole summer, hunting alongside two friends using CZ21s. If they dug 50 targets, I dug about 40 and I found the same amount of gold as they did. I was happy using the AT but saw a new, in the box CZ21 with 10 inch coil on ebay for 750 dollars and I couldn't pass it up.

 

[Roland58]

Great post, Beach papa. I am amazed, like "lookindown", at the amount of corrosion that took place overnight, especially, with freshwater. I can't help but think the seal was comprimised in some manner allowing saltwater to intrude. It might be worth your while to contact Minelab about this (include the pics), they may offer to fix it for you. In any case, it wouldn't hurt for them to have another incident on record.

 

[Roland58]

Great post, Beach papa. I am amazed, like "lookindown", at the amount of corrosion that took place overnight, especially, with freshwater. I can't help but think the seal was comprimised in some manner allowing saltwater to intrude. It might be worth your while to contact Minelab about this (include the pics), they may offer to fix it for you. In any case, it wouldn't hurt for them to have another incident on record.

 

[Riverrunt1]

Check this post out on water proofing the CTX 3030. Watch the video.
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/m...erproof-ctx-3030-scuba-diving-experience.html

 

[donkarlos]

So, where can the 79x2.5 oring be purchased?

 

[lockster99]

I've had my CTX about six months now with no problems at all. However, I have not taken it out in the saltwater until this weekend. I read the posts about battery leakage and how to fix it....larger o-rings. I bought them before going out....installed them and had no problems at all.

Should we have to do this....no. But I look at this like all hobbies I've had. As soon as you buy a "what ever", that's when the tweeking and mods begin. You do it with any hobby.

If the ATPro was perfect, there would be no CTX. If the 2500 was perfect, there would have been no ATPro and so on......way back.

The gaskets I bought, cost me about eight dollars or so with shipping and I bought a couple of extras to have on hand.

I had no problems with chatter, falsing or anything else. I personally like the Koss headphones, seem very comfortable to me. I've added the 6" coil and this thing is deadly. I love it.

 

[lockster99]

The O-Ring Store LLC, We make getting O-Rings easy! is where I bought mine.

 

[donkarlos]

The O-Ring Store LLC, We make getting O-Rings easy! is where I bought mine.

Awesome. Thanks. Yep, no reason not to use these- it's just preventative maintenance like with anything else.