Thinking of Buying CTX and need Advise

Silver_Stallion

Tenderfoot
Dec 9, 2017
5
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello Everyone. I strictly coin hunt old hard hit parks. I am wanting to pick up a 3030 but feel intimidated with all the lingo. Combined mode. ferrous coin etc. Can I just use a simple coin program that will just hit pennies and above without having to change programs or settings? I tried a Nox 800 and liked how easy it was to disc out pennies and below. Also people are saying the Nox will unmask better then the 3030 which is important when hitting pounded parks. I have the money for the 3030 amd people seem to be saying the 3030 s a better silver coin machine.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,218
14,539
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
They're both excellent for silver. The Nox will be a bit better in heavy trash (especially iron) Once we get a full range of coils for the Nox, we'll know a bit better how they compare in a variety of venues and conditions. I like the numbering system better on the CTX/Etrac machines, but, the light weight and faster processor on the Nox makes it a very attractive machine for the price. You won't be disappointed with either one. They each just have their strong points.
 

Sandscoopdan

Sr. Member
May 19, 2012
327
133
Cypress,Tx
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excalibur II
Minelab CTX 3030
Minelab Equinox 800
Extreme scoop
Boat: 20ft Four Winns w/92 V8 5.0L Cobra Mustang engine
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I bought a CTX a few months ago. I felt overwhelmed at 1st and so I bought both of Clive’s books on the CTX and Andy’s book. I just keep it real simple at 1st and as I read and get some hours with it at the beach and parks, it gets easier. I made an excel spreadsheet and write down signals and note if ground and/or air testing and it helps to remember where they hit. Clive has written a book on the NOX as well. I will be getting a Nox soon as well. With the excel spread sheet, I printed it up and put it on a clip board and take it to the beach with me and write down all the trash signals I dig up as well. PM me if u want me to send you a blank copy of the spreadsheet. I put the FE / CO #’s on it.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,218
14,539
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
At the beach, dig everything above iron. I doesn't really matter what the numbers are. Good jewelry can be anywhere on the scale. It's easy enough to just scoop and go that you don't need to fret over whether it's junk or not beforehand. After you get a couple hundred hours on it, you'll know a good target from a bad one good enough to turf hunt, where you'll want to be a little more discriminate about what you dig.
 

Sandscoopdan

Sr. Member
May 19, 2012
327
133
Cypress,Tx
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excalibur II
Minelab CTX 3030
Minelab Equinox 800
Extreme scoop
Boat: 20ft Four Winns w/92 V8 5.0L Cobra Mustang engine
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Yep, that is what I do. I dig everything. A few yrs ago, I scooped up a binder clip in the dry sand and it had $800 in cash in the binder clip.
 

detectorben

Sr. Member
Feb 19, 2017
345
1,518
Nebraska
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello Everyone. I strictly coin hunt old hard hit parks. I am wanting to pick up a 3030 but feel intimidated with all the lingo. Combined mode. ferrous coin etc. Can I just use a simple coin program that will just hit pennies and above without having to change programs or settings? I tried a Nox 800 and liked how easy it was to disc out pennies and below. Also people are saying the Nox will unmask better then the 3030 which is important when hitting pounded parks. I have the money for the 3030 amd people seem to be saying the 3030 s a better silver coin machine.
I own both 800 and ctx and agree that CTX will cherry pick silver better in most scenarios. In heavy iron sites the nox will perform better. The ctx performs great with stock programs and ones that you can download like Andy S and Bill's trashy park as well so you dont need to adjust much to find silver. I do love swinging the Nox it is so much lighter and the built in wireless is a huge plus for me. I can't stand wired headphones and messing with the wireless module on ctx is annoying. They are both great machines and if you use both at any site you can be pretty confident you didnt miss anything.

Here is my latest video comparing signals on both units in case you want to see how they compare on live digs.

 

DeepseekerADS

Gold Member
Mar 3, 2013
14,880
21,725
SW, VA - Bull Mountain
Detector(s) used
CTX, Excal II, EQ800, Fisher 1260X, Tesoro Royal Sabre, Tejon, Garrett ADSIII, Carrot, Stealth 920iX, Keene A52
Primary Interest:
Other
Great video for me, thanks!

I've been using the CTX for 4 years, hundreds of hours, even went to one of Andy's classes on it. Great machine.

Perhaps impetuous of me, but jumped on an 800 from Kellyco (been with them for 35 years a loyal customer - so I waited 4 months to receive my EQ, and that was NOT A PROBLEM for me).

I have the EQ now, I've turned it on, but not taken it out to use yet. Just studying and thinking and awaiting a bit cooler weather.

Your video helped me a lot. I was right along with you when you were using the CTX, was anticipating your targets prior to retrieval.

So now, I understand the EQ a bunch better. Again, thank you!
 

detectorben

Sr. Member
Feb 19, 2017
345
1,518
Nebraska
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Great video for me, thanks!

I've been using the CTX for 4 years, hundreds of hours, even went to one of Andy's classes on it. Great machine.

Perhaps impetuous of me, but jumped on an 800 from Kellyco (been with them for 35 years a loyal customer - so I waited 4 months to receive my EQ, and that was NOT A PROBLEM for me).

I have the EQ now, I've turned it on, but not taken it out to use yet. Just studying and thinking and awaiting a bit cooler weather.

Your video helped me a lot. I was right along with you when you were using the CTX, was anticipating your targets prior to retrieval.

So now, I understand the EQ a bunch better. Again, thank you!
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad the video was useful for you. That is why I did it. The equinox will be a great complement to your CTX. Good luck and happy hunting!
 

TORRERO

30+ YEARS, XP DEUS I & II ARE MY GO TO MACHINES
Nov 17, 2004
1,672
1,072
NC
Detector(s) used
XP DEUS I & II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Which is better for salt water beaches ?
I have XP DEUS but can not recommend that for a salt water beach...
too much noise and loss of depth...
I need something that will give me good deep salt water hunting but stable in the wet sand.
Thanks
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,218
14,539
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Both the CTX and Equinox are great in the salt sand/water. Currently, the largest coil for the Nox is the stock 11". The CTX has the advantage with a 17" option. The Nox is much lighter, but, not as well balanced. In the water, they're about the same in performance with the stock 11" coil. You have to buy waterproof headphones for both too. The ones they come with are not waterproof.
 

Possum

Bronze Member
Nov 22, 2017
1,912
2,477
Southeast Louisiana
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030 and Equinox 800, XP Deus, Shadow X5, Shadow X2, Fisher F44, Whites Coinmaster, and Tesoro Compadre'
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Like Ben, I have both and use both on a regular basis depending on the area I'm hunting and have no intention of getting rid of either one!!! I actually like the CTX over the 800, but that's because I've got more time in the field with it than I have with the 800.

Like Ben stated above, the CTX does love nails, but after some time you can overcome this issue, an of course a lot of trial and error will accompany the learning curve, which I was initially intimidated by, but now I love the abundant options, setting and programs the CTX offers me. I honestly find that I dig less nails (iron) with the CTX than with the 800, but as I stated previously, I have much more time in the field with CTX than I do with the 800. Check out the Equinox thread and read up on what other NOX users are saying about their field experiences.

Trust me, both are absolutely great machines, it's totally up to you, so final thought... Buy both of them, then the only decision to make is which one you're going to use the day of your hunt!!! Good Luck, HH and may God Bless you and yours… "D"
 

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