CTX-3030 Product Line - Life Cycle?

hoosierguy

Sr. Member
Feb 5, 2013
253
119
Laconia, IN
Detector(s) used
● Minelab Manticore ● Minelab CTX-3030 ● Minelab Equinox 800 ● Minelab Goldmaster 1000 ● Garrett Apex
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I was wondering if someone on this ML forum who is familiar with Minelab's development cycles could make an educated guess on when the CTX-3030 may be "updated" with a newer model. I know it's not always that simple, but those of you who are long time ML customers probably have a good idea on when/if the CTX-3030 might be replaced with a new model.

I am asking for personal reasons...future purchase plans. The cost is high enough that it's going to take me a while to save the $$$$, and I would like plan accordingly.

Thanks!
 

Iron Patch

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Sep 28, 2007
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Deus
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It's hard to say because if you look at the Explorer you can come up with a number of about 3-4 years, but there was some really stupid design flaws on the XS, and without them, there would be no need for an EX II. The same idea for the SE going to the SE pro, was simply a coil change because the slimline coil was terrible. The E-trac is part of that same family, and really the only unit where they made a lot of changes... and without the errors in design, it's hard to say how many times they would have updated if they didn't need to. If I had to pick a number that made sense to me I'd say 4 times over about 15 years, if you don't really count them needing to fix things. With the CTX I assume they're a lot smarter now, and probably will not have the many little improvements like there was on the Explorer.... So like the E-trac, my gut feeling is it probably won't change, except for maybe a better housing if the current one shows to have leaking issues over time. That said, Minelab knows people rush out to buy anything new, so I'm sure they'll be working hard to come up with something. I stopped buying into the hype after the Explorer II was released because I don't think anything has got better since then, and why I haven't bought them. (E-trac or CTX) Obviosuly many disagree and i look forward to the day it can be proved to me.
 

OBN

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Dec 30, 2008
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"Excalibur"..
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I'm with Iron patch, I'm A Excalibur user, Over the past 20 years I believe there have been 3 different version, each with improvements but still nothing drastic.
 

Mach1Pilot

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Jul 21, 2008
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Bedford County, PA
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I really doubt you will see any major changes for a while either... The software can be updated online, so any changes would probably be hardware related.
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Jul 27, 2006
48,462
54,906
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
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You have the new Minelab 2300 pulse machine being released soon.








American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......
 

Longhair

Hero Member
May 26, 2012
781
418
Backside Of Nowhere In Mid-Michigan
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Being that there's only one FBS2 unit out now, I expect to see another model in the not too distant future. It may well be a pared down unit with fewer features, but FBS2 is in it's infancy, so I believe that there will be more versions available sooner than you might think.
 

OP
OP
hoosierguy

hoosierguy

Sr. Member
Feb 5, 2013
253
119
Laconia, IN
Detector(s) used
● Minelab Manticore ● Minelab CTX-3030 ● Minelab Equinox 800 ● Minelab Goldmaster 1000 ● Garrett Apex
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Thanks for the great input!
 

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