CTX 3030 - best tips......got one on the way!

[scotty544]

Hey guys/gals, I have hunted the last few years with a V3i and just recently a Deus also...but felt like the 3030 maybe what I am looking for. .I am mainly interested in coins...older the better...mainly yard hunting and old home sites. ..what are your thoughts for programs and settings, please keep in mind that I have detected for years, but have never even seen a Minelab in person. ..thanks for any help or tips.

 

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[Geobound]

My first tip would be to send it to me, you've got enough machines you don't need any more! LOL......

I will be watching this thread though, as I'm pretty sure I will be picking one up in the next week or two.

 

[scotty544]

Good to see I am not the only one late to the party geobound!

 

[Welgund]

I hunt with an open screen, combined audio, tones to your liking, fast off , deep on. I run in ground coin because of my soil bit you may be able to use ferrous coin. Lots of silver to be found

 

[relic nut]

Andy Sabisch's book and a test garden are probably the best thing to do. The machine was not as intemadating as I thought it would be. You have to experiment with the programs to find the settings that best fit your style and ground. That's where the test garden comes in. Good luck!

HH, RN

 

[scotty544]

I put a post in the wanted section for Andys book if anyone wants to part with a copy?

 

[relic nut]

Here is another peice of advice. Once you find some settings you like, stick with them for a while and only make minor adjustments. I changed to much to fast at first and it will only confuse things. This machine will do a lot once you fine tune it, and it likes coins.

HH, RN

 

[scotty544]

Awesome! Thanks for the info. Anyone else got any hints for a first timer? Lots of guys had minelabs for several years. ...what you got!? Thanks

 

[adamBomb]

Everything you need to know is in Andy's book. Read it, go out and use the machine, read book again, tweak settings, use machine, read book again....rinse repeat. Took me about 20-25 hrs of use to get my setting dialed in and going back the book kept helping me with different little things each time I went out. I really don't think there is a 'magic setting' for the CTX. Its more about what you want the machine to do for the environment you are in. Once you learn the machine you can build a few of your own programs for your exact hunting style/needs. Andy's book has great starter programs too that you can tweak as you learn the machine.

 

[beerguy]

I loaded the DR Tones patterns out of the Sabich book and started there.

Once you get comfortable in one Target Response mode, (and this can take a while) Choose another. I started in Ferrous-Coin since that seemed to work well.

Once you have 'learned' that response, choose Low Trash, if in an area of low trash, and learn that one. When over a target that you are curious about, set up your Ferrous Coin program as the 'Previous Mode' and you can toggle between them with the user button.

Between that toggling and mask1 and mask2, I gain a tremendous amount of info about the target.

It takes seconds, don't think I am standing over a target for minutes...

It is like having two detectors at once.

I have been using the CTX for 14 months and I am still geeking out over it.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Don't get confused by the kaleidoscope of flutie sounds you hear. And don't forget the basics you've learned with other machines. This beast can freak you out if you're impatient. Remember the basics. A solid sound in two directions of swing gets me on my knees every time. I had the Etrac first and I almost regretted buying it, what the heck was that thing doing! But then I settled in finding clad at a school yard on my first hunt - but only because I remembered the basics of hunting.

Now with two full years into the CTX, I'm pretty happy swinging it and make my own choices about whether I dig or not - depends on how I feel on that particular day of hunting.

I have grown to trust the FE-CO numbers. Yeah they can vary some here and there, but they are generally spot on. I always know when it's a zincoln for sure! I went for a while not digging them, and sometimes don't now - depends on how tired I am. But I also know that there might be gold hiding under that FE-CO number.

I've a collection of FE-CO number charts for the Etrac. PM me with your e-mail addy and I'll send them to you.

 

[beerguy]

Deepseeker, I totally agree. ID is generally correct.

I will skip the zincs when I am tired of digging them too, but I always feel guilty about it.

 

[cudamark]

Deepseeker, I totally agree. ID is generally correct.

I will skip the zincs when I am tired of digging them too, but I always feel guilty about it.

When I'm in a modern trashy park, I don't regret ignoring zincs at all! Just relieved!

 

[scotty544]

Sweet, thanks for the info guys!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Best tip on 3030.... Buy Andy Sabisch's book "Handbook For CTX3030", it is almost 200 pages of tips.... First thing I did was get rid of the 50 tone conductive and changed the tone profile to 4 tone combined. (4 tone plus iron)

 

[Bigdob]

I , 2nd and 3rd Andys book .
It's a great resource, has recommendations to beef up the stock programs that come with the detector.
Also I feel the detector garden is a good idea, you have known objects at known depths and you can experiment with different settings and see what changes. It's not exactly like what's in the real world but gets you started.
I've also got one of Andys Bootcamps schedualed for June , most say it just follows the book , but I'm sure there will be little tidbits and a lot of questions answered, so worth the effort
BT

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I just signed up for Andy's Bootcamp in Woodhaven, MI on April 29th.

I've used mine two years now, and this bootcamp won't hurt me

 

[scotty544]

Best tip on 3030.... Buy Andy Sabisch's book "Handbook For CTX3030", it is almost 200 pages of tips.... First thing I did was get rid of the 50 tone conductive and changed the tone profile to 4 tone combined. (4 tone plus iron)

The tones, it seems like there are definitely two schools of thought here...full tones and a 4 or 5 tone preference. ...could anyone elaborate on why you prefer full tones or tone break bins?

 

[CCadrin]

I use 50 tone to mimic a Sovereign GT when hunting in the water and wet sand. Most beeps are dug and the tone clues me in on what I am going after.

In parks, I use 4 tone combine and I make the nickel area sound like the penny/dime/quarter buckets. Below a nickel (usually can slaw), I set to ferrous bucket so in essence I am using 3 tones overall. So my goal is to listen for the mid or high tone. The parks I hunt are hit hard so the shallow stuff has been found and looking for the deeper stuff mixed in with garbage. Most of the coins I have dug recently would not lock on the VDI nor the trace so basically I am using tones to identify a diggable target.

 

[migrider56]

Read Andy's book, set up tones to what you like. It is a great machine and provides a lot of information. I have used ctx 303O since they first came out and I use a V3i. I dig less trash with V3i and more confident using mixed more pro stereo. CTX is faster recovery and water proof. Gone Hunting is a good program you can toggle between wide open and discrimination screen to check targets. Use pinpoint retrace to check target for iron / good target.