3vi vs ctx 3030

[Brooklynhunter]

Has anyone done any comparisons on these two detectors I own a 3vi and love it but im curious as to how the CTX compares. has anyone had a chance to try one or pick one up??

 

[Brooklynhunter]

Oops v3i. Sorry im typing on a cell phone.

 

[goen 4 gold]

im a whites guy, but I don't think you can have a fair comparison unless you plan on putting it in the water, cant wait till whites comes out with one on the 30/30 level.

 

[Brooklynhunter]

When u say the 3030 level. What are u reffering to?its water proof feature?

 

[Sandman]

I don't have either but have used the V3i. In my humble opinion they are about alike as two cars of different colors and options. It depends on what you get used to using. If the 3030 had its problem of a fussy o ring that leaks for many with all the battery changes, I'd get one if only to get excited it found a penny. For me the fun is in the learning. Just like we are excited on taking out a new girl friend. We don't know where that is going to go except it will cost us.

 

[Brooklynhunter]

Lol! Well said. Cheers and HH

 

[Ignorance Denied]

I asked this on another thread, but the v3i oem website promotes that they dont advertise how many more frequencies they operate on as it is a misnomer anyways in regards to how many are recieved. Something on the lines of oem's that say they transmit many more frequencies than others, where they are basically just harmonics of the base frequencies anyways.

I dont know if this even applies on this head-to-head against the CTX, but I am curious anyways.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

I asked this on another thread, but the v3i oem website promotes that they dont advertise how many more frequencies they operate on as it is a misnomer anyways in regards to how many are recieved. Something on the lines of oem's that say they transmit many more frequencies than others, where they are basically just harmonics of the base frequencies anyways.

I dont know if this even applies on this head-to-head against the CTX, but I am curious anyways.

It's my understanding that the V3i is a three-freq unit. You can transmit any single freq, of those offered, or you can transmit all 3. The freq.'s are 2.5khz; 7.5khz;, and 22.5khz.
Jim

 

[Ignorance Denied]

Yes it is a 3 freq unit.

And for comparison, Minelab suggests "Multiple frequencies: 1.5 - 100kHz".

And I guess my question above is, is Minelab adding irrelevant fluff to the advert? Or is Whites advertising "3 does the same thing and is accurate advertising".


I suppose both are high quality units, and both have to have their advertised bullet points, but are either advertising something that in the end, on a head-to-head comparison, something that doesnt matter to the end user?

 

[goen 4 gold]

yes, by 30/30 level I meant, land/water, I still enjoy my dfx and decided to wait for whites to come out with a land/water model before buying a new detector. so for now its dfx for land and id 300 for water for me.

 

[Brooklynhunter]

As you post this is see kellyco is listing what I think is whites new detector th. Mx5. It looks its housed in a xoin master frame and is being touted as whether proof. NOT water proof. Overall not too impressive. If this is whites answer ro the AT Pro..... they need to make what the customer has asked for. A good all around water proof derector. Soor but this looks like they cut and pasted something together. Seems to lack innovationat a time when garrett and minelab are turning heads with their products.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Yes it is a 3 freq unit.

And for comparison, Minelab suggests "Multiple frequencies: 1.5 - 100kHz".

And I guess my question above is, is Minelab adding irrelevant fluff to the advert? Or is Whites advertising "3 does the same thing and is accurate advertising".


I suppose both are high quality units, and both have to have their advertised bullet points, but are either advertising something that in the end, on a head-to-head comparison, something that doesnt matter to the end user?

I think, to some extent, that all this stuff is fluff. In most cases, you won't find anything more, even with more freq's, and do-dads. Are there cases where the extras will pay off....sure...But they don't occur often. I'd bet, over the long term, that there are nearly as many good finds made with simple, high quality single freq units as there are with the high-tech stuff.
Jim

 

[Brooklynhunter]

Whats so nice about the v3i. Is I xan choose all three or to search in individual freq. If I choose to

 

[dougj7]

I currently have both detectors, but I have only hunted a few times with the V3i. So far I've discovered the V3i hits really good on nickels and small targets. It will ID my 9" test garden dime with RX gain of 8, and Disc sensitivity at 85. It really hits solid when I turn on the TX boost using the same mentioned sensitivities. I've discovered that its critical to do a good ground balance and choose the correct filter for max depth with the V3i. I know you weren't looking for info on the V3i, but I just figured I would share what I have learned for comparison purpose.

I've used the CTX since it came out, so I'm more familiar with it. The CTX will also ID my 9" test garden dime. I don't think it hits as good on nickels and small targets as the V3i. Once you have the Discrimination Pattern and Sounds set up on the CTX, you can just turn it on and hunt. No ground balance necessary. You can choose to do an automatic noise cancel which takes about 30 seconds. I mostly run the sensitivity in auto +3 which lets the CTX computer set the sensitivity and then boosts it by +3. You can also set the CTX sensitivity on manual and choose the setting 0-30. One big difference I've noticed between the two detectors is that the modulation on the CTX is easier for me to hear. I hunt mostly by sound and I can tell right away when I get a good deep target by the drop off in the volume of the signal on the CTX. I use the highest modulation setting on the V3i, and it doesn't seem to be as effective. To clarify, when I sweep the V3i over my 9" test garden dime, it sounds almost the same as a surface target. When I sweep the CTX over the 9" dime it sounds at a much lower volume which tells me it's a deep target without looking at the depth meter.

You could download the CTX manual and watch some youtube videos to become more familiar with it.

 

[Brooklynhunter]

Greta info. Thanks for posting. HH

 

[Pointman]

I hunt mostly by sound and I can tell right away when I get a good deep target by the drop off in the volume of the signal on the CTX. I use the highest modulation setting on the V3i, and it doesn't seem to be as effective. To clarify, when I sweep the V3i over my 9" test garden dime, it sounds almost the same as a surface target. When I sweep the CTX over the 9" dime it sounds at a much lower volume which tells me it's a deep target without looking at the depth meter.

This can be a very important factor if you go off of sound mostly. I usually listen for signals and then check the meter second. Both of my primary detectors (AT Pro, CTX) do the same and I will generally listen to the very weak/consistent signals. There are so many factors that can separate a good machine from one that isn't so perfect and the definition of a good machine can vary between users.