CTX 3030 Question

[Vdubguy]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning on purchasing a CTX 3030 in the next few months and have a couple questions for current users.

Is it very good with saltwater? I will only use it at the beach a few times a year. I currently own an ATPro and hate this machine at the beach. It's done well for me everywhere but there. I used the ATPro when I lived in St. Thomas and did well there, but the mineralization is not as bad as the east coast.

The rest of my detecting time will be spent in farm fields and local creeks and such in my home state of PA.

I realize that's it's a big jump from an ATPro to a 3030, but I just want a machine that is all around great everywhere.

Thanks in advance,

Vdubguy

 

[cudamark]

It works GREAT at a salt water beach.....in the water, wet sand, or dry sand. The best of the all-around machines IMO.

 

[plymouthian12]

Machine works great in salt

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning on purchasing a CTX 3030 in the next few months and have a couple questions for current users.

Is it very good with saltwater? It is Outstanding at the beach. Saltwater does not phase it.

I will only use it at the beach a few times a year. I currently own an ATPro and hate this machine at the beach. It's done well for me everywhere but there. I used the ATPro when I lived in St. Thomas and did well there, but the mineralization is not as bad as the east coast. ATP is a very good machine (I recommend them as good entry machines that can serve you a lifetime); just not at a salt beach.

The rest of my detecting time will be spent in farm fields and local creeks and such in my home state of PA.

I realize that's it's a big jump from an ATPro to a 3030, but I just want a machine that is all around great everywhere. Its not that big a jump except for changing to a FBS machine and all the extra tweeks you can do and sounds that you will hear. it WILL drive you crazy at first. But if you tough it out, you'll be glad you did.
Thanks in advance,

Vdubguy

...

 

[penzfan]

Vdubguy, The CTX will work GREAT in the salt and all the other places you have listed below. It's a workhorse with MANY great features. Don't pay full price. Enjoy it...

 

[relic nut]

I went from the Atpro to the 3030 in December and I love it. If you understand how to use the Atpro then learning the 3030 is not as bad as some think. I highly recommend getting Andy Sabisch's book. It is much better than the Minelab manual. Like all machines, it just takes time. Good luck 🍀

HH, RN

 

[tcornel]

I made the jump a couple years ago. I have pulled earring studs at 18" in ankle surf. As relice nut said, get Andy's book as it puts so much into perspective. The settings are worth the price of the book. Better yet go to his boot camp if you can. That cuts the learning curve way down.

 

[Vdubguy]

Thanks for the input! I just wanted to hear from you guys that use the machine. Now all I need to do is sell my AT Pro to help with the cost of the new machine.

 

[CCadrin]

Don't pay the list price. Call the sponsors on this site and see what deals they offer or extra equipment they offer. It is a great salt water machine and runs smooth and quiet.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Vdubguy, I want you to realize that the CTX is one very overwhelming machine. When I bought mine I knew exactly why I purchased it, and it was still well beyond what I expected. The sounds, whole lot of people hate the symphony of sounds all over the spectrum. I'm in my third season with it now, I go by the sounds as that was my roots from the early 80's. I've taken times of not digging zincs, I've taken times of digging every single solid sound.
The FE/CO numbers vary on the scale, but are very very reliable. A zincoln is a zincoln, but! Some gold rings are reputed to ring in at the same numbers. Personally, I've been rather tired of digging pennies which turn into crap when cleaned up enough to drop into a coin machine. Zincolns are everywhere! Drats, just another wasted dig. Just the chance of a gold ring at the same numbers? Gotta dig my friend, we be digging! I would also say that searching with the CTX takes more time than searching with another manufacturer's machine. There's a whole lot more about the target a CTX user has to pay attention to. My hunting buddy kicks my butt every time when we're looking up quantity of finds. I'm "gotta signal here", hmmm... What's it sound like? Well do I dig this or not. Drats, another zinc!!!! I don't love pennies anymore

 

[MrMikeJackie]

Don't let the idea of "sounds" get you nervous. The CTX does NOT have to sound like an annoying E-trac. It can be set up to have 4 tones. High, med, low and iron. It is the most stable machine I've ever used in saltwater. The best so far.

 

[gsxraddict]

Yeah very good machine for the salt water beaches. Check out Gary Drayton's finds, he uses the CTX.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Don't let the idea of "sounds" get you nervous. The CTX does NOT have to sound like an annoying E-trac. It can be set up to have 4 tones. High, med, low and iron.

Why bother setting it up to four tones, when after you get used to what is it saying, would you regress and give up. Sounds are one of those features you actually want to hear.

That's those sounds which say HELLO to you

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Why bother setting it up to four tones, when after you get used to what is it saying, would you regress and give up. Sounds are one of those features you actually want to hear.

That's those sounds which say HELLO to you

I run mine in 4 tone conductive too...

January 20, 2017 A New Beginning!

 

[MrMikeJackie]

Why bother setting it up to four tones, when after you get used to what is it saying, would you regress and give up. Sounds are one of those features you actually want to hear.

That's those sounds which say HELLO to you

Sorry D, I just couldn't do it. With an open screen, I wanted to shoot myself. Bad enough I have to deal with my Excal and all the damn noise.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Well my friend, I think I'll be dealing with this for some years to come. I guess I'm too set in my ways! Good Lord! I've had Andy's book for two years and haven't read it yet.

What part of me do you guys think is sane ?

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Why bother setting it up to four tones, when after you get used to what is it saying, would you regress and give up. Sounds are one of those features you actually want to hear.

That's those sounds which say HELLO to you

I feel exactly the same way and have wondered why people spend all that money for an FBS and then ignore the plethora of audio information that it can give you. I mean, I understand doing it when you first start with the machine and you are coming from 2 tone or something, but not trying to get all you can out of a machine is counterintuitive to me.

 

[MrMikeJackie]

I feel exactly the same way and have wondered why people spend all that money for an FBS and then ignore the plethora of audio information that it can give you. I mean, I understand doing it when you first start with the machine and you are coming from 2 tone or something, but not trying to get all you can out of a machine is counterintuitive to me.

Because a CTX has nothing to do with an Etrac. It was given that "option" to appeal to Etrac users, nothing more. The CTX lines(ferrous/conductive) aren't anywhere close to the Etracs, much broader. So to hunt in conductive is actually counterintuitive.

 

[Vdubguy]

I didn't realize that the CTX 3030 had so many tones. I guess that will take some getting used to from coming from the 3 tone AT Pro.

When I first got the AT Pro, I started off in "Pro Mode". Figured if I'm going to learn the machine, might as well start there and learn the tones. I don't even look at the screen anymore, just go by the tones.

Once I get the CTX 3030, I'll probably just start using all the tones and learn the different sounds until it becomes second nature. Eventually going just by ear like I did with the AT Pro.

 

[CCadrin]

The fun thing about the CTX is that you can customize the sounds to your liking. I have made my own patterns to suit my needs to what I am hunting. For example, I use 50 tone when I hunt the beach in an open screen. This mimics the Sovereign GT and Excalibur. When I hunt parks, my sound is set up differently. There I use combine which provides 4 tone customizable I'll call buckets and the fifth bucket to handle higher ferrous line. Each bucket you can set your own tone. What I do is set the area where nickels are found to the same high tone as we pennies, dimes, quarters, and silver. The bucket in between is a lower tone and the first bucket that is below a nickel to a very low tone. Therefore you can mimic any machine you have used to be similar to your prior machines. The sounds may not match but the concept of low, mid, and high can easily be established.