CTX report from Canslaw

[MBbeachrat]

Read this on another forum and although I think this pretty well know just had to share.


By Canslaw
Depth test with a CTX, Excal II and a CZ 21 (long report)
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the bi monthly lunch with the Myrtle Beach water hunters club. What an experience! All of the top hunters here in MB have switch from Sov. GT's and are now hunting with the CTX. 90% of the hunting in MB is wet sand hunting at low tide with 10% shallow water troughs. Half of the guys with CTX's do not take them in the water....strictly wet sand machine replacing their GT's Of they guys that do water hunt with the CTX, they say it is hard to swing and not comfortable in the water at all. One of the hunters does use a "Swingy-Thingy" and says that works great for him. All of them have paid for their CTX's in a short period of time and most have sold their GT's. Jim Bouwer is the only one out of all the CTX owners that has had problems with his CTX and he has had all of the reported problems, except the screen. However Jim hunts both tides hunting 8 hours a day 7 days a week and he is hard on equipment (self admitted) . But he said it is the BEST wet sand detector he has ever had in his hands and would replace it tomorrow if it died. That is saying a lot.


After lunch a bunch of us went across the street to the beach for same depth tests and hunting.


The first target was a thin 10k ring, probably 4 grams. The target was buried 3 inches in damp sand then the coils raised above the target until the tone quit. The detectors were set with almost equal sensitivity.


ADD 3 inches to each depth for the "buried in the sand" of the target


The CTX sounded about 8-9 inches above the sand.
The Excal II about 6 inches above the sand
and my CZ 21 about 4 inches.


The next target was a heavy mens white gold band, I am guessing 6-7 grams.


The CTX a foot about the target........I couldn't believe it and this was with three different machines, all the same depth.
The Excal about 9-10 inch
And my CZ 21 a disappointing 6 inches, that really surprised me.


This is the first time I have seen and held a CTX and it was unbelievable how sensitive and deep it was on small gold. It is a fragile machine, but the MB hunters all say the same thing.....it was paid for in a few of weeks, now it's free. They will also admit it is NOT a good water machine, but the best wet sand machine on the market. I was made a believer yesterday with what I saw and heard. Now if I only had good wet sand beaches on the Gulf like they do in MB.

 

[firemac]

Sweet! Sounds good, I'd like to have one in place of my etrac.

 

[Captain PopTop]

how about anybody on the west coast of fl say about ctx huntin here in and out of the water ?, if I was to get one it would be used mostly in the water

 

[GreenMeanie]

The CTX is sensitive on small gold and targets.
It shocks me from time to time.

 

[MBbeachrat]

how about anybody on the west coast of fl say about ctx huntin here in and out of the water ?, if I was to get one it would be used mostly in the water

If you plan on using in water above the knee you should be aware of, hard to swing in that much water due to the drag of coil, shaft and screen, with seawater on you should swing faster (does not do well in salt water without it) , leaking problems at this point. I think your really better off with the Excalibur in deeper water at this point IMHO and from the feedback of many, many others.

 

[bigscoop]

how about anybody on the west coast of fl say about ctx huntin here in and out of the water ?, if I was to get one it would be used mostly in the water

I'd be patient. Wait until the current issues have all been resolved. At this rate Minelab can't continue to keep replacing/repairing units and they can't afford all the bad rap, so I'm sure the current issues will be addressed and resolved. Might even see a true CTX type water machine in the near future.

 

[lookindown]

I know air tests aren't the best way to test for depth. I did an air test on a 4 gram 14k band I just found and my CZ21 hits it at 10 inches using the settings I hunt with. I know that's not the same as the way you tested, but your test results had me worried and now I feel better.

 

[bigscoop]

I know air tests aren't the best way to test for depth. I did an air test on a 4 gram 14k band I just found and my CZ21 hits it at 10 inches using the settings I hunt with. I know that's not the same as the way you tested, but your test results had me worried and now I feel better.

The CZ with the 10" coil is pretty particular once you toss in some saturated salt water/sand mix and then white gold to boot. In previous test, it's quite possible to pass the coil directly over these smaller gold items and never get a hit, "if the coil is moving to slow". I've even had them miss a nickel at 5" in the saltwater when the coil is slowed down too much. This is the issue I had with the CZ & 10" coil over here on my coast due to the constant currents which create a lot of drag. I tested the thing time and time again and the results were always the same. I am a loyal CZ fan but after all the testing the proof was in the pudding, as they say. This is why I no longer own a CZ.

 

[MBbeachrat]

CZ is a beast on silver. You can swing it very fast and it will hit silver deep.

 

[bigscoop]

CZ is a beast on silver. You can swing it very fast and it will hit silver deep.

So true. It will also do the same on most gold items. I spent most of my first 20 years in this hobby with the CZ and it certainly likes that swifter swing speed. But like I said, once i got down here in the saltwater/sand mix and strong currents I really noticed a huge difference, especially with the 10" coil. That's when I started doing all the testing. The CZ is a great machine as long as you can keep the coil moving at a pretty good clip, but slow it down too much in the saltwater or over the really saturated wet sand and it's performance really dives, especially on white gold and finer gold items.

 

[Can Slaw]

The CZ with the 10" coil is pretty particular once you toss in some saturated salt water/sand mix and then white gold to boot. In previous test, it's quite possible to pass the coil directly over these smaller gold items and never get a hit, "if the coil is moving to slow". I've even had them miss a nickel at 5" in the saltwater when the coil is slowed down too much. This is the issue I had with the CZ & 10" coil over here on my coast due to the constant currents which create a lot of drag. I tested the thing time and time again and the results were always the same. I am a loyal CZ fan but after all the testing the proof was in the pudding, as they say. This is why I no longer own a CZ.

Small world, that was your old CZ 21 used on the test. Glad I had it with me, my Excal split the coil wire again rendering it useless in the water.

 

[Can Slaw]

how about anybody on the west coast of fl say about ctx huntin here in and out of the water ?, if I was to get one it would be used mostly in the water

Most of the hunters here in Myrtle Beach are NOT pleased with them as water machine and are being used mainly in the wet sand. They will occasionally use them to investigate a shallow trough close to shore. The one hunter that has used his in the surf and general water hunting.....the detector is falling apart. The coil just quit, the shaft cam lock is broken, the arm cuff locks are also broken, it has leaked water and has been sent back in. The screen is in a position that if you are deep water hunting, you will hit the screen with your scoop when examining the scoop contents. The lower shaft is over 1 inch around and drags like a boat anchor in the water, the upper shaft is diamond shaped and cuts the water nicely. Why ML did not continue the diamond shape all they way down is totally beyond me. After hearing what pleased users are saying about the CTX and finally getting to examine one up close...it is my opinion, ML needs to go back to the drawing board to make this a good water machine, however it is an excellent, weatherproof wet sand machine. That was proven to me in an impromptu depth test. I was the looser with bigscoops old CZ 21.

 

[Sandman]

I am waiting for Minelab to get its act together too. I am restricted to freshwater now and even there the CTX fails as a good unit.

 

[MBbeachrat]

I am waiting for Minelab to get its act together too. I am restricted to freshwater now and even there the CTX fails as a good unit.

I think the only mistake Minelab made was advertising the CTX like it is a submarine. Showing it submerged in the water in all the ads. If they would have said it is a land machine that is rain proof and can be used on salty wet sand, then everyone would have been happy. Hard to believe you can make the tech. hard part so good but drop the ball on the case, especially after making a water machine like the Excalibur.

 

[Can Slaw]

I think the only mistake Minelab made was advertising the CTX like it is a submarine. Showing it submerged in the water in all the ads. If they would have said it is a land machine that is rain proof and can be used on salty wet sand, then everyone would have been happy. Hard to believe you can make the tech. hard part so good but drop the ball on the case, especially after making a water machine like the Excalibur.

You own one and what I saw with the units I saw demonstrated....I couldn't agree more. Two of the MB users are already talking of taking their CTX's apart to make them hip mountable. If they can locate extention cables, the project will probably start.

 

[bigscoop]

It is hard to believe that with all their experience with water machines that they didn't recognize how unpractical and inefficient the design was going to be for serious water hunting in anything but a swimming pool. Water hunting can present a pretty harsh environment and you would think they would have tested the machine in the harshest of those conditions for quite some time before they settled on all the machine's design features. But these things happen sometimes and I'm sure they'll get it all figured out in the end. But until then, my $$$$ stays in my pocket.


PS:
Dear Minelab,
The next time you set out to create a any type of water machine "think NSB"....we have all the harsh conditions here and we love pushing our machines to their full limits - mainly because we have no choice. Design a reliable water machine around this place, these hunters, and these conditions and you'll really have something.

 

[lookindown]

Small world, that was your old CZ 21 used on the test. Glad I had it with me, my Excal split the coil wire again rendering it useless in the water.

I don't think that CZ21 is up to par with other CZ21s...in most tests Ive seen, the CZ21 is much closer to the Excal in depth than the test you did.

 

[bigscoop]

I don't think that CZ21 is up to par with other CZ21s...in most tests Ive seen, the CZ21 is much closer to the Excal in depth than the test you did.

On silver and chunkier gold the CZ might even be a little deeper then the Excal. But, here's the issue, the Excal's performance is far less effected by some of the issues previously mentioned. Slow the coil down to a crawl with the Excal and it will still hit on most items, even the tiny ones. The same can be said in turbulent saltwater conditions, where the 10" CZ may have difficulties, especially with fine gold and small white gold. Grab a handful of nickels and put it to the test, bury a few of them 5 - 6" deep in the "turbulent" back flush and see how slow you can move the coil over the target before it starts to miss them. Do this same thing in a foot or so of saltwater. And it wasn't just one 10" CZ that I tested. (If you have an 8" CZ then I suspect the issues may not be quite as sever as they are with the 10".) But with the 10" - too sloooow, as often happens in strong currents, can make the 10" CZ nearly blind.

 

[lookindown]

On silver and chunkier gold the CZ might even be a little deeper then the Excal. But, here's the issue, the Excal's performance is far less effected by some of the issues previously mentioned. Slow the coil down to a crawl with the Excal and it will still hit on most items, even the tiny ones. The same can be said in turbulent saltwater conditions, where the 10" CZ may have difficulties, especially with fine gold and small white gold. Grab a handful of nickels and put it to the test, bury a few of them 5 - 6" deep in the "turbulent" back flush and see how slow you can move the coil over the target before it starts to miss them. Do this same thing in a foot or so of saltwater. And it wasn't just one 10" CZ that I tested. (If you have an 8" CZ then I suspect the issues may not be quite as sever as they are with the 10".) But with the 10" - too sloooow, as often happens in strong currents, can make the 10" CZ nearly blind.

I hunt on the West coast of Florida and most days its like a lake over there. I swing my 10" coil fast enough in the water to not have any concerns about loss of depth due to slow swing speed. Thanks for the info, makes me even more confident in my machine.

 

[Can Slaw]

I don't think that CZ21 is up to par with other CZ21s...in most tests Ive seen, the CZ21 is much closer to the Excal in depth than the test you did.

Blame bigscoop....he sold it to me

I am going to send it in to Fisher when I get home and have it re-tuned.