CTX3030 problems, faulty coil ?

[MexGT]

Ok so I just recieved a new 3030 last weekend, I wa ssure to read everything about it and went to the beach.

Settings ...

• ground-coin
• manual balance @23
• beach in preset mode #1 (discrimination)
• salt water checked
• deep checked
• fast unchecked
• sound in normal
• volume gain @30
• target trace on
• auto ground balance off

Made noise cancel and did a manual ground balance too ..

First off, I inmediately sense the detector was falsing everytime I swinged to the left? weird, first I thought of a good target so I checked and doind a left swing again I had the same result, I ended up doing circles like 5 times lol ... So I went in auto sens, it was around 15-17 and a -1 too..

I got like 4-5 coins but they were a real PITA to locate, seemed like if they were moving constantly, even with PP it was hard to get a good signal.

So I just placed a coin in the ground, air tested, first of all the targets were undetected untill I got the coil to around 1.5-2" above them, and sometimes the readings were erratic and others steady in the screen, I was puzzled so I went back home thinking I missed something in the manual, rechecked and I'm sure I was ready to go.

Thoughts and opinions please?

Thanks

 

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[cudamark]

Are you sure you bought a genuine Minelab machine and not a cheap Chinese knock-off?

 

[Fletch88]

Leave ground balance disabled at the beach. I just used mine for the first time in salt and it worked beautifully. It's in the grey box on left side of page 22 of users manual online. Good luck

 

[MexGT]

Are you sure you bought a genuine Minelab machine and not a cheap Chinese knock-off?

Yeah I buy from a certified Minelab dealer, its shown in minelabs website.

Leave ground balance disabled at the beach. I just used mine for the first time in salt and it worked beautifully. Page 22 of users manual online.

I had it disabled first, then tried it on, same result, needed to be sure since I was already in the beach

 

[Fletch88]

I see the problem with setup. You should be in Low Trash or High Trash ( if at a really trashy beach entrance) not Ground-Coin, for beach hunting. Also only turn Seawater on if you submerge the coil, not on wet sand. Mine ran very smooth in auto and manual up to about 20-22. It would false in manual sometimes on the up stroke of east-west swing when I was near wet line. Try this and see if it helps. Also try Mals beach program. It's designed for UK beaches but seemed to work well in the states too. You can tweak audio breaks if you like for any coins if you need to, but I thought it was good like it is. Good luck, I hope this helps!

 

[GreenMeanie]

Being a new machine why did you play with the settings?
Should learn a NEW Detector in stock settings first before playing with the settings.

 

[Fletch88]

Yes forget the program I recommended just reset the Minelab Beach Mode and give it a spin. Should work fine out of the box on beach mode, with GB off.

 

[MexGT]

Yeah Ill do that and give it a try, right now it has been raining haven't had a chance to go out again!

What was worrying me is the falsing only when I swinged to the left, every 3-5 swings it falsed to the left, not a common behavior ...

Thanks guys I'll keep ya'll updated once I try it again.

 

[Sandman]

Is your coil cover clean of any black sand?

 

[cudamark]

Yeah Ill do that and give it a try, right now it has been raining haven't had a chance to go out again!

What was worrying me is the falsing only when I swinged to the left, every 3-5 swings it falsed to the left, not a common behavior ...

Thanks guys I'll keep ya'll updated once I try it again.

Hey, that machine is waterproof! You can go out in the rain with it.....don't be such a wuss....... Ha, I know what you mean....my detectors hold up in the rain better than I do! It's no fun getting cold, wet, muddy, and then having to strip in the back yard before the wife will let me in the house!

 

[MexGT]

Is your coil cover clean of any black sand?

Yep I claned the coil cover, I was surprised that sand gets stuck in the cover way easier than in the X2 cover, the thin parts of the 3030 coil is where the sand gets in easier.

Hey, that machine is waterproof! You can go out in the rain with it.....don't be such a wuss....... Ha, I know what you mean....my detectors hold up in the rain better than I do! It's no fun getting cold, wet, muddy, and then having to strip in the back yard before the wife will let me in the house!

yeah I rather wait a bit than being sick 24/7 and all the mess I could be doing lol

 

[Pointman]

Mine seems to false a little bit when I swing to the left and then from the right. I run mine on land, and set it up on the Gonehunting program, but I set the sensitivity on manual from 25-30.

It was a PITA for me to pinpoint at first and I still have problems when the coins are close to the surface. Sometimes the depth readings will also vary when an object is close to the surface, for example a coin today read 5" and then read 0" on the second pass. When my CTX reads "0" it is almost always a surface coin. Usually I have no problem hearing the high pitched pinpoint sound, but sometimes I don't get a clear tone or it is erratic. What I do to better pinpoint is hold the pinpoint button down and swing it in the general spot and listen for a short "ping" sound (something like that), and take note where I hear it. Then I do a 90 degree swing and listen for the same sound. Where the two intersect is generally where the object is, and then I do the "wiggle method" to see if I can confirm.

I don't try and rely too much on the red dot at the bottom of the screen, but I have trained my ear on what to listen for and watch the ground. The "sweet spot" on where to dig is where the stem/stem bolts are. 90 percent of the time when I do a 90 degree swing and listen for the high pinpoint sound, the object will always be directly under the bolt. I can dig a 3" diameter plug and find it every time. Usually, when I can't find the target or have to dig a "sideways" hole is because I am in a hurry and my head isn't into it.

I use the pinpoint feature to get an idea of the object size by holding down the pinpoint button and bringing it slowly over the object and taking note of where it starts to make noise and then stops. I am not sure if there are other ways of determining the size of the object other then doing this or lifting the coil and seeing how high the detector will read for larger objects such as cans.

Anybody else has some similar experiences or thoughts?

 

[Mach1Pilot]

Did you happen to try a factory reset?

 

[kk4ces]

Are you varying your scoop in your left hand? Mine was doing that and I kept chasing ghost signals then it hit me. Now Cary it on my shoulder. It's very sensitive. After that I mild it on my first beach trip.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Are you varying your scoop in your left hand? Mine was doing that and I kept chasing ghost signals then it hit me. Now Cary it on my shoulder. It's very sensitive. After that I mild it on my first beach trip.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

Falsing only to one side it HAS to be something like this.

 

[MexGT]

I thought about it too, but I carry the scoop in my shoulder with the bucket all the way back.

I'm anxious to try a lot of stuff I've been reading and suggestions too, just haven't had the spare time I wish I could have.

I'll keep this thread updated once I get new info, thanks again guys!

 

[Mach1Pilot]

After reading about the metal scoop in the preceding posts, here's something else thats simple to possibly consider... Do you have metal in your shoes? Its unlikely, but the timing of your swing and steps could cause this if there is metal moving in your feet.

 

[MexGT]

Well finally had a chance to try the 3030 again yesterday, was only for 2-3 hrs, used common setttings and no problem at all, seems it needed a reset only. I got 28 coins, only two 10 peso coins though.

Will do some more testings with the bi-metal coins hopefully tomorrow, they're tricky since the outer part of the coin or the ring is made out of Stainless, but in FE/CO mode the screen shows both metals ! how amazing is that?

My guess that turning on the MD inside the house with tons of EMI around and sens in normal beach condition (23-25) made it go coocoo.

 

[cudamark]

Yup, I can't fire up any of my high end detectors inside the house without setting it off into a squawk fest!

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

That's good news that it's working fine now. Sometimes, we all need a reset!

Interesting information on the bi metal coins- thanks for sharing.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com