E-trac Vs. CTX 3030

[Spike5887]

So without the bells and whistles of the CTX how does it compare to the E-Trac

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Not a clue, as I have never used a 3030.
I will say the ETrac is the best detector I've ever used. If only factory water proofed.
I'm seriously considering a 3030 this spring. I, like you, would like to know the benefits of a 3030, other than waterproof, as I don't/won't use interface capabilities.
Peace ✌

 

[mark v]

Not a clue, as I have never used a 3030.
I will say the ETrac is the best detector I've ever used. If only factory water proofed.
I'm seriously considering a 3030 this spring. I, like you, would like to know the benefits of a 3030, other than waterproof, as I don't/won't use interface capabilities.
Peace ✌

I agree. I'll be watching this also. So far I'm not convinced the 3030 is worth what it costs when I have a E Trac.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

So without the bells and whistles of the CTX how does it compare to the E-Trac

Its a more stable machine with much better recovery speed. Ability in iron is much improved over the Minelab E-Trac. The main ability for me is the much more correct target ID even at depth on the CTX 3030. If the CTX says its an iffy target it is bad. The E-Trac you will benefit once in awhile by digging a iffy target. Not that way on the CTX.

When you combine our BBH exclusive settings it turns the CTX into a BEAST!

 

[cudamark]

Its a more stable machine with much better recovery speed. Ability in iron is much improved over the Minelab E-Trac. The main ability for me is the much more correct target ID even at depth on the CTX 3030. If the CTX says its an iffy target it is bad. The E-Trac you will benefit once in awhile by digging a iffy target. Not that way on the CTX.

When you combine our BBH exclusive settings it turns the CTX into a BEAST!

Are those settings a secret or are they posted somewhere? Being able to track multiple targets is another good feature of the CTX.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Able to track multiple targets!? Seriously. I have enough trouble tracking one.
But hey, knowing this has peeked my interests further.
Peace ✌

 

[Professor of Engineering]

I too, have my eye on the E-trac or CTX-3030 still researching.

 

[Pointman]

Without giving the information away on the program that Bart is talking about (he will set you up with the program if you buy from him). I would suggest that you play around with the tones to your liking and set your future CTX to the TID readings that are easy to look up. There isn't a special "trick" to setting up the CTX, just figure out what sounds you like and learn the readings. The CTX absolutely does a phenomenal job of being consistent with the readings on what is under the coil, so most charts will be accurate to what is under the coil. The only thing I would suggest when programming, is to high tone the nickel readings. Also, dig by sounds because anything fairly deep (9" plus) will sometimes not give an accurate TID and/or nearby iron will throw off your readings.


I do like the CTX much better than the Etrac because it is easier to read and does better with multiple targets and junk. I really haven't noticed a difference in depth from the two machines, but I can get a little more depth from the CTX by running it wide open and reverse discriminate. If your on the fence about getting one, I would suggest that you do it. I have been through a bunch of machines and the only one I like along with the CTX is the Deus. Combined with my patience and the CTX I have beat out a lot of other people that I hunt with and a lot of times I will do this by going back over the same spots that they detected with other machines.

 

[Jason in Enid]

The CTX is a much improved machine over the E-Trac, just like Bart said. WAY more stable, more depth, more accurate TID, faster processor. I used mine for the first half of last year before I ever used any of its "bells and whistles", but now that I use them it sure makes detecting a lot better!

 

[Pointman]

The CTX is a much improved machine over the E-Trac, just like Bart said. WAY more stable, more depth, more accurate TID, faster processor. I used mine for the first half of last year before I ever used any of its "bells and whistles", but now that I use them it sure makes detecting a lot better!

I understand what your saying about using the "bells and whistles". Seems like I have gone through multiple stages with my CTX in the past year and a half. The first 4 months I didn't do much, but just run it. I then started to play with the tone settings (threshold, etc.) and I was able to hear more stuff deeper. Almost a year later, I started to play around toggling between multiple programs/settings during my hunts. Couple of months ago, I started to play with the tones and adjusting the programs and recently started to run the CTX as wide open as possible and use reverse discriminate and smooth tones to pick through the iron. Seems like there are a ton of layers in this machine to squeeze the most out of it and the ground. I can honestly say after about 6 hunts at multiple places that I have cleaned everything out, after I have run multiple machines back over the areas and even used the 17" coil.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello Pointman,

You have presented a compelling case for the CTX. I like how you began the journey very slow and deliberate.

Regards,

 

[Pointman]

Hello Pointman,

You have presented a compelling case for the CTX. I like how you began the journey very slow and deliberate.

Regards,

Thanks.

I wanted to add that the program that Bart has will shorten the learning time considerably. IMO, the pre-programs are not that good. I think that a person could pretty much put in the Gone Hunting program and after a couple of hours, get really good with the machine.

Last week I took my CTX out (I purchased from Bart) and spent 10 minutes showings someone how to read/listen to the machine. In one hour he found his silver coin (1943 Mercury), in the second hour he found his second silver/first Barber dime (1911). The Barber dime was stacked under a Buffalo nickel which was also his first. He told me that it high toned even though it was under a nickel (my program low tones on nickels) and he was amazed that he found it in a spot that had been detected with other machines before. He has been detecting for well over a year and I was amazed (really not in a way) that the CTX finally got him on the silver.

I will post a hunt that I did with my CTX in the finds section probably later tonight or in the morning. I also took a picture of all the trash I dug. Most of the nails were in along with the silver. This was all found in a spot that was detected with an SE Pro by someone else and I skimmed it with my CTX late last year and only found some shallow wheats. The coins were all along a line next to the sidewalk which was about 25 feet long. The reason why I found them this time, was because they were all 8-10 inches deep and I was running the stock coil with an open program and only discriminating out when I heard a high tone. Most of the tones were literally little "blips" that I only heard by moving the coil an inch at a time. I didn't take any pictures at the site, because all the coins were in my hands before I realized what they were.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Thanks Pointman! Anyone with Questions on the Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector for sale. | BigBoysHobbies or Minelab CTX 3030 metal detector | BigBoysHobbies feel free to call. I be glad to tell ya all I know about swinging them. Silver suckers is a perfect name for them!

 

[DiggerGal]

Thanks Pointman! Anyone with Questions on the Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector for sale. | BigBoysHobbies or Minelab CTX 3030 metal detector | BigBoysHobbies feel free to call. I be glad to tell ya all I know about swinging them. Silver suckers is a perfect name for them!

I will be coming your way Bart to upgrade from my ATP. I have been reading a ton on what the next step up should be and I am impressed by the CTX statements.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

I will be coming your way Bart to upgrade from my ATP. I have been reading a ton on what the next step up should be and I am impressed by the CTX statements.

Sounds good! Just give me a ring anytime to ask questions or whatever!

 

[Texas Looter]

Will have a hard time beating Bart price. I have bought a Ctx,Deus and a couple other machines from him as no one else could beat his price.

 

[lcollins]

Just got my CTX 3030 from Bart a week or so ago and you won't beat his detector packages. BBH was a 5 star transaction all the way. Coming from the 705 I will be learning the " bells and whistles " on the 3030 for quite some time I am sure. But even being a newbie on this machine out of the box I am loving it. Even with frozen ground here in Montana I can still go detecting. I just turn on the GPS feature and mark waypoints of good target IDs to come back to when the ground finally does thaw.

 

[RustyGold]

Love the CTX! There's always something to learn with it and you can customize the settings to your liking!
It's like having several detectors in one.

 

[frogmaster-riviera]

Not a clue, as I have never used a 3030.
I will say the ETrac is the best detector I've ever used. If only factory water proofed.
I'm seriously considering a 3030 this spring. I, like you, would like to know the benefits of a 3030, other than waterproof, as I don't/won't use interface capabilities.
Peace ✌

- For inland hunting in terms of pure performance i'll say Etrac = CTX
- CTX is "waterproof" so much more versatile then Etrac

The difference is mainly on the discrimination patterns: they are now 100% cutomizable on the CTX, they were'nt really on the Etrac.
For screen information lovers, CTX does provide a few extra info on targets, but at the end of the day you will still digg them

I'm a Minelab addict, but I recently came to reality: XP METAL DEUS machine are killer for inland prospection. Much faster then CTX to acquire targets (a DEUS will cover 4/5 times more surface then CTX in DEEP RESPONSE MODE), hope Minelab will catch up and lunch a new detector shortly.
To my opinion, they seat on the African market ($110m in 2013) at the present time with their GPX and don't really care about competing with other brands on the "adventure market"

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Just got my CTX 3030 from Bart a week or so ago and you won't beat his detector packages. BBH was a 5 star transaction all the way. Coming from the 705 I will be learning the " bells and whistles " on the 3030 for quite some time I am sure. But even being a newbie on this machine out of the box I am loving it. Even with frozen ground here in Montana I can still go detecting. I just turn on the GPS feature and mark waypoints of good target IDs to come back to when the ground finally does thaw.

Glad you like it! Spring is coming! Lol