MineLab CTX 3030,Worth the MONEY????

passfinder · Sep 7, 2012

Is it really worth the money,Is it like using the Excalibur on the beach in the water,This is my main concern .I really thinking about taking the plunge...Are should I just get two detectors,One for land the other for beach

norbyx · Sep 7, 2012

Asking this question in the minelabs forum is like walking into a Cadillac dealer and asking if a cadillac is worth the extra money. You can't expect to receive a true answer from someone that just spent over two grand to get the latest, badest, super metal detector. They will all say it's worth the money.
Ask it on a general forum for a general and more accurate response.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

Terry Soloman · Sep 7, 2012

passfinder said:
Is it really worth the money,Is it like using the Excalibur on the beach in the water,This is my main concern .I really thinking about taking the plunge...Are should I just get two detectors,One for land the other for beach

This one is REALLY easy. Just get TWO machines.

Sandman · Sep 9, 2012

I am mainly a water hunter and I'd say NO..... In the water you don't need a meter so the Excal does fine. For land the Sov GT is still great without a meter which lies to us anyway. This is a lot of money when you can buy a great land Tesoro and a Tesoro for the water.

Hosensack · Sep 9, 2012

Allow me to be the first apparent snake oil salesman(or was it Cadillac dealer) to respond. Is it worth the money is a multi faceted question, if you spend the 2k+ are you getting a machine that is worth it? Yes. Do your locations, hunting styles etc. make it a wise decision for you? More questions need asking and answering first.

The screen is a non factor, if you don't like using them it is irrelevant as the CTX has one of if not the best audio customizations available.

Treasure_Hunter · Sep 9, 2012

Ask Gary Drayton if it is worth it....look at his finds and what he says about it....I know several who own it an love it..

Bart@Big Boys Hobbies · Sep 9, 2012

passfinder said:
Is it really worth the money,Is it like using the Excalibur on the beach in the water,This is my main concern .I really thinking about taking the plunge...Are should I just get two detectors,One for land the other for beach

The Excal or Sov GT is HARD to beat on the beach! Simple but very effective!

Treasure_Hunter · Sep 9, 2012

The excal and the sov gt are great detectors. I own 2 excals and a sov gt myself, but that doesn't mean minelab cant make a detector that can out do them..... A waterproof sov gt is what I always wanted. Excal is based on early sovereign but anyone who owns sov and excal knows it isn't the same, the sov has features the excal doesn't, but if it did it would make the excal so much better, the ctx3030 has features that are very interesting and have heard good reports on it....

Keppy · Sep 9, 2012

My self i think that the Excalibur and sovereign are the 2 best detectors that Minelab makes........... They will go as deep as the and find as much as the CX3030 or Etrac or Explorer's..... All you get with the last 3 i have spoken of is bells & whistles not worth it........... Get a Sovereign & Excalibur you will save a few bucks and find just as much.........Unless you are a geek and like those worthless bells & whistles.........

Sapper23 · Sep 13, 2012

Just my 2 cents :

stay with the SE Pro, or Exp. 2.... I was on the beach over 2 hours with CTX 3030, going threw the programs, and setting's.. My old Exp 2 OUT did it!!!!!
Sorry, but save your money.. WAIT until they work out all the bugs in it!!

stasys · Sep 14, 2012

Sapper23 said:
Just my 2 cents :

stay with the SE Pro, or Exp. 2.... I was on the beach over 2 hours with CTX 3030, going threw the programs, and setting's.. My old Exp 2 OUT did it!!!!!
Sorry, but save your money.. WAIT until they work out all the bugs in it!!

we need somebody to make photos inside ctx to understand more, but I think looking ctx size and weight it has the same circuitry boards like etrac and maybe different processor.

Realredrebel · Sep 14, 2012

passfinder said:
Is it really worth the money,Is it like using the Excalibur on the beach in the water,This is my main concern .I really thinking about taking the plunge...Are should I just get two detectors,One for land the other for beach

Yes... It is worth the Money to me... I don't do much water detecting thou.... I haven't used my Etrac since I got it... The CTX 3030 is a better machine.

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet

donbr · Sep 16, 2012

Full test of ctx-3030 but in russian
They said its better than middle range detector, not sure what they ment.
Can go up to 6 meters(but not recommended

under water with well sensitivity , good junk separation, enough deep.
Old coils will not fits the new ctx as well as underwater earphones.
There conclusion he dont want to compare e-trac with ctx both are great just ctx has some new features that works well. Thats it maybe its helps a little bit to make decision.

Keppy · Sep 16, 2012

Sapper23 said:
Just my 2 cents :

stay with the SE Pro, or Exp. 2.... I was on the beach over 2 hours with CTX 3030, going threw the programs, and setting's.. My old Exp 2 OUT did it!!!!!
Sorry, but save your money.. WAIT until they work out all the bugs in it!!

................. No a smarter move is stay with a Excalibur & Sovereign,........

Chips · Sep 16, 2012

I guess this means that people may be trading in their E-tracs ?

Keppy · Sep 16, 2012

Chips said:
I guess this means that people may be trading in their E-tracs ?

... Yes for Excaliburs if they are smart............Not the 3030

logger1 · Sep 16, 2012

I see some are haveing shaft problems already, does not look to be the best design where the head meets the shaft is wearing away, was a post about it on findmall but seems to have disapeared.

Keppy · Sep 16, 2012

Yes some of these treasure fourms don't want you to say any thing bad about there favorite brands .....

stasys · Sep 16, 2012

Best Video part is from 19min47sec. when they start compare CTX to Etrac, :laughing7:

CTX looks the same like Etrac. to dive with CTX under water is stupid, its was never made for it.

GreenMeanie · Sep 16, 2012

I own it and don't think it is worth it.
I had the shaft stuck problem and only used it a few times on a fresh water beach before it happened.
The meter seems useless everything in the coin range is grouped to close. I have quarters, pennies, and dimes almost and sometimes reading the same numbers. So you still need to dig the pennies just in case.
But I don't hate it totally either because it does find targets and has enough options so you can try to hunt a site more than once to see what else there is to find.
And I must say I am nervous about dunking it because I am afraid of the Gaskets Leaking. I assume if you take the Battery off enough to charge it eventually the gasket will go bad. So how do you know your gasket isn't bad before you go into the water and destroy the battery?
I probably would say it is an 1800.00 machine at most in my book.

If I had my choice I would get an EXCAL again and a land detector.