MineLab CTX 3030,Worth the MONEY????

[liftloop]

Oo,Oo sounds like a garret "the best custom audio available...Yaa right auto tone over ,or audio roll over or is it iron roll over audio, what a bunch of malarkey.

 

[Chips]

Wow stupid me i never realized that it only goes down 10 feet !. When i saw the ad that showed it floating in water I thought it was a full on water beast. Oh ...

 

[norbyx]

Wow stupid me i never realized that it only goes down 10 feet !. When i saw the ad that showed it floating in water I thought it was a full on water beast. Oh ...

Well you got that right, it's on water not under water.... Jajajaja
To be honest I think that 90% of people that hunt in the water never go deeper than 10ft.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[Hosensack]

Oo,Oo sounds like a garret "the best custom audio available...Yaa right auto tone over ,or audio roll over or is it iron roll over audio, what a bunch of malarkey.

Not "special" audio. You can fully customize the tone ID by pitch, size, number of tones in multiple ways.

 

[stasys]

So how do you know your gasket isn't bad before you go into the water and destroy the battery?
.

very nice point, minelab had to add some automatick swich off if water leaked, but battery design is bad for any depth water machine.

 

[Keppy]

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.

............ You are a smart man like i said the Excalibur is a lot better detector than that 3030....

 

[Sandman]

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

Yeah and you can't say anything about false advertising from sponsors either.

 

[Keppy]

Yeah and you can't say anything about false advertising from sponsors either.

Very Very True....

 

[Ground Inspector]

............ You are a smart man like i said the Excalibur is a lot better detector than that 3030....

Ctx 3030 is by far the best detector for hunting at churches, parks, and courthouses where coins are between 6-10" (natural grass decay depth of a 100-150 year old coin). The discrimination pattern based on both conductivity and ferrous is also a positive. The ctx does a great job picking deep coins out of mineralized or trashy soil. The processor allows for faster recovery rate than previous minelab models. The ctx can pick out an 8" dime an inch away from a rusty iron nail. If the ctx is used properly it is worth the money.

 

[lost hunter]

Used properly is the key to all detectors

 

[Ground Inspector]

Used properly is the key to all detectors

Absolutely. I have both an SE pro and a ctx. The ctx outperforms the SE pro every time I detect with my dad.

 

[Realredrebel]

Ctx 3030 is by far the best detector for hunting at churches, parks, and courthouses where coins are between 6-10" (natural grass decay depth of a 100-150 year old coin). The discrimination pattern based on both conductivity and ferrous is also a positive. The ctx does a great job picking deep coins out of mineralized or trashy soil. The processor allows for faster recovery rate than previous minelab models. The ctx can pick out an 8" dime an inch away from a rusty iron nail. If the ctx is used properly it is worth the money.

Here... Here... I have an Etrac and a CTX 3030... In my opinion... As far as ground machines go the CTX 3030 is the best... I find silver coins next to iron that the Etrac never saw...

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

I don't think the CTX 3030 is better per say but it is easier to be better with it! lol

 

[Realredrebel]

I don't think the CTX 3030 is better per say but it is easier to be better with it! lol

You just made my point... If a machine is easier to use and the results are the same or better... Must be better.

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet

 

[Ground Inspector]

Here... Here... I have an Etrac and a CTX 3030... In my opinion... As far as ground machines go the CTX 3030 is the best... I find silver coins next to iron that the Etrac never saw...

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet

I agree with that.

In addition the ctx goes about 1-2" deeper than the se pro/etrac for coin sized targets, for the standard coil. An 18" coil on the se pro or etrac tops all for depth.

 

[earthmansurfer]

The CTX is the best performing machine I have used to date. I prefer it over the T2, Omega 8000, White's V3i, Deus and the E-Trac. But, I am talking performance only and land use only. The balance is perfect, but the 5lb weight is a bit much for my back and elbow after around 3 or 4 hours (I feel it the next day, unless I hunt 6 hours or so - then I feel it then). Now, perhaps this is more me, though I am in very good shape but had an old back issue. I wish it was less bulky and broke down into 3 pieces - like most detectors. I can see how this is a dream machine for many detectorists that don't mind the weight, price, etc.

I do think Minelab dropped the ball by not making a light machine and making it more reasonable in price. It seems the weight is there because of the waterproofing design. Now, as many other posters have said, they don't love it in the water, though it is very good there to a few others. But, it seems most people are using it as an E-Trac replacement. I agree, it is worth around 1800 bucks or so. It is the best I have used performance wise, no doubt there. But, if you put an aftermarket coil on a mid priced detector, the performance will be close - as MANY have found out.

For starters, had Minelab done the following they really would have shocked the market:
Put the CTX in a Deus or light Teknetics like package - LIGHT - Many detectorists are older folks, which is why the Deus struck a cord with many. 5lbs is 5lbs, even with great balance (for many, NOT all).
Keep the price at 1800 or less
Just water resistant, not water proof (if this is contributing to the price)
Lose the GPS - Great for some, but most don't seem to be using it.
Lose the chips in the coil or at least make aftermarket coils from other manufacturers available. The coils now are VERY expensive.
Brighten up the screen and add some contrast controls. (The V3i has a better screen and gets good battery efficiency without Lion $$$ batteries, so something is up here.)

Again, I really like the performance but I am eagerly awaiting what Fisher has in store for us later this year, if rumors are true, and I know they are.
Till then, I will probably sell my CTX and pick up an X-Terra - not expecting it to be as good but I'll put an aftermarket coil on it and get very good performance. I just love the Minelab sounds...

Albert

 

[Ground Inspector]

I don't think the CTX 3030 is better per say but it is easier to be better with it! lol

The ctx's faster/new processor allows for faster recovery rates from one metal object to the next. The se pro could hear an 8" dime when it was further than 3" from a large piece of iron. The ctx can hear an 8" dime when iron is further than 1" away. This is due to hardware improvements.

The ctx does make an 8" penny sound very easy, easier than previous minelabs.

The ctx isn't fooled by iron as often. The se pro made some deep rusty nails sound like a silver dime. The red box in the bottom right of the ctx display indicates iron, even if a slight silver sound is heard.

 

[ggolds5]

Get an XP DEUS. I love it. Less money, very light, deep, great sensitivity. Pop it in a backpack and your off. The 3030 is great if you want to haul around 6lbs. Other then that I hear it's awesome but if your not looking for waterproof even some dealers will say an E-Track makes more dollar sense then the 3030.

 

[beerbarrel]

From what I have heard about the CTX, it is supposed to be a good machine. I have used the ETRAC for several years. Recently bought a T2 SE as a back up machine, have found it to be just as good, if not better than the ETRAC. Also purchased an INFINIUM LS, Fantastic machine for hunting in the water (salt or fresh) as well as on land, especially in the highly mineralized soils, in which the ETRAC does not perform that great. Of Course, these are just my opinions.

beerbarrel

 

[Sandman]

As long as manufactures keep making detectors that claim to be better, or deeper or have a beer spigot, somebody will buy them. Are they worth it in finds recovered, NO. They are more worth it in entertainment value as we like to still have fun and using them is better than listening to the wife tell you to cut the grass.