minelab

[jamey]

i just wanted to hear if the 3030 was worth the money,over the e-trac or safari.i really do not care about the wireless headphones,or gps and all the fancy stuff just want to know if it will find the goods deeper then the others.thanks who all replied and hopefully i will be showing you all some good finds with the 3030 soon

 

[fmerg]

i have the explorer se and if i could afford the 303 i would have that in a heart beat
i also have the quattro (its the older version of the Safari) i use that when i need to talk someone who has never been detecting it easy to teach them the basics fast

 

[jamey]

im just looking at it like its just going to take a little longer for it to pay for itself...

 

[Higgy]

i really do not care about the wireless headphones

One of the best metal detector features EVER. So glad I bought my Deus. So glad I got the WS4 backphones. I've been trying them with different hats and caps, and I am thinking I will be cool calm and collected swinging the fields in the middle of summer this year with my nice cool straw hat.

 

[Jason in Enid]

One of the best metal detector features EVER. So glad I bought my Deus. So glad I got the WS4 backphones. I've been trying them with different hats and caps, and I am thinking I will be cool calm and collected swinging the fields in the middle of summer this year with my nice cool straw hat.

It's pretty dang sweet with the CTX too! It wasn't a concern when I bought it, I had always plugged headphones into the machine. But now that I can lay the detector down to dig, talk, move around and not be tethered to it..... it's just awesome.

 

[MrMikeJackie]

i just wanted to hear if the 3030 was worth the money,over the e-trac or safari.i really do not care about the wireless headphones,or gps and all the fancy stuff just want to know if it will find the goods deeper then the others.thanks who all replied and hopefully i will be showing you all some good finds with the 3030 soon

Despite what some might say, the 3030 is a totally diff machine from the etrac. Having FBS2, faster recovery speed, target trace, ability to see/hear iron and a good target at the same time, better screen x10, waterproof, wireless, simple(yes simple), better balance, a little deeper in clean areas, a lot deeper in trashy areas, better target separation, more accurate vdi's(especially at depth), GPS capabilities(trust me in comes in handy), and the kicker......... It's just a really cool machine to swing. The last time I felt like this was when I owned a Land Rover, it just feels different. GL HH Mike

 

[jamey]

thanks MrMike

 

[pepperj]

Have the Explorer, SE (sold), Etrac, 3030 and seriously thinking of getting the Deus for the simple reason of weight is half of the Minelab. I had/have no problem shelling out the coin for a machine because I know there isn't another hobby out there that will steal my passion away. So if you think there's a passion to dig why not get a good machine to play with if the coin is available. Between the two machines Etrac/3030 I would really have to say the 3030 for hunting heavy iron infested sites. To give one example a small park Etrac was down to finding hardly anything for coinage, in came the 3030 and I must of be up 20 silvers and a couple of hundred coins. Why such a difference one would ask? Well what I was finding was a bottle cap or two with every coin, or a nail. So the way I see it was the Etrac nulled out or the iron was just masking enough where the 3030 picked it up, the numbers didn't mean anything but the sound was the key to digging.

In boating they call it two foot-itist where you see a person always upgrading by a couple of feet, working their way up to the cruiser. Same thing happens in this hobby, buy low, buy again, buy a better mid/upper end machine, then bite the bullet and get the high end one.

I would really recommend a Ace 350/AT Pro (if that's what they're called) in what I've seen over these past few years there's still a lot of great finds being made by these machines, not going to hurt you too bad if you take the batteries out and flea bay it if you find swinging a coil and getting dirty wasn't for you.

 

[jamey]

well a 95 range rover county lwb put my detector on hold for awhile,saw it sitting on the side of the road and just had too take it home.

 

[MrMikeJackie]

well a 95 range rover county lwb put my detector on hold for awhile,saw it sitting on the side of the road and just had too take it home.

Prefer the SWB myself. Well, prepare to spend some money my friend. If you don't already know that. Hope you have a good relationship with your local parts house, if not you're mechanic is gonna love you! GL, Mike

 

[Mach1Pilot]

Jamey,

There really is quite a bit of difference in those three machines. Throw out the built in GPS and wireless and waterproof or lack of it.... those features are easy to evaluate and determine if they are for you. Performance in the soil is where it counts, and its not so much about depth as it is about precision of target ID. If a machine gives you a good idea its a worthwhile target, you will dig and not think its junk.

The CTX 3030 costs the most....but it has for most people the best performance of the three. Its has the fastest recovery time, is the most stable, and has the most accurate target ID at depth (where it matters most) of those three.

The Etrac is the middle performing of the three, and of course the Safari has the slowest recover time, with the least accurate ID. Again - at this point I'm only comparing the three detectors you are asking about.

IF you can afford the CTX 3030... I think you will like it the best. The combination of those three factors make it more fun to use for most people. Of course everyone is different and there will always be someone who prefers one over another. If not, the other two you are asking about are good options too -but they are not quite as advanced as the CTX 3030.

And of course let me know if I can help you with your purchase.

 

[jamey]

yes they are not for everyone,but i know alot about cars so is no problem,i also have a 99 catera sport,they also have a bad rep.problems with lucas electronics on both of these

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Haha, we could all place bets on how long before it got locked!

Wouldn't be long....😀

 

[gleaner1]

Come on guys, don't fall for threads like this. It's worded perfectly just to suck all you dolts in. No, really. Like...really. Just read it. Just read it and think about it. Really really think about it. No, really. LIKE REALLY. OMG LMFAO

 

[lcollins]

Go for it. I just got the 3030 and really like it. There is a learning curve alright but if you keep it simple at first you can be detecting almost right out of the box. Save all the tweaking the machines bells and whistles until you become familiar with it which will take some time.

 

[fistfulladirt]

im just looking at it like its just going to take a little longer for it to pay for itself...

Sure wish my golf game would pay for itself

Many say Minelab has a long learning curve, but I learned my about 80% of my Explorer II in about 10 minutes, after planting a coin garden. I came from DFX. So, my Etrac had virtually no learning curve...it's just the way that technology is for some.