newbie to CTX3030 have a few questions! HELP!

[sarrahbrianne]

thanks for alll your patience while I am learning everything on detecting! I am trying to see what I am already doing wrong! I may not say the right lingo but Im trying to learn! I am just using the ground coin preset on my ctx with fast recovery and understand somewhat the F12 line - where thats around a good number but below that on my screen (and the higher the number) the more junk it is . I thought I understood the CO line and number .. the higher the co the better off I have at a coin along with a FE 12 +... However today anything around FE 12 13 14 and high CO I was only pulling up iron . On my screen it will show a good target hit and pinpoint good in the open range where the coins go . Am I missing something ? Thanks so much !!!

 

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[vpnavy]

..: Moved from HELP! over to Forum > Metal Detecting > Brands > Minelab > CTX 3030 for more exposure :..​

 

[slick356]

The best thing that helped me learn the Ctx was Andy Sibisch book for the Ctx. And take his MINELAB BOOTCAMP FOR THE CTX class. He has classes now.

 

[IDXMonster]

thanks for alll your patience while I am learning everything on detecting! I am trying to see what I am already doing wrong! I may not say the right lingo but Im trying to learn! I am just using the ground coin preset on my ctx with fast recovery and understand somewhat the F12 line - where thats around a good number but below that on my screen (and the higher the number) the more junk it is . I thought I understood the CO line and number .. the higher the co the better off I have at a coin along with a FE 12 +... However today anything around FE 12 13 14 and high CO I was only pulling up iron . On my screen it will show a good target hit and pinpoint good in the open range where the coins go . Am I missing something ? Thanks so much !!!

I WAS going to make a video but the kids took the GoPro sledding....Arggghhhh!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

One of the things I love about the CTX is the way it accentuates the sounds of a target. And, what I've learned now in my third year using it is that I should NEVER judge a target by the ID numbers displayed.

You get a really good target with solid sounds in both directions, it is a dig - period.

I went back over an area I'd searched with the CTX, with a Tesoro Tejon and dug up a 10K gold ear thingie I probably would not have dug with the CTX using the numbers.

I will admit to digging a whole lot more trash now.

 

[cudamark]

If I'm coin shooting (especially for old coins) I would use Ferrous Coin, Deep On, Fast Off, and an open screen. Now, being a newbie to the machine, you may want to run Andy Sabich's coin program until you get a couple hundred hours on it. As for getting iron with ferrous readings around the 12 line.......shouldn't happen.......much anyway. Occasionally you'll get a deep, bent, rusty nail that will fool the machine, but, not often. Maybe a master reset will clear up that problem? If not, I'd call the repair center and get their opinion on what should be done. Good Luck!

 

[IDXMonster]

I will post My settings. These are what I use when COIN HUNTING. These are not everyone’s settings,so discussion about them and why they may or may not work isn’t relevant. What IS relevant is that last year I found 147 SILVER coins. If that interests you,continue reading...
There are “basics” to hunting OLD COINS that have to be considered. If you want to have a good chance of finding silver coins,you must make SURE that the site is old enough to hold them. I hunt old schools,parks and in PARTICULAR...old ball fields. These aren’t the only places where silver coins might be,but when hunting public property,they have been BY FAR the most lucrative.
Old silver coins can have a habit of being deep,in the 6-12” range. Not ALWAYS...but most of mine have been past 6” deep. While the stock 11” coil can find some of these,in order to achieve better depth and ID on these deep coins,I use a 17” coil. It works better for ME,without having to set the machine up in Manual Sensitivity to reach the deeper coins(8-11” coins).
Another of the basics is the “3-S” rule...Shape,Size,Sound. Shape... Does the target seem round? Does it Pinpoint short one way and long the other? If it does,it’s not a round coin. Size...Does the target still respond with the coil swept 8-10” off the ground,yet on the initial sweep on the ground it said it was 8” deep? This target would be too big,the response with an 8” target should be gone as the coil gets 3-4” off the ground. Sound...Does it repeat well when swept east to west,then it responds well swept north to south? If it does,this is a good,repeatable target. Paying attention to the 3-S rule will cut down on a lot of unnecessary digging for trash. Be sure to “center” the target to get the most accurate reading on depth and ID.
My setup...
Coins Mode
Pattern 1: 38-50 CO open, 0-25 FE open. Pattern 2 completely open. Check the screen carefully to make it so.
Combined Tone Profile. Adjust “bin” size on the far right of the screen to exactly match the discrimination pattern you see in the background. Set this far upper right “bin” to 1200hz using the “Change Pitch” option.
Response Normal
Fast,Deep,Seawater all OFF
High Trash Target Separation
Pinpoint Sizing
Sensitivity Auto+3
Ground Balance box UNCHECKED
Volume Gain 30,Threshold Level just audible,Volume Limits 30,Threshold Pitch 15

Adjust the overall volume in your headphones.

By setting up this way,I can listen for ONE distinct high tone which encompasses all coins I might want to find,while ignoring the rest of what the machine might “see”. By incorporating the 3-S rule and only digging targets which show as being 5-6” or deeper, I dig almost NO trash and come home with at least one silver coin almost EVERY time I go hunting. Because I have selected a proper site,have pre-qualified the target through discrimination and the 3-S rule,along with only digging deeper signals,this method has worked incredibly well for ME. You can try these settings and methods or use someone else’s,or use your own. Whatever you do,don’t keep doing the same thing with lousy results,the machine is WAY better than that. Use the machine ALOT,it’ll all come into view as to what it’s doing and knowing how to interpret what it’s saying. For everyday coins like we use today,you can go to any park or school,etc. To find SILVER,you have to be more selective,and make sure the site is old enough for silver to be there.

The CTX is one of the few best coin hunting machines made. Ever. Possibly THE best. Be flexible enough to try different settings when you get a lot of hours on it to see how changing things affects response,target ID,etc. Only YOU can know how to set it up best for YOUR conditions. I’ve tried to give you a basic platform from which to work which happens to work well for ME.

Lastly,but very importantly...you say you were digging “high CO numbers”. This is where paying close attention to detail will help in relaying this information in future posts. I have a suspicion you are digging 49 and 50 CO numbers,which are 99% of the time going to be TRASH metal or iron type targets. This is a result of “wrap around”..a subject for another day. A CO number of 48 is about as high as it gets with coins,so make a note of that.

Good luck and don’t get frustrated,the CTX will impress you beyond words if given the time to be learned.

 

[tnsharpshooter]

thanks for alll your patience while I am learning everything on detecting! I am trying to see what I am already doing wrong! I may not say the right lingo but Im trying to learn! I am just using the ground coin preset on my ctx with fast recovery and understand somewhat the F12 line - where thats around a good number but below that on my screen (and the higher the number) the more junk it is . I thought I understood the CO line and number .. the higher the co the better off I have at a coin along with a FE 12 +... However today anything around FE 12 13 14 and high CO I was only pulling up iron . On my screen it will show a good target hit and pinpoint good in the open range where the coins go . Am I missing something ? Thanks so much !!!

Alright,
I read your post.

Ferrous number
If you use ground coin process, good nonferrous targets can reflect a ferrous number anywhere for 1 generally down to 26/27.
Remember based on the above your pattern has to have the ferrous areas exposed (unshaded) so as not to disc out say a coin.

If you use ferrous coin process, odds are more good targets will when they ID will be nearer of very close to line #12.
This means you can generally have more disc (shading) on screen and still detect targets.

I recommend anyone learning CTX to stick with ferrous coin process.

Conductive number
Usually nonferrous targets will read between 01-48.
Numbers 49/50 usually iron.

Watch your cursor after you strike a target. You start seeing a build up on the screen in the right places (ferrous/conductive wise, you should,be getting some pretty consistent tone.

I also recommend a new CTX user to use 50 conductive tones, not combined mode.

You will generally hear less audio when sweeping by doing. When the CTX strikes a target you'll know it.

Turn your gain up.

You'll have to figure out which pinpoint you like best between sizing and normal.

Hope this helps.
Also try to run auto plus 3 sensitivity until you get more experience with detector.

 

[sgoss66]

One tip --

When you hit a target that you think you "like," start rotating around the target with your body, doing little short, back-and-forth sweeps with your coil over the center of the target, as you rotate around it, 360 degrees. Pay attention to the response from ALL directions, all the way around your 360 degree rotation. A good "hit" from only ONE direction can fool you; if you can rotate around the target though, using little short sweeps over the target, and the target remains consistent in sound and ID (and gives you a nice "clustering" on your target trace), THAT is the type of target that has a high chance of being something good (or "close" to good). What do I mean by "close to good?" Well, if you rotate around and "interrogate" your target, and think you have a dime or penny, and dig a copper washer -- well, that's a "good" dig. Because, there's no way a machine can tell a 3/4" copper washer from a copper penny...

Anyway, try the "rotating around the target while you are listening to its response," trick.

I think you will find your ratio of "good digs" to "bad digs" improving...

Steve

 

[sarrahbrianne]

thank you to everyone so much I'm taking notes and am so excited to get back out with this new info!! this site is amazing!!! thank you!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I see no one has mentioned pin pointing yet.

What you do is use the "Wiggle Back" method. You swing over the target and pull the coil back from the sound until it's right at the crook of the top end of the coil, and then disappears. Then move forward till it's right in the crook, and the target is right beneath that crook of the coil.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Also get you a handful of good and bad targets and run them past the coil and listen and watch the differences. Coins will "almost" always hot much more solid on visual and audio ID.

Rotating around a found target like Steve said is good info to. I often spend WAY to much time doing this before I just go ahead and dig it and find out for sure.

Digging every solid target for now is THE best way to learn. Make mental notes on each dug target.