Hi! I am researching before ordering my first detector. My number one choice, so far is the minelab ctx 3030. I will be using it on farmland, parks and the beech in the UK. Can you advise me what are the weaknesses of this model? Is there any cheaper detector that will perform just as well for inland and beach work?
Does the CTX 3030 show ground mineralization level, like the Fisher detectors?
Sorry for the barrage of questions!
In my opinion, the CTX is the best all-purpose detector available on the market. It is waterproof for hunting up to 10-feet deep and in rain, and it uses multiple frequencys to compensate for mineralized ground and conductive salt water. Add a very accurate ID screen, and well, I can't recommend any detector in its place. Also, the controls are pretty much turn on and go. You only need to read the manual or CTX book to learn finer techniques of tuning, but nonetheless, tuning that is mostly unnessesary for getting out and going.
For the rest of your detecting options, I copy and pasted a previous commentary I wrote to give you an idea of other detectors.
In short, any detector will work in the dry sand. Getting detectors to work in the wet sand or submerged in salt water is the challenge that becomes expensive.
Single frequency detectors will work in the wet sand by decreasing the sensitivity. This means you'll lose depth and/or sensitivity to small targets. Additionally, it is common for these detectors to give random erroneous signals and noisy chatter.
Multi-frequency detectors will compensate for the conductive salt and mineralization without losing depth and sensitivity. The benefit is they (usually) are quiet and give an honest signal, if it beeps, there is something there. M/F detectors consequently cost more and the price goes up if you want them waterproof. The main advantage to a M/F detector is that you can discriminate unwanted targets like iron. This means you can cherry pick targets and make the most use of limited time.
PI or pulse induction detectors are the cost efficient alternative to MF detectors. They work great in salt water, but the caveat is they do not discriminate (well).
Multifrequency detectors would include the following:
Fisher:
CZ-3d (older models were the CZ-5 and CZ-6) not waterproof
CZ-7, 7a, 7apro & 70 (all are older models that are splash proof)
CZ-21 (older model is the 20) completely waterproof
Minelab
Safari (older model was the Quattro) not waterproof
Explorer (all are older models... X, XS, II, Se, & SePro) not waterproof
Sovereign (older model not waterproof)
E-trac (not waterproof)
Excallibur (waterproof)
CTX-3030 (waterproof)
Whites -
Beach Hunter ID (waterproof)
DFX (not waterproof)
VXi and variants (not waterproof)
PI units...
Garrett Sea hunter, Infinium, ATX
Tesoro Sand Shark
Aquasound/pulse
JW Fisher
Fisher Impulse
Detectorpro pulse (note only the pulse model, not the diver, wader, or pirate)
Note: there are others but these are the common ones.