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observations on the ctx 3030

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Dflan83

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Just a few small observations after owning the ctx a few weeks.

The auto sensitivity setting seems to run hotter than it does on the etrac. in +3 I am getting 22 where i would get 19 or so with the same size coil on my etrac.

I seem to be digging a lot of iron so I still need to learn how to tell from a deep coin//iron

overall though the machine runs super deep even with the 6in coil
 
Deep, small rusty iron (nails/screws) will give a nice high tone with the CTX....you just gotta dig it to find out.
 
Dflan83 said:
Just a few small observations after owning the ctx a few weeks.

The auto sensitivity setting seems to run hotter than it does on the etrac. in +3 I am getting 22 where i would get 19 or so with the same size coil on my etrac.

I seem to be digging a lot of iron so I still need to learn how to tell from a deep coin//iron

overall though the machine runs super deep even with the 6in coil
Click to expand...

Good observation with the differences in auto sens noted.
 
The one thing that really helps me know when its falsing iron is that the pinpoint location will be a couple of inches off from where you originally heard the tone.

If the signal breaks up when you sweep from a different angle that can be another indication of iron, but that method isn't fool proof since a good target will also break up when swept from a different direction if something is semi-masking it.

After using the machine for a while you'll start to get a handle on falsing iron based off of a combination of hints ranging from pinpoint location, signal consistency and Target Trace.
 
Rattlehead said:
The one thing that really helps me know when its falsing iron is that the pinpoint location will be a couple of inches off from where you originally heard the tone.

If the signal breaks up when you sweep from a different angle that can be another indication of iron, but that method isn't fool proof since a good target will also break up when swept from a different direction if something is semi-masking it.

After using the machine for a while you'll start to get a handle on falsing iron based off of a combination of hints ranging from pinpoint location, signal consistency and Target Trace.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I am a little discouraged since coming from the etrac. Dont get me wrong the detector is great but I'm in the learning stages again
 
For guys who want to find silver coins,or even old copper coins,I don't personally see a need to dig everything that makes a noise running an open screen. I would make a "trashy park" screen like Bill S and set the FE line to 20. Use it like that for awhile,and just dig everything that repeats well at 90 degrees. You DO NOT want to drive yourself nuts,even if you had the eTrac. Sure,you can flip over to Pattern 2 to check some stuff out but don't go digging crapp when you have a really strong intuition that it's crapp. Use your senses of good vs bad that you used with the eTrac, if it's SOUNDS like shitt it probably is. You can go digging weird stuff later...
 
You are the second person i have heard that say they dig a lot of iron with the ctx, i have maybe dug two pieces of iron ever with mine. Are you digging totally on tone? I use the target trace, ID and tone, and just never dig iron. What kind of Id's do you get when you dig iron? What is your setup?
 
One thing to be aware of.
Don't make a point of hovering coil over (suspect target)iron. It will make the CTX and many other detectors ring in a little.

Make a good controlled pass,,,and repeat,,and repeat.
Does the audio provided sound the same or very near the same??
If yes,,good clue to pursue suspect target.

But if the suspect target,,,if the audio with controlled coil sweep,,if it sounds different when comparing between sweeps,,,,likely iron.
I have swept some targets suspect as many as 20 times before I could make up my mind,,,but this sure beats digging if it's iron.
 
FWIW.... this stud earing did not have a repeatable signal. I had been reading CTX books about broken rings and small items that often only signal once or give a signal in only one direction. I decided to test that theory and on my second hunt found this. Anyhow, food for thought.
 

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DaviDs said:
FWIW.... this stud earing did not have a repeatable signal. I had been reading CTX books about broken rings and small items that often only signal once or give a signal in only one direction. I decided to test that theory and on my second hunt found this. Anyhow, food for thought.
Click to expand...

I have seen the CTX do that on lower conductors.
Sometime having the sens in manual and turned up will up the ante on the signal on these kinds of targets.

I have cautioned folks about this,,especially relic Hunters,,using CTX.
Auto sens will miss some of the deeper,,that could be heard or heard better using manual sens and having it dialed up.
But sometimes juicing the CTX up with sens in manual,,,lots of funny audio can start rolling in.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. Hopefully will have some good weather this weekend and I can get out and do some detecting. I'm going to try the pinpoint thing and on some targets and see if I can tell the difference between iron and a deep coin.

Saturday my brother wants to head out and do some relic hunting, so that will be a nice change from digging in all the trash. Plus I get to show him the CTX :cool:
 
Got out a little bit yesterday and managed to find 2 silver coins. the quarter rang up 12:35 in multi conductive for some reason. I am guessing iron in the hole or something else was bringing down the numbers, however the audio sounded great so I dug it and glad I did. In the same yard there was a ton of screws that rang in from 20-23:44 eventually I stopped digging those signals even though they sounded good.

IMG_20170225_161348.jpg
 
Nice finds! Great detector from what I hear.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Iron weary experience for what it's worth

I've used the CTX about three years. First year almost exclusively hunted 50 tone conductive. Great for telling differences in targets in most settings, however old home sites chased rusted bolts, and other blobs of iron since they sounded off high tone...yes I was "wishing" it into a good target but I hunt by Sound and then look at ID... 2nd year preferred combined which works better on older sites but now three years in I find myself favoring 35 ferrous tones when hunting deep targets mixed in with lots of iron trash typical of old home sites - with good success.

Try it you may like it and shorten your learning curve. I think each setting shines in its own type of location.
 
Last edited:
Dighistory said:
I've used the CTX about three years. First year almost exclusively hunted 50 tone conductive. Great for telling differences in targets in most settings, however old home sites chased rusted bolts, and other blobs of iron since they sounded off high tone...yes I was "wishing" it into a good target but I hunt by Sound and then look at ID... 2nd year preferred combined which works better on older sites but now three years in I find myself favoring 35 ferrous tones when hunting deep targets mixed in with lots of iron trash typical of old home sites - with good success.

Try it you may like it and shorten your learning curve. I think each setting shines in its own type of location.
Click to expand...

Yea I tried combined mode ferrous coin. I tend to dig a lot of iron so I haven't quite got the hang of that one yet. From what I've heard, the CTX is killer in combined mode but I keep defaulting to what I know from the Etrac.
Next time I go out I am going to try Ferrous coin mode and see how I do.

Funny that you mention that because as I went to the backyard, there was so much trash it was a constant null. Unfortunately it was getting dark and I didn't have much time to switch modes and try it out. Next time I go back I will hit the backyard in ferrous coin/combined and see what I come up with.

GL HH
 
Dflan83 said:
I seem to be digging a lot of iron so I still need to learn how to tell from a deep coin//iron
Click to expand...

You will NEVER (atleast with any current detector on the market) know the difference of deep coin or small iron that has rusted and created an aura. People say they can but theyre full of it.

Current technology of high end metal detectors will be fooled. Thats just how it is.

This guy as the right idea of burying a deep target and playing with different modes on your ctx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Na00Xwbfp4
to learn your machine better
 
I think the most important thing to remember is that if it pinpoints off to the side of where the high tone is, then it is probably iron. A silver coin can be a broken signal, maybe only hit from one or two directions but usually will pinpoint well. This is not always the rule so you have to dig to know. I've dug a lot of iron and used the ctx now about 4 years. A park near my place has deep silver and a ton of small nails. It was a great learning experience. The CTX can go deep. I got a barber dime at an easy 11 inches. Sounded just like iron, broken signal and only hit from one direction, pinpointed well though and that is why I dug. Remember to pinpoint from more than one direction as well.
It will take time. I have found that the sound and target trace are the best indicators. The numbers lie on deep targets and some iron. Good luck to you. CTX is the best.
 
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