ctx 3030 maiden voyage

I run two programs. The first program, you can run open window in pattern 1 , with a aggressive disc in pattern 2.I use trashy park or old silver, Dr Tones or whatever in the 2nd pattern. For the second program, I'll run an modified open window with majority of top and bottom disc'd out so the iron doesn't sound off in top of program when its knocked out at bottom. You will see the pattern in the CTX handbook.#2 pattern is an open window so I can verify the iron isn't sounding back through top section that I left open, top right section where coins will fall in.I don't run auto sensitivity. I started with +3 auto but the sensitivity can be cranked up a lot higher and still run stable in manual mode.

It is easier to check out what the people who know said when I inquired about it.

https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=240902

I've had my CTX since last May and managed to hunt a bit today also. Hunted for a good long time actually and found nothing of note. I then whipped out my old IDXPro and found a Merc in 10 minutes. What's the lesson here? I know my old machine REALLY well! For those who say,"you shouldn't have to spend a couple to a few hundred hours to get comfortable with the machine", guess what? You do. Pick a stock mode,Auto plus 3 if you can, and go USE it. There are disadvantages to the fabled Gone Hunting settings,if you're using them in the wrong spot right away and don't know how to decipher what it's saying. I still dig a TON of nails with Combined, so I hardly use it anymore. Evans settings work well for him,it doesn't mean by ANY stretch of the imagininafion that YOURE going to have the same results. He has said his targets really aren't that deep where he hunts,I've found that when looking for REALLY deep coins, Combined with Ferrous Coin separation will call a deep nail a coin way more times than not. Just my observations...

IDXMonster said:

I've had my CTX since last May and managed to hunt a bit today also. Hunted for a good long time actually and found nothing of note. I then whipped out my old IDXPro and found a Merc in 10 minutes. What's the lesson here? I know my old machine REALLY well! For those who say,"you shouldn't have to spend a couple to a few hundred hours to get comfortable with the machine", guess what? You do. Pick a stock mode,Auto plus 3 if you can, and go USE it. There are disadvantages to the fabled Gone Hunting settings,if you're using them in the wrong spot right away and don't know how to decipher what it's saying. I still dig a TON of nails with Combined, so I hardly use it anymore. Evans settings work well for him,it doesn't mean by ANY stretch of the imagininafion that YOURE going to have the same results. He has said his targets really aren't that deep where he hunts,I've found that when looking for REALLY deep coins, Combined with Ferrous Coin separation will call a deep nail a coin way more times than not. Just my observations...

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Yea I am noticing this as well. I am tempted to go with what I know which is low and slow in heavy disc pattern. Thanks for advice

bibelot said:

I run two programs. The first program, you can run open window in pattern 1 , with a aggressive disc in pattern 2.I use trashy park or old silver, Dr Tones or whatever in the 2nd pattern. For the second program, I'll run an modified open window with majority of top and bottom disc'd out so the iron doesn't sound off in top of program when its knocked out at bottom. You will see the pattern in the CTX handbook.#2 pattern is an open window so I can verify the iron isn't sounding back through top section that I left open, top right section where coins will fall in.

It is easier to check out what the people who know said when I inquired about it.

https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=240902

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thanks I will check this out!

First you need to relax.
Your first day out with your detector,,,,you didn't do badly.

It will come to you.
I don't know how low a tone you had your iron tone bin,,,,get it down pretty low.

As good as the CTX is,,,the 6" coil will do certain things like in the site you are describing the stock coil can't.

Combined mode in my opinion,,,has more of an advantage in sites with more nails and iron vs multi tone mode running disc.

Modern trash,,multi tone with smartly applied disc in some do the nonferrous reporting areas will work.

I should caution you though,,,CTX can do a composite TID on coloacted nonferrous targets,,,,be mindful of anything reporting that seems is a solo target but reports at least 32 conductive wise.

When you get more proficient,,,you will be able to run manual sens in the site you went to at 23 or 24 and will do well.

High tones falses,,,,best advice here,,,see how repetitive it is as you pass the coil over,,,,you can vary speeds,,,,don't try to hover coil so much here.

Listen how consistent the tone is,,,,how it ramps up and down,,all aspects of the tone,,,leading,,in the middle,,lagging portions.

Now some folks say they can use pinpoint and determine if a high tone is a nail or not,,,,it can work,,,but this is not a concrete way to discern nail or iron that is high toning.

Screen info,,can help,,,but let the tone,,and it's consistency drive your decision more.

Used my CTX in a site today,,6" coil very polluted site iron and nail wise. So I can certainly relate to what you are experiencing.

You may even consider marking some targets you deem worthy the next time out,,,and compare the multi tone and combine modes here.

Make sure you take advantage of the detector capability of having 2 disc patterns,,,,where they can be toggled back and forth by depressing the detect button.

Size of paint in cursor,,,you'll learn this is good info.

Cheers.

You have a very good detector,,,,I promise you. And with more time with it,,,You'll be giving it higher marks.

watch how your targets build up on the screen. If it looks like birdshot, it is usually iron. The stronger red target are what you want. I like pitch hold, usually run ferrous coin or ground coin, like the targets to identify against the 12 line. As mentioned, coins will jump to 13 line and back to 12 on pinpoint mode. It's not always a coin, bent nails will get you. Usually your pinpoint is slightly off on iron or at least that is what I have found to be true.

Thanks for the info guys. I do like how target trace seems to make a nice red dot one the screen when something good is in the ground.

Dflan83 said:

Thanks for the info guys. I do like how target trace seems to make a nice red dot one the screen when something good is in the ground.

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I like the dot real small,,,on a target= generally deeper and older.

tnsharpshooter said:

I like the dot real small,,,on a target= generally deeper and older.

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thanks for the tips tn. I see your kinda in my neck of the woods... how would you characterize the soil around here :P

Dflan83 said:

thanks for the tips tn. I see your kinda in my neck of the woods... how would you characterize the soil around here :P

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Well,,good question.

I'll put it this way,,,fbs /fbs2 units and Deus will thrive moreso,,,vs many others.

You are talking medium to slightly above medium.

CTX will punch and ID in it no problems.
Etrac too.

Cz3d,,,F75,,, not so good.

Now start moving toward the spine of Appalachians mtn chain,,,definitely higher mineral,,,,and the streak that runs from roughly Birmingham al,,,up toward Sweetwater and up to Crossville Tn--- some rough stuff there too. The valley that Knoxville sits in,,not so bad,,close to your soil mineral wise.

Now,,,to be fair here,,,all this info,,based on direct feedback of different detectorist,,,as well as a few USGS maps I've looked at. The maps info mirror detectorists reports from the field.

tnsharpshooter said:

Well,,good question.

I'll put it this way,,,fbs /fbs2 units and Deus will thrive moreso,,,vs many others.

You are talking medium to slightly above medium.

CTX will punch and ID in it no problems.
Etrac too.

Cz3d,,,F75,,, not so good.

Now start moving toward the spine of Appalachians mtn chain,,,definitely higher mineral,,,,and the streak that runs from roughly Birmingham al,,,up toward Sweetwater and up to Crossville Tn--- some rough stuff there too. The valley that Knoxville sits in,,not so bad,,close to your soil mineral wise.

Now,,,to be fair here,,,all this info,,based on direct feedback of different detectorist,,,as well as a few USGS maps I've looked at. The maps info mirror detectorists reports from the field.

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Noticed a lot of the same. thanks for the tips

Dflan83 said:

Noticed a lot of the same. thanks for the tips

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You are welcome.

Also,,if you head to Murfreesboro to hunt,,,be advised I do have first hand experience there a hunting. Some hot stuff in areas up there. Your CTX (stock coil) in places will only give nonferrous tone on a quarter to around 6" deep,,that's all.

For relic hunting,,,,PI detector and maybe Blisstool V5 or V6 might come in handy.

For those folks who have mild soil,,,they don't really know what they have benefit wise for detecting in some cases.

Great info here. As a CTX user for the last 4 years I can tell you the best advice I received, and have learned, is that the pinpoint will be off to the side of the chirp if it is a nail or iron. Even a chirp that sounds great and is repeatable may be hitting on the side of iron. Pinpoint will tell you. This has been my experience, I have dug a lot of iron that sounded like a great deep silver dime, dig down and off to the side is a nail. But also the opposite. I get a poor chirp, scratchy, maybe only repeatable from one angle, but the pinpoint is in the same place as where the chirp is when I scan. Usually a coin. It is never always so dig and learn. CTX is so good.

Recently i was hunting a lot where a house once stood with the ctx and the coiltek coil. I got a high tone at the edge of what the ctx called large iron. Went to pinpoint trace and i got a big iron smear but a buckshot trace in the 12-40 range and some smear. Worked it from many angles and finally decided to pass as i was tired of digging. Couple of days later as i was driving by the lot after getting off work i had my cz3d with the 5 in coil on and i had been thinking about the target i did not dig, it had been bugging me, so i stopped and went to check it with the cz. I got a big iron grunt and a high tone at the edge again, then went to pinpoint. Well that is when everything changed for me. As i moved into the target i got a high sound then a tiny small decrease then a huge increase in pinpoint volume. The small coil told me in pinpoint mode there were two distinct targets! I dug down 6 inches and pulled a 44 mercury dime in vg condition!
Just to the edge of the dime was a piece of a steel rusty flat plate about an inch and half wide. I think the concentric focal point of the 5 in coil was just focused enough at that depth to give me the two distinct targets in pinpoint.

For sure this would be a more rare circumstance but just shows you never know till you dig.

Trashfinder said:

Recently i was hunting a lot where a house once stood with the ctx and the coiltek coil. I got a high tone at the edge of what the ctx called large iron. Went to pinpoint trace and i got a big iron smear but a buckshot trace in the 12-40 range and some smear. Worked it from many angles and finally decided to pass as i was tired of digging. Couple of days later as i was driving by the lot after getting off work i had my cz3d with the 5 in coil on and i had been thinking about the target i did not dig, it had been bugging me, so i stopped and went to check it with the cz. I got a big iron grunt and a high tone at the edge again, then went to pinpoint. Well that is when everything changed for me. As i moved into the target i got a high sound then a tiny small decrease then a huge increase in pinpoint volume. The small coil told me in pinpoint mode there were two distinct targets! I dug down 6 inches and pulled a 44 mercury dime in vg condition!
Just to the edge of the dime was a piece of a steel rusty flat plate about an inch and half wide. I think the concentric focal point of the 5 in coil was just focused enough at that depth to give me the two distinct targets in pinpoint.

For sure this would be a more rare circumstance but just shows you never know till you dig.

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yep, my first ever silver dime rang up as a penny because a nail was literally right beside it in the hole.