CTX 3030 is it defective or do I need more training.

[sitedude]

I recently purchased a CTX 3030 and had an incredible opportunity to metal detect a land that was part of the civil war with a ton of old buildings on the property. The owner stated that he was not aware of any people who detected the land before and it has been in his family for years. My nephew came with us and was using a Whites MD.

He was pulling out stuff left and right and this is his 3rd time going out metal detecting. Even found a union button within the first 10 minutes. Took a swing with the 3030 over the button it showed 12:37 with an erratic trail below it so I tried to find similar hits with the 3030. I would find similar hits, dig a hole, poof signal gone.

I then would get really high readings like 12:47 - 12:55 thought ooh quarter, silver? Dug around 10 soda cans up. some were crushed, some were near complete

Soup cans, pepsi twist tops, and aluminum were my findings for the day, and aluminum seems to show really high on the FE/CO chart on the screen. Sometimes at the very top right hand corner where I thought silver was supposed to be.

Am I doing something wrong? is the machine possible defective (2 weeks old). Should I be using a different pattern? http://www.wikisend.com/download/200280/sdude.mlf

The above link is the pattern I am using now. Maybe I didn't check something properly in the settings of the pattern?

Any tips would be very useful, going out once more tomorrow to the same location.

 

[IDXMonster]

Firstly,yes,you are going to need more training. Secondly,you cannot have a "55" Conductive number,the scale goes to 35 on the Ferrous side and 50 on the Conductive side. Aluminum will read high,if it's a can. Remember,the machine is not seeing targets as we see them,it's measuring conductivity and such. A simple machine it is not. Put it in the factory coin mode,put it on Auto +0 and do NOT touch ANYTHING else. Your target must be CLEAR AND REPEATABLE sweeping east to west and back,then turn 90 degrees and it must repeat on the north/south axis as well. Your target CANNOT be giving an indication when the coil is more than 2-3" off the ground and the coil being swept over it,as this would tell you it's a huge target such as a can. Do NOT dig ANYTHING else. Report back with your findings.

 

[sitedude]

Thanks will reset it in the morning. Like I wrote earlier about my nephew finding that union button

it looked a lot like the one attached. If I reset it to factory will it show detect this as a high tone in coin mode? Any recommendations on Tone profile for something similar to how my ACE AT PRO worked? I know the machine I came from was very amateurish but I was just so used to the tones.

 

[Mrditch]

Also check that your coil connection is tight

 

[IDXMonster]

The ATPro is anything but amateur,it's been a great machine for many,though I've never had one I've seen one in action. That button,as long as its brass,should show up in a factory Coins pattern,as I've found them myself. The thing to do,if you're looking for brass which might read a bit lower if small,is to run Combined audio which gives you 5 tones and set the Ferrous lower bin line to 25 or so. Then only dig something that comes up in the 2 very right upper bins...you'll have 5 tones but will only be paying attention to two of them. You can also run 4 tone Conductive,try them both out. Remember you can alter the pitch of each bin to get it as close to the AT as possible.

 

[sitedude]

Thank you all for the great tips I will put these in to action today. The other thing I was wondering about. I seen a video on youtube, I want to say it was one I seen in the resource section or possibly another video that auto-played afterwards that had quite a few hits. The gentleman in the video stated to keep ground balance off if you are A beginner to the CTX 3030 which I have done so since about 3 days into owning the 3030. Is there a reason not to use the GB or could that be another adding factor as to why I have such a hard time with the unit so far?

 

[IDXMonster]

Leave me he GB box UN-checked,it will then track the ground automatically. This will be fine for your purpose right now. The GB when done manually is for some really nasty ground conditions. If your partner is pulling things so will you. Don't over-analyze,dig only solid repeatable targets in your open disc range.

 

[Mrditch]

Sitedude, I am located in Conway if you need some help. I am no expert, but understand the machine.

 

[sitedude]

Thanks MrDitch, I was planning a trip down your way in the next couple of weeks, maybe we could meet up, I live over near Florence but usually go down towards 21st Ave N. (Breakers) in MYB every few weeks especially in off season. I noticed lately at the beach they plow the sand early in the morning, I used to be able to find loads with my Ace on the beach, but lately it's silent in the sand, Have not tried the 3030 and the Ace went wild in salt water so was excited to try the 3030

Can you PM me a way to contact you, or do you use Facebook by chance?

 

[Mrditch]

Sitedude you can send me an e-mail to We1@sccoast.net. I look forward to talking with you. David.

 

[sitedude]

Sounds great Mrditch! Will do, we are planning a trip down that way in the next week or so Most likely it will be on the 17th I believe. We usually stay at Breakers on 21st I'll email you when I find out more information from the wife. If you ever have free time I got permission to search a ton of old properties in the Florence area 2 old churches from our towns beginning, and have a few public places here that were from the 1800s where they don't seem to mind metal detectors, not many of us around my area.

 

[sitedude]

Thank you to all who have helped me. I took careful detail into everyones suggestion and actually went to a local school here that is no longer in use and found my first merc, very exciting as others stated to find something older, was a 1931 S dime not worth much but still was amazing to pull something out of the ground that looks in better condition than most of my newer clad from a bank.

I wound up buying Andy Sabisch's book as a user suggested and it is a great read, I am finding tons more thanks to everyones help.

The only thing I would love to learn or get a better example of how to use is sizing.

I run into the concessional crushed can that gives excellent tones. From what the book says you can use sizing to sort of eliminate the need for digging this kind of junk but didn't give a clear idea of what to look for on the screen (never used sizing yet personally)

Is there a simple way to explain how to use this to determine if I am digging a quarter vs a crushed can that does not show overload. Can't seem to find much on Youtube, think once I learn it I'll post a video up to help others figure this one out.

 

[IDXMonster]

Hmmm. Just ran across this again almost immediately,which is weird. Go to "edit" in whatever mode you're using(Coins,Relic,Beach,etc) Scroll to the bottom and select "sizing" for your pinpoint option. Next,go to your User settings and scroll to the bottom and select Pinpoint Lock. This way when you hit pinpoint you don't have to hold the trigger to keep pinpoint engaged. You will have to hit the trigger a second time to disengage pinpoint in this configuration. Now....any DEEP CAN will fool anyone or anything. If you get a good signal,continue sweeping the coil progressively higher off the ground. Unless you are running Manual Sensitivity at 22 or higher with the stock coil,you should lose the signal no more than 2-4" off the ground if it's a coin that's not super shallow. A coin that's 3-4" or less in the ground will usually triple beep as you swing across it,because the center of the coil as well as both edges(which are not quite as hot as the center) will pick it up. So...single beep-you can assume,if it's a coin,that it's 3" plus deep. Raising the coil off the ground while sweeping should lose the signal at 2-4" above the ground. If you get a single beep initially and you can still get the signal at 5-6" off the ground,you can assume it's something big,like a can. Play around with some targets that you know what they are...i.e. a test garden! Cans that are buried at 12" will fool the best of machine and man. Advice item numero uno....go someplace that doesn't have buried cans all over the site! With practice in Pinpoint Sizing you will be up to speed quickly...but you must know what a coin sized item sounds like at 7" compared to a can...2 totally different responses in the longevity of the signal.

 

[sitedude]

IDXMonster, thank you so much I did see the Pinpoint lock feature and have never tested it. Excellent info! Will put to use tomorrow when I'm out! I have one site I go to looking mostly for civil war buttons (my brother found one) and shows up around 12-37 on mine, but I've never hunted it with open discrimination for all relics, The sad part about the land is that it seems like whoever owned it in the 60s must have used the area as a landfill, I pull out light fixtures, and tons of scrap aluminum, car parts, etc.

Any suggestions on relics, certain #'s to watch out for on screen?

Appreciate all the help you have given me even before your last reply, all your suggestions have been a value to me with this machine.

 

[IDXMonster]

I'm a straight up coin hunter,so I'm not much help on anything below 32 on the CO side...the Relic guys can help with numbers on very specific types of bullets,buttons and things that have a known shape,size and alloy perhaps. But if you're pulling out anything from hairpins to hubcaps, I'm going to be pretty useless in the help department. Again though,Sizing a target will help to get you on the smaller items initially,then you can compare numbers with your fellow hunter. Or,if you know the numbers beforehand,just look for those to come up and THEN try to size it. Sounds like a very promising place you've got to work with,it's too bad many people just fired all their trash into the ground in the old days. It might just pay off in a big way though,keep at it!

 

[Ben Town]

I would suggest building a detecting garden?
Does not have to be elaborate, just put some silver coins , clad coins and trash you dig up and anything special you plan on finding.
That way you know what's in the ground, and how deep, and how it sounds and what numbers it produces.
Then you can change programs and settings and see exactly how it affects the signal.
I do this with mine and know what works best for the strongest signal.
Experiment with discrimination and find what works and how much you need , you can experiment with tones and how to setup all your audio.
I found that everyone else's modes and discrimination patterns , audio set up and all the settings are a good place to start , but you need to personalize it for your own needs.
Set up a detecting garden it's the best tool you can have, mine has 25 items and growing
BT

 

[sitedude]

Wonderful info IDX and Ben will work on a garden this weekend, thank you guys for pushing me in the right direction, I am about a month and a half into the 3030 and already feel much more confident about the detector. I let my brother-in-law use the AT PRO when I go out hunting and when he asks me to look at a signal he gets with the 3030, I cannot imagine going back to it now as I was close to doing when I first got the 3030.

I think I might start uploading some tutorials on youtube for beginners when I feel I have mastered the device, the 3030 was quite an intimidating transition at first.

 

[jerseyjim]

Take me to your spot, I will help you learn your machine. LOL. You have the best MD ever made, take your time and dig everything.

 

[sitedude]

Thanks Jersey! Down in SC. funny enough I went to Myrtle Beach (about an hour from here) seen someone with a CTX 3030 unloading it from 74th Ave North. Got to talking to him, turned out he was a book author 'Gold Beneath The Waves' he checked my settings and said my disc pattern looked very close to his and the settings were spot on. His theory was that I need to be wearing my headphones, which to be honest I really don't do, It's been so hot lately and those Koss headphones make for quite a sweat. They guy seemed very fluent with the 3030, actually I watched him go over an area I had covered the night before and he found a gold tooth I guess I need to find a decent pair of headphones that don't sweat me to death. My best 3030 find so far was a 1916 merc dime at an old school yard, and I could see a blip of 12:47 on the screen but absolutely no tones being emitted, just decided I mine as well see what was making my machine show what I assumed was a quarter at 10 inches show something without tone. Dug, dug and dug and found a near mint dime.

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

Thanks Jersey! Down in SC. funny enough I went to Myrtle Beach (about an hour from here) seen someone with a CTX 3030 unloading it from 74th Ave North. Got to talking to him, turned out he was a book author 'Gold Beneath The Waves' he checked my settings and said my disc pattern looked very close to his and the settings were spot on. His theory was that I need to be wearing my headphones, which to be honest I really don't do, It's been so hot lately and those Koss headphones make for quite a sweat. They guy seemed very fluent with the 3030, actually I watched him go over an area I had covered the night before and he found a gold tooth I guess I need to find a decent pair of headphones that don't sweat me to death. My best 3030 find so far was a 1916 merc dime at an old school yard, and I could see a blip of 12:47 on the screen but absolutely no tones being emitted, just decided I mine as well see what was making my machine show what I assumed was a quarter at 10 inches show something without tone. Dug, dug and dug and found a near mint dime.

The CTX3030 Instruction manual (p41) notes that in Ferrous-Coin setting there may not always be audio for targets on the screen.