CTX3030 vs AT Pro

[Andrew Kalinowski]

I'm itching to upgrade my EuroAce. My next machine must be good for land and (shallow water). I want it to be usable in salt water and highly mineralized soil. Good for bling, silver and modern Canadian coins and help me discriminate out the junk nails and bottle-caps and hopefully even pull tabs and foil... I want a machine that is fast. I do realize that I will have to learn what the machine is telling me. I want a machine that tells me more than EuroAce does.
Initially I was thinking of AT Pro as sort of a natural progression but, now I'm thinking about CTX.
I don't want to get something just to start thinking again about upgrading soon after because, at the end it costs more money than doing the bigger step right away.

I have few question aimed mainly at members who have actual experience with both of these machines:

IF you could disregard the price difference, which machine would you pick and why?

What are the biggest advantages of each one of them?

After getting CTX, do you miss any features of AT Pro?

 

[etracjoe]

I was always an etrac guy but also owned the atpro and although not proficient with the pro hands down the ctx is a much better machine. The ctx just has alot more to say about a target weather it be audio or the visual. And thats all setting aside the ctx being deeper. Im not saying the pro is a bad machine at all, and to refer to price it is probably the best machine in its price range. It also may be better on small gold then the minelabs, but as a coin hunter, that is not what I'm after. In the end it comes down to where you hunt and what for, and actually how much you want to spend. For me there is no better machine for what I do than the ctx.

 

[Andrew Kalinowski]

-- moved topic --

 

[MNCoinhunter]

AT Pro is a great detector, but if money were no object I would try the CTX 3030 ..

 

[scoopjohnb]

The salt water inclusion in your specifics,... well CTX.
It will do anything the AT Pro will and then some.

Canadian modern coins, I'm guessing your Ace sniffs them out no problem.
So keep it,... CTX will get them as well. But you'll need some experience with the machine.
Steel core coins need specific adjustments to get them to sing out.

 

[Lightstryder]

Sorry I can't help myself here. Will the CTX find coins, yes. Will the AT Pro find coins, yep. It isn't really the machine you use, but how you use it and how comfortable you are with it. All machines have their own pluses and minuses. Everyone is different with different preferences and tastes. I am sure the CTX is a great machine, but is it really SO much better to justify the price? I don't think so personally. Besides you could replace the AT at least a couple of times for the price of one CTX. Will the CTX find you that much more treasure to justify the price? I don't think so personally. You still have to put that coil over the target. I don't care about being able to log my coordinates for my finds on my machine, I can carry a GPS for that if I choose to. Submersion depth is no better than an AT, for that kind of money I want it to be able to go 200 feet or better. I just can't justify a CTX over an AT, I mean am I missing something? I am not trying to bad mouth the CTX, its just for the price, (I know you said "if money was not an issue") but the AT Pro is a great machine, you get a lot of bang for your buck and it is a joy to swing. Just have fun, consider yourself lucky to make the finds that you do and don't worry about the stuff you might find with a different machine, or you will never be satisfied. I have had to learn this lesson the hard way myself. I have the AT Pro now, and am very pleased with it, yes it has its minuses, but every machine will. This lesson carries over into other parts of my life as well. I love photography, I learned the hard way that no matter how good the camera was, it wouldn't make me a better photographer. I have seen excellent photographers make BEAUTIFUL prints with cheap throw away point and shoots. I will step off my soapbox now

 

[Andrew Kalinowski]

Thanks everybody for your input.
Lightstryder, you bring some interesting points however;
"I learned the hard way that no matter how good the camera was, it wouldn't make me a better photographer. I have seen excellent photographers make BEAUTIFUL prints with cheap throw away point and shoots." Even the best of the best photographers can not break the laws of physics. I'm not the best but, good lenses and camera did improve my photography. Good equipment allows me to control depth of field, focus and exposure in ways simply not possible with a P/S camera. Sure, 95% of my pix could be taken with just about any camera but that remaining 5% could not. In digital, I started with kit zoom lenses but now my favorite lenses are Nikon primes. I would actually save myself a lot of money if I went for better lenses to start with! I wasted money by upgrading in baby steps. I suspect that the lesson carries over to MDing.
MDing for me is a hobby so, I'm not looking at purchasing MD as an investment. I'm not looking at finding "more" I'm looking for a way to have more fun. To have more fun, I want to cut down on the trash that I dig. I want to be able to hunt some junk infested sites. And I want a detector that I will not outgrow too fast.
Maybe ATPro is just the ticket but, if CTX has superior discrimination abilities than that alone may be worth to me the difference in price. Now, does it?

 

[Lightstryder]

You are right Andrew, the better the equipment the more it will do for you. If you can afford it, then by all means have fun! After all that's what it's all about anyway. Good luck in your quest!

 

[steve herschbach]

You know that is a very interesting question. Because I do have an AT Pro but it is for sale right now. I did get a CTX 3030.

When the AT Pro came out I thought "Wow, finally, a detector with all the features of an above water detector, but waterproof!" I got one immediately and really like the detector. Just a great little unit.

Then the CTX came out. Now, I had an E-TRAC and at that point the AT Pro also. I think most people would recognize the FBS detectors have a well deserved reputation on silver in turf. All the sudden here is a detector that could replace both my E-TRAC and AT Pro. The E-TRAC is gone and the AT will be soon.

For me the E-TRAC was my go-to machine for turf and coins. The AT was more for jewelry in freshwater. I think the CTX gives me the best of both and I have no regrets. It helps that I found a couple silver coins first time out and a couple gold rings first couple times in the water with the CTX. I think the AT Pro is an amazing value for the dollar, a real bang for the buck. But you said disregard price and for me personally the money was not an issue. I think the CTX 3030 is a more powerful detector overall and I can't think of anything in the AT that I will miss.

Seriously though, the price differential is pretty crazy. Is the CTX 3030 worth four times more than an AT Pro? In my case it was more like is it worth a few more bucks to replace the combined cost of an AT Pro and an E-TRAC with one detector. I did not even give it much thought. But if a casual detectorist were asking me if they should spend over four times the bucks to get a CTX instead of an AT I would be very cautious. The majority of detector users are not into it as much as detector fanatics like myself. An AT Pro will probably serve the majority of people as well or better than a CTX. It really is an amazing value. Especially if you get a good deal on a used one from a guy that got a CTX!

Steve Herschbach
DetectorProspector.com

 

[BootyHunter]

I would say,,,,it depends on you. How many times do you hunt per week, for how long each time?? If you are like me and go out at least 2 days per week for 8+ hours a day I would say get the CTX because it is the best thing out. If you are more casual or have less time to put into using AND LEARNING the machine, then I say get the AT Pro. You can get the AT Pro out of the box and take it outside and immediately find things and know what the display is telling you without reading the manual if you have an ounce of common sense. If you have never used a Minelab FBS detector then there is a pretty substantial learning curve. Yes you can take the CTX out and find things right away, will you be interpreting what the screen is telling you, highly unlikely. I have and Etrac and loved it, then I got the AT Pro when it came out because I started with an Ace 250 and it was, and still is, an awesome little detector that is so easy to use a toddler could use it and find things. Several of my all day hunts were cut short due to rain or snow with the Etrac that when the AT Pro came out I got 1 because I knew that Garrett machines are awesome and with it I could still hunt even on the nastiest of days. So I got it and found alot of good things with it. Then the CTX came out and my hunting buddy got one and he found alot with it and all the Etrac users that had upgraded were finding things that their Etrac had missed. So I broke down and got the CTX, wow, my silver coin finds have really improved and the quality of my finds improved with a Franklin half( 1st Franklin, 2nd Half ever) a popout coin, SLQ, and so on. Also I have found 7 rings including gold and silver in the ground and before I had only 1 Silver and 1 Gold plated with the Etrac and some kids rings. I know that their had to be the same types of finds where I hunted before because I am still hunting the same types of places. So I know the CTX is the Mac Daddy of detectors, BUT, the decision really comes down to the amount of time you are going to be able to put into it. I was a leg up already because the transition from an Etrac to a CTX is virtually seamless, if you have never used FBS then you are going to struggle some and your hunts will be less productive for a great while, if you only get out a little then that will lead to frustration and maybe even drive you away from the hobby. So the AT Pro may be the best for your situation, you need to evaluate yourself the time you have to devot to learning an entirely new machine which is much differen that anything you have used before. Good luck with whatever you choose and I will agree that for the money, the AT Pro can't be beat!!

 

[Andrew Kalinowski]

BootyHunter, thank you for your insight. I have to say that your post is one of the most interesting ones because... it does pour some cold water over my head. I hunt... on average... maybe 8 hours a week. Well, I may have a weekend where I put 16 hours and than nothing for several days.
OTOH, at this point, MDing to me is nothing more than a hobby so, I don't expect the machine to pay for itself. I'm also a "square head" so, a learning curve and machine complexity does not intimidate me - they haven't invented yet a machine I could not break Than, my hearing is not very good. I can (most of the time) distinguish between a person singing and an instrument playing so, MDs that go just by sound are not for me but MDs that give you A sound to alert you and than provide graphical info!!! Wow, that is what I want! I can just about guarantee that I will be able to interpret display in no time. Hmm, I guess, what I am trying to say is that my mind is now pretty much set on CTX. When will I be able to pull the trigger, that's another issue. I want CTX over AT because it provides more graphical information about the target and (due to speed) it offers better target separation. My research and test runs tell me that my potentially best sites are iron infested and to find that one thing among junk, I suspect that CTX may serve me better than AT could. Sure, AT would be a step over my EuroAce but, I'm through the baby steps.

 

[nealcat]

Hmmm $500 or $2000, just how much does it cost to get a capable detector? I think it says a lot about the AT Pro to be compared to the CTX3030 !!!!!

 

[mswarbrick]

Yes it does say a lot for the AT to compare it to the CTX. I own both and love them both! Sometimes I actually have one in each hand and check what one finds versus the other. Lots of fun. They will both find gold, jewlery as I have proved that myself. They are great in the water. The CTX is of course the better of the two, if price is no object. Mine equipped with the 17 inch coild will get a gold ring at 18 inches. Deeper than I want to dig!

 

[parkgt]

A cheap Kia will take you to just about any place in this town; yet I see silly people spending more than 4 times more to drive Cads, Beemers, MBs etc to get to those places.

What were they thinking!

 

[surfman]

The ATpro with the 5x8 in heavy iron is an awesome combination. Just saying. Love my Explorer but the AT is just a lot of fun to use. Good luck, Joe.

 

[mswarbrick]

Since salt water was mentioned, the CTX 3030 is the only option. The ATPro will not do saltwater, but the CTX will. The CTX's software can be updated via the Internet by plugging its USB connection to a computer. A recent upgrade gives the CTX a new menu selection for saltwater. It's awesome having a detector that can be modified and updated by the factory right from your living room. Part of the joy of metal detecting is loving your machine. I love my CTX! But I still like my AT Pro!

 

[Diggin-it]

I had both...I ended up selling the CTX-3030. I Freshwater beach and water hunt and to be honest, the 3030 is blind to small gold. Jewelry is what I hunt for so it was vital that my machine could detect it. I had small 14K gold earrings that I found with the AT-Pro, yet the 3030 would not make a peep even if the earrings were touching the coil. My other issue was the 3030 display was hardly visible in the bright sunshine. All that said, like others mentioned...the AT-Pro is not a good saltwater machine. If you want to hunt saltwater And can accept that it is NOT good on small gold...the 3030 is the better bet.

 

[togamac]

Don't know anything about the CTX3030 (yet) but do have 2 AT-Pros. You mentioned that you might want to discriminate out pull tabs. Can't do that with the AT Pro if you want to find gold. All of my 14k finds have sounded like a pull tab. That's not all bad news. When I'm searching and am finding pull tabs, I know the guy ahead of me might have left some gold for me!
HH

 

[kingingkunsan]

Don't know anything about the CTX3030 (yet) but do have 2 AT-Pros. You mentioned that you might want to discriminate out pull tabs. Can't do that with the AT Pro if you want to find gold. All of my 14k finds have sounded like a pull tab. That's not all bad news. When I'm searching and am finding pull tabs, I know the guy ahead of me might have left some gold for me!
HH

No machine can. If there was one, I would be fighting to get in line to buy it. Pull tabs and gold go hand in hand. Can't get one without digging the other.

 

[KyJoe]

I've had both. The biggest difference is the CTX gives you way more info on a target. The CTX is slower than the ATP and less sensitive to small gold. Both are great on good targets it's the iffy ones that require you to know your machine. As far as depth they are dead even in my coin garden that has been in place over 7 years. Love em both.