Menu
What's new
Find's Treasure Forums

Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!

You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.

Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.

Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.

Click here to register!

Need Support Help?

Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you

Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.

CZ-3D opinions....???

T

Tired Rooster

New member
I have become a bit interested in the CZ3D. I've never owned a Fisher of any kind. I've always been attracted to toggle and knob machines....thats why I own and really like the Sov. GT. I would like to hear some honest pros and cons on the 3D....what it's best suited for.....and I keep hearing that Fisher will probably stop making it soon, as did Minelab with the GT. Any way......good machine, or not so good???? Thanks....TR
 
Awesome detector for old coins and coil for coil still the deepest coin machine today! I always thought the CZ-3D was a normal CZ on steroids. I know some may say a CZ is a CZ,But I have owned almost every model CZ and for pure raw depth the CZ-3D's, I have owned about 6 in all were the hotest ones. Don't get me wrong as some of digtals I owned were better in trash,But pure raw depth the CZ-3D is king! If you get a used one try to get one calibrated by Tom D. as he is the CZ-3D master,or send it to him to make sure it is at it's peak new or old Fisher doesn't matter when he gets done it will be at it's 100% best. GOOD LUCK.
 
The 3D is an awesome unit, provided it's up to spec. It appears there may have been a brief time period where the calibration process done during the transition phase between Fisher and First Texas, was not up to par, hence some of the 3D's made during this time frame, were not as hot or deep as what has been expected from a CZ.

The 3D is great in older areas, and even though it may bring some modern trash into the coin/high tone ID area when running in enhanced mode, that can be alleviated by running in normal mode.

The simple 4 tone, analog features and ease of use of a 3D ( or any CZ for that matter), will stand the test of time. The main thing for a new CZ user to realize is make sure you ground balance the unit properly, do NOT run sensitivity past 3 to start ( a stable CZ is a happy CZ), and when running in discriminate mode, run in 0 setting to start. Learn ALL the sounds a CZ makes on ALL types of targets. The meter can be used, but I truly believe die hard CZ users over the years will tell you that the audio is the most important by far, and when you get your ears trained on a CZ, you will know with pretty darn good accuracy, when you have deep silver ready to be dug up.

The stock 8 inch coil is the perfect coil for that unit in my opinion and gets super depth even compared to some other units running 10 or 11 inch coils. No DD coils available so if you are a DD fan, you are out of luck. Pin pointing is a breeze with the 8 inch coil, and you don't even need to use the pin point button. But the pin point button has a great feature in how you can utilize it to size a target with it's fast re-tune and VCO. Great option to use for helping identify iron as well as getting a depth reading. Modulated audio is also a plus.

I say don't hesitate if a good deal pops up on a 3D, but guys n gals who know me on the forums know I am a huge CZ fan so I will always recommend one to be in any ones arsenal. They don't have a million bells and whistles, fancy screens and hundreds of options or programs. All they have is power, ease of set up and are built super tough.

One of the best things about a CZ is once you know how to set it up and run, you can throw away the manual. You never have to remember how to navigate through screens, what buttons to push to get what setting, etc. You can be away from a CZ for years and pick one up and set it up to run at optimal settings in 30 seconds once you have learned the unit. Super cool in my book with my fading memory !!! HA !
 
How is the CZ3D at target separation in the high trash park enviroments? (tabs and caps)
 
I'm new to the 3d myself but after spending the last 1500 hours or so of detecting with the etrac and 75ltd I'm finding it to be an enjoyable change.
It certainly doesn't discriminate like the etrac and so far I've avoided the real trashy sites because of that , but I've found it very effective in the less polluted areas of public sites. I don't get the opportunity to hunt old coin type sites often and find myself operating alot in "salt" vs enhance because I like to pay particular attention to the low conductor side when trash is low. I'm hoping to find some vague distinctions there to increase the probabilty of digging high value items. I prefer not only the tones but also the stability at higher sensitivities of the 3D over the 75ltd. It's not nearly as finnicky in my dirt.
The added bonus that I'm really getting to like is the ability to hip/chest mount the control box---makes it every bit as easy to swing as the 75.
I think I'll be swinging it quite a bit on some excursions this Summer:)
 
You can take the info above to the bank TR.....Comparing a cz to an f-75 is like comparing a draught horse to an race horse.

The cz shines in low trash for deep targets. If I have an old farm field to cover, the cz is the tool. If around an old house, the 75 is the one.

I know I'll never be able to sell my cz. It is an older one, Tom tuned and deep. I use the 10-1/2" coil for field work...a bit deeper than the 8".

It's specialty is US coins in enhanced mode...tuned correctly, rings high tone. It's good in wet sand..duel freq, 5 and 15kh.

When using an 8" shovel, the target is usually still in the hole, not in the plug...the way I like it.
 
Trashy park hunting with a lot of tabs and caps is not an ideal environment for the 3D, but if you do hunt those types of conditions with a 3D, run in normal mode and use the 5 inch coil.

Units that have better discrimination and ID capabilities, and can run small DD coils, like the E-Trac, or have fast recovery speeds like the Fisher F series and the Deus, are better players in that type of environment, in my opinion. Not to say the CZ can't hunt there, but if one has the means to have more than one unit, and that unit is one of the ones mentioned, than I would take that unit over a CZ in really trashy spots.

I have an E-Trac with the Sunray X5 coil, and if I am going to a local park or other spots where I know there is a lot of modern trash, and I want to sniff out coins, I will use that set up over my CZ with 5 inch coil set up. But if the spot does not have a lot of trash, and I know there is deep silver there, I will use the CZ set up first, just because I am more comfortable with it. The E-Trac has better ID info on targets in the 1-8 inch range, than the CZ, in trashy or nail ridden conditions, so I can have a better idea of dig/no dig. Now this is strictly coin hunting. Obviously if I were to be gold jewelry hunting, I am digging lots of trash and tabs anyway. But sometimes that is a war of it's own, trying to sniff out a piece of gold in a trashy park.
 
Thanks so much for all the good information. I have heard so much good about the 3D and CZ's in general. You guys have helped a lot in helping me decide whether or not I may add one to my arsenal. Thanks again......TR
 
If you hunt real old areas 3D setup excels for sure.

As far as depth with any CZ depends on the tuning and well my CZ6A will go as deep or deeper than most CZ3D's.....
 
Even with the small coil it will go surpisingly deep. I dug an 8 inch coin with it last weekend. It is a coin killer in trash.
 
Ok. I have read so many posts about the serial # 1021 3D's. There is a thread being discussed now on this topic. I understand what is said about this subject. But...if I were to buy a brand new CZ3D today, would it be inferior to previous models? Would it be in need of being "tuned" properly? Not used but a newly purchased 3D...good quality......awesome performance.....or lacking in one of the two???? Honest reporting......please.
 
I think it would be hit or miss. I know of someone that just bought a new one and can only get 6" on a dime in an air test. Some of the 1021's and probably some of the newer ones will get 12".
 
I think the safest path would be to buy from a dealer who would let you open the machine and air test it before the purchase. My newly purchased CZ3d was pretty good. It wasn't as good as my calibrated 1021 but it was good. I eventually sold my later CZ3d and went with the 1021. I would imagine that most of the new machines are fine but you do hear stories. Good luck.

Don
HH
 
Its on my list for a beach hunter. I had seen a few come up for sale, so I came here to ask much the same questions.

I have an F70 now, and hope to make room for a cz before summer.
 
I was recently floundering around in the archives over on Tom's site and ran across an interesting post by Tom about his days at Los Banos and a gal there named Sima or Sema (or something like that) who he collaborated with on the tuning procedure of their machines and how adept she was at it. This leads me to believe that not only were 1121s made there but that it wasn't just the plant they were manufactured at but also the hands they went through. I just sent a 1021 to Florida that was still just factory tuned and it turned out it was very close to specs before it arrived there and would hit a dime at 11.4". I suspect the ones being produced/stocked today are capable of the same.

I agree with some who have recommended trying to find one regardless of serial number that tests well and go from there.
 
Does anybody on here know if serial # starting with 0307 is a good one from California or not? Is it any different from 1021?
 
0307 is one made by first texas products. (fisher,tekentics,bounty hunter) You can call Fisher and they will tell you where and when the detector was manufactured. 1-800-685-5050
See if the seller will air test the detector for you. Some of the older 1020 and 1121 owners claim to get depths up to 14 inches.
You can always send the detector down to FL to visit with Tom Dankowski who for a minimal fee can and will tweak a CZ3D to its maximum possible performance. I did it with a brand new CZ3D and the difference was immediately
evident.
 
I came across a Fisher CZ-3D with a serial # of 1121-0436 and was wondering if that was an early one. I called First Texas earlier and didn't have success finding out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top