Howdy fellers'.
The following post includes many weeks of personal thoughts, opinions, findings, comparisons, hard work, etc.
I decided to leave the thread locked because I'm not looking for anyone to jump on my band wagon...and I'm not looking for anyone to "flame" me either.
I have been asked many times..WAY too many times about whether or not I have used the ctx...my thoughts on it...whether or not I had done any side by side comparing with my explorers...how I set the ctx up...etc.
Let me first start off by saying I am a COIN HUNTER...NOT a relic hunter...water hunter ...or button hunter. I love finding deep silver...injuns' ...and wheatites.
Second... let me say I will in no way bash the ctx as that's not my style. I own one and will continue to use one.
Third...this is not a field test on the ctx...this is a field test report on direct side by side comparisons between the ctx and the Explorer SE...and MY PERSONAL opinions and results after 70 or so hours as of 8/21/12.
I'll leave the official testing to the experts....but trust me...I guarantee you I have just as many hours as anyone and probably more than anyone other than the testers...because I had access to one the first day they were delivered....and I did not include that in my "70 hour" assessment.
Anyone who knows me will tell you I don't post BS....I don't stage videos to gain notariety or sell a detector or coil...I don't stage my pics...I don't tell you to buy a coil or machine...and I don't tell you not to buy a coil or machine....and I'm also not accusing anyone of doing any of those things. I merely post my results and findings of any coil or machine tests in the most honest and truthful way I can.
I'ts then up to you to make whatever buying/not buying decision you choose.
I have built my reputation over the years by doing just that...and it will not change.
If Minelab doesn't like it...sorry...but I'm just being as honest as I can be.
If some of the coil manufacturers don't like it...sorry...but I'm just being as honest as I can be.
I truthfully feel that my honesty in what I post about my detector tests and coil tests helps sell just as many machines or coils as marketing does....and I have tons of messages...emails...etc. to back up my opinion.
Again...I LOVE my Minelabs...ALL of them. I just love some better than others because of MY specific hunting goals and hunting style.
I will continue to give unbiased and accurate results/findings in whatever I post....and I assure you said findings will be truthful.
I have over 70 hours on a ctx and have done okay...and do feel it's a nice machine but is it worth the extra $$ over what a new E-Trac or an Explorer SEpro cost?
Not sure...as only personal preference and time will tell as people become more familiar with it's capabilities.
Me personally...I've dug over 60 keeper coins with it but after flagging the targets before digging...not one of them sounded better on the ctx than it did my SE on the deeper 7" to 9" ones. In fact most sounded better on the SE and I could actually raise my coil farther off the ground and still hit the undug target with my SE than the ctx on more than a few flagged targets.
The kicker to the previous statement....I went right back over the exact area I hunted with the ctx...only using my Explorer SE this time...and was able to hit 3 keeper coins all of which were right at 10" deep...and the ctx would only make a slight peep over one them (I wouldn't have dug this signal as it was merely a one way chirp) .....after I flagged them no matter which way I set it up...amount of sensitivity used...which mode...no matter how my bins were set up in combined mode...amount of discrimination...open screen...etc. The deepest coin dug I located and dug with the ctx was right at 9". It is what it is....I'll keep using my explorers where I need the depth because I feel they are deeper.
Is the ctx better at ID'ing coins at depth with trash in the hole? In my opinion...possibly yes because of the faster recovery...it's lightning quick...BUT when I put on one of my small coils on the SE...it's right back to a dead heat because I have hit a TON of keeper coins as deep as 9" co-located with trash with certain small coils.
Another nice point about the ctx is the fact that I have found some shallower coins in the 6" range and there is NO doubt in my mind that my coil has been over them before with the SE and E-Trac...but for whatever reason the ctx found them and my SE/E-Trac did not. Not many coins...but a few...as in 1 or 2 coins at each site in 3 hours hunting each of those sites and there was NO junk or iron co-located with the coin?? I attribute this to these locations being higher in EMI...and the ctx handling said EMI better because none of my detectors have done well at these spots and in fact get "chattery" and "unstable" at times even running in semi auto sensitivity..
Another thing I do like about the ctx is the amount of nickels I dug with it. Yes I dug a lot more beaver tails but my nickel count went WAY up because of the way I set up my combined mode to sound with the highest possible pitch over the numbers 10 thru 14. In other words nickles sound exactly the same as silver does on my ctx because of the way I set it up. Since I have made it a well known fact the last 5 years or so that I don't chase nickle hits with my SE unless I'm VERY bored... there are still a few "high tone hits" left at my sites because of my combined mode bin setup as I explained. It's kind of exciting for me to be strolling around one of my "beat to death" sites and get a rare "high tone" hit. Even though 99 out of 100 times that "high tone" is now a nickle hit...it's STILL a high tone hit and it gets me excited...LOL.
With these settings the ctx in a nickle finding MONSTER for me....and I have HONESTLY found more nickles in the last couple of months with the ctx than I have the last 3 years combined with my SE. You will think I'm CRAZY...but for me...the ability to make nickles sound off like silver...and what that has done for me at my previously worked sites is my FAVORITE feature of the CTX...and I can't do that on my Explorers.
HOWEVER...my SOLE objective for buying and trying the ctx was simple. I was hoping I could take it to my 2 to 3 best sites...one which has produced nearly 400 silver coins and over 2000 wheaties over the years...and it would "open" up those sites and make them "new" again...but it simply did NOT.
25 hours on the ctx at my best and most pounded site yielded only 3 wheaties...one indian...and one merc.
I know how to set the ctx up in many possible ways to make it find the goodies...and I won't get into how many different bins and settings modes I created and downloaded into the machine.
I get bombarded with emails asking me personally about it compared to the explorers so I figured I'd post my honest thoughts...and that's where it stops.
For just one example...I set up my ctx as follows:
1) Gain 30
2) Threshold volume barely audilble
3) volume limits maxed
4) Sensitivity manual 26 (depth not good until I did so)
5) normal response (high trash made numbers too sporadic) (ferrous coin gave too many dead on sound/numbers hits that were iron)
6) Fast and deep both off
7) Combined mode example bin (of many I tried)... if using combined mode I have one bin with numbers 10 thru 14 set up with highest pitch of 1200. I also have my "coin bin" set up the same high 1200 pitch and include numbers 30 on up. NO way I was gonna miss any coins that passed under the coil accepting numbers 30 on up to hit with the highest available pitch. All other bins are set up to "grunt" over iron.
8 ) I actually do NOT use combined mode/open screen combo much because it tends to "blend" signals together wheras in 50 tone conductive the good high silver sound tends to stick out much better through the nulling as compared to hearing good/bad sounds blended. If some feel people combined/all metal mode works for them...more power to them. Not this cat...I like to hear nice, deep silver or injun' hits stick out like a sore thumb. I may get a little falsing/chirping in conductive mode but it's just common sense to turn on the target and see if the signal breaks up. I can then quickly switch to open screen to further check the sound/numbers. I will on occasion hunt in combined mode setup the way I explained above though.
9) I do NOT use the target trace function because IMHO it not reliable for me on any targets beyond 7" to 8" anyway and in fact just makes the screen confusing.
10) To ME...the ctx did the best "work" in the stock coin 50 conductive mode...but still couldn't hang with my SE when it came to raw depth at my sites.
11) To ME...the balance on the ctx was pretty cool. Very nice feel to it.
12) The recovery rate on the ctx is AWESOME!
13) Sound STILL RULES...no matter how neat the screen is...what it is "supposed" to be showing you...etc.
TID's on the ctx read all over depending on which mode you are hunting in?? SOUND IS STILL KING...and I did much better with this machine once I stopped worrying about what IT could possibly do or show on the screen...and remembered what my EARS could do.
14) I have NO real complaints about the ctx other than there is NO VARIABILITY setting!!!!
15) Auto +2 and auto +3 sensitivity simply gave me absolutely NOT ENOUGH depth at my sites. I had to run manual 26 or more to even come close to the depth of my SE.
What really contributed to the deciding factor of just how GOOD my old explorers are was the following:
A close friend of mine who is also a very experienced hunter finding over 150 silver and 100 injun's last year also purchased a ctx and we went on 8 different hunts together.
What did I learn??.....After every hunt was completed...he was a little disappointed that he was unable to unearth a single keeper coin which I couldn't locate AND properly ID with my Explorer SE.
This is not to say at some point in time he wouldn't have located a target and I would NOT have been able to hear it with my SE...BUT it IS saying that over 42 different targets he located and called me over to investigate during 8 different hunts...that I WAS able to hear and analyze EACH and EVERY target with my SE.
To be perfectly honest and blunt...while he was tediously studying his screen...trying to discern what his cursor...color coding...trash trail...etc was telling him....I was hunting "old skool"...by sound...and doing quite well.
On the flipside of this comparison phase I was able to locate and mark 34 targets for my partner to check out and analyze with his CTX 3030.
To his credit he was able to hear as well as see the target on his screen because of the way he had it set up in most instances.
However...I located 8 "possible" good coin targets amidst heavy iron...and of those 8 flagged targets he had problems properly ID'ing visually 3 that I had marked.
In fact on two of the three..he kept saying his "target trace trail" on the screen told him it was iron...and that it showed only the iron trail with no coin cursor.
I kept saying I could hear a possible good coin sound being masked by iron...so what I'm saying now is that I was relying on my EARS and not the screen.
Again he stated he was hunting in ferrous coin mode as well as target trace...and that it showed on the screen as iron when he "examined" the possible target a second time.
I said again that I thought I could hear the sweet little high warble breaking through the nulling...and therefore felt it could be a silver coin.
He said no..because of what his ctx screen was showing...and decided to walk on and not dig.
Well I was WRONG on one...BUT I was right on the other 2 out of 3 because they both ended up being keeper coins directly located beneath iron. (1 barber dime and 1 wheatie)
All this being said...I am NOT telling you to NOT try the ctx or downing it in any way...because I HAVE ONE and will continue to use it. It does have some cool features and is honestly very simple to use right out of the box.
What I AM saying is that it did not "open" up my hunted out sites and make them new again like the 10 x 12 SEF coil did a few years ago because of it's incredible separation/unmasking capabilities at great depths.
I'm simply saying I prefer my Explorers hands down to any other machine on the market for DEEP TURF SILVER and incredible separation/unmasking capabilites at depth with certain coils.
The ctx is a neat machine and for some people who have a wider range of hunting styles and needs...might be perfect for them.
I guess I was just hoping for the extra money I spent on it that I would have gotten more of a performance upgrade for my type of hunting style...but for me personally it didn't happen.
If someone else buys it and it works wonders for them at their hunted out sites...I'm sincerely happy for you and wish you continued success.
IMHO if you are coming from a different brand of detector and/or have never utilized the capabilities of FBS tecnology that E-Tracs and Explorers offer...then of course the ctx will be a giant step forward for you and you will start finding previously masked coins ike never before. I think that is GREAT...seriously.
I do apologize for those of you that were wanting a more detailed and tecnical field test type of report of the ctx but this post is not about that.
It is also NOT a review of the ctx...because with around 70 hours or so on it...there is still much to learn.
It is about exactly what I stated...some of my personal opinions as well as comparisons against the Explorer in the field over ACTUAL undug targets.
Again as I stated...I'll leave the official testing to the experts.
Now one more time...I DO own a ctx...WILL continue to use the ctx...DO like some of the features on it...DO feel it's excellent in the trash.
Just in case there is anyone who thinks this is not an unbiased opinion I have formed....Do you really think I spent this much money for a detector and wasn't truly hoping it would OUTPERFORM my Explorers for me personally on depth and separaration at depth at my hunted out sites????
Many of you fellers' have the CTX and feel it is the best there is...and some of you same guys are my friends. We are STILL friends...and I KNOW what your opinion of the CTX is. We don't have to agree on everything...because we all have different needs in detectors...and I myself think the CTX is a nice machine too.
After all this rambling the end result is that I do feel the ctx is a pretty smooth operator and has some neat features...and I will continue to use it...BUT the Explorers will continue to be my #1 go-to detector.
So before anyone on any other forums or websites...or even this website starts flaming me...makes insinuations on whether I can form an unbiased opinion after 70 hours...or calls me a whiner or a nay-sayer...wrong. Will you see me swinging a ctx on occasion?...sure you will...just not as often as you see me swinging my Explorers.
I know there are still a lot of coins hiding in the ground because of masking as well as because of depth...and the SE is MORE than capable of finding them with the available coil selection. If you hunt as you should...by SOUND first and foremost...and trust what your ears are telling you...then you will be justly rewarded with the SE.
I don't need to see an image of iron on a color screen because common sense and my ears tell me I'm over iron when the SE nulls.
I also shouldn't need or rely on a feature that shows me two targets on the screen because again... my ears...as well as mixed tones will tell me more than one target is passing under the coil. To me I just don't see any big step forward in what I'm able to accomplish at my sites by seeing two targets because I am able to hear to targets under the coil in most instances anyway. Just my honest opinion after 1000's of hours on FBS tecnology.
I'm not saying said visual features aren't a nice upgrade for many people and that those features won't help you find good targets....I'm simply saying my opinion is that I personally don't need them to do just as good finding keeper coins co-located with trash or iron.
I can honestly say that my finds are fairly evenly split these days as follows..."coin adjacent to trash"..." coin adjacent to iron"...and "depth"
Again...for ME personally I need the unmatched raw depth of the SE at most of my hunted out sites because any hunter with any experience at all on an explorer is more than capable of finding a coin co-located with trash at the 7" depth level. I need to punch down deeper and hit the ones co-located with trash or iron at the 8" to 10" level...or I go home with an empty pouch.
UPDATE as of 8/25/12: After obtaining the 13" x 17" coil...and spending the last few days experimenting with it and the 6" coil on the ctx ...I was FINALLY able to match the depth and separation of my Explorer.
Yes...I'm finally able to hit 10" deep coin with the ctx 13" x 17" coil combo after locating it and flagging with the Explorer/10/12 SEF coil combo.
Yes...I'm finally able to hit a 9" deep coin co-located with trash in the hole by using the ctx/6" coil combo. That honestly does not impress me though, because I have been doing that for 3 or 4 years now with the 6" Excelerator coil on my SE...and in fact have posted it and shown it many times here on the Explorer forum. YES I'm happy the ctx 6" coil makes my ctx hit deepies in the trash...but again not impressed by it. It SHOULD do that after spending more money for each of the coils.
The 11" x 13" and 6" are GREAT ctx coils...both of them.
End result of my opinion: If you have an extra money for the ctx and it's available coils...and want the newest features available to you...and feel you need those features in order to continue making finds at your "hunted out" spots...then by all means try the ctx. It's a cool machine and has some intriguing features.
The main point I want to be made LOUD and CLEAR to Explorer users is this: DON'T feel like your Explorer will not be able to "keep up" and continue to make finds at your worked to death sites...because it WILL.
I guess I can sum up my post as follows: For ME personally the ctx doesn't do anything much better than my explorers do... other than being submersible to 10 feet. It just has a cooler way of doing it...costs more than an Explorer...and NO sweet explorer "warble" when it does it.
For me personally the Explorers RULE for deep turf silver and I truly feel they are the BEST out there for that particular task...and that's my honest and unbiased opinion.
If you continue to learn the unique Explorer language and take advantage of the VAST array of available coils...I truly feel you should be able to at least keep up with any detector on the market right now when it comes to depth and unmasking...and that includes the ctx.
That's my honest opinion...and I would stake my word and reputation on how strong I truly feel this way.
The following post includes many weeks of personal thoughts, opinions, findings, comparisons, hard work, etc.
I decided to leave the thread locked because I'm not looking for anyone to jump on my band wagon...and I'm not looking for anyone to "flame" me either.
I have been asked many times..WAY too many times about whether or not I have used the ctx...my thoughts on it...whether or not I had done any side by side comparing with my explorers...how I set the ctx up...etc.
Let me first start off by saying I am a COIN HUNTER...NOT a relic hunter...water hunter ...or button hunter. I love finding deep silver...injuns' ...and wheatites.
Second... let me say I will in no way bash the ctx as that's not my style. I own one and will continue to use one.
Third...this is not a field test on the ctx...this is a field test report on direct side by side comparisons between the ctx and the Explorer SE...and MY PERSONAL opinions and results after 70 or so hours as of 8/21/12.
I'll leave the official testing to the experts....but trust me...I guarantee you I have just as many hours as anyone and probably more than anyone other than the testers...because I had access to one the first day they were delivered....and I did not include that in my "70 hour" assessment.
Anyone who knows me will tell you I don't post BS....I don't stage videos to gain notariety or sell a detector or coil...I don't stage my pics...I don't tell you to buy a coil or machine...and I don't tell you not to buy a coil or machine....and I'm also not accusing anyone of doing any of those things. I merely post my results and findings of any coil or machine tests in the most honest and truthful way I can.
I'ts then up to you to make whatever buying/not buying decision you choose.
I have built my reputation over the years by doing just that...and it will not change.
If Minelab doesn't like it...sorry...but I'm just being as honest as I can be.
If some of the coil manufacturers don't like it...sorry...but I'm just being as honest as I can be.
I truthfully feel that my honesty in what I post about my detector tests and coil tests helps sell just as many machines or coils as marketing does....and I have tons of messages...emails...etc. to back up my opinion.
Again...I LOVE my Minelabs...ALL of them. I just love some better than others because of MY specific hunting goals and hunting style.
I will continue to give unbiased and accurate results/findings in whatever I post....and I assure you said findings will be truthful.
I have over 70 hours on a ctx and have done okay...and do feel it's a nice machine but is it worth the extra $$ over what a new E-Trac or an Explorer SEpro cost?
Not sure...as only personal preference and time will tell as people become more familiar with it's capabilities.
Me personally...I've dug over 60 keeper coins with it but after flagging the targets before digging...not one of them sounded better on the ctx than it did my SE on the deeper 7" to 9" ones. In fact most sounded better on the SE and I could actually raise my coil farther off the ground and still hit the undug target with my SE than the ctx on more than a few flagged targets.
The kicker to the previous statement....I went right back over the exact area I hunted with the ctx...only using my Explorer SE this time...and was able to hit 3 keeper coins all of which were right at 10" deep...and the ctx would only make a slight peep over one them (I wouldn't have dug this signal as it was merely a one way chirp) .....after I flagged them no matter which way I set it up...amount of sensitivity used...which mode...no matter how my bins were set up in combined mode...amount of discrimination...open screen...etc. The deepest coin dug I located and dug with the ctx was right at 9". It is what it is....I'll keep using my explorers where I need the depth because I feel they are deeper.
Is the ctx better at ID'ing coins at depth with trash in the hole? In my opinion...possibly yes because of the faster recovery...it's lightning quick...BUT when I put on one of my small coils on the SE...it's right back to a dead heat because I have hit a TON of keeper coins as deep as 9" co-located with trash with certain small coils.
Another nice point about the ctx is the fact that I have found some shallower coins in the 6" range and there is NO doubt in my mind that my coil has been over them before with the SE and E-Trac...but for whatever reason the ctx found them and my SE/E-Trac did not. Not many coins...but a few...as in 1 or 2 coins at each site in 3 hours hunting each of those sites and there was NO junk or iron co-located with the coin?? I attribute this to these locations being higher in EMI...and the ctx handling said EMI better because none of my detectors have done well at these spots and in fact get "chattery" and "unstable" at times even running in semi auto sensitivity..
Another thing I do like about the ctx is the amount of nickels I dug with it. Yes I dug a lot more beaver tails but my nickel count went WAY up because of the way I set up my combined mode to sound with the highest possible pitch over the numbers 10 thru 14. In other words nickles sound exactly the same as silver does on my ctx because of the way I set it up. Since I have made it a well known fact the last 5 years or so that I don't chase nickle hits with my SE unless I'm VERY bored... there are still a few "high tone hits" left at my sites because of my combined mode bin setup as I explained. It's kind of exciting for me to be strolling around one of my "beat to death" sites and get a rare "high tone" hit. Even though 99 out of 100 times that "high tone" is now a nickle hit...it's STILL a high tone hit and it gets me excited...LOL.
With these settings the ctx in a nickle finding MONSTER for me....and I have HONESTLY found more nickles in the last couple of months with the ctx than I have the last 3 years combined with my SE. You will think I'm CRAZY...but for me...the ability to make nickles sound off like silver...and what that has done for me at my previously worked sites is my FAVORITE feature of the CTX...and I can't do that on my Explorers.
HOWEVER...my SOLE objective for buying and trying the ctx was simple. I was hoping I could take it to my 2 to 3 best sites...one which has produced nearly 400 silver coins and over 2000 wheaties over the years...and it would "open" up those sites and make them "new" again...but it simply did NOT.
25 hours on the ctx at my best and most pounded site yielded only 3 wheaties...one indian...and one merc.
I know how to set the ctx up in many possible ways to make it find the goodies...and I won't get into how many different bins and settings modes I created and downloaded into the machine.
I get bombarded with emails asking me personally about it compared to the explorers so I figured I'd post my honest thoughts...and that's where it stops.
For just one example...I set up my ctx as follows:
1) Gain 30
2) Threshold volume barely audilble
3) volume limits maxed
4) Sensitivity manual 26 (depth not good until I did so)
5) normal response (high trash made numbers too sporadic) (ferrous coin gave too many dead on sound/numbers hits that were iron)
6) Fast and deep both off
7) Combined mode example bin (of many I tried)... if using combined mode I have one bin with numbers 10 thru 14 set up with highest pitch of 1200. I also have my "coin bin" set up the same high 1200 pitch and include numbers 30 on up. NO way I was gonna miss any coins that passed under the coil accepting numbers 30 on up to hit with the highest available pitch. All other bins are set up to "grunt" over iron.
8 ) I actually do NOT use combined mode/open screen combo much because it tends to "blend" signals together wheras in 50 tone conductive the good high silver sound tends to stick out much better through the nulling as compared to hearing good/bad sounds blended. If some feel people combined/all metal mode works for them...more power to them. Not this cat...I like to hear nice, deep silver or injun' hits stick out like a sore thumb. I may get a little falsing/chirping in conductive mode but it's just common sense to turn on the target and see if the signal breaks up. I can then quickly switch to open screen to further check the sound/numbers. I will on occasion hunt in combined mode setup the way I explained above though.
9) I do NOT use the target trace function because IMHO it not reliable for me on any targets beyond 7" to 8" anyway and in fact just makes the screen confusing.
10) To ME...the ctx did the best "work" in the stock coin 50 conductive mode...but still couldn't hang with my SE when it came to raw depth at my sites.
11) To ME...the balance on the ctx was pretty cool. Very nice feel to it.
12) The recovery rate on the ctx is AWESOME!
13) Sound STILL RULES...no matter how neat the screen is...what it is "supposed" to be showing you...etc.
TID's on the ctx read all over depending on which mode you are hunting in?? SOUND IS STILL KING...and I did much better with this machine once I stopped worrying about what IT could possibly do or show on the screen...and remembered what my EARS could do.
14) I have NO real complaints about the ctx other than there is NO VARIABILITY setting!!!!
15) Auto +2 and auto +3 sensitivity simply gave me absolutely NOT ENOUGH depth at my sites. I had to run manual 26 or more to even come close to the depth of my SE.
What really contributed to the deciding factor of just how GOOD my old explorers are was the following:
A close friend of mine who is also a very experienced hunter finding over 150 silver and 100 injun's last year also purchased a ctx and we went on 8 different hunts together.
What did I learn??.....After every hunt was completed...he was a little disappointed that he was unable to unearth a single keeper coin which I couldn't locate AND properly ID with my Explorer SE.
This is not to say at some point in time he wouldn't have located a target and I would NOT have been able to hear it with my SE...BUT it IS saying that over 42 different targets he located and called me over to investigate during 8 different hunts...that I WAS able to hear and analyze EACH and EVERY target with my SE.
To be perfectly honest and blunt...while he was tediously studying his screen...trying to discern what his cursor...color coding...trash trail...etc was telling him....I was hunting "old skool"...by sound...and doing quite well.
On the flipside of this comparison phase I was able to locate and mark 34 targets for my partner to check out and analyze with his CTX 3030.
To his credit he was able to hear as well as see the target on his screen because of the way he had it set up in most instances.
However...I located 8 "possible" good coin targets amidst heavy iron...and of those 8 flagged targets he had problems properly ID'ing visually 3 that I had marked.
In fact on two of the three..he kept saying his "target trace trail" on the screen told him it was iron...and that it showed only the iron trail with no coin cursor.
I kept saying I could hear a possible good coin sound being masked by iron...so what I'm saying now is that I was relying on my EARS and not the screen.
Again he stated he was hunting in ferrous coin mode as well as target trace...and that it showed on the screen as iron when he "examined" the possible target a second time.
I said again that I thought I could hear the sweet little high warble breaking through the nulling...and therefore felt it could be a silver coin.
He said no..because of what his ctx screen was showing...and decided to walk on and not dig.
Well I was WRONG on one...BUT I was right on the other 2 out of 3 because they both ended up being keeper coins directly located beneath iron. (1 barber dime and 1 wheatie)
All this being said...I am NOT telling you to NOT try the ctx or downing it in any way...because I HAVE ONE and will continue to use it. It does have some cool features and is honestly very simple to use right out of the box.
What I AM saying is that it did not "open" up my hunted out sites and make them new again like the 10 x 12 SEF coil did a few years ago because of it's incredible separation/unmasking capabilities at great depths.
I'm simply saying I prefer my Explorers hands down to any other machine on the market for DEEP TURF SILVER and incredible separation/unmasking capabilites at depth with certain coils.
The ctx is a neat machine and for some people who have a wider range of hunting styles and needs...might be perfect for them.
I guess I was just hoping for the extra money I spent on it that I would have gotten more of a performance upgrade for my type of hunting style...but for me personally it didn't happen.
If someone else buys it and it works wonders for them at their hunted out sites...I'm sincerely happy for you and wish you continued success.
IMHO if you are coming from a different brand of detector and/or have never utilized the capabilities of FBS tecnology that E-Tracs and Explorers offer...then of course the ctx will be a giant step forward for you and you will start finding previously masked coins ike never before. I think that is GREAT...seriously.
I do apologize for those of you that were wanting a more detailed and tecnical field test type of report of the ctx but this post is not about that.
It is also NOT a review of the ctx...because with around 70 hours or so on it...there is still much to learn.
It is about exactly what I stated...some of my personal opinions as well as comparisons against the Explorer in the field over ACTUAL undug targets.
Again as I stated...I'll leave the official testing to the experts.
Now one more time...I DO own a ctx...WILL continue to use the ctx...DO like some of the features on it...DO feel it's excellent in the trash.
Just in case there is anyone who thinks this is not an unbiased opinion I have formed....Do you really think I spent this much money for a detector and wasn't truly hoping it would OUTPERFORM my Explorers for me personally on depth and separaration at depth at my hunted out sites????
Many of you fellers' have the CTX and feel it is the best there is...and some of you same guys are my friends. We are STILL friends...and I KNOW what your opinion of the CTX is. We don't have to agree on everything...because we all have different needs in detectors...and I myself think the CTX is a nice machine too.
After all this rambling the end result is that I do feel the ctx is a pretty smooth operator and has some neat features...and I will continue to use it...BUT the Explorers will continue to be my #1 go-to detector.
So before anyone on any other forums or websites...or even this website starts flaming me...makes insinuations on whether I can form an unbiased opinion after 70 hours...or calls me a whiner or a nay-sayer...wrong. Will you see me swinging a ctx on occasion?...sure you will...just not as often as you see me swinging my Explorers.
I know there are still a lot of coins hiding in the ground because of masking as well as because of depth...and the SE is MORE than capable of finding them with the available coil selection. If you hunt as you should...by SOUND first and foremost...and trust what your ears are telling you...then you will be justly rewarded with the SE.
I don't need to see an image of iron on a color screen because common sense and my ears tell me I'm over iron when the SE nulls.
I also shouldn't need or rely on a feature that shows me two targets on the screen because again... my ears...as well as mixed tones will tell me more than one target is passing under the coil. To me I just don't see any big step forward in what I'm able to accomplish at my sites by seeing two targets because I am able to hear to targets under the coil in most instances anyway. Just my honest opinion after 1000's of hours on FBS tecnology.
I'm not saying said visual features aren't a nice upgrade for many people and that those features won't help you find good targets....I'm simply saying my opinion is that I personally don't need them to do just as good finding keeper coins co-located with trash or iron.
I can honestly say that my finds are fairly evenly split these days as follows..."coin adjacent to trash"..." coin adjacent to iron"...and "depth"
Again...for ME personally I need the unmatched raw depth of the SE at most of my hunted out sites because any hunter with any experience at all on an explorer is more than capable of finding a coin co-located with trash at the 7" depth level. I need to punch down deeper and hit the ones co-located with trash or iron at the 8" to 10" level...or I go home with an empty pouch.
UPDATE as of 8/25/12: After obtaining the 13" x 17" coil...and spending the last few days experimenting with it and the 6" coil on the ctx ...I was FINALLY able to match the depth and separation of my Explorer.
Yes...I'm finally able to hit 10" deep coin with the ctx 13" x 17" coil combo after locating it and flagging with the Explorer/10/12 SEF coil combo.
Yes...I'm finally able to hit a 9" deep coin co-located with trash in the hole by using the ctx/6" coil combo. That honestly does not impress me though, because I have been doing that for 3 or 4 years now with the 6" Excelerator coil on my SE...and in fact have posted it and shown it many times here on the Explorer forum. YES I'm happy the ctx 6" coil makes my ctx hit deepies in the trash...but again not impressed by it. It SHOULD do that after spending more money for each of the coils.
The 11" x 13" and 6" are GREAT ctx coils...both of them.
End result of my opinion: If you have an extra money for the ctx and it's available coils...and want the newest features available to you...and feel you need those features in order to continue making finds at your "hunted out" spots...then by all means try the ctx. It's a cool machine and has some intriguing features.
The main point I want to be made LOUD and CLEAR to Explorer users is this: DON'T feel like your Explorer will not be able to "keep up" and continue to make finds at your worked to death sites...because it WILL.
I guess I can sum up my post as follows: For ME personally the ctx doesn't do anything much better than my explorers do... other than being submersible to 10 feet. It just has a cooler way of doing it...costs more than an Explorer...and NO sweet explorer "warble" when it does it.
For me personally the Explorers RULE for deep turf silver and I truly feel they are the BEST out there for that particular task...and that's my honest and unbiased opinion.
If you continue to learn the unique Explorer language and take advantage of the VAST array of available coils...I truly feel you should be able to at least keep up with any detector on the market right now when it comes to depth and unmasking...and that includes the ctx.
That's my honest opinion...and I would stake my word and reputation on how strong I truly feel this way.