Lots of Questions Ill Ask One

[raylesnau]

When running GH program I seem to get constant beeping with each swing of the coil. I would think it is picking up targets. I try to pin point but nothing there. I also have a problem where it will hum like it is locked on a target. Like a low hiss sound thru the swing and then beep at the end of the swing. swing the other way and the same thing. Its like it grabs the tone and won't let go till the end of the swing. Not sure what is going on but sure am getting frustrated. I just received Andy's book and have been looking thru that for some help. I am in central MN and we have that rich soil just wondering could this be some of the problem or not. Any Help would be great. Have had this machine for 3 months have hunted 60+ hrs have read manual 10 + times. I started at the back of this forum to see what you all have learned when you first got your ctx. I thought that would be the best way to learn the quickest. Like I say any help would be great.

Thanks All
Ray

 

[Jason in Enid]

help us out and explain what every setting is on your CTX. Not worried about the pattern, but the rest of the options. Sounds like something isn't set right.

 

[GKMan]

Within several hundred feet of electric fences I have got a pretty regular interference from them. You will get a high tone, then a low tone, then a chatter, and this will go on and on every couple of seconds until you are beyond the zone of interference. What happens if the detector is sitting still?

 

[indy durtdigger]

By GH do you mean Gone Hunting? Those guys are in a completely different area than you and one of the tweaks they made may not work in your area. What does it do in one of the stock programs?

 

[MINELABBOB]

HI THERE!
do you mean GC because if you do ground coin will let the ground noise come throw. were as you will here all the iron/minerals
it can be noisey in that mode try a differant target seperaion setting and see what happends. the CTX has many options to try.



minelabbob

 

[trojdor]

Ray,
Something doesn't sound right.
Either the machine is being run wayyy to hot (sensitivity wise) for your ground, or you're in an extremely high EMF area (like GKMan suggested)...or there's simply something wrong with your CTX.

1. Has it always acted this way (on every hunt) or is this a new thing? (or a specific location 'thing')

2. Are you sure to start each hunt by running noise cancel?
This is a biggie...must do. (See Andy's book...page 89...for enhanced NC instructions that differ slightly from the manual)

3. What are your sensitivity settings? (manual or auto...and the level)
Some folks start out trying to run way too 'hot'. It can cause lots of falsing, especially if you're in the wrong separation mode for your ground.

4. Is there anything peculiar about the ground you're hunting? Like cinders, or other mineralized rocks? Or lots of iron trash?
Minnesota has lots of varied ground mineralization. Are you anywhere close to the 'Iron Range'?

If you're running in highly mineralized ground, you shouldn't be running Evan Granger's / GH program...it uses ferrous coin separation...which is for very mild soil.
In heavily mineralized ground, use either High Trash or Ground Coin. (See the chart on page 41 of the manual)

The Ground Coin mode will be best in the heaviest mineralization, and will have a more accurate target id. (Although High Trash does a pretty respectable job, as well.)

5. Finally, do you have access to anyone locally, as in a detecting club, who also has a CTX that you can compare yours to?
Most detectorists consider themselves part of a 'community', and are usually happy to help a fellow detectorist out.

And by all means, Jason in Enid is right, please do post all of your settings, so that we might put our heads together to help...


mike

 

[raylesnau]

My son also just got his CTX a week ago. We do compare how they both operate. We both have some of the same issues. We do noise cancel according to Andy's book. We do use Ferrous coin which may be some if not all the problem. We are in central MN. It seem when running in ground coin you may not get the depth. I will have to try some different things next time out. I also run Auto sens. have tried running upto +3 down to -3 doesn't change. We have also run in stock programs still have same issue so I will have to try running in ground coin more and see if this helps.
Thanks to all
Ray

 

[trojdor]

Ray,

One thing you can try to get the depth back up in GC is to turn on ground balance and do a manual GB.
In mineralized ground, the GC mode will clean up the signals and IDs...but it won't help depth.

In bad ground, a manual GB can help the depth a little, but only if you get it EXACTLY right on.
Otherwise, it can actually hurt the depth.

If you do end up trying manual GB, keep in mind, as with all detectors that manually balance, that the actual mineral content of the soil can change quite a bit over a short distance...
(So you might end up needing to GB frequently, in order to keep up with changing ground.)

I'd try either GC or HT modes w/o the manual GB first, just to see how stable the machines are...then if you want to experiment, go to GC and turn on manual GB.
And give the machines a few minutes of run time in each mode...the detector does a lot of internal calculating to balance out the signals and ground effects in each mode, so give it a chance to stabilize and 'catch-up'.

Good luck, and let us know what you find out.

hh,
mike

 

[MINELABBOB]

WHAT WERE YOUR
sensitivity no# in auto+ run in auto A if needed and ground bal. if your no# are low like 15-10 sensitivity stay in auto
manual ground bal. and ground coin and let us know !!!!!!!!!! your not going to get any depth in that area unless you can get them no#
up to 23-24-16-17 range and be able to run stable


minelabbob

 

[mrwilburino]

Hard to say whether the problem is your machine, your settings, or your hunting conditions: EMI, mineralization, trash.......

I would recommend doing a reset to bring the machine back to its original factory preset state. Then......... Use the factory preset "coins" program without making any changes to it except to lower the sensitivity if you need to. Try using the machine at different sites and make sure to noise cancel first. If your still having the same problem at that point, call your dealer or minelab.

 

[raylesnau]

Going to try some things this week see what might work.
Thanks to everyone.
Ray

 

[jerseyjim]

Did you put it in pinpoint lock?That will cause a study hum, you are locked into the target.
Jim

 

[amberjack]

or pitch hold.

AJ