Sensitivity

[tcp]

I usually use the auto sensitivity set at +3 but sometimes I would try the manual. I never realized that I had to take off the auto ground balance to use the manual sensitivity. Yesterday I went back to a park and tried the manual sensitivity without the auto ground balance on. I used the stock coin program with ferrous-coin, target trace, and target trace pinpoint. The soil was reading between 14 and 17 and I set the manual level to 22. There is so much iron in the ground that I had a hard time using the stock open pattern so I hunted in pattern 1 most of the time. I recovered three Wheaties at 6 to 7 inches in an area that I have hunted several times. None of the pennies showed red on the screen but I could tell that they were there because the circle was jumping in the right area. When I dug, I found one with a sinker, one with a piece of copper bell wire, and the other with a small piece of iron. I was wondering if it was normal for a coin not to show as red on the screen when they have other metal around them. I was also wondering if I should be hunting in ferrous-coin instead of ground-coin. Thank for your help.

 

[bklein]

Never heard of anyone saying to use manual GB for manual sens. Where did you hear that and did it make a difference for you same day/place trying?

 

[CT Todd]

You don't have to use Manual GB to use Manual Sensitivity. Your a little mixed up there. I swap back and forth all the time no issue at all. I never manually GB the CTX. I hunt in Ferrous Coin all the time. I don't use any Discrimination at all so can't say much about that but I've seen lots of targets that wouldn't lock on and give you the red dot. If it sounds good dig it. let your shovel do the discrimination.

 

[IDXMonster]

You're on the right track with Manual Sens,22 is an average setting,could go higher but might have to go lower if conditions aren't cooperating. At any rate,it will find you deeper stuff on a regular basis. It does take some getting used to as things aren't as clear and defined as with Auto,but that's where the deeper finds are....with Manual. Keep at it and you'll develop a taste for it,especially when you're pulling stuff you missed before! Auto is good in some places but try Manual first for depth! Auto can definitely tame it down some in heavy trash but depth will suffer more times than not. Many more....
Good luck,keep us posted....

 

[tcp]

My mistake, I thought I read about disabling ground balance a month ago. I just read all the posts in the last two months and I could not find anything about making sure the enable box for ground balance is not checked when using manual sensitivity. At what level of sensitivity would you start to use ground-coin instead of ferrous-coin? Thanks.

 

[mrwilburino]

tcp, it's common for people to get sensitivity confused with ground balance because of the way certain terms are worded.

Sensitivity-
The CTX has auto sensitivity, where the machine adjusts the sensitivity based on a setting that you chose: from -3 to +3. It also has manual sensitivity, which allows YOU to manually set the sensitivity from 1 to 30. You can use either one but not both at the same time. When you click out of one, you click into the other.

Ground Balance-
The CTX has auto ground balance (some refer to it as manual gb) where you pump the coil and the machine automatically sets the ground balance. It also has an excellent form of ground tracking where you simply swing the coil over the ground and the machine sets and continually readjusts ground balance on the fly.

The only time you want to have the "enable ground balance" box checked is when you are going to do an auto ground balance. Most CTX users agree that most of the time, it is best to leave that box unchecked and allow the CTX's ground tracking to do its thing. The enable ground balance box has no bearing on sensitivity settings.

When to use ground coin? I use it when the green suggested sensitivity number is in the low to mid teens or less.

 

[mrwilburino]

The enable ground balance box has no bearing on sensitivity settings.

Let me correct that. It can and will have an effect on sensitivity if left checked under the wrong conditions.

 

[tiftaaft]

I usually use the auto sensitivity set at +3 but sometimes I would try the manual. I never realized that I had to take off the auto ground balance to use the manual sensitivity. Yesterday I went back to a park and tried the manual sensitivity without the auto ground balance on. I used the stock coin program with ferrous-coin, target trace, and target trace pinpoint. The soil was reading between 14 and 17 and I set the manual level to 22. There is so much iron in the ground that I had a hard time using the stock open pattern so I hunted in pattern 1 most of the time. I recovered three Wheaties at 6 to 7 inches in an area that I have hunted several times. None of the pennies showed red on the screen but I could tell that they were there because the circle was jumping in the right area. When I dug, I found one with a sinker, one with a piece of copper bell wire, and the other with a small piece of iron. I was wondering if it was normal for a coin not to show as red on the screen when they have other metal around them. I was also wondering if I should be hunting in ferrous-coin instead of ground-coin. Thank for your help.

I have had the same type of experience myself, and what I have found, and I suspect may be the case in your hunt... is that the manual sensitivity was the catalyst in finding those deeper wheaties more than the ground balance setting. When you had ground balance enabled (checked)... how often were you performing the GB and Coil Pump? That being said, I agree with the others in saying the best chance you have for depth is letting the CTX manage the ground balance (unchecked), unless the ground conditions are extreme. We have some difficult ground here in the PNW, so this is a very interesting thread... thanks to all for your comments.

 

[cjc]

My take on this question is this: As a long time pulse hunter, I don't like how Auto Sens lets you ignore what would otherwise be marked threshold changes and noise. Auto does not teach coil control--which is the key to getting more depth from a machine like the CTX that has a complex signal. This machine prefers to take its time, by way of the operator reacting constantly to the threshold tone. Where you are hunting in salt water or somewhere with changing moisture levels, leaving GB off lets the machine track and balance automatically. In more consistent ground, doing a manual GB (GB checked) by pumping the coil locks the GB to a set level. This can also be good where you have a prime (small) section of beach and you want to really focus on it by balancing specifically for that ground. I also like "22" manual--its a good benchmark--a more open screen (or the big coil) may require that you reduce it, or in some conditions higher settings can run smoothly. Going from Auto Sens to manual is kind of like putting on the big coil--there's a lot more coming in to be processed and dealt with. Not all of this noise is bad.
cjc
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