Soon to be new CTX owner

[digginLa]

Hello all! I recently bought a CTX (stock and 6" coil) from the forum and am trying to get ready for its arrival tomorrow. Yesterday I bought Andy's book and downloaded the xchange program. Having done that can I go ahead and download the training programs that are in the Resource forum so I'll be set to go once I can plug the detector in to my laptop or do I need to wait until I have the detector? Thanks for any help and advice.

HH,

Jimmie

 

[PMonday]

sounds like you're on the right track. good luck



HH

 

[amberjack]

you can download patterns and add them to exchange2 and have them ready then plug in and the programs will just get updated on to the detector , but only use the ones you want as in only download the programs you might want to use.

AJ

 

[digginLa]

Thanks for the info guys.

Jimmie

 

[KinTN]

Remember that others' programs are just starting points to build programs that work best where YOU hunt.
Study Andy's book and youll be building better programs for your sites in no time.
And CONGRATS on your new machine. Youre gonna love it (after you are frustrated a while).

 

[Justme]

Low and slow on that unit. It will sniff out the targets

 

[digginLa]

Thanks ya'll. I'm expecting to get frustrated while trying to learn the detector, but at least I can put it down and use one of my others until I'm ready to tackle the CTX again. My plan right now is to start out using the 4 beginner programs from the Resource forum and once I'm comfortable with them start tying to build one of my own for the school yards that I hunt. Was hoping the detector was going to arrive today as that's when it was scheduled to but alas the US Postal service let me down. Oh well will just give me more time to read posts and watch more videos.

HH,

Jimmie

 

[indy durtdigger]

Don't be too put out by how complicated the machine seems. Like most detectors I have used for coin shooting once it finds something it likes it lets you know and there is no mistake about it. As far as training programs go and this is just my opine, are the ones that come stock on the machine. I fiddled around with a bunch of them and settled on modifying a parks and yard program. I didn't see anyone else mention this but make sure you turn on Target Trace and Target Trace pin point, these two features combined with audio will give invaluable info during your hunts. Also, used a buried coin and fiddle with the audio options and pin point options and see which ones you like the best. One other thing I might throw out is to save the Ferrous coin setting for when you have some time on the machine as it requires a fairly high amount of experience to get what the machine can really do but can cause much frustration to learn.


If you haven't found them yet check out Dirtfishing on You Tube, he has several great CTX videos that are actual hunts with a camera on the screen and the most informative as for actual use I have seen. Sube has some very good ones describing things about the CTX that are a must watch as well.

 

[amberjack]

funny thing getting to know a detector like any relationship it needs time and time spent getting to know each other as we all have quirks and like detectors so do humans and the final processor is our brain while all similar none 2 the same, I have found detecting has taught me a lot about me as well as detecting and detectors.

so an interesting sport like any other it comes down to temperament and understanding me is a big part of understanding how I hunt etc.. and plans of attack on sites disc, settings etc..

what am saying is human psychology has more to do with detecting than we may realise

bummer about it not showing up on time but will be with you shortly and some rain also

AJ

 

[digginLa]

Yeah some rain would be nice. Was out hunting with my 705 last night and got a very faint but solid 38 signal. Silver coins or wheaties are a possibility at this school but with the target being 7 or 8 inches down I wasn't about to try and dig it with the ground being so dry.

Thanks for the advice on the machine settings will have to set it up like that and see how I like it.

I've watched some of Dirtfishing, and Gone Hunting's videos plus a bunch of random people trying to get an idea of how to set it up and just what the machine is capable of. Now just have to wait until it gets here so I can try some of this stuff out.

 

[indy durtdigger]

Yeah some rain would be nice. Was out hunting with my 705 last night and got a very faint but solid 38 signal. Silver coins or wheaties are a possibility at this school but with the target being 7 or 8 inches down I wasn't about to try and dig it with the ground being so dry.

Thanks for the advice on the machine settings will have to set it up like that and see how I like it.

I've watched some of Dirtfishing, and Gone Hunting's videos plus a bunch of random people trying to get an idea of how to set it up and just what the machine is capable of. Now just have to wait until it gets here so I can try some of this stuff out.

I am with you on the rain, in my local we have not had a measurable rain fall since the second week of July so park and yard hunting are out. I tried some woods hunting but due to having record rain fall up to the second week of July the woods are overgrown and so thick with mosquitoes and spiders I wasted more time dealing with the critters and sticker bushes than detecting. I am hoping my uncle gets his soybeans cut here shortly so I can do some field hunting in what little free time I have this time year, or my work to slow down enough in the next couple of weeks that I can hit some of the other permissions I have access too.

 

[amberjack]

Good idea read watch hunt, read watch hunt.............

AJ

 

[glenn3-88]

DigginLa,

One thing I have yet to see on this post that is the most important thing of all yet the simplest thing
to learn is "learning the functions of the buttons and moving through the programs and settings to get where you want".
The "first" thing I did was to download "and print" the manual. The next thing I did was order Andy's book. By the time
my CTX was delivered, at the very least I could adjust it. As for detecting, I followed a lot of advice offered on this forum
and in the manual also by not changing "anything" until I used it and found out what I needed to change to suit "my" needs.
The CTX is not complicated at all. You just have to break down each "main" function it offers and find those tweaks in that
one function that suits you best and then move on to another. You will love and enjoy using the CTX. The only thing I
changed in the beginning was to go to 4 tone Co and 1 tone Fe and changed the pitch so that nickels would have close to the
same tone as all the other coins. Since then, I have found more nickels, most of them being indian heads than I have found in the
last 2 years. All at places "I" hunted out with the Safari and AT Pro. Mine was delivered Aug. 1 of this year. By Aug. 31 I had
383 finds including mostly coins, necklaces, broken watches, gold and silver rings, a civil war bullet, and many other items of
interest. I don't even put myself in the same category with the others on here as far as experience but I can tell you as a
beginner, read Andy's book and when you have finished and gotten a couple of weeks under your belt, read it again. Especially
learn the button functions because when you are in the field and know what you need to change but don't know how to get there,
THAT'S when the frustration sets in. Don't be afraid to ask on this forum for without the fine people on here, I would still be using
a Radio Shack special.

 

[digginLa]

I have the manual downloaded just haven't printed it out yet as I've been out of ink for my printer for awhile and have just been to lazy to order some more. I should have Andy's book by the middle of next week so I can start reading on it and I plan on taking it with me when I go out hunting just in case I need to figure out how to do something.

From what I've read and watched some of the other settings I need to use at least in the beginning are auto sensitivity, deep on fast off, heavy trash in most park settings and 4 tones conductive. I'm still not sure about the response setting, smooth, fast etc? Thoughts on the best one to begin with.

Again thanks for all the feedback!

Jimmie

 

[amberjack]

normal response you know like a setting on the washing machine

go detecting and fiddle time takes time hey I use the tone bins scan the coins I am after get numbers and give them high tones and the stuff I don't want low tones and that can change as in what I am hunting so the possibility's are endless

its like hunting know your quarry and devise a plan to hunt for it so really the 1st thing to know is the prey

AJ

 

[glenn3-88]

I started out using a "fast" response but have recently seen the benefits of "pitch hold"
especially in trashy areas. Be sure to use pinpoint "Sizing". Change your pinpoint button
to "Pinpoint Hold" so you won't have to physically hold it down while trying to pinpoint a target,
that way you can tell how big a target is while pinpointing. If it is giving you a "coin" TID and
the target is the size of a pot lid then you will know it is not a coin. I get to hunt every day. I hope
you do too if it is only for 1 hour. What I did was to learn the factory settings first and formost, then
started using some of the suggestions others gave me on here and in Andy's book and have used
those that suited me better. I don't stay on "pitch hold" all the time, only when I have a good target
that has trash near or next to it. Hope this helps.

 

[digginLa]

Thanks for the tips. Already have it set to Pinpoint hold. I'll have to play with the other settings when I get to play with it more next week.