Beach hunting with the CTX 3030 - Part 2

The detect screen on the CTX 3030 is a mine of information for a beach treasure hunter, everything you need to know while you are using the CTX 3030 on the beach is right there in front of you on the detect screen.

Continuing beach hunting in the factory preset beach mode you have at least three different ways of evaluating all targets that you find on the beach using the CTX 3030 metal detector. The first target evaluation is always made on first hearing the signal, by audio target tone thru the headphones, speaker or Wireless Module.

Audio target interpretation is backed up by two visual aids on the CTX 3030 detect screen.

CTX 3030 detect screen

The accept cursor and the reject cursors place the target on the white or shaded part of the detect screen depending on the metal content, this gives you an important visual clue about what the target may be. This detect screen snapshot shows the red reject cursor in the shaded area indicating a rejected ferrous target in the beach mode.

Another important visual target identification aid are the FeCo numbers that appear on the detect screen every time a target is detected by the CTX 3030. These numbers represent the conductive (Co) and ferrous (Fe) properties or metallic make up of the target.

Aluminum, foil, gold and platinum jewelry have low Co number while US coins such as quarters, dimes and silver jewelry have high Co numbers.

Similarly the Fe numbers will correspond to the ferrous content of a ferrous target that the search coil has passed over. The more time you spend using the CTX 3030 on the beach, the more you will begin to see a familiar pattern to most of the common beach finds on the detect screen that you are using.

Finds such as zinc pennies, quarters, dimes and silver coins appear as accept cursor targets in the middle to upper right half of the detect screen, in the non-shaded areas. Aluminum, foil, gold, and platinum appear as accept cursor targets in the upper left half of the detect screen. The accept and reject target cursors will save you valuable metal detecting time by giving you a good estimation on the likely hood of the intended target being ferrous or non-ferrous. For example, you have no need to bother scooping targets identified as ferrous when searching for jewelry and coins on a tourist beach.

All non-ferrous targets have one thing in common when using the CTX 3030 for beach hunting, they are solid two way repeatable signals.

This is backed up by a steady audio tone and a target cursor that stays in one place with Co and Fe numbers also remaining constant. Bottle caps and similar junk targets tend to make the red cursor bounce around the screen, trash targets also give off multiple tones and are easily identifiable as erratic detect screen targets.

There are exceptions to the normal cursor placement and audio tones, typically when older partially corroded or encrusted non-ferrous objects are detected on beaches that have suffered sand erosion exposing an older layer of sand.

CTX 3030 Beach finds

I have found it is best to err on the side of caution under these circumstances and investigate further when receiving mixed signals on an eroded beach with the CTX 3030. During normal beach hunting conditions I have found the CTX 3030 detect screen, audio tones and discrimination features to be highly accurate and reliable. I have taken the CTX 3030 to some of the most heavily hunted and trash infested beaches in Florida and the machine has proven to be an excellent beach hunting machine. Finding gold and silver jewelry from in between the bottle caps and small corroding ferrous objects that litter beaches is what the CTX 3030 does best.

These gold and silver jewelry finds are a perfect example of what is possible when you trust in your audio target tones and visual target indicators and pay close attention to where the cursors are placing on the detect screen.

This eye / ear coordination will become second nature when beach hunting with the CTX 3030 making valuable targets stand out even more thru the exceptional audio and available detect screen options on the CTX 3030.

Simply put the CTX 3030 has the best discrimination features and user options available, period!

The CTX 3030 affords you the luxury of making the utmost use of your metal detecting time which I can tell you from experience is one of the keys to beach treasure hunting success.

Happy CTXing!
Gary Drayton

www.garydrayton.com