We are pleased to bring you the new CTX 3030 metal detector. We have been working on this for quite a while now and it is great to finally be able to talk about it. The detector has a heap of great features, some of which haven’t been seen in a metal detector before. From Engineering, we think that you can do great things with this detector. In this post, I’ll introduce some of the discrimination features that you haven’t seen.
Target Trace will help you tease out those targets that you know are there but have trouble visualising. Minelab’s Smartfind screens have traditionally placed a cursor on the screen at the FeCo target coordinates of the best target that passed under the coil. Unfortunately, in trashy environments the best target wasn’t always the target that you were most interested in. A lot of operators used audio to help locate desirable targets in these environments. Now, with Smartfind 2 you are shown FeCo coordinates in real time. This means that if you pass over two targets that are close together, you will be able to discern the ID of both. The screenshots in the video below show some of what is possible using Smartfind 2.
Target Trace Pinpoint is similar, but accumulates target IDs while pinpointing. Both features allow you to tease targets from trash.
Ferrous-Coin Separation allows you to isolate coin-like targets from ferrous trash in lightly mineralised ground. This is an advanced setting that is capable of identifying a coin underneath a nail. It is an exciting development in identifying targets. Have a look and see how it goes in your area.
Ground-Coin Separation will allow you to clean up your target IDs if you are operating in highly mineralised grounds with light levels of ferrous trash. Together with explicitly ground balancing your detector in these environments you will know what you are digging with more precision than ever.
I want to write more in-depth articles in the future as well as talk about heaps of other new features including Tone ID Profiles, target cursors and the User button.
I hope that you enjoy more success in detecting with these and other new tools that are available in the CTX 3030. Our field testers have certainly found these features to give them an advantage both in new areas and hunting areas that they thought had been hunted out.
Good Luck!
Phil Beck
Comments
Mark, the sensitivity determines whether the CTX 3030 sees a target or not. In this way, it works in the same way for Ferrous-Coin Serparation and Ground-Coin Separation as it does in high or low trash.
Thanks for your interest guys. I had hoped for a few more questions as I had been told that there was a fair bit of interest in the release of this detector and a lot of questions being asked.
i also ordered the CTX 3030 as soon as i heard about it, the only thing that is concerning me about it is how well is a harness going to work on it?
i have found strait stemmed detectors tend to flip over and are a pain with a harness.
have you tried one or designed one for it?
thank you
The behaviour of the detector with a harness depends a lot on the weight distribution of the detector. We have a lot of gold detectors in use with straight shafts that are used with harnesses.
The other thing: how is the the contrast of the display? compared to E-TRAC? I have had much problem with the dsiplay of the E-TRAC. Often I had to turn it in a specific direction compared to the sun. And i have never had any help from backlight, I barely could see the difference.
Finally: is it a different battery type compared to E-TRAC? Because I have 2 extra batteries and it would help a little to the high price that I should not buy new ones.
Many kind greetings Erik Dam Denmark
Erik, The CTX 3030 has fantastic balance in spite of being a bit heavier. I have had people tell me that they have no problem operating for longer than they are able with an E-TRAC. There are various suppliers of bungees or harnesses that you could use with the CTX 3030 if you want. If you can't find anything that you like, then have a closer look at the GPX 5000 users as there are a number of systems available for these machines that you would be able to use.
The colour LCD on the CTX 3030 is a transflective display so can actually perform better in direct sun. The screen on the CTX 3030 is a lot sharper than something like the E-TRAC and generally has less glare. Ultimately however it depends on your circumstances. Let me know what you think when you get your hands on one.
The CTX 3030 uses a different battery pack that contains Li-Ion batteries. This battery pack lasts more than a day however so I'm not sure if you will need a second battery. With the Standard pack you get a second battery pack that accepts Alkaline or rechargeable batteries as well.
Thanks for your questions...