im1badpup1
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2017
- Messages
- 90
Hi i just thought it may come in useful posting my experience with the ctx3030 for ppl.
It was my first metal detector ive owned and cost £1900. Not cheap.
Its light in weight and the battery lasts a few days before needing a recharge. It sits comfy with the armrest. Its waterproof (yay) its best to get a cover n prevent it getting sh itted up.
You can plug it into the pc and upload maps etc and use satellite tracking to mark location of finds and store them. Also its great to mark locations what look promising from data youve researched online on the map before you go because for example that medieval village site there is no visible remains when you get to the field, but if youve marked it on the map it takes you right there.
Its awesome at finding roman bronze, debased silver and hammered silver coins.. to be fair it belts out a clear signal for coins in general. Artefacts like bronze brooches and oddly iron ones it gives great signals. Half and quarter cut silver hammereds pick up great too. Rings are clear double blips.
Ive found coins upto 10inches eg victorian half pennies.
It depends on ground conditions but for depth there are deeper machines out there. Its picking up small roman bronze the size of a new 5p at 7-8inches for me. Hammered silver pennies too.
When the programs set right iron isnt an issue it might still signal a hit on rusty cast iron but turning 90degrees and sweep over again the tid number will be inconsistant with iron. I think all detectors have this issue with rusty iron.
What it doesnt detect well. Thin Gold wire. Fine link gold chain. Rhodium precious metal alloy fountain pen tips . The search coil has to almost be touching. Now small gold-electrum. I went over an area what someone with a garret machine had been over previously and hed picked up a couple gram of small gold a fewmm in size. I found only lead. It finds larger gold fine. Ive found gold rings and coins both over 6inches deep in mineralised contaminated ground.
For my first detector working out how to use it was a bloody nightmare. Lol.
I think if you was buying a metal detector first think about exactly what your using it for. A specific job in a specific area? Certain item? Theres other detectors out there more suited for certain items and conditions i feel.
When it comes to coins the ctx3030 is a hoover. Ive been over ground thats been absolutely hammered by detectorists for decades and walked away 3-4hours later with 20+ coins.
It works well in wet clay river sediment 7inches.+
Never underestimate the power of a small 5-6inch sniper coil either. On that ground i described as hammered by detectorists there was a small unbelievably trashy patch full of iron hob nails n lead allsorts of crap as if someones repeatedly burnt stuff with metal debris in it. Id been over it with a large coil unsuccessfully. The small coil produced my first ever silver hammered and two half cut silver hammereds all early medieval and several roman bronze. There was just too much interference with a large coil.
I often find both roman and medieval coins in the same areas because i concentrate on old roads pathways and rivercrossings trying to imagine where people would tend to stop and congregate and rest. It works well. When i arrive to search an area thats what i think for the first few minutes, where would i stop to rest or sleep. And im most often to find things more or less straight away in little hotspots like that.
I check riverbanks what are eroding for areas where heavy debris accumulates very similar to how you guys look for gold and find hotspots too where things accumulate and concentrate.
Hope this helps be lucky!
Back of a commodus silver denarius i found in river worth several times its weight in gold!
It was my first metal detector ive owned and cost £1900. Not cheap.
Its light in weight and the battery lasts a few days before needing a recharge. It sits comfy with the armrest. Its waterproof (yay) its best to get a cover n prevent it getting sh itted up.
You can plug it into the pc and upload maps etc and use satellite tracking to mark location of finds and store them. Also its great to mark locations what look promising from data youve researched online on the map before you go because for example that medieval village site there is no visible remains when you get to the field, but if youve marked it on the map it takes you right there.
Its awesome at finding roman bronze, debased silver and hammered silver coins.. to be fair it belts out a clear signal for coins in general. Artefacts like bronze brooches and oddly iron ones it gives great signals. Half and quarter cut silver hammereds pick up great too. Rings are clear double blips.
Ive found coins upto 10inches eg victorian half pennies.
It depends on ground conditions but for depth there are deeper machines out there. Its picking up small roman bronze the size of a new 5p at 7-8inches for me. Hammered silver pennies too.
When the programs set right iron isnt an issue it might still signal a hit on rusty cast iron but turning 90degrees and sweep over again the tid number will be inconsistant with iron. I think all detectors have this issue with rusty iron.
What it doesnt detect well. Thin Gold wire. Fine link gold chain. Rhodium precious metal alloy fountain pen tips . The search coil has to almost be touching. Now small gold-electrum. I went over an area what someone with a garret machine had been over previously and hed picked up a couple gram of small gold a fewmm in size. I found only lead. It finds larger gold fine. Ive found gold rings and coins both over 6inches deep in mineralised contaminated ground.
For my first detector working out how to use it was a bloody nightmare. Lol.
I think if you was buying a metal detector first think about exactly what your using it for. A specific job in a specific area? Certain item? Theres other detectors out there more suited for certain items and conditions i feel.
When it comes to coins the ctx3030 is a hoover. Ive been over ground thats been absolutely hammered by detectorists for decades and walked away 3-4hours later with 20+ coins.
It works well in wet clay river sediment 7inches.+
Never underestimate the power of a small 5-6inch sniper coil either. On that ground i described as hammered by detectorists there was a small unbelievably trashy patch full of iron hob nails n lead allsorts of crap as if someones repeatedly burnt stuff with metal debris in it. Id been over it with a large coil unsuccessfully. The small coil produced my first ever silver hammered and two half cut silver hammereds all early medieval and several roman bronze. There was just too much interference with a large coil.
I often find both roman and medieval coins in the same areas because i concentrate on old roads pathways and rivercrossings trying to imagine where people would tend to stop and congregate and rest. It works well. When i arrive to search an area thats what i think for the first few minutes, where would i stop to rest or sleep. And im most often to find things more or less straight away in little hotspots like that.
I check riverbanks what are eroding for areas where heavy debris accumulates very similar to how you guys look for gold and find hotspots too where things accumulate and concentrate.
Hope this helps be lucky!
Back of a commodus silver denarius i found in river worth several times its weight in gold!