Metal detector Minelab CTX 3030

Here comes Minelab CTX 3030 review. This device is one of the best nowadays. So, what are its advantages and disadvantages? What makes MD so special? Are there any metal detectors better than this one? And the most important question – whether this device is worth its money? These are the questions I’ve asked myself and now I’m ready to share my opinion with you.

Intro

What is the most important, I’ve been using this MD for 160-200 hours of treasure hunting. A friend of mine has got one. So, we’ve tested it together on various types of ground: beaches, fields, areas with lots of litter, abandoned gardens, sports grounds etc.

Then we exchanged our metal detectors and I did feed with my own hands the difference between my E-Trac and his CTX 3030.

Our current review is a follow-up to the previous article about the best metal detectors. Once you look through it you’ll see that CTX 3030 was called the best among all the reviewed metal detectors.

And now, let’s start from…2012. That was the year when the Australian company Minelab introduced its new upgraded metal detector model.

Even nowadays this MD is still the leading one as for operability and functionality, not to mention what a breakthrough it was 5 years ago. E-TRAC was and yet is a “younger brother” for this model.

The question is whether any better metal detectors have been designed recently? Well, the answer is yes and no. Of course, the company continues growing and it has created some new MD models.

However, most of them are aimed at lump gold hunting. It’s easily explained by the fact that Minelab is an Australian company, so lump gold can be found quite often over the continent.

The new MD models are completely different, even when speaking about the basic technologies they use. I was quite shocked by the prices, which are rather high even in comparison with CTX 3030, which isn’t cheap at all.

All above mentioned brings us to the point that CTX 3030 doesn’t have any comparable alternative. All we are left with is good old-fashioned E-TRAC, though we’ll discuss the difference between these two models a bit later.

Now, what exactly makes MD so unlike all the other metal detectors on the market?

Model	CTX 3030
Application	Coin, Relic, Jewellery & Beach
Technology	FBS 2, Smartfind 2, GPSi, Wi-Stream
Waterproof	Waterproof to 3m/10-feet
Frequency	Multiple frequencies: 1.5 – 100kHz
Coil (standard)	11-inch waterproof Double-D smart coil
Audio Output	Built-in speaker, standard ¼-inch non-waterproof socket, custom waterproof socket
Headphones Supplied	KOSS UR30 (100 ohm) supplied with detector (non-waterproof)
Visual Display	Full colour LCD with backlight and adjustable brightness (1–10)
Backlight	Yes
USB Connectivity	USB interface for XChange 2 PC software
Memory	Settings saved automatically while detecting and remain until changed or reset
Depth Indication	Accurate gauge active in normal detecting and Pinpoint mode
Detect Modes	10 fully customisable, including 5 preset (Coins, Beach, Relic, Silver & High Trash)
Discrimination	Smartfind 2TM 2 dimensional colour discrimination
Timings	No
Audio Tone	Customisable Tone ID Profiles
Audio Type	Normal, Long, Smooth & Pitch Hold
Ground Balance	Auto Compensation and Auto Ground Balance
Ground Balance Type
Pinpoint	2 modes: normal and sizing
Sensitivity	Auto and Manual (1–30)
Noise Cancel	Manual & Automatic (11 channels)
Threshold	Level adjustment (1–50), Pitch adjustment (1–30)
Target Volume Adjust	1-30
Battery	Li-ion pack with fast charger. 12 V car adapter supplied with Standard Pack only
Low battery alert	Audio & visual indication
Length	Min 37 in. (940 mm) – Max 55.3 in. (1405 mm)
Weight	5.20 lbs (2.36 kgs) including Li-ion battery pack
Warranty	3 years control box & coil

Last update on 2023-09-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Advantages

Waterproof

It is a multi-purpose device meant for hunting at any weather conditions and over any ground type. Due to its waterproofness, the MD can be used for hunting both on the ground and under water up to 10 feet (3 meters).

This means that you can take the device to the beach and to the field, get soaked wet without worrying if the device is safe.

However, please keep in mind that this isn’t a metal detector for deep water hunting. Still 10 feet isn’t the depth where you may find some gold from lost galleons, nevertheless it’s not recommended to go deeper with this metal detector.

Color LCD

Minelab metal detector was the first one to get a large colored LCD display which is very good even if you use it in the direct sunlight. The device control unit is not portable and it is placed rather high on a carbon arm.

Wireless

A wire that is connected to a coil is a weak point of all cheap metal detectors. CTX 3030 uses a wireless technology of sound transfer. Which means that there is no wire that interrupts the hunting process and can be easily torn off.

At that you still have a choice whether to use a wireless external speaker or headphones that come in the device set. However, please don’t forget that they won’t do for underwater treasure hunting.

Traditionally KOSS is the manufacturer of speakers for Minelab. Wireless speakers for CTX 3030 have a standalone control unit fixed on a user’s waist.

It is connected to the speakers by means of a coiled cable with a common 3.5 mm jack. For underwater hunting you may also use waterproof wireless headphones.

GPS-navigation and Google Maps

This MD has an embedded GPS detector therefore you can leave your portable GPS-navigator at home. Besides, the detector can be synchronized with your computer.

Now you can ask me – what is GPS for? This is just a metal detector. Its main task is to search for treasures, but not to locate the position. On one hand I agree with you, but on the other hand you are wrong when saying so.

By means of Google Maps and a program for PC XChange 2 you’ll clearly see where your findings were detected and where there was nothing.

When at home you can look through your root one more time and check which section you may have skipped. Experienced treasure hunters will understand what I mean.

Though it’s a fact, that once your GPS navigator is “On” the device’s battery discharges faster.

However, the battery charge is still enough to perform continuous operation during a whole light day.

Multi-frequency metal detector

In plain English, it means that the detector “shoots” a whole bunch of frequencies into the ground and this way it won’t let you miss neither a small coin, nor a large object.

Another plus is that this characteristic allows working on highly mineralized soils, where single frequency MDs are of no use.

As for Minelab rivals – even their flagship models can work at only one frequency at a time, all you can do is to switch between different frequencies consistently.

Metal detector is designed using FBS2 technology, that allows treasure hunting at 28 frequencies simultaneously in the range from 1,5 to 100 kHz.

High frequencies appear to be more sensitive to detect small targets and low frequencies sense deep lying targets better. FBS simultaneously sends and analyses a complete range of multi-frequencies from 1,5 kHz to 100 kHz.

Which means that the MD is sensitive enough to detect both small and large deep lying targets at the same time.

Last update on 2023-09-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Smartfind 2D – advanced discrimination function

This is the ability to detect targets basing simultaneously on their conductivity and iron content. It also helps to define your target type yet more precisely (ferrous or non-ferrous metal), its size and depth.

Such an approach is the most accurate technology to define whether the target is something valuable or just some junk.

By means of Target Trace and Target Separation you can see between some rust nail and a coin lying close together in the ground.

When using any common metal detector in this case you’ll clearly see just the nail since it’s heavier and its mass will just hide the coin lying next to it.

Ground balance function

It has two adjustment modes: manual and automatic one. The user manually adjusts the device to work around homogenous ground – this allows searching at ultimate depth.

The automatic adjustment mode is used on mixed soils to perform the device selftuning to current hunting conditions.

The device has 10 search modes: 5 of them have pre-set ground balance values and Fe-Co discrimination and 5 modes set by the user.

Settings

CTX 3030 has quite complicated settings and that’s a fact. However, its manufacturers have foreseen this obstacle and that’s why the MD has 5 embedded pre-set modes.

These are for coin, beach, relic, silver hunting and for working on the ground littered with rubbish. For those who want to create their own search modes the device has 5 more channels.

Balance

One of the main demerits of this metal detector (except its price, of course) is its considerable weight. The company engineers have done their best to prevent your hand from getting tired while using the device.

The waterproof battery unit is quite large and it is placed on the upper section of the MD rod, so this way it acts as a counterbalance. But what has caused such an innovation?

The answer is very simple – using coils of smaller or larger diameter has always lead to imbalance. User’s hand would grow weary in a short period of time, but now the metal detector is much better balanced.

Power supply

The device is powered from a lithium battery, which full charge is enough for 11 hours of operation. If you turn of GPS and Wi-Stream the MD operation time increases sufficiently.

A special box that comes in the set allows using 8 AA batteries.

Multilanguage

It doesn’t seem to be rather significant benefit, but only if English is your mother tongue. Nevertheless, just imagine trying to get through the adjustment process, if you don’t speak English and live overseas.

In this case you can choose one of the following 10 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish or Turkish.

Last update on 2023-09-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Coils selection

A standard set is equipped with Minelab CTX 11” Smart coil. The manufacturer also provides other coils of different diameters for this detector – 17 inches and 6 inches.

The 17 inch one is used for hunting around large areas (it searches 20% deeper in comparison with an ordinary 11″ coil), and 6-inch coil should be used on some littery ground.

Noise elimination

For example, the place you’d like to search through is near some electricity transmission line, which happens quite often by the way. Ordinary metal detectors get blind since electricity causes high disturbances.

But not for Minelab CTX 3030, which has a “noise cancel” function.

So, let me list the device advantages one more time and add some more minor ones, that weren’t mentioned above:

• Color 3.5 inch LCD display;
• GPS-navigation and its apps being upgraded all the time;
• GeoTrails — traces your rout with the metal detector;
• WayPoints — some interesting points (favorites);
• FindPoints — places where you found your treasures;
• GeoHunts — information about the whole hunting route;
• Waterproofness — up to 3 meters or 10 feet;
• Wireless transmission of AF signal by means of WiFi, minimum of wires now;
• USB to connect with your PC;
• You can change the MD firmware and install some upgraded one to improve the device functions;
• VDI/TargetID — manual automatic;
• Noise cancel function;
• Uses FBS2 technology;
• Multi-frequency;

Drawbacks

Now let’s talk about the device disadvantages. Have you thought about any?

Batteries usage

If you use ordinary batteries, not the accumulator rechargeable battery you’ll need a lot of them. Eight batteries get low during a light day without using any additional options such as GPS or other embedded functions.

The device’s weight is its demerit as well (5.6 pounds). But the manufacturer designed the MD so, that the main load falls on its accumulator.

Quite difficult for the newbies to master

It isn’t easy for a newbie to understand all the technical peculiarities, especially if you want to get the best of this metal detector. Therefore, at first, you’ll have to use its standard modes.

Weight

This MD is really heavy; however, it is well balanced due to its coil that comes in the set. But right when you change the coil for 17-inch one the device turns into a “kettlebell”, since the balance changes.

The good news is that you can use Minelab Pro-Swing 45 – a special webbed gear, which perfectly deals with this issue.

Price

Well, this is the main obstacle once you’ve decided to buy CTX 3030, since quite few treasure hunters can afford purchasing a metal detector that costs xxxxx$.

Comparison

Minelab CTX 3030 vs Minelab GPX 5000

Model	CTX 3030	GPX 5000
Application	Coin, Relic, Jewellery & Beach	Gold Prospecting & Deep Relic
Technology	FBS 2, Smartfind 2, GPSi, Wi-Stream	MPS, DVT & SETA
Waterproof	Waterproof to 3m/10-feet	No
Frequency	Multiple frequencies: 1.5 – 100kHz	Bi-Level, Advanced Pulse Induction
Coil (standard)	11-inch waterproof Double-D smart coil	11″ Round Double-D plus 15 x 12-inch Monoloop
Audio Output	Built-in speaker, standard ¼-inch non-waterproof socket	6.35mm (1/4″) headphone and speaker jack
Headphones Supplied	KOSS UR30 (100 ohm) supplied with detector (non-waterproof)	Koss 100 ohm headphones
Visual Display	Full colour LCD with backlight	64 x 128 pixels, transflective with white backlight
Backlight	Yes	Yes with adjustable automatic ‘time-out’
USB Connectivity	USB interface for XChange 2 PC software	No
Memory	Settings saved automatically	Setting changes saved automatically
Depth Indication	Active in normal detecting and Pinpoint mode	No
Detect Modes	10 fully customisable, including 5 preset	General, Deep, Hi-Mineral, Patch, Hi-Trash & Pinpoint
Discrimination	Smartfind 2TM 2 dimensional colour discrimination	Iron Reject: range 1 to 10 & Off (All Metal)
Timings	No	Normal, Sensitive Extra, Enhance, Sharp, Sensitive Smooth, Coin/Relic, Salt/Gold & Fine Gold
Audio Tone	Customisable Tone ID Profiles	Variable Control 1 to 100
Audio Type	Normal, Long, Smooth & Pitch Hold	Quiet, Normal, Deep & Boost
Ground Balance	Auto Compensation and Auto Ground	Automatic Ground Balance, Fixed & Tracking: Slow, Medium & Fast
Ground Balance Type		General, Specific & Ground Balance Off
Pinpoint	2 modes: normal and sizing	No
Sensitivity	Auto and Manual (1–30)	Rx Gain 1 to 20
Noise Cancel	Manual & Automatic (11 channels)	Automatic & Manual 0 to 255
Threshold	Level adjustment (1–50), Pitch adjustment (1–30)	Adjustable turn control
Target Volume Adjust	1-30	Target Volume 1 to 20. Volume Limit 1 to 20
Battery	Li-ion pack with fast charger	Lithium-ion rechargeable battery 68Wh
Low battery alert	Audio & visual indication	Audio alert
Length	Min 37 in. (940 mm), Max 55.3 in. (1405 mm)	1100 mm (43.3”) – 1300 mm (51.2”)
Weight	5.20 lbs (2.36 kgs) including Li-ion battery pack	2.4 kg (5.3 lbs) including 11” coil. Battery weight 780 g (1.7 lbs)
Warranty	3 years control box & coil	3 years control box and coil

Last update on 2023-09-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Minelab CTX 3030 VS Minelab GPZ 7000

Model	CTX 3030	GPZ 7000
Application	Coin, Relic, Jewellery & Beach	Gold Prospecting
Technology	FBS 2, Smartfind 2, GPSi, Wi-Stream	ZVT
Waterproof	Waterproof to 3m/10-feet	Waterproof coil to 1m/3ft
Frequency	Multiple frequencies: 1.5 – 100kHz	Zero Voltage Transmission (ZVT)
Coil (standard)	11-inch waterproof Double-D smart coil	14″ x 13″ Super‑D Configuration
Audio Output	Built-in speaker, standard ¼-inch	6.3 mm (¼”) non waterproof socket, Wi‑Stream wireless signal transmission
Headphones Supplied	KOSS UR30 100 ohm (non-waterproof)	KOSS UR 30 100 ohm with 6.3 mm plug (¼-inch) (non waterproof)
Visual Display	Full colour LCD with backlight	Full colour LCD (320 x 240 pixels)
Backlight	Yes	Yes
USB Connectivity	USB interface for XChange 2 PC software	USB interface for XChange 2 PC software
Memory	Settings saved automatically	Yes
Depth Indication	Active in normal detecting and Pinpoint mode	No
Detect Modes	10 fully customisable, 5 preset	Gold Mode (High Yield, General, Extra Deep) Ground Type (Normal, Difficult, Severe)
Discrimination	Smartfind 2TM 2 dimensional colour	All Metal
Timings	No	No
Audio Tone	Customisable Tone ID Profiles	1-100
Audio Type	Normal, Long, Smooth & Pitch Hold	No
Ground Balance	Auto Compensation and Auto Ground	Auto and Manual (Quick‑Trak trigger button)
Ground Balance Type		Auto and Manual (Quick‑Trak trigger button)
Pinpoint	2 modes: normal and sizing	No
Sensitivity	Auto and Manual (1–30)	1-20
Noise Cancel	Manual & Automatic (11 channels)	Auto and Manual (256 channels)
Threshold	Level adjustment (1–50), Pitch adjustment (1–30)	Level (1-50) Pitch (1-100)
Target Volume Adjust	1-30	Range (1-20) Limit (1-20)
Battery	Li-ion pack with fast charger	Li-Ion Rechargeable Pack (7.2V DC, 72Wh)
Low battery alert	Audio & visual indication	Yes
Length	Min 37 in. (940 mm), Max 55.3 in. (1405 mm)	Collapsed: 1170 mm (46.1”) Extended: 1526 mm (60.1”)
Weight	5.20 lbs (2.36 kgs) including Li-ion battery pack	3.32 kg (7.32 lb) (Including GPZ 14 coil, skidplate and 72Wh battery)
Warranty	3 years control box & coil	3 years control box and coil

Last update on 2023-09-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Minelab CTX 3030 VS Minelab SDC 2300

Model	CTX 3030	SDC 2300
Application	Coin, Relic, Jewellery & Beach	Gold Prospecting
Technology	FBS 2, Smartfind 2, GPSi, Wi-Stream	Pulse Induction (PI) and Multi Period Fast (MPF)
Waterproof	Waterproof to 3m/10-feet	Waterproof to 3m/10-feet
Frequency	Multiple frequencies: 1.5 – 100kHz	Pulse Induction (PI) and Multi Period Fast (MPF)
Coil (standard)	11-inch waterproof Double-D smart coil	8″ Round Monoloop
Audio Output	Built-in speaker, standard ¼-inch non-waterproof socket	Built-in speaker, Minelab headphones (supplied)
Headphones Supplied	KOSS UR30 (100 ohm) supplied with detector	Minelab headphones (supplied)
Visual Display	Full colour LCD with backlight	9 LEDs indicate detection, battery status and threshold level
Backlight	Yes
USB Connectivity	USB interface for XChange 2 PC software
Memory	Settings saved automatically while detecting
Depth Indication	Active in normal detecting and Pinpoint mode
Detect Modes	10 fully customisable, including 5 preset	Normal (1-5 Sensitivity range) & Salt (1-3 Sensitivity range)
Discrimination	Smartfind 2TM 2 dimensional colour discrimination
Audio Tone	Customisable Tone ID Profiles	Low, High
Audio Type	Normal, Long, Smooth & Pitch Hold
Ground Balance	Auto Compensation and Auto Ground Balance	Automatic Ground Tracking (AGT) Fast Ground Balance
Pinpoint	2 modes: normal and sizing
Sensitivity	Auto and Manual (1–30)
Noise Cancel	Manual & Automatic (11 channels)	Manually Initiated, Automatic Scanning
Threshold	Level adjustment (1–50), Pitch adjustment (1–30)	9 audio levels
Target Volume Adjust	1-30
Battery	Li-ion pack with fast charger	Li-on Battery Pack with Charger
Low battery alert	Audio & visual indication	1 low battery warning LED
Length	Min 37 in. (940 mm), Max 55.3 in. (1405 mm)	Extended: 1500 mm (59.1″) Collapsed: 400 mm (15.7”)
Weight	5.20 lbs (2.36 kgs) including Li-ion battery pack	2.3 kg (5.1 lbs)
Warranty	3 years control box & coil	3 years control box & coil

Last update on 2023-09-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Conclusion

So far E-trac still is the one to be used when working on mineralized soils and saliferous rocks. The device ensures stable and faultless operation with an impressive search depth value.

This metal detector is one of the leaders both in search depth and discrimination function performance.

Is not a restyled model, it is a brand-new MD model. Its developers have not only upgraded the device, but they have also fulfilled a totally new concept in it.

As for the search characteristics, the metal detector level almost hasn’t changed – there was no impressive breakthrough as for targets detection. But all too often this isn’t the deal.

What is more important, is that the device clearly hears the target signal among any scattered metal rubbish and CTX 3030 deals perfectly with this task.

СТХ 3030 has inherited the best from E-trac – it has become faster, it recognizes targets clearer, searches a bit deeper, it is capable of underwater treasure hunting and its operation time (using accumulator) has increased two folds.

The device has excellent color LCD display, GPS, well designed rod, wireless headphones unit and other stuff – which is another cherry on the cake.

As for me, I decidedly choose 3030 as a more sophisticated MD model.

I stick to my opinion – 3030 is the best metal detector nowadays.

It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any disadvantages, but it is worth each dollar spent on it. Due to its price, not everyone can afford buying it. But if you have enough money, you won’t regret purchasing exactly this MD.

However, don’t expect for a miracle to come – it is just a device, though a high quality one. But it is you who goes treasure hunting, not the device. Once you get how to adjust it and use all the features, you’ll find your treasures where all the rest find nothing.

You can easily sell the MD if things go wrong and you won’t be able to work with it. Anyway, you don’t lose anything. Life is too short and you should take the best of it. Especially if it concerns your favorite hobby.

Here is some advice from the experienced owners

When you pass the target on the edge of threshold noise and the MD can’t define the target metal, conductivity and the discriminator shows nothing as well as the target depth can’t be defined – push Pinpoint button.

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Using Pinpoint the device easily captures and locates the target which the MD couldn’t detect earlier. After that carve out a soil divot with a spade and put a coil into it – now the detector will clearly display all the information it gets.

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Sometimes it is reported about a little slop that appears in the rod parts fitting together. In this respect, we’d say that it is a must to wash the device rod and coils after treasure hunting (in the woods, fields, lake, see etc.).

The thing is that the sand (i.e. abrasive substance) scrubs internal and external coating of the rod moving parts and causes a gap between them. The device is ok with water, so wash it once you’ve finished searching before putting it back into the case.

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As for the accumulator storage. The device has a lithium-ion battery, so when you aren’t using it it’s better to store the battery 50% charged – this way it’ll serve longer. Many battery chargers have a charging mode “for storage”, however a standard one doesn’t have it.

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Minelab Pro-Swing 45, which is a special webbed gear, will perfectly help you if your hand still becomes tired very quickly when working with this MD.

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The manufacturer doesn’t recommend storing this metal detector in your car trunk in summer. The LCD display may swell because of high temperature, though it doesn’t affect the device operability, it just doesn’t look nice.

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If you’ve found yourself in a highly littered with rubbish ground, turn off Multitone and switch to 5 tone mode. Otherwise it’ll drive you crazy.

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It makes sense to buy one more battery unit only if you go treasure hunting somewhere without any chance to charge the MD battery and you don’t have a car. The standard battery unit is enough for a day of the device operation with all additional functions on. If you turn them off, it’ll work even longer.