CTX vs. V3i a first comparision

[jupppo]

Guys,

although I just hunted about 20h with the CTX, I would like to post a short comparison of the two highend detectors on the market. Perhaps it is of interest, especially for those who play with the though of moving to a CTX.

First of all I have to say that the new CTX is quite impressive. It's design and the way to handle the machine is really a pleasure. Compared to the White's it is a different century. But what about the real stuff, the technical setup behind it. Here is my preliminary analysis:

Here I see the V3i with clear advantages

• Display bright and clear
• All tones are fully customizable (frequecy and volume)
• V3i analysis mode is unbeaten. The graphical display of the signal (incl. size of object and response curve), the ability to have a complete different setup, if you pull the trigger forward, get you close to 100% iron identification.
• Highly customizable on to each ground and on users needs (sweep speeds, etc.)
• Depth. Altough it might be early to judge, but from a pure depth perspective the V3i is advantages on difficult terrain, because you can trim the detector to each ground individually.
• Weight.

Advantages of the CTX

• Much more flexible (underwater/waterproof) - also help cleaning, just take it with you in the shower :-)
• Easy learning curve. Took me almost a year and a lot of hours reading, before I could master the V3i. That's also the reason why the V3i performs in test so bad. Almost every machine I saw is not correctly configured.
• Great discrimination/sensitivity to small objects. Loud and clear signals in even small objects in difficult soil. I found quite some small coins (roman folles) where I walked over with the V3i.
• GPS. If findpoints could be exported properly it would be even more valuable
• Easy Setup. Where you have to configure the V3i for optimal results quite painfully long.

The last point is the main reason I say goodbye to the V3i and just keep the CTX (at first I wanted to keep both). It took me sometimes hours to get the settings optimal on the V3i for a specific ground and then I had to made the decision: do I go for deep or small items close to the surface.
I am still a fan of the White's machine, but I came to a point where I say: I spent the time rather searching than configuring. I will certainly miss some features, but perhaps future updates from minelab help resolve that.

Overall I am totally happy with the machine.

J.

[boomsmack]

i loved my dfx like you say they dont miss anything in top 6 inches . found many cut quater with mine.

[earthmansurfer]

jupppo - I said goodbye to my V3i for an E-Trac (now have a CTX) at the end of last year. I agree, wish the CTX had a color screen more like the V3i. Amazing, the V3i is how many years old and still has the better screen (and buttons).

The only real thing that is missing, tone wise, on the CTX is the variability settings. I hope they come back with that in an upgrade.

But what I find really interesting about your post is that you got depth with the V3i. I never could and I compared many a deeper (8"-9" target) with both - my ground is somewhat mineralized and 9" was close to max on coins, silver maybe deeper. I know quite a few other guys that were in the same boat. One, I got to switch to an E-Trac and he started getting depth too, but his ground was much more mineralized than mine. I got some deeper targets on video, see below and see my channel for more. I really had little confidence at new sites or when the ground varied much as the V3i was very sensitive regarding having a great GB set.

[jupppo]

Well 1st of all, the D2 coil is crap. My normal coil was a 15x12SEF. You can really max it out w/o jumping VDI.
More important than GB are the filter settings in the V3. Hitting the right sweep speed with the right filter for the ground can almost double the depth! It is quite painful, because you have to learn the sweep speeds exactly and you have to try our all 3 filters on each field, which one works best. With each filter setting you always have to adjust your recovery time, etc. as well.

Of course deeper targets mean more jumpy signals, that why I only worked in corrolate mode, which rules out quite some iron. Having a jumpy deep signal, means sweep over it in analysis mode, with different filter settings and extreme recovery times.
My deepest coin was a roman sestertius at 52cm. My buddies with e-trac and Deus didn't say a word anymore on this day :-D

Having said that, you may also understand why the V3 is quite time intensive. Figurering out the right settings on each ground is no fun and takes ages (Altough it really pays off when you have a program for each of your favourite hunting sites).
I am tired of that and really enjoy the ease of use of the CTX....

J.

[muddy mick]

Dear me if my V3 sounded like that id bin it