My Search Programs for Minelab E-Trac and CTX 3030 Metal Detectors
SEARCH PROGRAM #1: LEVEL 2 - "Medium Discrimination/Moderate Noise", page 18
Program Settings: EXPERT MENU
(...CONTINUED from Previous Page)
Expert Menu:
(see details on page 6)
RECOVERY DEEP - OFF (page 70 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
CTX 3030:
RECOVERY DEEP - OFF (page 40 of the CTX-3030 Instruction Manual)
RECOVERY FAST - ON (page 71 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
CTX 3030:
RECOVERY FAST - ON (page 40 of the CTX-3030 Instruction Manual)
TRASH DENSITY - High (page 72 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
The TRASH DENSITY setting is not available in CTX-3030
CTX 3030:
TARGET SEPARATION - HIGH TRASH (in Target Separation Menu, page 41 of the CTX-3030 Instruction Manual) is employed IF the ground mineralization is HIGH, and ENABLE GB-ON.
If the ground mineralization is LOW, the FERROUS-COIN setting is used, and ENABLE GB-OFF.
GROUND - Difficult (page 74 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
The GROUND setting is not available in CTX-3030
This setting depends on soil conditions (see the procedure for determining the Ground setting on page 7); however, even if the ground mineralization is moderate, the GROUND - Difficult is preferable because it makes the weak responses of non-ferrous targets sound louder.
CTX-3030:
As the HIGH TRASH is utilized in this search program, none of remaining three features of the Target Separation Menu can be employed because only one setting at a time can be selected.
IF the ground mineralization is HIGH, and the iron junk content was LOW, the GROUND-COIN mode would be appropriate (see details on page 6). A Target Separation Matrix shown below (page 41 of the CTX-3030 Instruction Manual) should be used as a guide in selecting an appropriate setting:
Target Separation Matrix
This search program was fine-tuned on the high-mineralized ground so the "HIGH TRASH" and "ENABLE GB - ON" settings turned out to be the most appropriate. On the low-mineralized ground with high iron junk, the "FERROUS-COIN Separation" and "ENABLE GB - OFF" settings should be implemented.
NOISE CANCEL - MANUAL - 11 (Manual Noise Cancel is described on page 75 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
CTX 3030:
NOISE CANCEL - MANUAL - 11 (page 20 of the CTX-3030 Instruction Manual)
Preferences Menu:
(see details on page 8)
DISPLAY CONTRAST - 15 (page 76 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
DISPLAY CONTRAST setting is not available in CTX-3030
PINPOINT MODE - Sizing (page 76 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
CTX 3030:
PINPOINT MODE - Sizing (page 42 of the CTX-3030 Instruction Manual)
SHOW SENSITIVITY - ON (page 78 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
SHOW SENSITIVITY setting is not available on the CTX-3030
SHOW MODE INFO - OFF (page 78 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
SHOW MODE INFO setting is not available on the CTX-3030
DISPLAY TIMEOUT - OFF (page 79 of the E-Trac Instruction Manual)
DISPLAY TIMEOUT setting is not available on the CTX-3030
Additional CTX-3030 Program Settings:
GPS - OFF (can be turned ON through the Options Menu, page 48 of the CTX-3030 Instruction Manual)
GeoHunt - OFF (can be activated by pressing the Store button on the CTX-3030 Control Panel, page 18 of the CTX-3030 Instruction Manual)
Summary of E-Trac and CTX-3030 Level 2 Program Settings for Detecting on HIGH-MINERALIZED Ground
Summary of E-Trac and CTX-3030 Level-2 Program Settings for Detecting on LOW-MINERALIZED Ground
This combination of settings is just a starting point for developing your own program according to your preferences and metal detecting conditions. My program is only to help you in doing your home work. Use the program for experimenting with various targets in field conditions, and see what settings work the best for you. Just keep in mind that Discrimination patterns along with Tone ID Maps play a major role in creating an efficient search program.