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Ctx3030 With The 17inch Coil Vs Sdc2300 In Saltwater


PPP

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Hi!

Another classic question,but i have a ctx3030 with 17inch coil and do mostly detecting in the saltwater.It goes deep and thats what i'm looking for,depth,,I know that SDC2300 is a PI machine and very sensitive to gold.But when it comes to depth comparison in saltwater and knowing the SDC2300 has 8 inch coil,then the question is which detector goes deeper?is it worth buying that expensive unit just for saltwater beahhunting? 

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Oh my gosh, that’s a wild comparison! It depends on mineralization. That big coil does not like magnetite, and if there is too much in the beach, you will actually do better with the stock coil. A PI cuts through mineral, and the SDC would help on highly mineralized beaches. But on a huge beach, going to 8” coil....?

My answer is either could go deeper, the CTX with 17”, or SDC with 8”, depending on the mineralization. But I like getting ground coverage also, so this is a multiple variable question in the extreme, no good answer.

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I’ll say this I guess. If I was a serious beach hunter and had to choose, it’s CTX for me over SDC, and I’d have to be real motivated by conditions to buy a SDC at the price just to get that little extra bit. The SDC is not really a water detector. The housing is designed for the military and if tossed in the water floats like a cork.

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On the NE here the sand varies quite a bit but I have found a 17 coil hard to swing in the water. Minerals do kill the depth pretty quick on the larger coil. Other problem is digging that deep in the sand without it filling in. Thinking if you can't get it in a couple scoops it's going to be a chore.

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PPP, genuine question for you and not a dig. 

The lack of discrimination on the SDC would drive me crazy on the beach.  Is that not an issue where you are planning to hunt or what you are hunting for?  Do you just dig everything and mineralisation is the bigger concern?  

Cheers, N.E.  

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6 hours ago, Northeast said:

PPP, genuine question for you and not a dig. 

The lack of discrimination on the SDC would drive me crazy on the beach.  Is that not an issue where you are planning to hunt or what you are hunting for?  Do you just dig everything and mineralisation is the bigger concern?  

Cheers, N.E.  

Hi Northeast!

The place i'm hunting in the water is now almost hunted out and you find only time to time some super deep coins or gold if the sand moves on a good way.I have sea hunter with the big coil as well and even it goes deep,i have hard time to find anything.I know there is still a lot of gold left but deep and my ctx3030 have catch some gold and i'm looking for a deeper machine.The beach is not so mineralized and i can run ctx with max sensitivity.Talked to my dealer and asked about TDI beachhunter but after he contacted the Garrett they have'nt figured out about the selling the unit and right now they don't sell TDI.I thought maybe TDI goes deeper than ctx?

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45 minutes ago, PPP said:

still a lot of gold left but deep and my ctx3030 have catch some gold and i'm looking for a deeper machine

It's always nice to have some gold left  😁   

If you are going for depth then my personal opinion would be don't buy an SDC.  SDC's are brilliant with tiny bits of metal and mineralised ground but depth is not their strong point.  I don't know what is a better choice but it is not an SDC.

Best of luck with whatever you choose  👍

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Does the Excall do better in the salt and go deeper than the CTX? Other option I guess would be the AQ?

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11 hours ago, PPP said:

Hi Northeast!

The place i'm hunting in the water is now almost hunted out and you find only time to time some super deep coins or gold if the sand moves on a good way.I have sea hunter with the big coil as well and even it goes deep,i have hard time to find anything.I know there is still a lot of gold left but deep and my ctx3030 have catch some gold and i'm looking for a deeper machine.The beach is not so mineralized and i can run ctx with max sensitivity.Talked to my dealer and asked about TDI beachhunter but after he contacted the Garrett they have'nt figured out about the selling the unit and right now they don't sell TDI.I thought maybe TDI goes deeper than ctx?

I own two of the three machines involved in your post, so:

Fact no.1

My environment is terribly salty and I can Barely turn up to 25 the sensitivity with the stock 11" on the Ctx, more than that and is useless and unstable.

Fact no.2

I bought the Tdi BH to punch deeper as even here I have an army hunting out every piece of coast around for 400km (seriously).

I learned with it to swing really slower than usual, and had some satisfaction in drained places...But...The 12" coil was making me crazy under 17/15uS delay time and I modified it with a closed shell 8". Worst floater ever used.I can use it to go up on the surface in case I leave my weight harness down on the bottom. Nice pinpoint however, compared with the dual field antennas.

Fact no.3

I never hunt the hump.

Sometimes I'm still fooled by the other half of myself that push me to enter the water even without the minimum clue of some sand movement and anytime I repeat to myself that I'm an idiot, again, another time.

Fact no.4 and conclusion (I swear)

Think about your will to dig so deep, sooner or later You'll find yourself to seek for an old trusty vlf with no more than 10" coil and without screen and bells.

Today I dig anything sounds like a sweet, fast, low tone in all metal and If I want to check I switch to disc........

All the best

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34 minutes ago, kac said:

Does the Excall do better in the salt and go deeper than the CTX? Other option I guess would be the AQ?

I own both (again) as I bought another Excal after 9years...

The Ctx is a killer machine but really "conditions sensitive"...

Really good discrimination but the Nox today is deeper and cheaper with the 11" stock and less sensitivity setting.

Lot of the Ctx settings are useless however in the beach and I hate the true threshold on the Nox only in the underwater unusable gold2 mode...

I also tried a pulse but missed the "tone description contact"...More depth but way more time to understand what's worth to dig or not.Slow food machine.

So I ended to buy again an old green rifle that never missed me a shot.

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