Ghost signals

[Bengsxr]

I'm fairly new to the CTX and I have been crushing the beaches lately becauset the ground is to hard to dig right now. Also I mainly hit the beach about 7pm so less people and the tide is on it's way out. I have the 17 inch coil I just use it for beach searching and I get a good signal then once I break the ground it gets kinda floating around and my solid red target is jumping around and turned yellow or it moved a few inches. I'm bringing up pull tabs from almost one and a half feet down constantly but pinpointing is difficult so I'm constantly walking a circle around the target as I dig. But tonight I lost at least 3 targets because they must of went down deeper as I dug after them. Anyone else having the same troubles I am because I'm kinda sore about missing the 3 targets due to me not being able to pinpoint it well with the large coil. Or could it of been an earring that just kept slipping through the holes in my scoop?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[cudamark]

Pin pointing is just going to take time in the field. The method I like most at the beach using a big coil is the "Minelab wiggle" Try to center the target under the coil (you can use the pin point feature if you like, but, turn that off when doing the next step). Then while swing the coil with ever shorter sweeps, back up until the target just disappears. It then should be right in front of the coils' leading edge. If the target disappears after you've taken some sand away, and it's not in the pile, it usually is a deep target now missing the "halo". Just keep taking more sand until it shows up again in the pile. A nice big scoop really helps here.

 

[Possum]

Pin pointing is just going to take time in the field. The method I like most at the beach using a big coil is the "Minelab wiggle" Try to center the target under the coil (you can use the pin point feature if you like, but, turn that off when doing the next step). Then while swing the coil with ever shorter sweeps, back up until the target just disappears. It then should be right in front of the coils' leading edge. If the target disappears after you've taken some sand away, and it's not in the pile, it usually is a deep target now missing the "halo". Just keep taking more sand until it shows up again in the pile. A nice big scoop really helps here.

I don't get to hunt beaches that much, but I agree with Cuda, the "Minelab Wiggle" works great and it has helped me out tremendously when it comes to pinpointing!!! "D"

 

[TrpnBils]

If you're getting used to the 3030, pinpointing takes some getting used to as well. People complain about pinpointing inaccuracies with the 17" coil specifically, but I have never seen an issue with it. The deeper your target is, the wider the pinpointed area will be (as with any detector). With the 3030 you have the option of two pinpoint modes (centering and normal, or something along those lines). Normal mode is just like any other detector, but you may have some luck with centering mode because it narrows down the target's central location as you sweep back and forth across the target while pinpointing. I think it's obnoxious, but in your case it might help.

My main suggestion is something I do almost every time I pinpoint so I know I'm pinpointing on the target I'm interested in instead of something off to the side. I think it helps me pinpoint well with the 17" coil, and I think the lack of doing this is why some people have issues with that. It's called detuning and for whatever reason you don't hear about it on forums much. Everybody tells you not to push the pinpoint button over the target because it blanks it out....start off to the side and sweep over it.... the idea of detuning is basically opposite that. Pinpoint right over the target and make multiple sweeps. It REALLY cuts down on the distance the audio pinpoint covers and helps you narrow down the area really well. If a deep target increases the size of the pinpoint range, detuning will help reign it in. Every so often when I pinpoint this way I lose the target while in pinpoint mode even though I know it's right under the sweet spot of the coil. In those cases, either let the pinpoint button go and try it again, or I like to stay in pinpoint mode and basically just hop the coil an inch or so up and down over the target and it will come back into focus.

Here's a video demonstrating it on an Ace 250. I understand the 3030 is a totally different animal (in fact, my only two detectors are a 250 and a 3030) but the idea is the same:

 

[cudamark]

Another method on pin pointing a stubborn target is to try sweeping the coil around the outside of the target without hitting it. That will help you zero in on the center of the target area and also give you some idea as to size and depth of the target.

 

[Bengsxr]

Thanks for the comments. I been hitting the beaches pretty hard and last night I dug 52 pennies alone for a total of only like $5 bucks in clad. Didn't find any jewelry last night. But in the last couple months I have found a few good ones.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Ive been using the CTX for about 3 years now and everything mentioned is correct. especially with you having that big coil. I'm running the stock coil and still find myself off a little bit. I think once you start seeing the consitancies of what is "Off" you will be able to work from there.

Hell, even now I pinpoint where I think it is, then go back about 2 inches from that and find it almost everytime.....when I remember to do that