Minelab CTX 3030 - The Arrington Chronicals

I've been metal-detecting since 1965, a good 50-years plus in the hobby. In that time, I've read a lot of books on the subject, met a lot of people who knew what they were doing, and those that didn't, and done a good bit of treasure hunting myself. Now back in the day, nobody called themselves a detectorist...that was coined (excuse the pun) from a British TV show of the same name. Reality imitating Art again. We came in two varieties back then...you were either a coin-shooter, i.e. just a casual plinker digging lost coins, or a THer, i.e. a treasure hunter, researching, locating and finding lost treasure of the serious kind; lost Civil War payrolls, shipwreck coins, hidden caches and anything of great value. And we learned a valuable lesson then...it was not your metal detector that finds the goods...it's you and how you use the tools of treasure hunting. Of course, a $2500 machine is gonna be much more capable than a $29 metal detector you find at a local Big Box store, despite arguments I always hear to the contrary...usually from the $29 detector owners, that they are "...just as good!" in much the same vein as Lear Jet pretty much trumps a little Cessna 152 in speed and altitude, plus the fact Cessna 150 owners are experienced enough not to argue the opposite...not to put too fine a point on it.

One of the most expensive detectors you can own is a Minelab CTX-3030. A top-of-the-line machine considered by many to be a professional grade detector. It sports a color screen, target displays consist of double, two-digit numbers denoting the target's Ferrous content and Conductivity rating. A 12-47 comes in usually as a silver quarter, a 01-43 indicates a silver dollar, and a 35-45 indicates something IRON. The machine can display more than one target at a time under the coil, has a built in GPS, runs on 28 different frequencies simultaneously, and is waterproof. Whew!

Ken Returning A Lost Gold Engagement Band

A friend of mine, and fellow CFMDC member, Kenneth Arrington, is what we used to call a Master Hunter with this particular machine. Kenneth had a long dry spell between jobs as a water plant chemist, and rather than sit on his you-know-what, hit the beach, park and everywhere in between during his job search. He spent from 12 to 14 hours daily using the Minelab CTX 3030, developed techniques and search patterns that made him some glorious finds during his hunts. A lot of them he displayed on our club Facebook site, Central Florida Metal Detecting Club group, and a lot of other metal detecting groups.

In between his finds, Kenneth has made himself useful in the local community, finding and returning WWII dog-tags lost in the mid-1940's to the still-living wife of the now-deceased solider, and was written up in the local news. He, along with his wife Karen, also found a lost engagement ring for a frantic groom, who thought his marriage was over BEFORE it had even begun!

A lot of folks became extremely impressed with the finds Kenneth was making and came to a somewhat erroneous conclusion...that the MACHINE was responsible for the finds! As a result, there was a plethora of CTX 3030 purchases made based on that assumption. Of course, there is no doubt it is a stellar detector, but without the dedicated knowledge and experience, you are gonna be angrily posting bottle-caps and few pieces of foil instead of gold rings and silver jewelry. As a result, many folks started requesting advice from Kenneth. He didn't mind giving a few pointers, but with Kenneth hard at work again on a new job, his time has been limited and questions getting more complex.

Water Chemist, and detectorist, Kenneth Arrington in his natural environment

His amazing finds here in Central Florida continue, as a dedicated treasure hunter, and artifact hunter, his skill levels are yet to be surpassed with the Minelab CTX-3030. Kenneth has also offered to give personal lessons on the machine, disseminating some of his hard-won knowlege, so if you are interested, and live in the Central Florida area, give him a holler at Karrington1@cfl.rr.com and see if you can get on the training roster!