New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Great letter Dale,
I will sign as well the part with the Shaft- i will need to check mine , as it is wobbling and i had to use cable tighter to stabilize it.

It is crazy that 3K machine has so many design issues :-(

i will have to correct your in terms of understanding, what "investment" is in metal detecting.

Your time spent detecting - is your investment, as your skill goes up.
As hardware wise- metal detector is a tool and it depreciates/brakes and so on.
So, from personal experience, i would say that CTX3030 is a great machine in terms of brains in it. but absolute crap in execution of the parts.
I clocked several hundred hours on mine and i can say that i am very confidant with it, so my "invested time" is paying off, however if we compare with Excalibur 2 that cost pretty much half price when second hand - i did absolutely well with it.

Bright example just today : my water proof headphones on CTX are now faulting (the connector probably broke) so i switched to Excal and my first target was 9 ct GOLD ring with it.

so it doesnt really matter what machine you use, how big your coil, it is about how you use it and if you are using right machine for a right condition.

Hi Dale,

I apologise if my previous reply was not detailed enough.

We need all those parts to properly repair and improve the shaft wobble issue and make some alterations to avoid it occurring again.
However if this is something you would prefer to wait until after summer we will be happy to repair it for you then.

All of our vigorous testing has concluded that leaking batteries can only be caused if the seal is compromised due to contamination, which is clearly not a manufacturing/warranty issue.
You comments on using the Alkaline pack instead or encapsulating the circuit have merit, but are unnecessary if the seal is maintained correctly.
The battery cannot be repaired for a number of reasons, which unfortunately my colleague who originally replied to you did not consider;
1: It is actually ‘illegal’ to ship faulty Li-ion battery packs.
2: We consider the batteries an unserviceable item.
3: Water damaged electronics, including battery cells are notoriously unreliable.

I hope this helps
Regards
Minelab Customer Care Team

Minelab Electronics | 118 Hayward Avenue, Torrensville, South Australia 5031



From: Dale Matravers
Sent: Tuesday, 7 January 2014 1:47 PM
To: Minelab Service
Subject: Re: Letter attached - CTX 3030 Feedback

Hi guys

Regarding your short response below I find it frustrating that you do not even acknowledge the issues mentioned with the battery and the CTX 3030 as an underwater detector!

After investing several thousand dollars in Minelab equipment, and never lodging a warranty claim for any item (having experienced typical issues with the excalibur ii (broken knobs etc) - this limited response and offer of 'help' by shipping the guts of the machine for a minor shaft repair / replacement shaft is very frustrating!

(Down time and unable to use a 3000 dollar + machine over summer)

There are several of us in Auckland experiencing similar or the same issues with the battery seal and the overall quality of the CTX (shaft wobble) and it's fitness for purpose as an underwater machine. An issue being discussed more and more often on user groups and forums in NZ.

I assume the battery cannot be repaired despite the cells being ok?

The lack of support or even simple acknowledgement of the time taken to provide written feedback to you speaks volumes about your customer service and attitude toward your clients.

Utterly disappointed with your limited response.

Dale






Sent from Samsung Mobile


-------- Original message --------
From: Minelab Service
Date:06/01/2014 15:55 (GMT+12:00)
To: Dale Matravers ,Minelab Service ,Minelabsales
Subject: RE: Letter attached - CTX 3030 Feedback

Hi Dale,

Thank you for your letter and suggestions.

The shaft issue is something we can help with but you would need to send the entire Upper Shaft/Handle/LCD pod assembly to us here (address below) so we can repair it, and stop it from re-occurring.

I am afraid the battery issue cannot be considered a warranty issue.

Kind regards
Minelab Customer Care Team

Minelab Electronics | 118 Hayward Avenue, Torrensville, South Australia 5031

Edited by user Tuesday, 7 January 2014 6:00:01 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

not yet - the battery itself is fine....just the electronics inside that minelab call 'non serviceable' - hence even more reason to use the AA battery pack, as these are a) much cheaper b) not reliant on internal electronics.....

save the LI ION pack for the parks and land hunts....especially with only a 6 month warranty. Would be interested to look at the Garrett ATX - I see this uses standard AA battery packs for underwater use. But it is s PI machine - and will end up digging everything! If anyone has the new ATX would be interested to hear opinion....