Minelab and the Eightfiggies

Manly-looking machine

Continuing the discussion of the accuracy of findspot recording by responsible metal detectorists, readers may recall one of the things to emerge in the discussion, that there were metal detectors (the plural was used) which had built in GPS which at the touch of a button could record the precise location of the findspot. I suggested we could list such equipment here, to get an idea about what was available to responsible detectorists. Detectorist Andy Baines entered the discussion and gave the following information: 

I believe currently the only detector with built in gps is the minelab ctx 3030 at a snip under £2000 it is generally out of reach for most detectorists. I do believe however as technology advances more of the larger firms will start incorporating it into their machines.

So I looked up the CTX 3030.

The waterproof all-terrain CTX 3030 is the ultimate TREASURE detector.Uncover history and record your find locations with integrated GPS ("See where you have been and where you are going by using the Map screen and Navigation Tool.  New GPS functions, such as GeoTrails, WayPoints, FindPoints and GeoHunts, allow you to leave your handheld GPS at home!").

It's a manly-looking machine, designed to look like a power-tool, it seems it can even come in a camouflage finish (so it cannot be seen from a distance?). If you use it, the sexist advertising spiel suggests you'll look like a snappily-dressed thirty-something hunk with a beautiful brunette dreamily enthralled by what you have found. That aside, let's take a look at that GPS. The primary purpose seems to be gaming rather than recording, geotrails etc. It also allows you it seems to locate on the ground a particular spot you've previously identified as a potential "treasure' find spot.

There are a number of videos about it, like "The ctx 3030 Finds them Deep" ("WOW the ctx 3030 is an awesome machine not only does it find coins in hunted out spots in trash it finds them DEEP to[o]"). Then there is the Phil Beck one here:

You Tube video posted by Miners Den Australia

The guy is standing in front of some historical buildings, obviously some kind of monument and you think, "my God, he's not going to go hoiking there is he?" He poses a search, so when the screen shows up a co-ordinate, of course we check out where he is: 34°55'01"S 138°43'31"E which turns out to be a park outside Adelaide, Australia. What we note though is that the co-ordinates have no decimal point to the seconds, meaning that the accuracy is only to about plus or minus 25-30m on the ground, obviously better than a six figure NGR but still not really what is needed for cutting-edge archaeological recording.