Ace 250

kemichael74

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2022
Messages
32
I've been detecting now for about 3 months. I started with the bounty hunter tracker IV like most people. Did well with it. Found a lot of clad and even an old button. Recently a coworker gave me his Garret Ace 250 with the stock coil and also a 10x14 DD coil. It's an easy machine to operate and i figured it out pretty quickly. I like it a lot and it's more powerful than the tracker IV. It hits the targets good and i can quickly pull targets with no problem with the stock coil (5x9 i think or something like that).

I went to a local park yesterday with the stock coil and hunted around the ball fields and WOW got quarters and dimes everywhere but a lot more ground to cover and taking a long time with the 5x9 coil. I went back today with the 10x14 coil and i don't think i like it at all!! I tried to give it a chance. I knew it was heavier but that's not the big issue with it. I'm having an impossible time targeting anything. It seems confused and much harder to get that good double ding when you got something.

It also goes much deeper which i knew also. When i do think i've pinpointed my target i'll press the PP button and get over the target till its full bars and screaming then i'll dig and nothing! I think that might be it's much deeper than what i'm digging. Well at the park i don't think i want to dig deep holes as deep as that thing goes anyways. I usually bump the sensitivity down one or two notches with the bigger coil. I just thought using a bigger coil would be a better experience and so far i hate the thing! And the pinpointer. When using it do you only use it after you've somewhat located the target. In otherwords if you leave the button off do you have to pass over the target again before pressing it on again? Seems like anywhere i randomly set the coil and press PP the tone goes off high. It's like i have to kind of show it first where the target is.

So for now i guess i'm going back to the 5x9 as i feel today was a complete loss of time walking around with the big coil. I feel if i go back over what i did with the small one i'll get stuff and that's a terrible feeling to know you left stuff behind. I might reconsider using the 10x14 when i start doing big fields. You can dig bigger holes out there, lol!!

OH, and i did calibrate the detector after changing the coils and tried various custom settings as well as pre programmed. It's just so much harder to use. My coworker said their was nothing wrong with the coil or detector. They are both like new so i trust him.

Any tips or pointers man i could really use them. The places i have lined up will take way too long with a 5x9 coil.
 
The 250 is a decent entry level detector, I used one and found a lot of old coins and relics, and IIRC a class ring.

What you're explaining is simply inherent to a larger coil. Best thing is practice in your own yard before going elsewhere.

Try burying a shallow dime, place a non-metallic marker directly above it, and see how it pinpoints then, knowing exactly where the target is.

Practice will get you there

ETA: I re-read your post, if you're not doing this, pinpoint from 2 directions, like as X. Go one direction, keeping your eye on the spot you get the strongest signal, then step around 90 degrees and when you cross that spot from the other direction should be your target.

If you're already doing that, nevermind :lol:
 
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I actually did my entire yard with the tracker IV. Then i did it again with the Ace 250 and retrieved more stuff. Perfect example of how there is always something when you think there is nothing. I did practice with the large coil. I thought i had it down but i'm just not nailing it. I've done that pinpoint technique and that's the one i like the best. It seems a little more reliable than the actual PP button on the machine. I'm just disappointed i guess i set my expectations too high for the big coil. Though it would save time but the amount of time it takes me to narrow in on my target i'm not saving any time! I guess practice like you said will do it.

Why is the smaller coil so much more precise and easier. Guess i just got to take smaller sections and go slower.
 
I actually did my entire yard with the tracker IV. Then i did it again with the Ace 250 and retrieved more stuff. Perfect example of how there is always something when you think there is nothing. I did practice with the large coil. I thought i had it down but i'm just not nailing it. I've done that pinpoint technique and that's the one i like the best. It seems a little more reliable than the actual PP button on the machine. I'm just disappointed i guess i set my expectations too high for the big coil. Though it would save time but the amount of time it takes me to narrow in on my target i'm not saving any time! I guess practice like you said will do it.

Why is the smaller coil so much more precise and easier. Guess i just got to take smaller sections and go slower.

No need to be disappointed, a larger coil is simply a different tool to perform a job. Performance can change with location.

A trashy site (filled with can slaw, pull tabs, nails, bottle caps, foil, etc) like a park, may not be the best place to use one, especially if you've got little time behind it and aren't familiar with its characteristics.

Hunt your permissions with your smaller coil, make hay while the sun's shinin'. On the days you can't detect, but have a little extra time, toss on the larger coil and go out in the yard. Do the buried dime method I mentioned earlier. Listen to where it pinpoints, and note were that spot is on the coil.

Do that until you nail it 9 of 10 times. Then lay a rag over the marker and try it again. When you think you've got it pinpointed, move the coil (keeping your eye on the spot) and poke your finger onto the rag, and see of you feel the marker over the dime.

Don't give up, just practice.

ETA: The smaller coil is more precise for just that reason, it's smaller. The smaller coils are sometimes called "sniper" coils for that reason, getting between the trash.
 
I couldn't give up even if i tried, lol!! All I think about is where can i go tomorrow. I'm actually a bit concerned as this hobby has consumed all of me! Just can't explain that anticipation right before pulling your prize out of the ground. For me it's just been clad. But i get super excited when it's quarters!! They add up quick! i could dig up quarters and dimes all day long and been completely content! I'm working on a permission right now to house built in 1900 that is vacant and up for auction. Anxiously waiting to hear back from them.

Thanks for the comments and helpful insight!
 
I couldn't give up even if i tried, lol!! All I think about is where can i go tomorrow. I'm actually a bit concerned as this hobby has consumed all of me! Just can't explain that anticipation right before pulling your prize out of the ground. For me it's just been clad. But i get super excited when it's quarters!! They add up quick! i could dig up quarters and dimes all day long and been completely content! I'm working on a permission right now to house built in 1900 that is vacant and up for auction. Anxiously waiting to hear back from them.

Thanks for the comments and helpful insight!

For many of us, those feelings never go away :lol: Good luck with the permission, and same principal there, if that one doesn't pan-out, there's always another. Yes and No are both just part of the permission process. You just have to stick with it.
 
I had an Ace 250 back about 12 years ago and found a lot with it and only used the stock coil. I now have an Ace 400 that I use as a backup detector and it has the 11 inch Double D coil. I've also found a lot of coins and jewelry with it and have no problem pinpointing with it or getting false signals. There's a lot of junk in the ground that will sound good and show a shallow depth reading but in fact is a large piece of metal deep in the ground. Experience will get you better results and less time digging dubious signals.
 
It is now 5 days later and i've been out everyday. I have no problems with the stock coil and have found a lot of clad. I did a church field with the stock coil. I've been gridding the same field with the 10x14 coil and without fail i pull stuff out everytime. I've learned some techniques with it that work and it is now the coil i prefer (not that i have any others besides stock). It's funny how something you like the least becomes your first choice.

I've also been coming at a target with different approaches when i get a good signal which has helped me a lot. If i can lift my coil a foot off the ground and still get a screaming signal i usually don't dig it. But yes, experience and practice are getting me there and it's getting much easier to pinpoint.
 
I started with an Ace 350 and found some nice items. It's all about location.

Once I got some nice permissions/locations I used the 350 on, I needed something that could unmask targets better and had the ability to ground balance.

Now I've got a handful of detectors, multiple coils, and a number digging tools, knee pads, and finds pouches.

It can be simple, or as complex and technical as you want. Just make sure you're enjoying yourself. Too many guys end up turning it into work in my opinion.
 
It sounds like a lot of guys on here had a Garret at some point. It's a nice machine but I also would like a way to better identify targets rather than just the machine telling me what it thinks it is on the LCD display. I'm thinking that later on down the road there may be a new detector in store! I think a number indicator would be more beneficial but perhaps a bit more than i'd like to take on right now.

So back to the Ace 250. Today i went back through my yard (which i've done now like 3 times) but this time in custom mode and only discrimination was iron. As i'm sure all you guys are aware you get three tones in this mode. My question is are high tones for everything that ISN'T discriminated and mid and low tones basically the things that ARE. For instance if i get a good signal but it's low tone does that mean it's something i've cancelled out? I'm not quite sure i know how to explain what i'm trying to ask. I've only been using coin mode so i haven't really heard the other tones that much.
 
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