Help with Garett ACE 250

InternetJunky

Ok, so I recently purchased this product and have been out twice with it so far. Yeah, I know it takes "time" to be able to use it properly, but some things just don't add up. The first thing is the depth indicator. My buddy found a nickel on the surface of the ground on accident before I could come up with anything with the detector (prettttyyy embarassing). Anyway, I took the nickel threw it on the ground and went over it with the detector. Sure enough it picked up that it was a 5cent piece, but it told me it was 4 inches in the ground! Whats up with that?

The next thing is just the detector itself. I'll be going over a spot, hear the beeps, so I use the pinpoint feature. It locks on to full sensitivity and I'm thinkin yeah! So I dig a little bit, put the dirt I dug to the side (just in case its in that clump), and go over the hole and the little dirt mound. Nothing! No beeps or anything! This has happened to me every time so far, haven't even retrieved a pop top yet. What am I doing wrong? Is it the sensitivity level? How should that be set in a wooded enviornment? Defective equipment?...

BentFork

First of all you probably are running your sensitivity too high. So you're getting some falsing. That can attribute to not finding the target. Next, you're going to have to practice your pinpoint skills. Virtually everyone when they start out on the Ace 250 have pinpoint problems. It's the nature of that machine. I'm not putting it down. The Ace 250 is an excellent machine! When you pinpoint with a machine that has a concentirc coil the sweet spot is in the middle of the loop. With an elliptical it's not necessarily in the middle. It'll be close. My 6X10 on my MXT is the same. Likewise the elliptical on my SE isn't exactly in the middle. Place some coins on a large piece of cardboard and practice. Then you can visually see where it is. Most often it will be in the notch in front of the mount.

G.

cars

Sounds like you have the sensitivity set to high but I don't know much about MD'ing yet. Just got my first one a few days ago. Bang it on the ground a few times hard as you possibly can and that will fix all your problems your having with it.

kevinstang

I've used the ACE250 and other Garrett's, the depth indicator is more of a guide and not so accurate at times. Nickels- what can I say- they are tough for any of the older Garretts I've used and even the ACE. Learning to pick out which solid nickel range hit is actually a nickel can take quite a long time in my experience using. Some of the older coins show a range of signals, not just a nickel at times.

The getting a hit and digging a hole and not finding and loosing the signal afterwards is pretty typical in trashy areas and other areas too. Usually the detector might have locked onto a bottle cap, rusty nail or piece of foil at first and gave a reading, then after you remove some dirt it "seems to figure this out" and ignores it- it can be frustrating at time. Lead in the ground can also be fun- if you hunting in the woods there might be alot of old bullets etc.. A pinpointer is nice to have if you want to find out what the detector picked up on- they don't discriminate.

I used by Ace250 pretty much with the factory presets- even though I had years of experience. If your new at detector I would recommend sticking with them as well, it takes time and alot of digging to get things figured out- I've probably got two five gallon buckets filled with odds and ends junk dug in the last 3-4 years. I only messed with the factory settings when I got to "known" areas I had hunted before and wanted to see if I could pick out anything I could have missed- it worked at times. Good Luck!

JoePA

Some good advice here. I've also used a 250 for years. It's the sensitivity. Turn it down to about level 4 and give that a shot. You need to get really clean ground to go much higher than that - in fact I've never used the 2 highest sensitivity settings.

As for the depth - I agree, it's an indicator only. Target size will have a big effect on this. For example, a very small piece of foil near the surface will usually show very deep, and an aluminum can very deep (like 12"+) usually shows up as a dime or quarter at 4-6".

For pinpointing - give it a lot of practice, and you can also try this: Once you think you have a good target located, use pinpoint in an "X" pattern over your target to locate it. Then, move the coil slightly off of the target, so you can barely hear it and quickly release and press pinpoint again. It will tighten the width of the pinpoint. You may have to repeat this several times. I can pinpoint with the ACE to better than within an inch doing this.

HH

InternetJunky

Hey thanks for the input guys. I'm going to give it another try again today. I'll post if anything found.

millennium

Just curious...you said you swept over the nickel when you threw it on the ground..How high was your coil from the nickel when you swept it?

InternetJunky

<< <i>Just curious...you said you swept over the nickel when you threw it on the ground..How high was your coil from the nickel when you swept it? >>



I usually keep it about 1-2inches of the ground like the instruction book said to do if I recall correctly. Also, I did find some things today, but nothing of value. 4 pop-tops, a couple beer caps and an old Dr. Pepper can that looks like its from the 70s or something. BUT, at least now I'm detecting things. Which before I couldn't even find a pop-top or bottle cap. I went to level 4 on the sensitivity level like others have suggested and it works great. Now the task at hand is to tell the difference between a pop-top tone and an actual coin tone. Which I think if I just went to an area with less traffic there won't be so many broken bottles/pop-tops, thus increasing the chances of finding something worth while. Chicago winter is just grinding to a halt so who knows what I'll come up with in the next 5 months or so.

Kahuna

Hum, good information guys. Spring has just broken but not fully yet here in NY, and I haven't bought my 250 yet good info to know; however, I should have little issues with finding things after doing mine sweeps in Vietnam for awhile I'm still here lol

intocoins

I have the Garrett ACE 250. I found that doing a thorough bench test of different items very helpful. Get a pop top , can ,cent, silver, clad coins and whatever else you would like to discriminate and go over them. Usually pop tops make a bing sound and a coin will usually ring out. It will take some getting use to but well worth testing. You can delete the items with the discriminate button feature. I don't do that cause I'm afraid I'll miss something like a buckle or something iron (Civil War) or such. Also READ the instruction manual well and make sure your batteries are always fresh. I get some goofy readings when my batteries are low. Also put something on the ground (metal) and run your pinpointer over it. When you get that solid ring you know thats your center point. Mine is right in the middle of the coil. Good luck and post them finds.