Garrett Ace 250 Information & Questions

[BSellin]

Yerp. I have gotten use to wrappers of any type being foil lined, just to make a day drag on. Today was awesome though. I walked along a creek bed that had been ripped to shreds here for development. I know there is no gold to find but I wanted to test a geo pick and mini army shovel I got. I was trying around and found a 5kg bull dozer hoe tooth with part of the tail attachment.

Took me a good bit of digging as a bull dozer and excavator can push stuff far into clay an rock, but I got it out. Was a proud moment for me. Another good learning curve too. Didn't take a pic as I was too hot an tired.

Will note down anything else I do. Still loving my little ace 250 as it finds stuff, and that keeps me happy.

 

[yellastuff]

Hi Guys , Just bought an ace 250 today . Cant wait till the postie delivers it .Also can't wait to show some finds . Gaz

 

[BSellin]

Awesome. I have an ace also. Its great for parks n beaches and back yards etc for finding nick Naxs, coins, and bottle caps.

I can advise though. If your after coins in a park. Set the sensitivity down to two or three bars and have it set to coins mode. Then get a bunch of coins and wave it in front one at a time so you know what they all do and sound like. (20c wont ding so you need to add it on. But if you do it will make bottle caps show as well so be prepared).

With it set at a low sensitivity level you will be only scanning a 2 to 4 inches down. Give or take as 6'' will ring up too but it will help ring coins shallow to the surface quickly in parks. If you want to do deeper stuff get a pointer or else I feel you will be making a mess and digging holes everywhere.

Also. Its amazing on beaches. Sweep away on coin or all metal mode and take a shovel n sieve or take down a sieve shovel combo. And go nuts. Find heaps of stuff.

Anyway have fun.

 

[silver]

Hello Paleo , I have an ACE 250. A quick start for pre dec coins would be to go to your custom setting and just turn on the 4 right hand notches . this wont find you any gold , but , it will find you pennies and half pennies , 1 and 2 cent coins , 1 and 2 dollar coins , 925 silver pre dec coins (all) , and most of the newer 50 percent silver pre dec coins . If you wave the detector over the target and only get a high ring tone in one direction it is usually only rubbish. If it gives a high ring tone in both directions try giving it a shake over the target and if it goes off like you won the pokies then dig it ,it could still be an old bottle top but thems the breaks. I detect sometimes using the scan button so that the machine runs like the ones in the old days (proximity detector) , that way I can cover an extreme amount of ground , I can tell when there is something in the edge of the field by the change in tone , and can then home in on it strait away and release the scan button and use the machine normally , so as to let it tell me what it might be ! If not a good target ,then on to the next. You will get really quick at this in no time (just persevere).Now a bit of extra info , some of the deeper 50 percent silver targets will not noise up on these settings , but if you listen in scan mode they seem to have a scratchy signal as you drag your coil across the top of them , I think this is due to the mixed signal of copper and silver, just its particular signal. I find I can cover an enormous lot of ground compared to my mate who uses a
minelab 305. At first I seemed tone deaf , but soon learned to appreciate the different tones that the ace 250 gives. if you detect in all metal mode for a bit you will get to tell the difference in tones . Don't scan in full sensitivity unless your on the dry sand at the beach or a quiet country area( good soil and few signals) ,or unless your going over ground that you or someone else has flogged ,go down a couple of notches in sensitivity for normal running. If the ground is full of targets and very noisy go down further on your sensitivity and let the machine analyse all the targets for you , that way it will pick out the ones its after and let you see through the holes in the junk to the better targets that lay beneath. Always take anything you dig with you (rubbish as well) as this lets you go over the same ground latter with different settings or a different approach and get the good stuff you missed ( you always miss something).(this is getting to be like a small novel now). This info will be good for anyone with an ACE 250. Try it out Paleo for a short cut to the goodies and let me know how you go. Any more questions about the ACE 250,... Just ask !

 

[yellastuff]

Thanks mate some very usefull info there . Finding targets every where . It will take some getting used to but I think i'll find some goodies along the way . Garry

 

[BSellin]

I have an Ace 250 also. At first I thought the same but then you notice the top bar scale shows silver bronze and gold. Looking at that helps too instead of the coin scale.

I find when in parks to set it to two or three for sensitivity and set it to coins. Then either add the ring pull or remove the last active on left. That will do two things ,

1. Removing the last left will remove 5c pieces and ring pulls and help focus on higher decimal currency.
2. Adding the ring pull helps find 20c but you will also find a lot more beer bottle caps. They go hand in hand like the 5c and ring pulls on a coke can.

So those are personal preference. But if you want to find $1 & $2 coins only use the elimination discrimination function, but be mindful, you will mis other stuff.

Lastly, and this is again my personal preference but setting the sensitivity down makes you hit shallow targets. I find this good to do quick digs without digging too many deep holes. Plus with a pin pointer I only sweep with the ace then use the pro pointer to show me where it is and using a screwdriver I flick it up or just grab it with my fingers. Once I have done a spot a few times, next month I do it with the sensitivity up a bit more. Or if another detector enthusiast has been there, well crank up the sensitivity and include a few more functions to ensure I find something they may of missed.

If you want to dig a few holes, up the sensitivity and dig deeper, but please have a pointer or dig nice neat holes or else it will look like a war zone with craters everywhere.

And to give you some confidence, using those settings above and not caring about the USA scale, yesterday I dug up:
1 silver ring
1 pair of earrings
1 steel childs ring with fake ruby/garnet plastic thing in it.
A key
$10 in loose change. That was mostly $2 coins and even a 1c piece.

And lastly practice. Don't get discouraged. And have fun away from the PlayStation Xbox or wife etc

 

[silver]

I went out this arvo 5:30pm-7:15pm and dug up at a local park (in the grass) a 1927 threepence ,3 x $2, 5x$1, 50c, 2x 10c, 5c, 2c ,2x1c, and a pearl stud, a lot of the goldies were on the near surface and would have falsed out like a bottle top on the surface using the scan button when rescanning up close to the target for pinpointing (be aware of this as you can miss goldies)(next person gets them)This is where the pro pointer comes in handy for those older coin spills that have worked there way into the upper surface dirt under the grass (all the goldies except for $2 and the 50c, tens and the 5c were all in a square metre of search area !).

 

[silver]

I wrote a bit of stuff for Paleo in (Garrett Ace 250 question) early this morning, should help the young fella get onto quick goodies to help keep him interested,(settings etc).

 

[Goldpick]

I bought this Ace 250 second hand in excellent condition off ebay with control box cover, optional DD coil and original packaging. I bought it mainly for the missus, but reckon I'm going to sneek out with it to do some coinshooting and look for recent dops on the beach/parks. It is certainly very light, and upon testing out a few coins and scouring the back yard, it does a pretty good job at discriminating out the small foil and iron targets littering the place. I figured it was a pretty good deal considering the 8.5x11" coil and environmental cover are worth $230 on their own.

 

[trenchfighter]

nice one goldpick, keep us posted on ya finds with it brother.

 

[Goldpick]

Took the Ace 250 out for a quick run the other night, unfortunately was very limited in time due to approaching thunderstorms, but at least I found a $2 coin several inches down in the short time I was there. I was thinking that the "bell" tone for coins would be annoying, but in fact when used with volume control RPG headphones, it was a very pleasant detector to use, very useful for working in the dark. It also seems to run quite well on the wet sand with the sensitivity down a few notches, and nice to swing such a light detector for a change.

Ended up biting the bullet today, and bought the 9x12" concentric coil for a bit more depth and coverage on the beach, and the 4.5" sniper coil for some of the typically trashy Adelaide parks. Picked them up new from the Gold Mining Centre for an unbeatable deal, so if local in Adelaide, and you have an Ace detector, give Phil a buzz and he will look after you.

Overall, a fun and very easy detector to use, but plenty of features to keep one amused!

 

[Goldpick]

Well tonight was my first real try out of the Ace 250 in a park, I ran it in coin mode, but still dug up the odd target to confirm what the detector was telling me (hence the pile of junk in the pic), and to get an idea on how it sounds off on certain metals. I'm sure this park gets a regular going over by other detectorists, but I reckon it did pretty well for the first run - 17 coins in total, 2$2, 150c, 110c, 41c and 9x5c, the oldest being a 1966 1c.

I ran the larger 9x12" concentric vs the smaller stock 6.5x9" coil, but will wack on the sniper coil next time to try and help the Ace discriminate better on closely spaced targets vs trying to cope with multiple target under the larger footprint of the big concentric coil. Will also give the big DD coil a run in a park, I'm a big fan of the DD's, I find them easier to pinpoint with, plus the blade like search pattern of the DD should offer better target seperation over the concentric. I also ran sensitivity at one or rwo notches below max, full sensitivity tends to pull out too many signals from various junk in the ground.

Sure the recovery time on the Ace is not flash, but it is really just an indication of what target you just passed over vs a definitive location of the target, switching over to the pinpointing mode offers up a more accurate location. The discrimination does a good job of blanking out the junk, leaving the odd mid range and upper coin range targets to concentrate on. The bell tone is great at night for coins, lets you concentrate on detecting vs staring at the screen all the time to decipher information. Still getting used to the pinpointing , reckon I'm getting pretty close to the mark, along with the Pro-find for final pinpointing of the target.

The Ace is unreservedly scoffed at as a bit of a toy for some, sure it's no Etrac or Sovereign, but it's certainly not on the bottom of the heap either. It really is light and enjoyable to use, and I may have trouble putting it down and going back to the Coinmaster GT!

 

[rat]

love my ace 250.seems to pick up small buttons & old threepence at 6" + (150mm). only annoyance is that 3p & $2 come up as 1c on screen & pennies come up as 10c. might get some white tape & pen & mark out proper finds. & recovery, get it close, then use a pro pointer to get me on the target.
for the money, you get more bang for your buck!
Barry

 

[silver]

Hey Goldpick here's a doctored copy of what I wrote in (The ACE250 Question).
(I probably shouldn't paste the same stuff on again, I don't mean to offend anyone.)

I have an ACE 250. A quick start for pre dec coins would be to go to your custom setting and just turn on the 4 right hand notches . this wont find you any gold , but , it will find you pennies and half pennies , 1 and 2 cent coins , 1 and 2 dollar coins , 925 silver pre dec coins (all) , and most of the newer 50 percent silver pre dec coins . If you wave the detector over the target and only get a high ring tone in one direction it is usually only rubbish. If it gives a high ring tone in both directions try giving it a shake over the target and if it goes off like you won the pokies then dig it ,it could still be an old bottle top but thems the breaks. I detect sometimes using the scan button so that the machine runs like the ones in the old days (proximity detector) , that way I can cover an extreme amount of ground , I can tell when there is something in the edge of the field by the change in tone , and can then home in on it strait away and release the scan button and use the machine normally , so as to let it tell me what it might be ! If not a good target ,then on to the next. You will get really quick at this in no time (just persevere).Now a bit of extra info , some of the deeper 50 percent silver targets will not noise up on these settings , but if you listen in scan mode they seem to have a scratchy signal as you drag your coil across the top of them , I think this is due to the mixed signal of copper and silver, just its particular signal. I find I can cover an enormous lot of ground compared to my mate who uses a
minelab 305. At first I seemed tone deaf , but soon learned to appreciate the different tones that the ace 250 gives. if you detect in all metal mode for a bit you will get to tell the difference in tones . Don't scan in full sensitivity unless your on the dry sand at the beach or a quiet country area( good soil and few signals) ,or unless your going over ground that you or someone else has flogged ,go down a couple of notches in sensitivity for normal running. If the ground is full of targets and very noisy go down further on your sensitivity and let the machine analyse all the targets for you , that way it will pick out the ones its after and let you see through the holes in the junk to the better targets that lay beneath. Always take anything you dig with you (rubbish as well) as this lets you go over the same ground latter with different settings or a different approach and get the good stuff you missed ( you always miss something).(this is getting to be like a small novel now). This info will be good for anyone with an ACE 250. Try it out for a short cut to the goodies and let me know how you go. Any more questions about the ACE 250,... Just ask !

What do you rekon on that ?... And what did your 250 and bits end up costing you, if it's not rude of me to ask ?

 

[Goldpick]

I picked up the Ace second hand with stock coil, 8.5x11" DD coil, and control box cover for around $330, in original box with headphones and all original contents - current model with strengthened arm cuff in like new condition.

The large concentric and sniper coil were from the Gold Mining Centre here in Adelaide, Phil still has a lot of Garrett gear left in stock after losing the distributorship from Garrett, so he can cut you some good deals. He currently has the large concentric coil on ebay for only $80 brand new, plus can get you Propointers a lot cheaper than from Garrett, he advertises those for only $160 on ebay, fully checked before delivery. I believe he has plenty of sniper coils, plus coil covers for the whole range.

 

[silver]

I wouldn't mind trying out a sniper coil, I rekon it'd be tops in those trashy areas over the top of pre dec silver. It's amazing when you get those peep holes into the good soil. Thanks for the heads up on the price info, mates lookin to swap some florins for a pro pointer ,weight in favour of supplier, so if by chance you bump into Phil in your travels perhaps you could put in a word before we get in touch with him ?
.

 

[rpoll17]

Hi, could anyone help me please. Is the Garret ace 250 a good detector for gold and coins etc.

 

[Goldpick]

It's a great detector to start out on for coins and relics on the beach and in parks, easy to use and with lots of features. I have one and really enjoy using it, especially at the beach, it will work on wet sand if the sensitivity is wound back a few notches, otherwise you will start to get falsing signals. Probably not the best detector for small gold nuggets due to its low frequency, but it can pick up on reasonable sized pieces of gold, just not the real small stuff, best to use the 4.5" sniper coil if looking for gold nuggets. The Ace also has no ground balancing function, so it may have difficulty in some goldfields areas, but working in its favour, it is very light to use, doesn't chew through the batteries (4 x AA), and has 4 other accessory coils available for various applications.

Probably better value than the Euroace or Ace 350, which really only differs with the included DD coil, expanded iron range on the discrimination, and slightly higher frequency. The supposed depth increase on the Euroace and Ace 350 are purely down to the larger DD coil, which you can buy for the Ace 250 anyway.

If you want to seriously look in the goldfields, you will need to look for another detector with the ability to automatically or manually adjust the ground balance, plus have a higher running frequency - anything from around 15kHz upwards.

 

[rpoll17]

Ok cool, thanks a lot that really helps because I would like to look more for gold nuggets. Thanks again.

 

[BSellin]

I have an ace and agree with goldpick. It rocks for beaches and parks. You do have to ask yourself, are you after a big nugget or a cash reward, and over what timeframe.

I have goldfields near me I could hang out for a weekend but I doubt, to this day, that my finds in parks would beat what I found out there. Plus time is not on my side. So I chose a coin shooter as its easier for me to go to a park with the kids and dog for an hour an make $5 to $30 than to blow cash on fuel and accom n meals.

Food for thought there.