Garrett 250 - Looking for the deepest coil possible & !!!

[czoom]

Garrett 250 Looking for the deepest coil possible & a coil that separates trash from the good stuff better. I noticed the standard coil can go crazy in Heavy trashy areas. Just feel like I need something better.

Can you guys please recommend me some good options. Thanks.

[czoom]

http://www.kellycodetectors.com/exce...tor-10inch.htm Is this one any good?

[Sandman]

After market coils are rarely better than what the manufacturer puts on the detector. Garrett sells larger coils for the 250. A smaller coil like a sniper coil will have a smaller field to separate the trash from the good stuff better than a larger coil. We can't have it both ways. It might be time to think of an upgrade to a detector with a ground balance feature so you can detect deeper.

[czoom]

After market coils are rarely better than what the manufacturer puts on the detector. Garrett sells larger coils for the 250. A smaller coil like a sniper coil will have a smaller field to separate the trash from the good stuff better than a larger coil. We can't have it both ways. It might be time to think of an upgrade to a detector with a ground balance feature so you can detect deeper.

Thanks, so I guess the smaller coil will go down even less but be better in trash. Larger coil should go down a lot more. Just got the ACE 250 I am happy with it. Just want it to go down a bit deeper. Anyone know how great this is?
http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/222...earchcoil.aspx

[Blind Squirrel]

I'm relatively new to the hobby, and have all three coils made by Garrett for the 250. That big coil is a beast, and will worry you to death in the trash!!! The best investment I've made, other than the Pro Pointer, is the small sniper-coinshooter coil. It will not go as deep, but if there is a coin at less then six inches it will home right in on them. Spot on!!! There again, I am a newb (Apr. last year) maybe did not give the big coil a chance, but I wish I hadn't spent the money on it. Should have saved the bucks for an upgrade to a better machine, which I plan on doing soon. Losing my patience with the two fitty!! Just my opinion Good luck and HH, BS

[czoom]

I'm relatively new to the hobby, and have all three coils made by Garrett for the 250. That big coil is a beast, and will worry you to death in the trash!!! The best investment I've made, other than the Pro Pointer, is the small sniper-coinshooter coil. It will not go as deep, but if there is a coin at less then six inches it will home right in on them. Spot on!!! There again, I am a newb (Apr. last year) maybe did not give the big coil a chance, but I wish I hadn't spent the money on it. Should have saved the bucks for an upgrade to a better machine, which I plan on doing soon. Losing my patience with the two fitty!! Just my opinion Good luck and HH, BS

Yikes sounds like a new coil won't be the best investment then.

After market coils are rarely better than what the manufacturer puts on the detector. Garrett sells larger coils for the 250. A smaller coil like a sniper coil will have a smaller field to separate the trash from the good stuff better than a larger coil. We can't have it both ways. It might be time to think of an upgrade to a detector with a ground balance feature so you can detect deeper.

Well can you recommend me a much better medal detector What should I use if I am not satisfied with the Garrett 250? I am willing to spend more if I can get a detector that can go deeper with more settings, still easy to use and can separate trash better.

[Swartzie]

http://www.kellycodetectors.com/exce...tor-10inch.htm Is this one any good?

I have that one on my 250. It does go a couple inches deeper and is more stable than the stock coil. It will cover a lot of ground if you're hunting in a park or someplace like that. The only downside is it weighs a bit more than the stock coil and can wear your arm out after awhile. If you get into a trashy area (with any coil) the best thing to do is slow down and use very short swings of the coil and turn the sensitivity down. Nothing builds patience better than working a good trashy area.

-Swartzie

[jadeblackhawk]

I have the big coil (not the dd, yet) for my 250. I love it so much I only use the stock coil out in the woods where space is a concern. I don't notice any extreme depth gains, but I can cover much more ground with it.

I have no trouble using the big coil in trashy areas, but then, I have A LOT of hours on it.

[liftloop]

yea.. your better off getting ride of that thing before it gives you gray hair.. and get a white's.....those 250 are nothen but a toy....

[jadeblackhawk]

I have a white's. I hate it. it's at least ten year's old, the most I ever found with it was a few dimes. If I hadn't bought an ace 250 I never would have started detecting again. Who would've thought a MD didn't have to weigh ten pounds...

[JG]

I would stick with Garretts coils, made by Garrett for Garrett equipment. The new DD is not just another DD, it is being well received by 250 owners and they like it. Good target separation, good improved depth and the DD is better on mineralization.

Nothing toyish about a 250 or any of Garrett’s equipment, just yeller-feller envy. It is one excellent machine for the price and is an excellent machine for deep silver because of its frequency –a very much overlooked quality. People have even used it in Alaska for prospecting and one woman found the gold all the MXT’s missed one day. Pretty good for a toy, huh? One guy found a men’s gold ring with one recently in a group hunt at a ballpark. Another grand-slam for the 250!

Anyone who says it is a toy does not know what they are saying. It is okay if they don’t take you serious because that is the best part about it -they should if they had any smarts. Many have been modified for water hunting and have done very well with a so-called toy. There were so many being waterproofed that Garrett gave us the AT PRO and it too may look like a toy but like I said, that is okay with me. I don’t want a soggy tissue box looking machine in the water. Performance is what counts and not looks. You don’t see throngs of people converting their Whites for water hunting, so what does that tell you?

[Coin Stalker]

I am going to buy the 9x12 for myself soon and I will post the results..... Getting it for $80 free shipping on ebay...

[czoom]

After seeing some tests and seeing the extra options. I have decided to skip a new coil and just but The Garrett AT PRO. I should be a lot more happy with AT Pro. I am very happy with my ACE 250, just lacks in a few areas that I prefer work better.

[treasure diver]

I fixed the wieght problem on large coil. I got one of Doc'c swingy thingy's I love it.

[batcap]

yea.. your better off getting ride of that thing before it gives you gray hair.. and get a white's.....those 250 are nothen but a toy....

Don't mind LiftLoop, he's always invading the Garrett forum with the "Get a Whites" mantra. Think about what thought process it would take to regularly go to the Fisher or White's forum just to say "Get a Garrett!" Tsk, tsk, poor fellow.

I had all three coils for the Ace 250. I used the (1)stock coil the most, (2)super sniper 2nd and (3)big one least. Really they are for (1)General purpose, (2) trashy areas, (3) covering lots of ground, a little deeper, in clean earth. Balto City doesn't have much clean dirt.

[sandtrout]

There's more than one machine with the ACE 250. There's the one you get, turn on, and find stuff with....then there's the one you use when you've learned it and what it's telling you after about 100 hours....then there's the one you've done extensive testing with with a test garden that's pretty elaborate...one with various coins at various depths by themselves, with pulltabs, and with nails for masking and have learned to adjust the sensitivity on and which modes work best for you. I have a "cherry pick" mode which is the custom mode set to notch out block segments 1 - 8 and just leave 9 - 12 open for silver coins, copper pennies (not clad), and silver jewelry only (when I don't feel like digging and also want to save my old knees) and the one I use 90% of the time is the Jewelry mode...lots of trash but also rings made of gold, platinum, stainless steel, and tungsten carbide plus an asst. of necklaces. Look up and read some of the posts by CRAZYJARHEAD who has an ACE 250 and a large Garrett coil and does very well with it for relics. Garretts, Whites, Minelab, Fisher, Tesoro are ALL toys until you learn them. Used to be a song about an old violin being sold at an auction for a pittance, then an old man (a master violinist) tunes and plays this harmonious melody which causes it to be sold for thousands! I've had incredible luck with just the stock coil for park hunting.

[buggs]

Since I am a newbie, here's my 2 cents. This forum advised me to learn my 250. I'm approaching 60 hours with the ACE 250. In this time it was becoming very frustrating. Never finding the objects. Since I had been using a TA300 for years. I was use to my target being right in the center of the coil below the stem. But with the Ace 250, that is not the case. It will pick up a signal around the coil, but on mine, I zero in approximate 3in in front of the stem at the edge of inner coil. Then I re-tune. Why dig a 6in width when I can dig a 3in width. It took me a while to learn this and too zero in, but once I did things were being discovered. Since then I have matched my ACE 250 with a pro-pointer and have increased my finds 60%. More clad and more trash. But one day I will find the Holy Grail. But when I dig 8in to find a small screw the size of pencil lead, I'm not frustrated, I'm amazed. I think this is the problem among 250 users, taking the time to learn and be patient. I work out of a strip mall of metal warehouses over 30 years old with a gravel parking lot. Metal and machine shops all around. Lots of 30yr old trash all around. This is my test ground and has proven very well to my learning the ACE 250.

[relicswinger]

I have Garrett equipment with the small Sniper coil, the stock coil and the DD 10X14 beast. I have used all of them in all kinds of difficult and easy situations. It is easier to use the small coil in trashy areas because its footprint is small and has less opportunity for having multiple items in it's search field. It still has surprising depth (insert depth disclaimer here ) depending on the dampness/mineralization of the soil, size of target, etc. The larger coils see deeper but will miss the smallest items (like ear ring backs, etc), but they have a larger search field so they pick up more items at the same time resulting in mixed signals or masking.

My point is this you have a great detector made by a great company. A universal truth is that people get a detector and are frustrated during their learning curve. They will often get another machine by another manufacturer thinking that their frustration is caused by the machine rather than the learning curve. The experience with the first machine makes it easier to learn the second machine and they sing that machines praises. The hard part is learning what the detector and coil are saying. A test garden is essential in learning the detector's language and how to use the coil for more information. For example when I get an indication of a quarter on my initial swing, I will re-swing from a different angle (called x-ing) to see if it still give the same signal. If it is dead-on quarter signals it is usually a quarter. If it gives different indications it is usually a beer cap. It could also be a quarter with another item close by. The detector will tell you what it is seeing, it is our job to figure out what it thinks that is. There is nothing better than time in the field. I usually go with a friend who has been detecting for about 20 years. I ask him to call me over when he finds something deep so I can see how to use my detector to see it. This includes adjusting sensitivity, swing speed, etc until I see it. This is when I am able to fine tune my craftsmanship in using my machine/coil.

I don't have one but I'm told the Garrett 2500 is maximized for depth...

[clovis97]

I have nothing to add, but as a newbie with an Ace 250, this is a great thread!!!! I've learned a bunch!!!!

[craftywulf]

I am new here but have been detecting for about 40 years.I started with a small 100 dollar compass machine and found many silver and gold rings and a lot of silver coins in the seventy's.About 11 years back I bought a Garrett 2000 and hated it until I learned how to use it.I am now looking for a smaller machine that dosent weigh so much as I had polio in my right arm when I was young and the 2000 weighs about four and a half pounds apposed to the 250 or 350 at about two and a half pounds.Can any one tell me if there is much diffrence between the 250 and 350 and would the extra 100 be worth it.