F2 vs Ace 250

EZrider

Sr. Member
Mar 10, 2008
409
82
Georgia
Detector(s) used
XP ORX
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
For coin shooting my money woul go for the F2. I have an old BH 3300 that the F2 and F4 was modeled after. I let a friend use the 3300 "my back up" wile i used my F75. He liked it so he bought a F2. I can tell you the F2 is faster deeper and more easy "turn on and go". We hit the beach an had no problems at all. He has 4 hunts in on his F2 and almost paid for it self. Not bad for a 200 doller machine.
 

stanjam

Full Member
Mar 23, 2008
163
2
Springfield, MA
Detector(s) used
ACE 250
Well, this thread is depressing. Especially since I just bought my ACE 250. Lots of people bashing it, and yet in other threads people seem to like it a lot! Certainly it sells well.

I have also heard that if you want the ACE to do well at the beach near the water, you have to turn the sensitivity way down until it stops squealing at you, and then you will be able to get your targets.

It also loves foil.
 

Sal

Full Member
Sep 17, 2005
122
43
Ohio
Detector(s) used
dfx-eagle 2 sl-troy x 5-newforce r 1-6000 xl pro- tejon-cz 6a- shadow x 5 xp deus explorer 2
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Keep your ace i would rather have a ace anyday over a f 2 the quality of the ace is superior,the build quailty of the f2 is questionable i have seen many bounty hunters break down sooner than you would have hoped ,i have a friend with a ace i compared unit to a xterra 50 it is equal in operation and depth only thing lacking is the pinpoint is better on the xt 50 ground balance adjustment but you are compaRING A MACHINE THAT COSTS TWICE AS MUCH AS THE ACE DOES and balance is better also and i like the xt 50 meter better ,he just found a 1200 ring on the beach last fall with the unit i would say it paid for itself mighty quick ,I THINK FOR THE PRICE NOTHING COMES CLOSE....... EXCEPT A TESORO SILVER UMAX but no meter,and dont worry about picking up foil just means unit is sensitive to gold you can notch foil out but dont do it at the beach,in salt water you would have to turn sens down but in fresh water no problem...... :thumbsup:
stanjam said:
Well, this thread is depressing. Especially since I just bought my ACE 250. Lots of people bashing it, and yet in other threads people seem to like it a lot! Certainly it sells well.

I have also heard that if you want the ACE to do well at the beach near the water, you have to turn the sensitivity way down until it stops squealing at you, and then you will be able to get your targets.

It also loves foil.
 

hsjrev

Full Member
Jul 27, 2007
104
1
W. TN
stanjam said:
Well, this thread is depressing. Especially since I just bought my ACE 250. Lots of people bashing it, and yet in other threads people seem to like it a lot! Certainly it sells well.

I have also heard that if you want the ACE to do well at the beach near the water, you have to turn the sensitivity way down until it stops squealing at you, and then you will be able to get your targets.

It also loves foil.

Easymoney lives where there is some very high mineralization and apparently the Ace has problems there. Here in the mild soil of W. Tenn, the Ace 250 performed better than the F2 in depth and accuracy of target ID on objects buried in my back yard. http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,127179.0.html

Guess it depends on where you're going to be hunting but the Ace 250 is a fine detector around here and I found 4 silver coins the last time I was down in SW Alabama with it.
 

Sal

Full Member
Sep 17, 2005
122
43
Ohio
Detector(s) used
dfx-eagle 2 sl-troy x 5-newforce r 1-6000 xl pro- tejon-cz 6a- shadow x 5 xp deus explorer 2
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If he has HOT ground where he lives why would you bother with a unit with no ground balance why doesnt he compare units that have a ground balance to compensate for the hot ground how can you put down a unit that costs a little over 200.00 and except it to work wonders in hot ground,i dont know of any unit for that price that will go as deep that has a meter like i said except a tesoro silver which is built top notch not with cheap parts........
hsjrev said:
stanjam said:
Well, this thread is depressing. Especially since I just bought my ACE 250. Lots of people bashing it, and yet in other threads people seem to like it a lot! Certainly it sells well.

I have also heard that if you want the ACE to do well at the beach near the water, you have to turn the sensitivity way down until it stops squealing at you, and then you will be able to get your targets.

It also loves foil.

Easymoney lives where there is some very high mineralization and apparently the Ace has problems there. Here in the mild soil of W. Tenn, the Ace 250 performed better than the F2 in depth and accuracy of target ID on objects buried in my back yard. http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,127179.0.html

Guess it depends on where you're going to be hunting but the Ace 250 is a fine detector around here and I found 4 silver coins the last time I was down in SW Alabama with it.
 

Pepper2004

Bronze Member
Dec 17, 2007
1,624
10
Southwest Georgia
Detector(s) used
Whites GMT, Whites M6, Vibra-Probe 570, Ace 250, Bounty Hunter 202, Bounty Hunter Pioneer 505, Whites MXT, 2 Bullseye11
My husband uses an Ace 250 and loves it. At first he didn't like it because it was hard for him to pin point. After some practice pin pointing is a breeze for him. If you want a low cost MD for just coin shooting and finding jewelry the Ace is very good doing that. We haven't done any beaches yet but I was told to set the sen. down to about 2 or 3. I don't know anything about the F2. I'm only speaking up because the Ace is getting bashed pretty hard. For a $212 machine it's not a bad deal at all IMHO. Take your time and read all the reviews you can. Whatever you decide to buy the most important part is having fun. All MD's have a learning curve when you use it for the first time.

Good luck,
Pepper
 

SC_hunter

Bronze Member
Jan 16, 2007
2,410
160
South Carolina
Detector(s) used
Whites V3i,Whites XLT,Ace 250 and BH Tracker IV and Others.....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
For everyone who dislikes their Ace...Send it to me..lol I could always use extras.
 

OP
OP
ikes4ever

ikes4ever

Jr. Member
Nov 27, 2007
55
0
Long Island
Detector(s) used
Whites Coinmaster 1000 and DFX
when I started this thread in December, I never thought I would get so many responses. After a lot of research and a few trips to the local Whites Dealer I ended up with a 5 month old DFX. The reason for this is because of the salty beaches in my area. I love it more than I could have ever expected. Thank you to everyones replies over the last few months.
 

stanjam

Full Member
Mar 23, 2008
163
2
Springfield, MA
Detector(s) used
ACE 250
DFX looks like a nice machine, and is definitely on my list for a detector to get in the future! Either that or a GTI 2500! Good luck with it!
 

Functional

Hero Member
Feb 16, 2007
512
3
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Detector(s) used
A Compass Magnum 420 recently brought back to life. And an untested "in the wild" Teknetics.
ikes4ever said:
when I started this thread in December, I never thought I would get so many responses. After a lot of research and a few trips to the local Whites Dealer I ended up with a 5 month old DFX. The reason for this is because of the salty beaches in my area. I love it more than I could have ever expected. Thank you to everyones replies over the last few months.

See whatcha started? :o

Hope that DFX does everything you need it to do and does it well.

F.
 

The-Bone

Sr. Member
Nov 13, 2007
326
24
North East,Pa
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Ace 250, Whites Silver Eagle, BHID,M6,CZ21
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Shenandoah Digger said:
The F2 as deep as the Tejon or the SE----NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
actually, most units today are very close to each other as far as potential for depth...what seperates the machines are features, recovery speed and ability to handle different soils. this new generation of detector can give the expensive top dogs a real run for the money
 

Shenandoah Digger

Full Member
Nov 22, 2006
226
8
Virginia
Detector(s) used
Tried almost everything made since the late 60's
Have you compared them? I have and I have no brand loyalty whatsoever. I'm not a shill for any of these companies. The F2 is a great detector for the money. But its depth is nowhere close to the Tejons, Vaqueros, CZs, Explorers, MXTs, GTIs, IIbs, Xterra 70s, to name a very few. And of course it IDs everything over a few inches as iron. Tried two-know this to be a fact in my slightly mineralized ground. I don't list the detectors I own, don't claim to be the Gandhi of detectorists, but have owned and used many since I was a 12 year old in the 60's. I just call it as I see it. I wish a $200 detector was as deep as a $1200 one, and while they may not compare exponentially, you get what you pay for.
 

The-Bone

Sr. Member
Nov 13, 2007
326
24
North East,Pa
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Ace 250, Whites Silver Eagle, BHID,M6,CZ21
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
i've compared the 250 to 3 other models....i air tested each detector this past winter when i was off work due to a sprained ankle...i am not interested in starting a brand/model war but one of the units i tested against the 250 cost 4 times what the ace does and it only airtested about 2 inches more( the unit also has a slightly larger coil than the 250)...all the detectors i tested were pretty close in the air tests...what i see as the defining difference is the feedback the machines give in the field..i am much more confident in my pre dig evaluations of the target with the more expensive models than with the cheaper ones. all said, i am still amazed at the performance of the ace for the price paid
 

treasurefiend

Gold Member
Mar 17, 2008
7,445
93
Chicago IL
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Excal_II Minelab_Explorer_SE_Pro w/ SunRay pinpointer & Garrett_Ace250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I love my Ace 250, I have found all kinds of stuff in parks and at fresh water beaches. I just started detecting back in March and I have already found a lot of great stuff (check below for my finds).
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,306
54,473
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Air tests really tell us next to nothing as far as how deep a detector performs on buried targets.

Good luck and good hunting..........
 

cammobunker

Jr. Member
May 27, 2008
81
72
NW Ar-kan-saw
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Compadre, Mojave, Cibola. Deteknix Pinpointer. Mark I Mod 0 eyeball, too.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'll indulge in a little thread necromancy and add my 2 cents worth here.
I have an ACE 250. I also have a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV. I can say, without reservation, that in the extremely high mineralization of the soil where I live the 250 is the next thing to useless. I have to turn the sensitivity down so far that the depth is nearly surface level. The hot rock issue is no joke; I have many of them here, and the reaction of the ACE is nothing short of catastrophic. It takes several seconds for it to recover from hitting one.
The Bounty Hunter will pick up targets the ACE, because of the sensitivity level I need to run it at, misses completely, and ignores hot rocks that send the ACE bonkers.
The hell of it is, I like the ACE; I'm very frustrated that I can't use it! I'm even more frustrated that my $60 ebay Tracker IV (OK,Pioneer 101) outperforms my $200 ACE (in my soil, here in NW Arkansas, in my hands, having made the adjustments I had to to keep it in some semblance of stable. Your mileage may, and probably will, vary according to where you live.)
If anybody doubts my word about hot rocks, and owns an ACE250 and wants to try one out, I'll mail you one from my front yard.
 

bgsnmky

Newbie
Jul 13, 2008
1
0
Just crurious if there is any update from anyone that has purchased the F2. I am deciding between the two right now and read thru this thread. A couple people were buying them and were going to report back...

love to hear some results.
 

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