Having Trouble Starting Off! help?

[Spartcom5]

Hey guys I recently bought a garret ace 250 as my first metal detector, I got a lesche digger, with a garret pro pointer. However after hours of searching ive come up with nothing more than 3 pennies and junk galore. I've tried turning down my sensitivity and up, I haven't really even had a solid signal they always seem to jump all over the place. So to test this out I buried a quarter in the ground bout 6in deep and my detector picked it up but barely, if it was around trash I would never find it. I then buried a 14k bracelet not small either, bout 4in deep, my detector didn't pick it up AT ALL. I cranked up the sensitivity to max and it would give a random beep but nothing solid........ Also I sometimes dig up those jumping signals only to find nothing is even there. Very frustrated and don't know what to do next except keep on trying. Do I have a faulty detector or something?? And help would be very very appreciated right now I don't don't want to give up!

 

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[JOe L]

How long have you been detecting and how long have you owned the 250?
Reason I ask, when we all started out most of us thought the same thing.
DO NOT GET DISAPPOINTED and take your time and work at it. The 250 is a great little machine but, try not to expect to much from it. It's from what I hear it's a 4 to 6 inch machine which is fine. Once you learn it and listen to it, your FINDS WILL increase.

ps, yours is a mid line KHz so it may miss gold at a greater depth but still a great little starter machine.

 

[Spartcom5]

How long have you been detecting and how long have you owned the 250?
Reason I ask, when we all started out most of us thought the same thing.
DO NOT GET DISAPPOINTED and take your time and work at it. The 250 is a great little machine but, try not to expect to much from it. It's from what I hear it's a 4 to 6 inch machine which is fine. Once you learn it and listen to it, your FINDS WILL increase.

ps, yours is a mid line KHz so it may miss gold at a greater depth but still a great little starter machine.

Bout a week or so, not long at all but I'm trying everyday to get better with it

 

[Patriots]

Really can't add to the why you aren't finding clad or stuff outside of trash. But here is from my personal experience. I bought the AT Pro for my entry machine into the hobby. The Ace is respected for entry into the hobby/sport but it's limited. I have gone out 4-5 times a week for a couple of hours a day...for the last month or so. Really it's helped me learn the hobby. I'm still missing stuff but getting a hang of the solid targets. You have to dig trash to learn.

What to expect? A good hunt for me? A dollar or two an hour. I can remember one hunt where I came away with 33 cents in change after two hours....A bunch of buried toys, a key, dog ID tag from the mid 90's....and varies other trash.

 

[streetshark1966]

maybe you are swinging to fast. take your time, the better stuff will come. go to map quest map and zoom in on where you live to find park and ball fields. hit those places you will find some stuff there. find out the laws in your state.

 

[JOe L]

Bout a week or so, not long at all but I'm trying everyday to get better with it

and if you keep at it, you will. People expect to hit lots of coin and treasure when they unpack their detector for the first time, man, it ain't like that. you have to listen to your machine, understand the signals, the chatter and so on. Like mentioned the 250 is a great little starter machine, learn it don't expect to be digging 10 inch's with it but, most clad is shallow and like mentioned above, find the right spot and it will find it for you.

 

[WhiteTornado]

I use a Tesoro, but regardless of machine, there are some basic tips when starting out:

* Adjust the discrimination fairly high so you can zero in on clad finds (cents, dimes, quarters). You'll miss nickels and the vary rare gold ring but also a jillion pulltabs. This will help your confidence and get you underway to understanding the signals. I did this after some initial frustration and it worked wonders. Try to dig just about every signal in this higher discrimination setting.

* As streetshark1966 pointed out, try public spots nearby such as parks and schools. Should be some clad in these kind of spots.

* Hit spots at low-traffic times so you can relax and enjoy the outing. Have you tried your own yard already? Maybe some family and friends would let you have a go in their yards as well.

* Read up about your machine, soak up various tips and tricks. The Ace 250 seems hugely popular, so there should be lots not just here but also on other sites and via YouTube.

* Finally -- enjoy the hobby and happy hunting!

 

[airscapes]

Ever go fishing in the creek? Did you always catch something great? If you did not find anything in the one fishin hole after a couple of days did you go to a new one?
Dirt fishin ain't that different.
If there is a coin there, you will find it. If there is trash on top of the coin, you won't find it. If there is trash targets every 2 or 3" in all directions you will be very frustrated as the machine can not pick just on out of the mess.
Try asking your relative and friends if you can hunt their yards. You will have much less trash to deal with, unless they are rednecks who drink a lot for beer and toss the caps and tabs on the ground!
Also make sure the ground is very moist of rain is in the for cast if you are in a lawn area as you don't want to leave brown dead spots or your friends won't be your friends anymore. A better machine is not going to help much, you need a better location to start.
Good luck!

 

[Carolina Tom]

Your profile does not indicated where you are located. If you are near Charlotte, PM me.

It might be helpful to hook up with someone locally, and have them assist you with the detector. I learned (am still learning) a lot from the more season detectorists. You also might want to locate the local MDing club, I am certain someone would assist you.

The other thing is watch You Tube. Look for someone with your machine, and watch and listen to what they do.

And I will go ahead and let you in on a well kept secret, we all dig a lot of trash, more trash than treasure, for sure!

I know that you want to find stuff, but try to enjoy the hunt. I know that it is tough when you are not finding anything, but it is supposed to be (slightly) enjoyable. When I first got started, I didn't hardly find anything either, but as I got more used to the what the machine was telling me, slowly, I started to find more and more. Hang in there, it gets better!

 

[cudamark]

Where are you hunting? Location can mean all the difference between finding good targets or trash with a starter machine. Start out like what Whitetornado said, discriminate out everything but high tones so you get used to good copper, silver, and clad targets. Once you get the hang of it, you can add more targets to the mix.

 

[bigfoot1]

the treasure gods wont smile upon you untill proper homage is made.this is true for us all.acceptable forms of dues paying include but are not limited to;

1)100 pull tabs minimum
2)50 zinc cents
3)30 copper cents(pre 1984)they ring differant too
4)5 zipper pulls
5)50 steel bottle caps
6)2 of those little things that hold an ace bandage on
7)25 dimes...any dimes
8)1 smashed sunglass frame
9)10 fishing weights...no matter where you hunt
10)5 aluminum roofing nails(may be substituted with 10 king cobra screw caps)

Once this mandatory finds list has been earned you may notice an instant improvement in your treasure ratio.there are no shortcuts...the treasure gods see all.when collected place all of these items in the BOTTOM of your kitchen trash bag.when full with heavy trash pull plastic trash bag up abruptly for disposal.your final quest will be revealed right then.

After all this is done let us have a look at your first 925 ring !!good luck and hang tough

 

[bigfoot1]

I post this seperately so as not to clutter up above post(which should be printed and carried with you)a chain type necklace or bracelet is seen bu your machine as individual links.a ring would have screamed at you.be calm and get at your duty.We will then tell you secrets you can only imagine

 

[Rawhide]

Sounds like your doing some things right. Your out swinging. Having a few hours and battery changes under my belt I can tell I can take just about any machine and find 90 percent of the same targets. Dont let the little ace get you down. The really only important thing is to make sure you have battery's in the machine. Coil swing seems to be one of the big mistakes I see new comers do wrong. Too fast, too high off ground, and they are at a run. Man I just giggle when I see that. Had one lady put her coil on backwards, she was still finding things is my point. Location is important as you have heard. I stay away from trees and trash cans for instance. Depth is over rated, but nice if your doing relic hunts or away from town and people. I do mostly tot lots as I get tired of digging trash. I can just push the sand or wood chips around and I find as much if not more in a local tot lots. Im not tearing up turf in hot weather or leaving holes on a ball field somewhere. You may want to trade the lesche for a probe tool. You will recover more finds as you will spend less time digging trash. Bigfoot may have been playing, but I have a routine I do. I do it every hole. It gets me back on the hunt quicker so I find more targets. More targets means more good finds. I still dig trash, but not as much as I used to. I do snicker when folks say you have to dig trash, I dont, I have that much time on my detector. Hope this helps you ease into the hobby. Lots of good advice to be found on the forums. Good Luck. Be sure to post pics of your hunts.

 

[George (MN)]

When I had Ace 250, I used sensitivity 4 as just too unstable above that. Deepest dime that IDed correctly was 4". Moderately mineralized soil, at parks & schools with low to moderate trash. With a Detech 10x14 Excelerator coil, it locked on to a planted dime at 5". I would just accept zinc on up to avoid much trash digging. Corroded pennies might be detected a bit beyond 4". If you have parks/schools with athletic fields, going near where people sit to watch might get you lots of clad if not just detected.

Now I have Garrett AT Pro. Stock 8.5x11 coil. Got a clad dime down 7", IDed as dime on every pass. Heavily detected park, made in 1974. Ground very dry and hard, moderate mineralization. Also got a very tilted clad quarter down several inches, good ID. Also I got a very shallow nickel that was surrounded by 5 pieces of iron. $500-595 new, still about $450 used. Best wishes, George (MN)

 

[cudamark]

the treasure gods wont smile upon you untill proper homage is made.this is true for us all.acceptable forms of dues paying include but are not limited to;

1)100 pull tabs minimum
2)50 zinc cents
3)30 copper cents(pre 1984)they ring differant too
4)5 zipper pulls
5)50 steel bottle caps
6)2 of those little things that hold an ace bandage on
7)25 dimes...any dimes
8)1 smashed sunglass frame
9)10 fishing weights...no matter where you hunt
10)5 aluminum roofing nails(may be substituted with 10 king cobra screw caps)

Once this mandatory finds list has been earned you may notice an instant improvement in your treasure ratio.there are no shortcuts...the treasure gods see all.when collected place all of these items in the BOTTOM of your kitchen trash bag.when full with heavy trash pull plastic trash bag up abruptly for disposal.your final quest will be revealed right then.

After all this is done let us have a look at your first 925 ring !!good luck and hang tough

You forgot to list can slaw and nuggets. It seems like you find about 5 lbs. of that stuff for every ring you find at the beach.

 

[Skippy SH13]

maybe you are swinging to fast. take your time, the better stuff will come. go to map quest map and zoom in on where you live to find park and ball fields. hit those places you will find some stuff there. find out the laws in your state.

Or possibly too slow. you can miss targets going slowly

Rather than bury stuff 4-6" down, try surface detection first. Make sure you're in Jewelry mode, and swing moderately (NOT in a U shape, but keeping the coil flat parallel to the ground). Practice on known good targets first, then go hit some tot lots. You'll find change there, and kid rings, to boost your confidence. Finding deep stuff (4"-6" ain't no joke) is going to take some practice.

My first couple of weeks I averaged about 40 cents a trip. ONce I figured out how to use the equipment (and REALLY concentrated on where people drop stuff), I average about $1.50-$2.00 an hour. It's not get rich, by any means, but the finds DO come. I've had 8 gold rings this year, 2 silver, and a handful of tungsten, steel, and titanium rings, along with crosses, pendants and necklaces galore.

What you'll also come to realize is that small links don't pick up well. You'll almost be detecting the clasp or pendant on necklaces, most of the time. Those links are just too small to be noticed by the 250 consistently, but you CAN find them in when you start to learn your system (and those phantom beeps will keep you up at night! LOL)

Hang in there!

Skippy

 

[Msbeepbeep]

It never hurts to re read the detector manual to make sure you've covered all the steps.

 

[Skippy SH13]

And I will go ahead and let you in on a well kept secret, we all dig a lot of trash, more trash than treasure, for sure!

HAHAHA! That's for sure. we need to start a thread someday, where we just show pictures of the pounds of trash we're pulling out of the ground. It wouldn't surprise me if I've cleared 1000 pounds this year...

 

[scaupus]

i started with an ace 250. May i suggest you don't set the sensitivity too high, and that you only dig signals that repeat. That way you can avoid a lot of the trash. If you dig only repeating coin signals, you can avoid almost all of the trash. Good way to get started.

 

[scaupus]

You forgot to list can slaw and nuggets. It seems like you find about 5 lbs. of that stuff for every ring you find at the beach.

pre 1983 pennies are copper. 1983 are zinc. Some 1982 are supposed to be zinc, I believe, though all I can remember digging were copper...but then maybe I don't remember the zincs.

Folks just starting out should probably just dig for repeatable high tones: copper, clad or silver coins, and silver rings, ignoring lower signals entirely. Later, with a quantity of nice finds in their treasure hoard, they can expand the search to include lower tones for gold, base metal relics, nickels, chains, indian heads, etc. I think a good gradient after having success with the high signals, is to undiscriminate for nickels first. They will find nickels, tabs, and maybe a gold ring. Then open up the rest of the gold range signals down to foil.

Take things on a gradient, experience success on coins and silver rings first, then nickels and maybe a gold band, then go on to the harder task of finding all sizes of gold rings, charms, etc. and interesting relics like pins, medals, tokens etc.

I say harder, because once you are digging pretty much all repeatable signals above iron, and maybe even ignoring coin signals, you are digging trash most all the time, and that is not much fun.