More Ace 250 Disappointment...

[cillosis]

Well, I got my Ace 250 and took it out to an old school house near Sisters,OR that I know about. The school is gone but the bathroom that was behind it still remains (see the pics). As usual, my ace was giving me quarter,half, and dollar signals but I was only digging rusty nails. Some holes, I would get a nice clear repeatable signal and pinpoint it to what I think is EXACTLY where it is at, and dig without finding anything . So I scan all my dirt and the hole, and the signal just disappears! I am using a modified coin program to block out nickels because they are right in the middle of trash signals, and thats still all I get! Oh well. I did manage to find a rusty bobby pin and the little metal piece that connects a pencil eraser to the pencil. By the way, does anybody have any tips or explanations of the quirks of the Ace 250? Thanks and good hunting!

PIC EXPLANATIONS:
#1- The old bathrooms that are still there.
#2- The widened part of the sidewalk where I assume the stairs use to be.
#3- The sidewalk...or whats left of it.

 

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[spotz]

I don't know zip about the Ace 250 but that is an interesting site you have there. Should be something of interest. There are a lot of other members that should have good info on the Ace. Keep at it.
Spotz

 

[cillosis]

Well, I have spent the last two hours reading everything I can find on here and other parts of the net about the Ace 250. I think I may have solved some of my problems. I have had the sensitivity turned all the way up and people are recommending only at 4 instead of 8. It was also wet ground because it rained the night before and I hear that it doesn't perform well in wet soil. I hope to go out with this new realization and find more than ghost targets.

 

[hollowpointred]

having your sensativity set too high can make the ace unstable and give off false signals but not usually repeatable ones. what setting are you using on the ace? (all metal,coins,jewelry).if you are not already, try the coins setting as it has a higher degree of discrim. maybe that will help with the iron messing with you.as far as the signals that dissapeared on you....that sounds like the halo effect to me.when a target is in the ground for a long time,some of the metal leeches into the surrounding ground, and creates a sort of a halo around the object. your detector can pick up this halo and actually makes it easier to detect some objects.as you dig, you break that halo and the target can seem to dissapear.in my expieriance it was usually an iron target. as far as the wet ground.......your ace should do just fine on wet ground. in fact it actually can improve its depth performance. the only time my ace had trouble in the wet conditions was when the water was salt water.one last thought .........maybe the ground at the school site is heavily minerilized and thats why your ace is having trouble. if so,theres not much you can do because the ace has a set ground balance instead of an adjustable one.oh well........i hope some of this is helpfull!

 

[Leon]

that sounds like the halo effect to me.when a target is in the ground for a long time,some of the metal leeches into the surrounding ground, and creates a sort of a halo around the object. your detector can pick up this halo and actually makes it easier to detect some objects.as you dig, you break that halo and the target can seem to dissapear

I was going to say the same thing about your disappearing targets. Also, sometime an iron target will give you a high-tone while in the ground, but then after it's out it will read iron,,, Maybe their disappearing because after their out of the hole, the machine is discriminating them out, and your not hearing them... Nickels do that a lot to me...
Good luck with it, & Happy hunting~

 

[jeff of pa]

that sounds like the halo effect to me.when a target is in the ground for a long time,some of the metal leeches into the surrounding ground, and creates a sort of a halo around the object. your detector can pick up this halo and actually makes it easier to detect some objects.as you dig, you break that halo and the target can seem to dissapear

I was going to say the same thing about your disappearing targets. Also, sometime an iron target will give you a high-tone while in the ground, but then after it's out it will read iron,,, Maybe their disappearing because after their out of the hole, the machine is discriminating them out, and your not hearing them... Nickels do that a lot to me...
Good luck with it, & Happy hunting~

The Best way to Overcome the HALO EFFECT is to purchase a Pinpointer.

 

[treasurekidd]

It was also wet ground because it rained the night before and I hear that it doesn't perform well in wet soil.

My ACE250 works wonders after a good rain. The wet soil should actually help your ACE, because water in the soil help increase conductivity. Sand that is wet with SALT water is a different story. But fresh rain ater in the ground is a good thing!!! Turn the sensitiviy down to 304 bars max, and if you keep getting the false signals, switch to coin or jewelry mode to help discrimiante out the worst of it. That site you have looks awesome, if you need help hunting it, let me know, lol!!

 

[Mona Lisa]

Your problems are probably from the halo effect like Hollow said. If you look in the side of the hole, you will more than likely find a nail pointing into the hole. Strange but true!

 

[lonewolfe]

Looks like rough terrian for any detector,

it would be hard to find anything at all with any machine in that site.

good luck

hh

lonewolfe

 

[cillosis]

Hey, thanks for the tips guys! I went back out today and hunted an old park that is being torn up for a highway project. There are giant dirt piles everywhere where the excavated the dirt from the front part of the park. Anyway, I think I am starting to understand the detector a little better. I managed to find at least something, a 1998 Penny! On top of that I found numerous bottle caps and pull tabs. The strange thing is I set the custom program, which is by default just a copy of the coin program, to hunt with that, and then used ELIM to remove any nickel signals. And yes, I know that I am tuning out gold, but until I understand my detector, I dont want to dig that much trash. Do any of you with the Ace 250 get solid signals like, for example a quarter/half dollar signal, and when you dig it, its a pull tab or a bottle cap? I still can't understand that .

 

[TXKajun]

Hi, cillosis. I'm also a newbie with an Ace 250. Don't know if these ideas will help or not, but what I did when I got mine was go to the local park (which has been heavily hunted) and hit the kids' play area which was covered with woodchips and managed to find a couple of quarters and some pennies with pretty much no effort and easy diggings. The next thing I did was hit my yard. Yep, my yard at home. Very little trash, and actually found several coins, including my first wheat penny. I hit the side of the driveway first, then the sides of the sidewalk and finally I'm working my way around the back yard. I figured it would be a good way to learn the Ace 250 and it sure seems to work. It's really improved my pinpointing with it! Another few days and I think I'll be ready to hit the big time....some places nearby I've heard about and had my eye on but didn't have enough experience with my detector to make any good finds.

HH, ya'll!

 

[Wetgreenie]

My experience with the 250 sounded kinda similar. some of the things I was shown seem to help with the disappearing targets (when digging) it was to walk around the object. When I get a signal I check it many time from all directions by walking around it. If I get strong signal all around I dig it. If the indicator on the screen jumps between 2 or three different IDs It usually ends up being "junk" .

I learned to pinpoint about the same way. I try to use a couple differtent directions and may even raise the coil up off the ground so it grabs a shallow target better. then I was shown that the small notch just in front of the rod is the "sweet spot" the more Exp I get the better. There are many times I will be able to put my probe in that notch and be able to touch the coin/object on the first shot.

 

[Hoggtyed]

My experience has been very similar. I have had rusty old nails ring up rock solid 25 to 50 cent also the older twist off aluminum bottle caps ring in pretty high. I did get some advice on pinpointing plant a couple coins in a trash free area about 3 inches down and mark with golf tees. Then do some practice pinpointing. I have dug several holes and never found the target. I didn't want to do any major digging in the park. I feel like I am being watched the way it is. LOL.. I still get a good signal, I just don't see whats making it.. I got a pinpointer on the way. I am hoping that helps

 

[TXKajun]

BTW, I'll make ya a one-time offer good only for the next hour offer to take that miserable, malfunctioning, frustrating Ace 250 off your hands for $25 cash, U.S, American! And I'll pay the postage to send it to me! LOL

HH, ya'll!

 

[g45_70]

http://www.findmall.com/

If you folks would like some help with your Garrett machines. go to the site above then click on the garrett link. Post your questions to Uncle Willy, he is great with all Garrett machines and enjoyes helping people out. there's lots of great info there. Hope this helps..........Gene.........

 

[midus1]

The 250 in my experience is a slow sweep machine. If you get to fast on the swing you will get eratic signals. Also the machine is so sensitive, I taped my coil wire straight up the shaft and then wound it around the shaft about half way up. This machine wil pick up a wound coil wire near the bottom of the shaft. I use this set up and normally run just 2 bars below max with no problems. Pinpoint is extremely easy. x the center and move to the side of the target, push pinpoint and when you hit center, slowly pull the coil toward you. When the pinpoint signal stops, the target is in the open front toe area. I've tested this and in my experience, it's about 95% accurate.Good luck!
HH

 

[Monty]

What you have to realize about the ACE 250 or any detector for that matter is that it detects metal period. It doesn't really know the difference between gold , silver or iron, a penny a dime or a half dollar. It only "knows" how much resistance it receives from the signal put out by the coil. The icons are merely a guide as to what the signal might be. As you learn your machine it is you the operator that has to rationalize what the detector is telling you. As you get better at it, your detector suddenly seems to be wonderfully accurate. As easy as the ACE is to operate, you still have to pay your dues and go through the learning process. Be patient, with practice comes success. Don't set your goals or expectations too high to start with. One thing I have learned about metal detecting is that to be successful you have to dig a lot of trash. Trash is good! Every time you dig even trash you are learning something. Like someone else said, practice in your yard. Try to select easy targets such as playgrounds, active schoolyards, your yard, etc. while you are learning. Pay very close attention as to what the machine was telling you, what it sounded like, the ground conditions, what the icons were reading, what depth it was showing, etc. Keep track of your failures too as they might actually tell you more than your successes. You may even benefit from keeping a log and jotting down quick notes to review later. Your ACE 250 is one of the best little inexpensive machines on the market. I own aa couple of higher end machines but I still pull out the Little Yeller Feller quite regularly and it doesn't let me down. Monty

 

[Michigan Badger]

False signals are common with all detectors. If the suggestions made above don't work all the time, welcome to the club.

I've been hunting for 37 years (off and on) and owned maybe 20-25 machines (mostly top models). I've never had one yet that didn't give false signals.

It's a pain..you dig your guts out only to find nothing. Oh well, it's all a part of the game.

Also, I'd suggest using a weed whacker and rake on that property before detecting it.

 

[cillosis]

Monty, I understand what you mean by being able to feel your detector and it being surprisingly accurate. My only issue is that fact that you dont get a variance in audio signals, its just the 3 beeps that dont go high or low...just beep. Its all good though, im not trying to be a poor sport.

Zeb, that property looks really bad from the pictures, but thats just how terrain is out here. The sagebrush actually leaves lots of open soil but when you look at it sideways, it looks like it is solid sagebrush. And the rockpile in the picture, only covers about 30 square feet so its not so bad. Thanks for pointing out that all detectors give ghost signals and not just the cheaper ones.

 

[Hoggtyed]

With renewed vigor I grabbed the ole Ace 250 and headed out to the nightmare of scrap metal and twist tops I call a front yard. In about 30 minutes I found 2 pennies 1 twist cap , 1 pull tab a couple pieces of scrap aluminum. Thanks to the advice on pinpointing. The targets were where they were supposed to be. I was able to tell the 2 pennies were coins before I dug them. (90 percent sure anyway) They made good solid signals. The trash was speratic. I dug it just to see. I was right. I am feeling much better about my ace 250 today. It seems it was me that was the problem.