Some thoughts on the Ace 250 from a Newbieā¦
First of all, I did a lot of research on the ānet before buying one so I had a pretty good idea what I was getting. Yes, I read a lot of good points about it as well as some complaints. I only live about 30 minutes away from KELLYCO so where to buy one was not an issue. I went down there about a month ago and I was greeted by Wanda who did an excellent job of answering some questions I had. (Looking at all of the MDās they had hanging on display was awesome!)
I also bought the Deluxe Sports Package, coil covers for the (supplied) 6.5 X 9 and 9 X 10 coils, and received a free Automax V4 Pinpointer.
I brought the package home and assembled the unit. Being 6ā 2ā tall, I extended the bar as far as possible and could not find any looseness in the bar as reported by others. Taking the unit outside, it made a lot of ānoisesā so I figured it was working. I then went back into the house and watched the instructional DV and leafed through the Instruction Manual. Now, back outside I scattered some change on the ground and it worked as advertised. I spent about 20 minutes doing a search on part of the yard I found a few pennies and a dime as well as a LOT of junk.
From there I went back and watched the DV again and then read the manual. Aha! I made the beginners mistake of turning the sensitivity up all of the way! That finished the first day as I had other things I had to do.
In looking at some old maps on the ānet I saw where an old narrow-gauge railroad used to run through part of my pasture. The tracks were laid in the 1850ās and it was taken out in the 1930ās. I went out there the next morning. Now, I'm sure to most of you, that finding railroad spikes at 4 to 6 inches is no big deal but it sure made my day! Also found my share of garbageā¦
Since that day, I have had it out several times, a few more trips to the pasture and to several of the nearby parks. No great finds, I have usually stayed in the Coins mode in the parks and found a lot of clad and some toys. But, I was gaining experience.
Pinpointingā¦I have had very good luck digging the right spot, but you have to keep a couple of things in mind. When using the pin pointer, it often overloads and the strength bar will stay at the maximum up to an 8ā to 12ā area. I place the coil over the center of the area, release the button and push it in again. This seems to de-sensitize it and you will decrease the circle of probability. Also, it seems that when you go to the pin point mode that it puts itself in the āAll Metalā mode. If there is something else nearby (especially iron) it will put you somewhere between the two. When I find this happening I drop the sensitivity as low as possible.
Sweep speedā¦Slow down! I (try to stay at) one to one and a half seconds per sweep.
Headset too loudā¦I donāt put the headset directly over my ears. I guess the best way to describe it is that they are about an inch or so to the rear from being centered. Also, the ears stay a lot cooler here in the Central Florida area.
The biggest problem Iāve had with the ACE is whenever I'm near a swing set (or anything else using a metal pipe frame) when I sweep within a foot to foot and a half of it sounds off. From what Iāve read, a sniper coil will take care of that.
All and all, I think the ACE 250 is a great detector for someone like me who is starting out in the hobby.
First of all, I did a lot of research on the ānet before buying one so I had a pretty good idea what I was getting. Yes, I read a lot of good points about it as well as some complaints. I only live about 30 minutes away from KELLYCO so where to buy one was not an issue. I went down there about a month ago and I was greeted by Wanda who did an excellent job of answering some questions I had. (Looking at all of the MDās they had hanging on display was awesome!)
I also bought the Deluxe Sports Package, coil covers for the (supplied) 6.5 X 9 and 9 X 10 coils, and received a free Automax V4 Pinpointer.
I brought the package home and assembled the unit. Being 6ā 2ā tall, I extended the bar as far as possible and could not find any looseness in the bar as reported by others. Taking the unit outside, it made a lot of ānoisesā so I figured it was working. I then went back into the house and watched the instructional DV and leafed through the Instruction Manual. Now, back outside I scattered some change on the ground and it worked as advertised. I spent about 20 minutes doing a search on part of the yard I found a few pennies and a dime as well as a LOT of junk.
From there I went back and watched the DV again and then read the manual. Aha! I made the beginners mistake of turning the sensitivity up all of the way! That finished the first day as I had other things I had to do.
In looking at some old maps on the ānet I saw where an old narrow-gauge railroad used to run through part of my pasture. The tracks were laid in the 1850ās and it was taken out in the 1930ās. I went out there the next morning. Now, I'm sure to most of you, that finding railroad spikes at 4 to 6 inches is no big deal but it sure made my day! Also found my share of garbageā¦
Since that day, I have had it out several times, a few more trips to the pasture and to several of the nearby parks. No great finds, I have usually stayed in the Coins mode in the parks and found a lot of clad and some toys. But, I was gaining experience.
Pinpointingā¦I have had very good luck digging the right spot, but you have to keep a couple of things in mind. When using the pin pointer, it often overloads and the strength bar will stay at the maximum up to an 8ā to 12ā area. I place the coil over the center of the area, release the button and push it in again. This seems to de-sensitize it and you will decrease the circle of probability. Also, it seems that when you go to the pin point mode that it puts itself in the āAll Metalā mode. If there is something else nearby (especially iron) it will put you somewhere between the two. When I find this happening I drop the sensitivity as low as possible.
Sweep speedā¦Slow down! I (try to stay at) one to one and a half seconds per sweep.
Headset too loudā¦I donāt put the headset directly over my ears. I guess the best way to describe it is that they are about an inch or so to the rear from being centered. Also, the ears stay a lot cooler here in the Central Florida area.
The biggest problem Iāve had with the ACE is whenever I'm near a swing set (or anything else using a metal pipe frame) when I sweep within a foot to foot and a half of it sounds off. From what Iāve read, a sniper coil will take care of that.
All and all, I think the ACE 250 is a great detector for someone like me who is starting out in the hobby.
