ACE 250 Help

[Grue]

I am a new ACE 250 user ... well, I'm above that a new metal detector hobbiest.

I used the resources on your forums to pick my ACE 250 as my first metal detector and after reading and re-reading the manual and reading thru a couple of books that came along with my detector, I still have a few questions. I hope that the good folks here can continue to be a help to me.

I have used the detector now for maybe 10 hours total or so. I have used various techniques of pinpointing to various degrees of success. Now the area that I am hunting is former pastureland where a house was built so I am expecting to get a lot more trash than coins, but I love the trash too. All sorts of doo-dads are interesting to me. In short, I have found things from a 22 case to buried barbed wire to a discarded butter knife to various chunks of iron. In these few finds, I have dug many an empty hole and have had all sorts of strange readings.

For example:

I will get an initial hit and then sweeping over the whole area, not get that hit again.
I will get an initial hit and get it pinpointed with the pinpointed feature and dig and dig, but nothing at all is found.
I will get no hit but have pinpoint tell me something is there (yeah, I know pinpoint doesnt discriminate).
And I will get hits that will move on me.

I'm not sure what these things mean. I dont think its disfunctional, as I have found several things right-on with this baby. I am more likely to believe that I am the one who is disfunctional... ok, maybe just inexperienced.

So I thought that I would create a coin garden. I placed coins of each denomination about 9" apart at varying angles from 4" to 8" deep in soft soil. I also spread them around on the ground. I verified the locations of the ones on the ground no problem, but I didnt get any hits in my garden :-( If I pinpoint, I can find them, but they dont show up in either all-metal mode or coin mode. I am quite confused about this. I have tried different settings on sensitivity and even made sure my discrimination notch was at the very bottom on all metal mode. I still cant help but feel like I am doing something wrong.

I wish there were a basic users manual with the 250... not just where the features are, but more of an explanation of what they do and how one should use them to work correctly.

I'll be keeping Duracell and Eveready in business a long time if I have to search all the time with the pinpoint button pushed down :-(

Thank you in advance for any suggestions, advice, and pointers.

--Grue in Arkansas

 

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[lonewolfe]

I wouldn't keep the pinpoint button pushed down!

There are a lot of factors in what is happening in your descriptions,

1st, the 250 is an extremely sensitive machine, it will pick up on tiny (and I mean tiny) bits of alum. iron. etc. that you may pinpoint but never find/see because they are so small and blend in with the soil/etc.

Sometimes, if your sensitivity is too high, you may get "ghost signals" (the ones you can't pinpoint) OR

the machine did pick up a target but after the 1st sweep, it now sees it as an unwanted object because you're machine is set to reject that type of metal (example-- it hits an iron nail on 1st sweep but you've got the machine in coin mode so on the 2nd or 3rd, etc. sweep/s, it doesn't pick the target up because nails/etc. are not accepted in coin mode).

Hits that seem to move??

Trash can seem to move (or be in a different spot than 1st pinpointed).

You'll get used to the machine as time goes on,

my suggestion is to run it in relic mode with 75% sensitivity (less if you start getting false signals) in areas where there is little to mod. trash,

in areas with higher trash, you may want to run it in coin/jewelry or even in coin mode/s only but,

the "sensitivity setting" is the "key" to the 250, and you'll find yourself adjusting it to the soil conditions in different areas, and when interference from power lines/etc. is present to keep it from falsing.

Good luck,

hope this helps,

HH

Lonewolfe

 

[wingman]

ive found with mine that the 250 works alot better with the sensitivity at 4 or 5 bars.
the pinpointer seems to be alittle different with each 250,most people ive talked to said theirs was toward the front of the coil.mine is at the very back of it.
i also had the same problem with the garden,as i could only find my quarters.after practicing for awhile i figured it out.
i was swinging way to fast for the 250,but swinging just right for my BH.
practice and you'll get it down prefect.

HH,wing

 

[gregl01]

Hi, I can only agree with what was already said. The ACE is very sensitive to tiny specks of metal. I too have thought I lost a signal to only find a tiny bit of foil!! This machine continues to amaze me each time out. My best advice on pinpointing is to go to a local woodchip playground. Coins are usually right near the top and easy to identify. I have become very fond of these areas (and ACE loves them too!!). Keep practicing and it will all become second nature to you
HH
Greg

 

[Monty]

If you are having trouble pinpointing targets then when you have dug down and haven't found an object it's because you probably missed it.....or..... your sensitivity is set way too high. I usually back mine off to 3 or 4 bars even the factory setting may be 5 or more. My standard coil is dead center on pinpointing but my stinger coil tends to pinpoint just to the left of the target. When I get a one way beep it usually is half a pull tab. I have dug around until I found a few of these signals and most of the time it was a pull tab but a couple of times it was waded up foil. I haven't seen anyone else report this but my ACE has a little trouble pinpointing in really wet grass. I've found that if I press the pinpoint button and press down the wet grass it is more accurate. The reason you are gettng hits on the pinpoint mode and not others is because the pinpoint mode is actuall an all metal mode. You will pick up ferrous targets you wouldn't ordinarily find on one of the pre-set search modes. Try the all metal mode and you will see what I mean. Also another word of advice......When you are pinpointing the machine may be also picking up close by targets along with the one you are looking for. After you pinpoint, release the button and run the coil back over the pinpointed spot to be sure you are identifying the right target. It sometimes takes me 3 or 4 tries when in a junkie area. One last thing you might try......I have seen several posts recommending that you take your coil wire and run it straight up the top of shaft for the first 3 to six inches and duct tape it in place, then wrap it normally the rest of the way. A few old timers report that the ACE is so sensitive it sometimes picks up interference from its own cord. Does it help? I don't know, but it can't hurt. If nothing else, be sure that the first wrap of your coil wire goes over the top of the shaft instead of under it. (Factory recommendation). JIM

 

[Grue]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

When I first started, I did have the sensitivity too high and I usually have it about 4-5 bars but when I get frustrated at not finding things, I will reduce it to 3 and see if it still is getting something... espeically something not too deep. I am assuming that the sensitivity controlls the current which then controls the strength of the magnetic field being produced. I must admit that I have not "fine sifted" the dirt that I have dug, however, I have passed the detector over the pile and nothing there, but it still says something is a 4" when I have about a 6" hole... which makes me think that there's something on the fringes.

I had not considered that the pinpoint was NOT centered on the notch. In testing with coins on the surface and some can tabs I have found, I have pulled them right out, so I think that its reasonably centered.

I am going to try your suggestings of going in coin mode with less sensitivity. It could be that some of the things I am detecting are objects that have totally rusted out, so all that is left is a concentrated iron oxide deposit in the soil. I will also practice more in my garden with different swing rates to see if I am going too fast. I'll also hit the playgrounds as you all suggested to get more practice with coins that are closer to the ground. I will also give that 6" leeway on the coil.

Jim, what do you mean by a one-way beep. I have noticed that there is often a delay when it detects something and I cant swing it back buy until it clears, but then with other things it will beep a happy song. I figured out the pinpointing non-discrimination thing... what is wierd is that I have had it not even show an indicator at iron or something non-coin but in pinpoint mode it beeps. Maybe the sensitivity thing is the key.

Thanks everyone for your replies... I will post back my experiences in a couple of days as I get some more hunting under my belt with these suggestions.

--Grue in Arkansas

p.s. I am dying to hit the site where a very old school house once stood... but I want to get a little better before doing it.

 

[slow sweeper]

I know others will disagree with me but a test garden is not a very accurate way to test the capabilities of your detector. At least not until it has "aged" a few years. Anything made of metal that has been in the ground for a period of time will create a "halo" around itself. The soil around the object actually taking on some of the metallic properties of the target. A rusty nail in the ground is a good example. The soil around the nail will look rusty.This halo actually makes the target look bigger to the detector making it easier to pick up at greater depths than a freshly buried coin.
The depth meter will be fairly accurate with coin sized objects. Larger items will read more shallow and smaller items will read deeper than they actually are. So when you had a depth reading of 4" and you've dug down 6" without finding your target it might be a large item than is deeper than what your detector is telling you. Keep practising and soon you'll be posting pics of all the good stuff you're finding.

 

[lonewolfe]

I know others will disagree with me but a test garden is not a very accurate way to test the capabilities of your detector. At least not until it has "aged" a few years. Anything made of metal that has been in the ground for a period of time will create a "halo" around itself. The soil around the object actually taking on some of the metallic properties of the target. A rusty nail in the ground is a good example. The soil around the nail will look rusty.This halo actually makes the target look bigger to the detector making it easier to pick up at greater depths than a freshly buried coin.
? ? The depth meter will be fairly accurate with coin sized objects. Larger items will read more shallow and smaller items will read deeper than they actually are. So when you had a depth reading of 4" and you've dug down 6" without finding your target it might be a large item than is deeper than what your detector is telling you.? Keep practising and soon you'll be posting pics of all the good stuff you're finding.

"Exactly"

 

[da Hobo]

I have an ACE 250 also and I think what Jim was saying when he mentioned the "one-way beep" was that often times with the ACE you will get a single beep swinging one way only . . . nothing on the return swing. When that happens more times than not it is trash or a false reading.

As for digging a 6" hole for 4" deep coin my answer to that has been a good Pinpointer tool, and that is not referring to the pinpoint feature of the MD. It is a separate tool and I find it useful. It does help with those hard to find or mystery beeps you sometimes hear.

When I got my ACE it took me just about one set of batteries (30-40 hours) before I even started to understand my machine and be able to pinpoint with it half way decent. Have you gone through a set of batteries yet?

Practice, practice and keep the faith . . . . rewards will be coming your way.

Hobo

 

[Monty]

Grue, da hobo is right. A one way swing is when you get a beep passing over a target in one direction but don't get it on the back swing. The main thing for you now is to practice, practice, practice. Although all machines in the ACE category are nearly identical I think each one has its own peculiarities. I like to think of it as the machine is speaking to me and it is my job to listen and gain understanding as to what it is telling me. After you have it a bit longer and gain more experiece you will understand what I am saying. Don't get discouraged because when you least expect it you are likely to turn up something that is totally amazing and you will be hooked for good! JIM

 

[Grue]

Well, again, thank you all for your replies -- they have been most helpful.

I figured out, first, that I had been swinging too fast. I think I would get ghost signals from trash or the ground by swinging too fast (the faster the change in the magnetic field, the more eddy-current effect, thus skewing what the conductivity of the target is). So, I slowed myself down and had much more success. I also duct-taped the chord about 6" up the pole before entwining it as you suggested. The one-pass bings were possibly related to speed as well, where it thought it was something else at first only to figure out it was an eliminated conductivity reading.

I am waiting to re-work my coin garden, but I did go to the land where the school building once was and found all sorts of "treasures" that I took a picture of tonight. The most interesting bits were the spoon (perhaps made of tin (its detected at a tab between bronze and gold)), the rusted-handled knife that may have a silver blade, and a curious dark torus-ring thing with two halves that spin... its next to the top of the spoon in the pic.

Thanks everyone for the advice and I'll post more of my successes and what I've learned here for other newbies such as myself. You can never have too much advice from experienced folks.

--Grue

 

[Monty]

Your pic of treasures looks a lot like my first attempts! You're on the right track for sure. Every once in a while I go through my can of personal "treasures" as I like to call it and cull out a few things. I always ask myself, hmmmm, wonder why I brought that piece of junk home? Each item brangs back good memories though. JIM