Actually the Aces use early to mid-80's technology with add-on stops for different voltage increments. It's not new at all, and that's why they suffer so much for use in harsh or high iron soils. This means in lay terms that each place in the realms of discrimination for example, are registering a different (positive or negative) voltage, and a different impedence too. It also means that they have put a label on digital stops or increments instead of them being read on an analog meter. Digital readings though have been around since the early 70's, mostly found on early digital watches, those ones with the red letters..
This circuitry found in the Aces is almost the same earlier outdated phase-shift technology that the early to mid-80's Bounty Hunter Red Barons and White's 6db's used. The Aces are listed in Garrett's own informational charts as not being something to buy to search any salt beach. Here is the link where the info from Garrett is found - under "applications".
http://www.garrett.com/hobby/techsupport/applications.htm
The Aces would however work so-so on freshwater beaches as long as the soil does not have too much iron in it. The Aces (all of them) will not and cannot differentiate between a nickel and most pulltabs, something that is spoken and written about frequently, but seems to be never mentioned when people try to sell them to unsuspecting customers. A teardrop sized stud earring may easily be passed up by any Ace ever made too, including up to the 550 series, because of it's older circuitry design. Aces handle weak or light in iron soil fairly well - but they have a real hard time with hot rocks and saline (salt) type soils, mostly because of the slower, older circuitry they house. This is EXACTLY why the Aces have a delay in their audio signal response, just as the earlier Red Barons and White's did.
The Predator III is not even as good as the Aces, it is the first of the Garretts attempt to capture and copy the first phase-shift technology introduced by George Payne into the White's 6db, 6000 db and later on in the Teknetics line of equipment, and later on improved by Compass Electronics - doing just enough work on it for it to work ok without fear of copyright infringements. All metal detector manufacturers borrow ideas from each other, it's not a new concept.
Later on the Aces were slightly improved but not by much. George left White's and started the Teknetics detector company just 13 miles from my home in Lebanon, Oregon around the year 1989. He was a very pleasant fellow and I was fortunate enough to get to cruise the Engineering section of his building. I used to work for a firm that did White's circuitboarding and R&D detector engineering back in the early 80's when the Aces type of circuitry was more popular. Later on I worked as a detector repairman for ten years - as a hobby, and before all that I worked in electronics engineering for the Department of Defense on the Mark 48 electronic and nuclear powered torpedo guidance and command control systems, some very elaborate and intricate electronic (classified) circuitry, MUCH more complicated than simple detector types..
The Aces are ok for casual use in moderate to mild soil, but technically speaking they lack a great deal. There are other detectors that would be a better bet, such as the White's Prizms, Classics, or the Fisher f-2, f-4, or the lower-priced Tesoros, even though those Tesoro models have no target ID meters.
Both the Aces and the Predators use very antiquated circuitry. The current F-2 and F-4 utilize much more more modern circuitry and that's why they can differentiate between pulltabs and nickels and the Aces cannot, and it's also why they can handle bad ground better too.
Have a nice day all.
EasyMoney
