Ace 350 not sure I am liking it

[flgliderpilot]

I've been detecting for about a year with a cheap Harbor Freight 9 Function detector. It's cheap, and poorly built, flimsy, but it does actually work rather well. The discrimination is simple, and it's very fast. I decided it was time to "upgrade" so I purchased a Garrett Ace 350. It's very nicely built, but to be honest I am not very impressed with it's functions. Yes, it goes deep... maybe too deep. I am getting tired of digging 8" holes. But, it is terrible in trashy areas. It sounds like a pong game and it takes me 3 times as long to get through a trashy area (because I need to slow down and quadruple check every hit in two different directions) as it does with my Harbor Freight detector. With the 350 everything is a nickel, iron, or a dime... except it takes me 40 swipes to figure this out in two different directions. With my HF detector I had dig or no-dig figured out in 3 swipes not 40. I figured out the pinpointing with the DD coil, but even that is less effective. What gives? I'm ashamed to say I'm ready to go back to the HF detector!! Plus the recovery time is way too slow! It feels great but sounds like hell!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvS-Wwsd6q4&feature=youtu.be

 

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[s.c.shooter]

Its a great coin shooter. Give it a chance. I think that with a little practice you'll be happy you did. Good luck!

 

[flgliderpilot]

Thanks. I did some further testing, with 5 coins on my hardwood floor (full of nails). The Ace350 did a better job of showing me multiple coins. The HF beeped off ONE coin... and the Garrett beeped off at least 3. So I guess I just need to spend some time with it

Test 2 here:

 

[RustyGold]

I agree, get proficient with it and you may just like it.

 

[BigWaveDave]

Not sure you would want to invest in smaller coils, but it is an option with the 350...
You have a coin magnet with your machine...stick with it.

 

[flgliderpilot]

Ok I'll keep working it and figure it out! Thanks

 

[releventchair]

I run the 5x8 coil usually on the 350. In park hunting in trashy settings it sorts better. In an area with few targets the larger stock coil is better for covering ground faster.
Not that fast is good, unless effective.
Depending on amount of targets sometimes very slow is required. With the larger coil more so.
When detecting a long time in a hunt I have occasionally gone to making recoveries on high tones only when coin hunting..not looking at target i.d..Going to miss stuff that way though.
Sensitivity two or three notches from the top,discriminating out iron that is below foil,and running in jewelry mode when after coins and jewelry.
What target i.d. on screen shows matters less to me than it's tone. When I get trying to tweak extreme precision out of the detector it gets arguing with me, or really, I with it.
In time you will have preferred personal settings for different hunts and conditions.
Pinpointing can be tough if lots of targets are around the one you are after. A handheld pinpointer helps. I wear out glove finger tips from using one to mark the spot on the ground where the hole nearest the detectors shaft was when target located. Not the best way but one I use.
There are videos online showing other methods of pinpointing. Starting from the side of area of target and swinging over spot slowly in pinpoint mode can be a pain in trashy areas.
Iron pulls me away from anything else if close,yeah I've dug some eight inchers too..usually with multiple targets in them. On some sites with more near that are beeping on the pinpointer. Of course iron is not discriminated by the handheld so checking with the coil for i.d. after an object is recovered helps avoid chasing iron.( If avoiding iron as targets.)
A double D coil is a different critter and takes a little getting used to. I like it. The 350 has made a lot of recoveries and is up to the task for me.
Keep it fun!

 

[SouthFLdigger]

I have an ACE 150 with the large 10x12" coil goes deep and recovery speed is reasonably fast. The ACE series are great starter units and especially when found used at a great price. Take your time learn it well.

 

[Uncle Jeff]

Ok first off get a bigger shovel. No need to dig 8 inch holes with a garden trowel.. second learn the signals .. you are killing me

 

[bigfoot1]

I've never had a machine I liked at first.They all suck at first.The only differance between a piece of crap and a machine from nirvana is whether or not you learn the language fluently.Untill then you are a yankee tourist in somalia and good luck wit that.Hang tough

 

[flgliderpilot]

Thanks for the tips. I went out yesterday and the 350 did very well in wet sand. I ran with some notches for the wet sand, and sensitivity at about 3 or 4 bars. I had the occasional false, but it was easy to tell because it was random blip and not repeatable. Detecting on the wet beach sand was difficult with my HF detector previously even with sensitivity turned all the way down and discrimination high up.

Then it gave me a few very questionable hits... very deep. I dug and dug and was certain it was being fooled by wet sand ... until I finally found a penny about 12" deep! Then I searched the dry sand and it went completely nuts... sounded like I had 10 targets in one spot. I started digging, and found a dime and two pennies... all about 6" deep. Small pocket spill.

I've gotten the hang of pin pointing with it. I just need to go very slow and wiggle, and then wiggle 90 degrees again.

Just need more time with it, it's definitely getting better as I get used to the pattern of beeps (bouncing around vs stable). It goes so much deeper than my old detector, I'm going to need to re-search all the areas I've already hit pretty hard!

 

[nsdq]

Keep at it and it will get better,,,, remember some of the cheaper machine can keep up with the high dollar ones ,,, my Ace 150 has made some darn cool finds , but take your time and happy hunting

 

[bigfoot1]

man I'm happy you are over the hump.I have taught several folks to hunt and the story is always the same.From your 1st post to the most recent says it all and check this out...now things start to really get better fast.You are starting to speak 350 and it wants to talk to you.
this is why there arent 200 detectorists at a park.they just dont get over the hump.ya gotta want it and want it bad.ya gotta practice and train.
dont worry about whether you get .50cents or two bucks...keep a general account in mind of how many"keepers"vs trash finds.A penny sure as heck counts at this stage of learning.
Celebrate the little victories,big ones dont happen often.Play with your settings...alot at times,sometimes not..the ground will determine that(and mood,time avail.,trashieness,weather,)

Dig a ton of targets untill you can predict 7 of 10 accurately.You will then speak 350 enough to have fun.when you get to 8 or 9 of 10...its on

You wont be consistantly,"lucky"untill dues are paid.pay them by staying in training mode.good luck and congrats on the over the hump thing

 

[flgliderpilot]

I'm getting there. I know I'm doing well when I'm on the beach and pass by several targets and then dig one, and it's an old corroded (1970's) quarter 6" down. The beaches here get hit hard, so when I find something which isn't recent I know I'm doing something right... even if it's just choosing the right spot to search. This morning I actually dug more clad than trash. I was only fooled by a few red pull tabs (anyone notice the red ones ring different than the silver ones?). And last week I found a ring. Good times.

 

[Skippy SH13]

Hey flgliderpilot.

I've been running an ACE 350 for 5 months now. I would get out a good 15 hours a week (still hit at least 10), and I swear I didn't start to "know" the machine until I hit about 100 hours. The machine's bouncing of signals will really help you learn to discriminate what's under the ground, if you learn how to decipher what's happening on the display. Sounds work fine, too, but I typically do the display vs. keep it on the all metal mode.

For example, bottle caps show up as quarters, nice and solid... but right at the edge of the bottle cap, it'll spike down to the iron range... but only right at the edge. I found what helped the most was trying to constantly tell myself "This is what that is under the ground, because..." and then fill in the blank. That trick really made my predictions spike up. By paying attention to how it was sounding/displaying, I got to eventually understand what is a ring, and what is foil, etc... For example, rings on the ACE350 will actually sound longer than foil will. I think the field is slightly disturbed more. In any event, I can now tell the difference... I can't tell the difference between a ring, and a washer, though!

Some of my best finds, recently come because I CAN'T figure out what it is by the signals. Those I dig. They turn out to be fun stuff, or weird junk. Thinks like a Brass hummingbird, a silver/gold cross, back of a pocket watch, etc...

One of my FAVORITE things about the ACE 350, though is the fact it's not a "bubble" detection field, like found on concentric coils.. It's more like a blade that extends downward, down the center of the the coil (where the two D's meet). Use that as a wiggle point. The blade field will scan deep, and when you pass back and forth over it quickly, you'll get a signal that is more visible. It also will help you discriminate out trash (do enough and you'll figure out what's not behaving like coins/jewelry). The wiggle method is also amazing as a pinpointer. Basically wiggle quickly back and forth over the target (so it goes DING DING DING DING DING like 5 times a second), then pull the detector backward over the spot. At the point the signal stops happening, it's directly below the front of the coil (where it reads "Garrett"). For a great example, go here, and start at 8 minutes and 17 seconds. The wiggle method makes detection and recovery VERY fast. In fact, doing this, I don't even bother with the pinpointing button, (though a pinpointer helps in the final recover).

These days I only do the 90 degree angle thing if I'm trying to determine the SIZE of the target. Cans, for example that are crushed and laying thin part up, will actually start signaling at their edges (meaning the whole signal is like 6 inches across. Those are signals you know aren't coins.

In fact, the Double D's "blade" of detection is what makes it so fantastic in differentiating targets. It can separate targets that are only an inch a part, if you're using the wiggle method. If you always do a full sweep, you won't be able to differentiate nearly as well.

Skippy

 

[Skippy SH13]

On other thing about the 350. When I'm in tot-lots (or other places where there is a large metal pole or fence or something), I've discovered the 350 DD coil only signals when the direction of the coil changes in relation to the pole.

For example, as long as I'm swinging TOWARD the pole, it won't signal. The moment I stop and go back the other direction, I'll get a single DING!... but only if it's from the side. If the swing is across the pole (like you're facing the pole and swinging side to side), that blade will ding as it passes the pole. Knowing this, I now turn sideways to the large poles, and swing toward them, almost (and sometimes touching it). only when I pull back will I get the DING!. This helps a LOT when you're trying to find targets close to the pole. Because as you swing sideways towards the pole, if you get a DING! before your swing stops momentum, you've crossed a target. Then as you pull back, you'll likely get TWO dings. One for the pole, and the second for the object. That makes it possible to find coins within a couple of inches of the pole, which is something my son's Concentric coil on the 250 cannot seem to do.

I also use that knowledge to hunt near fence lines (like at ball parks). As long as my swing is directly sideways from the fence, I only get that one ding, and I can be sure that anything else is a target. BTW, depending on your sensitivity, the ding may occur father away from your target than you expect (if it's a big pole, for example, you might get a single a foot away or more on higher sensitivity. To check if it's the pole, just turn sideways to it, and swipe all the way toward the pole. If the only ding you get is when you stop and headback the other direction, the original signal was just a pole.

This makes it VERY easy to detect between poles under Tot-Lot equipment btw. Just lower your sensitivity a notch or two, and swing smoothly between the two poles. you'll get a ding on each one... any others, you should check out.

Cheers!

 

[flgliderpilot]

Good info thanks. Basically you described my techniques almost exactly ... I also noticed the one ding when near metal structures... but I hadn't really thought to listen for a ding on the in swing. I'll try that.

 

[kenstein]

You mentioned finding a ring. That'll get your blood to pumpin'. Anything good?

 

[flgliderpilot]

Nah... when I saw it was a wedding band I was very excited, until I read inside that it was tungsten carbide. Still a cool find!

 

[Skippy SH13]

Another tip if you don't want to do the 90 degree angle thing, is once you've found the leading edge (by pulling the coil back toward you), you can find the trailing edge by simply walking forward, wiggling the coil, until the trailing edge of the coil has passed it. If it's the same spot as you found when you pullled backward, it's a small target.

Keeps me from having to change directions and speeds things up, anyway.

There are still times I'll hit the 90 degree thing (especially on hillsides), but mostly it's just straight on these days. The only time I've been surprised with this, is when there is a set of coins in the ground and I'm lined up perfectly on them. But after the first pull, rescanning the hole finds it.

Skippy