Ace 350 OK in the mountains?

[WolfgangStiller]

I about to buy the Ace 350 but am concerned about its limited ground balance. I will be mostly using it here in the Colorado Mountains and back woods areas and am concerned about the heavily mineralized and clay soils. Does anyone have experience with the 350 in areas like this? Do I really need a more expensive model like the AT Pro to get around this problem?

 

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[Dwight S]

Anytime mineralized soil is part of the question, most likely Ground Balance is going to be the answer. I recommend finding a local shop or club and ask their opinion. Since it would appear that you are new to metal detecting, (assuming since it's your first post) visiting a local dealer will benefit you. You can see, touch, ask questions and try out some detectors and see what you like. The Ace 350 is a great detector for the right conditions, but if mineralized soil is a concern, then you may be better off saving up for a detector with ground balance, like the AT Pro or AT Gold.

 

[WolfgangStiller]

Anytime mineralized soil is part of the question, most likely Ground Balance is going to be the answer. I recommend finding a local shop or club and ask their opinion. Since it would appear that you are new to metal detecting, (assuming since it's your first post) visiting a local dealer will benefit you. You can see, touch, ask questions and try out some detectors and see what you like. The Ace 350 is a great detector for the right conditions, but if mineralized soil is a concern, then you may be better off saving up for a detector with ground balance, like the AT Pro or AT Gold.

Thanks, I don't have a local shop but have been talking to some local folks with MDs but most tend to do more urban stuff than is my goal so they are less affected by the clay and mineralized soils. After researching this the AT pro is my choice (along with PP and Lesche digging tool).

 

[Jcar]

I have both an AT Pro and an Ace 350. According to the At Pro, the red clay soil in my neck of the Woods (Central Kentucky), ground balances between 75 and 80. The Ace 350 has no problem with the soil here.

 

[WolfgangStiller]

I have both an AT Pro and an Ace 350. According to the At Pro, the red clay soil in my neck of the Woods (Central Kentucky), ground balances between 75 and 80. The Ace 350 has no problem with the soil here.

How do the two compare in your experience when you are in backwoods?

 

[Dwight S]

I have both an AT Pro and an Ace 350. According to the At Pro, the red clay soil in my neck of the Woods (Central Kentucky), ground balances between 75 and 80. The Ace 350 has no problem with the soil here.

Jcar, take both out and do some tests. It would be interesting to read your results. Set sensitivity & descriminate up the same on both. Ground balance the AT Pro and find a deep target. Then use the Ace 350 and see if you get a signal. If the dirt is bad, you may get no signal or a broken signal that you probably wouldn't consider digging. I know in my experence that both depth and signal quality is affected. I know they are not the same detectors, but the 350 is a pretty good unit to run the test with.

 

[dnewbury2]

I live in Northwest Alabama and I bought the Ace 350 and sold it pretty quickly because it couldn't handle the red clay in this area. I got tired of digging empty holes due to false signals.

 

[Jcar]

I can't say that one machine has found more than the other. Both have found lots of coins and assorted metal goodies for me. I've been pleased with both. I have tested them, side by side, in my test plot, on a recently added Lincoln penny, burried right at 8 inches. Unfortunately, I can't remember if it was a pre '84 copper or post '84 zinc. With zero discrimination and the sensitivity set as high as possible (one level below random chirping), I can't get the 350 to hit it. In standard mode, with the sensitivity set the same way, I can't get the AT to hit it. The AT won't hit it in pro mode either if the ground is dry. However, if we've had rain and there's a little moisture in the ground, the AT, in pro mode, will repeatably locate it. However, the hit is faint and it doesn't show a value on the display. I've tried shifting the ground balance value +/- 10 and the results were the same. Based on the above results, I suppose the AT runs a hair deeper. Although, I'm not sure how practical this is considering how faint the signal was. I'm not sure I would have heard it at my normal sweep speed and hunting cadence. The AT has a noticably faster recycle time than the 350. I have found that the 350 will iron mask in both sweep directions, if an iron target is closer than 3 inches or so to the left or right of a good target. In the same situation, the AT seems to mask in only one direction. The AT's pro audio is nice. It really does help weed out the trash. As for the 350's ground balance. I've read several post saying that it's pre-set. I'm not so sure. I've not seen anything from Garrett that says it's pre-set. On page 4 of the 350's manual Garrett says that it "automatically adjusts for ground minerals". I wonder if this is part of the reason the 350 has slower recycle times and why the AT has faster recycle times. The 350's processor may be constantly adjusting for mineralization, which takes time. The AT doesn't automatically adjust. It's essentially pre-set by the user. Keep in mind, this is my own personal theory. The only way to know for sure is to talk to the EE's at Garrett. Your best bet may be to find someone in your area that has a 350 or find some place that will loan you one. Of course, you could just go out and a buy an AT Pro and not worry about it. You are out west, and you may get into hunting nuggets some day. You never know :-)

 

[WolfgangStiller]

After researching this here and elsewhere, talking with local MDers and Bart from BigBoysToys, I ordered the AT Pro. Lesche, and a PP. Bart provided some good information, great prices, and really fast shipping. The package from Bart arrived last night. My wife and did some quick bench tests to get familiar with the tones in Pro mode and gave it a test drive on our property. We're both delighted!

-Wolfgang