bad detector ??????

CRAZY-TEXICAN · Jun 19, 2009

I keep finding trash all the time, i have collected about 40Lbs of nothing but rusty nails,tin cans, nuts,bolts etc . and that is in my back yard alone , what am i doing wrong?? somehow my detector wont go past a couple of inches deep :BangHead:

. my cheapo backup detector goes way deeper than that :cussing:

michigan michael · Jun 20, 2009

Sorry to hear that. I have 2 ace 250's and love em both. They suck when I am around power lines with the 9 x 12 head but other than that they are awesome. I pulled a 1919 Wheat at a little over 11" Deep. :dontknow:

Have you planted a test garden? try that and if you cant pull deeper than 2 to four inches give garrett a call. You should be able to 6- 8" easily! Good luck!

Eu_citzen · Jun 20, 2009

Welcome to the hobby of trash digging big time. :hello:

We all do that. :wink:

No advice on the detector though.

allen · Jun 23, 2009

patience and lots of practice,
then the coins,rings and relics
will be found by you !!

SpiderCoil · Jun 24, 2009

Read the Manuel. Then practice around the areas of parking. Then read the Manuel again. I am not being sarcastic, I've had my machine 3 yrs and still read thought the Manuel and forums of the manufacture. Join a club, there is like what 1000+ years of knowledge there! learn from the generations before you (oh crap - now I sound like my father

).

West Jersey Detecting · Jun 24, 2009

SpiderCoil said:
Read the Manuel. Then practice around the areas of parking. Then read the Manuel again.

Best advice, EVER.. Read the Manual, then Read it again! The Ace manual is a fast read, but try getting through the V3 manual in one sitting!

Your detector is only doing what it is supposed to do. I am surprised by the fact that no one has told you to switch to coin mode, and get used to it that way for a while. This will eliminate a lot of pull tabs and rusty nails. But it will also discriminate out most gold jewelry. After you feel more comfortable with the unit, try opening up the discrimination a bit to suit your detecting preference.

Many people keep it in coin mode or jewelry mode and never change it.

CRAZY-TEXICAN · Jun 24, 2009

that is the first thing i did, i am not having issues with metal descrimination or with the settings on it... The issue i have with this thing is that it will not go deeper than a couple of inches, i have found coins at 2" but not deeper, i have found lots of trash and aluminum pull tabs . i bought a tracker IV for my son and it will go to almost 7" deep on coins and its becoming my main detector for now

... i wonder if it has a bad coil ??

relichunters · Jun 24, 2009

Has nothing to do with your detector. Every single detect will find the same exact target. Some find deeper items, some do a better job of telling you what the item is. But even if you spent $3,000 on a top of the line detector, you will still find the same stuff, because that is what is in the ground in your yard.

West Jersey Detecting · Jun 24, 2009

A-ortiz said:
that is the first thing i did, i am not having issues with metal descrimination or with the settings on it... The issue i have with this thing is that it will not go deeper than a couple of inches, i have found coins at 2" but not deeper, i have found lots of trash and aluminum pull tabs . i bought a tracker IV for my son and it will go to almost 7" deep on coins and its becoming my main detector for now ... i wonder if it has a bad coil ??

A) Do a test garden as suggested
B) Try another detector on the same yard
C) Air test a quarter at 8 inches

The Ace is ground balanced at the factory. You cannot adjust it. If your ground is more saline than iron you may have difficulty with it. The Ace is balanced more toward magnetic (iron) ground.

As another reply said earlier, I have found coins more than 10 inches deep with the ACE 250. Of course there is always a possibility that the coil is bad.

relichunters · Jun 24, 2009

Neil in West Jersey said:
A-ortiz said:

that is the first thing i did, i am not having issues with metal descrimination or with the settings on it... The issue i have with this thing is that it will not go deeper than a couple of inches, i have found coins at 2" but not deeper, i have found lots of trash and aluminum pull tabs . i bought a tracker IV for my son and it will go to almost 7" deep on coins and its becoming my main detector for now ... i wonder if it has a bad coil ??

Click to expand...

A) Do a test garden as suggested
B) Try another detector on the same yard
C) Air test a quarter at 8 inches

The Ace is ground balanced at the factory. You cannot adjust it. If your ground is more saline than iron you may have difficulty with it. The Ace is balanced more toward magnetic (iron) ground.

As another reply said earlier, I have found coins more than 10 inches deep with the ACE 250. Of course there is always a possibility that the coil is bad.

My ACE 250 stock coil brand new can't detect coin size targets pass 5 inches deep.

fetz · Jun 25, 2009

when you detect pulltabs foil iron etc rescan them after u dig then push the eliminate button and then the detector will discriminate those targets out also real trashy areas get the small round search coil i have the custom program set up to my liking with all iron and pull tabs foil eliminated for me this works this is the program i use for parks and playgrounds

also keep some pull tabs foil nails etc in a bag scan them seperately then push eliminate

hope this helps

Tank69 · Jun 25, 2009

sounds like a bad coil,my Tessoro was doing that among other things ,got the coil replaced an it made a world of differance ,dont give up on the 250 everyone swears by them. :icon_thumright:

extractor · Jun 30, 2009

Give Garrett a call and see what they say.

Deepseeker 1 · Jun 30, 2009

I agree with Memorial Magnet...also you said that you found nothing but junk :tongue3:

in your back yard?? that's good ...now you just cleared the junk out of the way ...keep searching and you will find the good stuff from what's now left. The Ace 250 and 150 are really great beach machines too! The Ace 250 can spot coins and good size rings to at least 8 inches. And yes, definetly yes plant a test garden...i suggest coins at 2, 4, 6, and 8 inches ...and realy listen(with headphones) to the sound to really get a feel of a GOOD signal. Also ...do an air tes...wave coins of different sizes in front of the coil parrallell to the coil and at 90 degrees to the coil and see the difference...listen for the double beeps, or multiple beeps that indicates a coin, and write things down!!! Give it time....experience is the best teacher in this hobby, :read2:

... also PATIENCE! ...Happy Hunting!!! :thumbsup:

Deepseeker 1 :icon_thumright:

MUD(S.W.A.T) · Jul 16, 2009

LOL,

Get out of your back yard.... :dontknow:

You'll find lots of stuff !! :laughing9:

Keep @ It and HH!!

Born2Dtect · Jul 16, 2009

Another theory? You may have a bad detector or coil. The easiest way is to put yours next to another Ace 250. Set them up the same and try on the same targets. If yours does not seem as good as the other you can send it in for evaluation. I am not sure if you can but if you can swap coils you can eliminate the coil being bad.

Ed D.

Seamuss · Aug 3, 2009

There are days that I move a lot of dirt and rocks to find just a little bit of black sand and a couple of gold flakes.

But it sure feels good when a flood brings down a lot of new material and leaves a bucket full of blacksand in my sluice with a few ounces of flake and fine yellow stuff and just over and ounce of nuggets for a half days work.

Sometimes it takes a flood to wash away all the light stuff to get the heavies at the bottom of the pool. Detecting isn't much different. I go in the park after heavy use or an old building that is vacated and find more stuff that way.