Discriminating with Ace 250

[SnappyBob]

I'm very new to detecting and I just tried out my new Ace 250 this weekend. I was hunting an old residence in the country where I new there would be many targets. As I suspected we found numerous pull tabs. I set the discrimination to not recognize pull tabs, tested it and sure enough the pull tab was not showing up. The very next hole I pulled up a pull tab. That was all that was there and the signal disappeared when I rechecked the hole. Also I was getting a lot of unrepeatable targets. What does that mean when you get a beep but when you go back over that location you can't find that same beep?

 

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[007]

I have been using the ace for about a month , Just to see if I would like to get back into the hobby after an absence for a few years . The Ace is a great beginner detector in Non Trashy areas , It has problems discriminating pull tabs , and junk , even with the sniper coil in trashy areas . I would dig deep targets at 8" , with a strong $1 dollar " silver" zone signal , only to discover it being Foil ,then rescanning it on the surface then it displays foil , pull tabs will show up in diffrent zones as well . Pinpointing is off most of the time , detuning Is hit or Miss as well until you become an expert at it. I actually am going to give mine to my nephew , and upgrade to a T2 , F75 , or F70 which will be available in 3 to 4 weeks , I like the numeric ids, confidence bars etc etc , Having a detector which offers many Tools as possible then using my own judgment , whether to dig or not , I also think the New fisher F-5 will be a very hot detector for newbies
With the Ace as others have stated you have to dig everything , i have owned a whites spectrum xlt , for a number of years , but with a heavy work load , I gave up metal detecting , and sold it to a friend , but had very tremendous success with it . But I enjoy the newer lighter detectors , that pack a Big punch and can hold there own against the big boys . I personally feel I will wait the extra couple of weeks and get the F-70 .
You can use the Ace 250 for a few weeks and if you feel you enjoy this wonderfull hobby , as I know you will , you can sell it on eBay , they retain there value nicely and put it towards a better detector , The New Fisher F-5 on Kellyco may be What the Doc. has ordered for Newbies , and you do not want to brake your budget .

 

[olenodigger]

I've been using a ace 250 for a little over a year and for the price I think it is an excellent detector.Discrimination on any detector is not perfect,different pull tabs conduct differently(at different points on the conductivity scale).broken or bent pull tabs will be different. the garrett bell tone is a big help for coins. The disappearing beep can be a large target over loading the circuit(iron,alum. can).Pinpointing with the large coll does take practice but gets better as you learn the machine.I have found several rings and lots of clad with mine.You might want to search less trashy spots until you learn what the ace is telling you. Tot lots are a good place,I've found 3 rings an other item in the wood chips that they use here.

 

[Fishstank]

Trust James Bond he knows what he is talking about!!

 

[SnappyBob]

I just looked at Kellyco for an F5 just for grins. $500 vs $212. Hopefully 2 1/2 times the price would buy you some extra features and a little better overall unit but I think I will stay with with the ACE for a while longer. Everyone seems to speak so highly of them although I don't see many of those folks defending them here on this thread. I've only had it out once though. I really need to take it out a few more times before I make any judgments.

 

[stanjam]

I really like mine. A very effective detector, even though my ground appears high in iron, and the areas I have hunted are pretty trashy.

It takes some getting used to. Now that I can pinpoint well, I am finding more and more things. Still waiting for my first bits of jewelry. The thing also LOVES foil.

 

[Monty]

When you get a tone in one direction only, it usually means it is junk. A lot of times when you have pull tabs discriminated out, they will still give a tone , but often in one direction only. For some reason, a broken or bent pull tab will still give out a signal. Coins are another matter. When you hit a coin, or at least on my ACE 250, it can't be mistaken for anything else. Mine will sing out with the loud bell tone and nealy play a tune when moved rapidly back and forth over a coin. The one thing that really confuses my ACE or most probably confuses me is a piece of aluminum can slaw. It will often ring in just like a coin. But I have found that even though close in sound it will be just a slight bit different in strength and volume. I dig these anyway and 99% of the time I know in my own heart it is trash. But I keep reading about those "iffy" sounds and just can't resist. Monty

 

[The-Bone]

Monty said it best....if you get a good signal in one direction but not the other it is most likely trash..also remember that there are about 4 different styles of pull tabs out there that all read slightly differently to the detector....the Ace is a good unit for the money...it goes plenty deep and is not a battery hog....can slaw and aluminum foil will fool even top dollar machines. My unit oftentimes has trouble correctly identifying what denomination coin it has found in the soil, HOWEVER, when it does find a coin it always signals as such even if it gets confused about which one it thinks it sees. As for pinpointing it does an excellent job once you get to know the machine...look in the U-tube section here as there is an excellent video on the Ace and pinpointing.

 

[Happy Harry]

This is my first reply and first post. I have had my ace250 since christmas 2007. I am still learning the machine. However I have learned that if I get a bell tone there is a coin there even if I do not pinpoint exactly. I just keep digging. There are times when foil will sound close to but not quite the same as a coin. If the curser bounces between coin and foil It is most likely foil. I still dig it. I am still a newbie at this hobby. I have located a MDing club in Santa Clara CA and have joined. Have already received good information from some of the members. If there is a group near you it may be to your advantage to check it and them out. There is always a new and better machine. Get to know the one you have and have fun.
HH

 

[Monty]

Harry you are correct about the signal bouncing. And you are correct about digging it anyway unless you are just coin shooting. On my ACE the bouncing signal in the lower ranges can mean gold. I have found two gold rings with mine and both times the signal was strong and bounced between nickel and pull tab. I don't now if all ACE 250s are the same but that's somethng I always keep in the back of my mind. Monty

 

[stanjam]

Harry you are correct about the signal bouncing. And you are correct about digging it anyway unless you are just coin shooting. On my ACE the bouncing signal in the lower ranges can mean gold. I have found two gold rings with mine and both times the signal was strong and bounced between nickel and pull tab. I don't now if all ACE 250s are the same but that's somethng I always keep in the back of my mind. Monty

Good to know! I am interested in two things primarily, and those are coins and gold jewelry. Coins because I am interested in collecting old coins, and jewelry because I want to sell them, and support this hobby! That new detector, coils, and pinpointer will not pay for themselves!

 

[SnappyBob]

Thanks all, I feel better about my ACE now. A friend of mine who also wants to get into the hobby was thinking of buying an ACE and I was wondering if I should tell him to hold off for awhile. I'll just let him go ahead an order when he's ready. The worst that can happen is he won't like the hobby or the machine and he will just sell it on ebay. He wouldn't be out that much money. And somebody else can get a good deal on a slightly used ACE

 

[Fishstank]

I say when you're new at the sport...just dig it all. You can't discriminate against the machine until you learn it and all the diff tones it makes. Once you have practiced for a few months then you can judge the machine.

Fishstank

 

[007]

Me so sorry Mine lab section turned me to the DARK SIDE !!! ... , I caved in and went with the X-terra 70 , should arrrive within a few days and I will rescan everything where I went with the Ace Ill keep you posted , But I'm just tired of digging pull tabs, that display all over the board , My personal opinion is If you enjoy the Hobby , you should upgrade to a better detector think of all the targets that you may have missed , Ace is a Great Clad shooter with maybe a Touch of silver and Gold here and there , But after allot of reading , carefull study , diffrent coil frequency options , Minelab is the way to go , the X-terra 70 is super light weight , and I'm sure I will be extremely pleased with my purchase . I just do not want to miss any great Treasure Finds Arhhh...

 

[Monty]

The Minelab is a great detector I must agree and one of my best buddies uses one. But.....You knew there was a but didn't you? There are just certain things that fool any detector and unfortunately those things falling into the pull tab category is one of them. Even with the most modern , expensive model detector on the market, you can discrimiinate out pull tabs entirely and another but, but you will also discriminate out gold. Yes, you will probably find a lot more things you missed with the ACE, especially deeper items. Been there, done that. Don't get discouraged and stick with your Minelab long enough to get to know it, every aspect and peculiarity of it and you will not be disappointed in the end. But you are still going to be digging pull tabs, that I would bet on. Monty

 

[RHoward]

I run a Garrett GTI 1000 that is 15 years old with an elptical crossfire coil. All Garretts are pretty much the same just some have more bells and whistles. The Ace 250 is a great little machine. Dig all signals from one notch below nickels on up including the ones that bounce until you and your machine are on the same page. The signals that sound off going one way and silent the other way are usually junk, rotate 90 degrees and try again sometimes that clears up the signal,check the depth of that reading in pinpoint if it is deep then dig it. I pinpoint with the tip of the coil on the crossfire; use the tip of the inner coil of the Ace the more practice on pinpointing the better you will become. If a coin is in the ground at an angle it will affect the accuracy of the pinpoint, at least it does on my 1000. Good luck and happy hunting!!

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

If you hear a beep and it's not there the next time you go over the spot, there is a chance that either the sensitivity is set a little too high, you may have bumped something with the coil, or even something like too much moisture or interference. It's also possible that it was a one way or closely confined swing that caused the beep. Repeatable only if you begin to swing in different directions and swing distances. The other likely cause is that whatever targets are discriminated......they sometimes come through anyways, especially if it's a larger object.

Ricardo

 

[mellowcheddar]

Arrgh!

Well I just had my first out-of-the-backyard-run with my new 250 and this thing has my head spinning!
Now we all know the user guides are never that awesome, mine came used, without it, and I think I'm paying for it now. I can't figure out the disc. at all. When you move the cursor, does everything behind the cursor get disc'd out or are you only disc'ing the iron, pulltabs etc? Also lots of beeps that only beeped once, never to be heard again- no utility lines around either. Beeping in mid-air! I tightened up the wire that goes around the shaft and that seemed to help a bit. The damn thing seems to be like 2 inches off no matter how I come at the target.
I know, I know, you must become one with the machine... But this thing seems a bit on the Schizo side compared to my old Bounty Hunter.
Comments? Advice?

 

[stanjam]

Arrgh!

Well I just had my first out-of-the-backyard-run with my new 250 and this thing has my head spinning!
Now we all know the user guides are never that awesome, mine came used, without it, and I think I'm paying for it now. I can't figure out the disc. at all. When you move the cursor, does everything behind the cursor get disc'd out or are you only disc'ing the iron, pulltabs etc? Also lots of beeps that only beeped once, never to be heard again- no utility lines around either. Beeping in mid-air! I tightened up the wire that goes around the shaft and that seemed to help a bit. The damn thing seems to be like 2 inches off no matter how I come at the target.
I know, I know, you must become one with the machine... But this thing seems a bit on the Schizo side compared to my old Bounty Hunter.
Comments? Advice?

The notch discrimination only takes out that notch, nothing else. Also try turning your sensitivity down if the detector is goin nuts. Start out at maybe 4 bars.

Tape the coil wire straight up the lower half of the shaft, then coil it up the rest.

When pinpointing, find the side to side center first, then back and forth. Watch the bars. If you need to now move the coil an inch or two to the side, press and release the pinpoint button, then pinpoint the target again. The area should be much smaller now. Once you have the center, bring the detector straight back at you until the signal stops. A shallow target will now be directly under the middle of the inside forward loop, deeper targets will be back from that a bit.

 

[mellowcheddar]

Ooh that was quick!
Too bad I gotta go make *yawn* dinner...