Garrett Ace 250 or Fisher F2

[Electrocute]

Looking to get my fiancee into this hobby. She so far has loved using my E-Trac. She wants a MD
just to get started with. She said she wants her own and doesn't want to spend too much. Which
would you recommend as I have not used either. By the way I'm still new to this hobby myself.
I got lucky and picked up this E-Trac for $80 at an estate sale. I honestly didn't know what these
ran until I got home and checked.

 

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[BamaBill]

I would stongly recommend the Ace 250. Its a neater little package, gets good depth and there is an aftermarket coil, a 10X14 DD coil, that will get great depth on that machine. I know a guy that uses that combo to relic hunt and he consistently out hunts a lot of the rest of us. My son has the F2 and its a little clunky by comparison. These are just our experiences, take it for what its worth, but if I were buying him his first machine again it would definitely be the Ace 250 (we had one for a while and he liked it better than the F2, but now he uses my old X-terra 70).

 

[Coin Digger]

I own an F2 and it doesn't get any easier, it's a real turn on and go machine. The TID is accurate and pin pointing is spot on with one exception and that is a zinc penny lying on the surface. They pin point the size of a dinner plate but to compensate you just raise the coil 6-10 inches.
It also makes a great back up detector that you can let other family members use and you won't have to follow them around explaining things. It's also feather lite compared to other machines I've used and thats a plus for my wife who goes out once a year with me.
Can't speak for the Ace, but I hear it's a nice little machine.

 

[slowNsteady]

You're really opening a can of worms with this question, but here is my explanation. Put the two machines side by side and compare quality and features and the F2 clearly wins. The F2 has a higher build quality, period. The plastic is thicker and stronger in the arm cuff, control box, and screen areas. The shaft has locks that keep it tight, the Ace does not and the shaft wobbles. Both machines are about the same weight, but the Ace feels heavier on the coil end. The shaft at the arm cuff is shorter on the Ace which leads to fatigue early in the hunt.
Feature wise, they are both similiar, but different. The F2 and Ace both have sensitivity, discrimination, and notch features. The Ace has different modes, the F2 has VDI numbers. Basically the modes notch out different items for you. The numbers on the F2 help to classify the target. With practice this is a great tool to have. I miss it when using the Ace. The F2 uses 2 9V batteries where the Ace uses 4 AA. Only the 4", 8", and 10" coil are available for the F2. The Ace has a 4.5", 6"x9", 9"x12", the new 8.5"x11"DD, and 2 other large DD coils available plus the Sun Ray probe.
Warranty wise, the F2 has a 5 year and the Ace has a 2 year. If you're buying used, that does not apply as the warranty is not transferrable.
They are both fine machines, but each has pros and cons. You just have to decide which features you like best and can live with.

 

[Coin Digger]

The F2's TID numbers is it's real strength. It's weakness depth, but 90% of the coins you'll dig will be within in it's reach.
For me it makes hunting fun just digging good targets and with a little practice (digging pull tabs) it finds nickels.
4" is about the deepest nickel it can find just using TID numbers. The numbers are jumpy between 27 - 32 anything else it's a pull tab.
It also has fast recovery making it ideal for working trashy areas.

If it had auto tracking G/B it would be a real killer!

 

[slowNsteady]

One thing I've noticed, is that some people have trouble finding nickles with the Ace. I have not had this problem, but with the little squares that light up, it can be hard to see at times. The Ace has a plastic face that is above the actual screen where the F2's target readout is right in front of you. With the combination of the named target slots that light up and the numbers it's really easy to see and ID a target before you dig. I find nickles are usually a 28. The numbers do vary depending on depth and angle of the target.
The previous poster was correct when he said if the F2 had GB, it would be a killer. I picked up an F4 for this feature. It made quite a difference. The DD coil, threshold, and manual GB, really makes for a nice machine to use. Much more stable and it goes deeper.

 

[mydogisscout]

I sold my 250 to but an F2, and I'll never look back.

 

[Sim_Player]

This thread is dated but, I'll reply anyway.

I've never used the Ace 150 or 250 but I have had an F2 for two years this Dec.

Both machines are quite comparable in features and price and I'm sure that they both perform about the same with minor differences.

The F2 has a great Digital Readout and good depth (I dug a stamped piece of very old lead (the size of a 3 ringer) at 12" deep.

I don't believe the Ace has a digital readout which really helps to identify coins before you even dig them!

~Sim


.

 

[kitt]

I know this thread is old but i'd like to throw in my 2 cents.
I have an ace 250 and to be honest I'm not fond of it.Its very jumpy and hard to see the target ID screen.
After using it a couple times I stopped even looking at the screen and listen to the tones.
its got 3 tones that are very annoying and the pin pointer on it is way off. (or maybe mine is defective.)
The only real reason I got it is because it uses 4 AA batteries.
I keep mine on all metal mode and dig everything I find and a lot of times the target ID is wrong.
Another thing I dont like with this machine is when a blade of grass hits the coil it dings.
I can stand there and tap the coil against the blade of grass and it goes ding ding ding!

 

[Fletch88]

Neither! Go with Tesoro Compadre or Silver Umax if you really want her to understand detecting and not looking at screen for a number. Weighs 2.2 pounds. Uses one 9 Volt battery and best of all Lifetime Warranty!

 

[christo000]

You're really opening a can of worms with this question, but here is my explanation. Put the two machines side by side and compare quality and features and the F2 clearly wins. The F2 has a higher build quality, period. The plastic is thicker and stronger in the arm cuff, control box, and screen areas. The shaft has locks that keep it tight, the Ace does not and the shaft wobbles. Both machines are about the same weight, but the Ace feels heavier on the coil end. The shaft at the arm cuff is shorter on the Ace which leads to fatigue early in the hunt.
Feature wise, they are both similiar, but different. The F2 and Ace both have sensitivity, discrimination, and notch features. The Ace has different modes, the F2 has VDI numbers. Basically the modes notch out different items for you. The numbers on the F2 help to classify the target. With practice this is a great tool to have. I miss it when using the Ace. The F2 uses 2 9V batteries where the Ace uses 4 AA. Only the 4", 8", and 10" coil are available for the F2. The Ace has a 4.5", 6"x9", 9"x12", the new 8.5"x11"DD, and 2 other large DD coils available plus the Sun Ray probe.
Warranty wise, the F2 has a 5 year and the Ace has a 2 year. If you're buying used, that does not apply as the warranty is not transferrable.
They are both fine machines, but each has pros and cons. You just have to decide which features you like best and can live with.

Im agreeing here if u have already narrowed it down to these 2 detector packages go online im sure there is a side by side comparison page & c which one u will get the most out of. Im not saying dont take What anyone is saying from expeirience but ur gonna get alot of u should get this & u should get this that sux etc u already did ur budget narrowed down 2, im pretty confident ull make a good choice both r good detectors great for beginners have upgrades available just do a side by side no one else is buyin it but u the outcome is ur gonna have it not us good luck
Oh ya holy crap u got a never befor seen deal.on a great detector that etrac damb

 

[mikeraydj]

And to think I was jealous when a friend picked up a X-terra 705 with 2 coils for $445!

 

[LuckyLarry]

I've owned the Ace 250, and still own the Compadre, and I now own a Eurotek Pro. I've used F2. Of the three, the F2 gets the best depth, but not by much, but the F2 goes even deeper if the soil is high in Fe (not scrap iron, but Fe as it's content). The others simply do not get the depth, and the Compadre loses to all of these for depth, unless severely modified to run with tone threshold. The Ace 250 nearly drove me insane with it's constant BOING, BOING, BOING. It was the worst discriminator of them too. The Eurotek Pro is top-heavy, and it had a lot of trouble cherry-picking in high trash, but the Ace was even worse at it, mostly because it utilizes 80's phase shift technology like the old Bounty Hunter Red Barron or Whites 6000D, which both are way to slow for a fast swing. The Ace would often not even know a good target was there because it was still cancelling the bad target it had not completely recovered from. My Sovereign Elite had a problem similar to the Ace, but slowing it down considerably - did help, depending on how nasty the soil was. The F2 is the fastest in recovery of all of them, but the Compadre is almost as fast. But again it is the most shallow in depth detection, regardless of what soil I hunted in.. The Silver uMax has greater depth than all the above in most soils, but gets bogged down in high Fe.. It works quite well on salt beaches though, and runs smoother than all other (single-freqs) I mentioned, including the Sovereigns.

 

[Fletch88]

I've owned the Ace 250, and still own the Compadre, and I now own a Eurotek Pro. I've used F2. Of the three, the F2 gets the best depth, but not by much, but the F2 goes even deeper if the soil is high in Fe (not scrap iron, but Fe as it's content). The others simply do not get the depth, and the Compadre loses to all of these for depth, unless severely modified to run with tone threshold. The Ace 250 nearly drove me insane with it's constant BOING, BOING, BOING. It was the worst discriminator of them too. The Eurotek Pro is top-heavy, and it had a lot of trouble cherry-picking in high trash, but the Ace was even worse at it, mostly because it utilizes 80's phase shift technology like the old Bounty Hunter Red Barron or Whites 6000D, which both are way to slow for a fast swing. The Ace would often not even know a good target was there because it was still cancelling the bad target it had not completely recovered from. My Sovereign Elite had a problem similar to the Ace, but slowing it down considerably - did help, depending on how nasty the soil was. The F2 is the fastest in recovery of all of them, but the Compadre is almost as fast. But again it is the most shallow in depth detection, regardless of what soil I hunted in.. The Silver uMax has greater depth than all the above in most soils, but gets bogged down in high Fe.. It works quite well on salt beaches though, and runs smoother than all other (single-freqs) I mentioned, including the Sovereigns.

Larry, you said a Silver uMax runs smoother than a Sovereign on saltwater beach? Really? I've owned 4 sovereigns and still have 2 GT's. I owned a Silver uMax which wouldn't run stable in a park with gravel the county had spread throughout the park, I can't imagine it running stable in salt.

 

[fella]

I've owned the Ace 250, and still own the Compadre, and I now own a Eurotek Pro. I've used F2. Of the three, the F2 gets the best depth, but not by much, but the F2 goes even deeper if the soil is high in Fe (not scrap iron, but Fe as it's content). The others simply do not get the depth, and the Compadre loses to all of these for depth, unless severely modified to run with tone threshold. The Ace 250 nearly drove me insane with it's constant BOING, BOING, BOING. It was the worst discriminator of them too. The Eurotek Pro is top-heavy, and it had a lot of trouble cherry-picking in high trash, but the Ace was even worse at it, mostly because it utilizes 80's phase shift technology like the old Bounty Hunter Red Barron or Whites 6000D, which both are way to slow for a fast swing. The Ace would often not even know a good target was there because it was still cancelling the bad target it had not completely recovered from. My Sovereign Elite had a problem similar to the Ace, but slowing it down considerably - did help, depending on how nasty the soil was. The F2 is the fastest in recovery of all of them, but the Compadre is almost as fast. But again it is the most shallow in depth detection, regardless of what soil I hunted in.. The Silver uMax has greater depth than all the above in most soils, but gets bogged down in high Fe.. It works quite well on salt beaches though, and runs smoother than all other (single-freqs) I mentioned, including the Sovereigns.

I'd agree mostly with ya, but we're getting better depth with the EuroTek Pro over the F2 (both running 8" concentrics) and we're dealing with high Fe soils. Also seems faster or maybe not, they're pretty close. I definitely like the tones of the F2 better but the ETP is really growing on me.
One thing I don't understand is your comment about the ETP being nose heavy. You running 11" DD coils? I could see that maybe with a bigger coil but the 8" feels great IMO.
Either way both FT machines bury the 250 & Compadre. I don't mind the Compadre for tot lot use only but I have nothing decent to say re: the 250. Can't get past the Bing ding diddly bong bing bong diddly bing sounds. And that's on ONE target!

 

[LuckyLarry]

I made one small error Fletch, as most people do here now and then. I should have written in the last sentence... "and runs smoother than all other (single freqs) I mentioned above, and smoother than the multi-freq Sovereign too in those harsh conditions here". Sometimes I assume that people know where I'm going so I don't repeat the premise. My mistake, since we know the Sovereign is not a single-freq., but most of us know that already. Yes, on California, Oregon, and Washington salt sand beaches the Silver uMax runs smoother (but with less depth) than the Sovereigns, (if) it is in good working order. The problem I found with the Sovereign is that when running it in those conditions it often "burps", or "hiccups", and then it regains its composure again. I did notice something rather odd about the Sovereign though, it really did run very, very smoothly when I would try it on a huge boulder with its entire composition the same consistency throughout with no anomaly, i.e. basalt or granite. I liked that but I'm not sure how that would benefit me in my searches.

The Silver uMax when armed with a bigger than stock coil (does) have more troubles with stability, but so do most other larger search coils on other machines. However, when equipped with the stock coil it runs quite smoothly. If it doesn't, it needs to be sent back to Tesoro so they can re-calibrate it because it's probably set to positive. As most of us know, the Tesoro brand detectors all have variances between their operation and output. I have two Sabres, for example, that are one inch difference in air and 1/2" in the ground. This is common for Tesoro. And too, Sovereigns are not all the same either, especially when they begin to age. Thanks for pointing out my writing error Fletch. BTW, I have found more goodies with an old 80's Silver Sabre on our high salt/high black sand beaches than I have with anything else including my CZ-70, which outdoes the Sovereign here, although it is a close contest..

 

[LuckyLarry]

Fella, I said "top heavy", not nose heavy. I use the 8 incher. Mine tips over easier than any of the 20 or more (I lost count) detectors I own. I almost sent it back because of that. As far as its cherry-picking though, I was more disappointed than I expected. I may sell it. Sometimes I drag every detector I have that's made since 1970 and compare them against each other. Some of my other old ones are already sold, but I wish I could do that to them too. To this day, I find the old Compass GoldScanner Pro to be the best small gold machine I've ever seen or owned. For salt beaches I use my CZ-70, or my Silver Sabre, or my Sea Hunter II. They work best for me there. Inland, I have the best luck with my CZ-70 in open fields, my GSP for small gold, my Compass (Coin)Scanner for the very best target separation, or my $69 Chinese made 6.6 freq one for shallow copper. The latter one L-O-V-E-S copper, brass, and gold. I'm rambling now.. so over and out..

 

[fella]

Fella, I said "top heavy", not nose heavy. I use the 8 incher. Mine tips over easier than any of the 20 or more (I lost count) detectors I own.

Ah yes! Top heavy. Yes indeed. If you lay it on its side it's a non issue!