Garrett ACE 250 Report

[Monty]

I just received a Garrett ACE 250 that I bought as a backup to whatever high end detector I wind up with and as a loaner for visitors. I had read so many good things about the ACE 250 I was convinced it was the right choice for the reason I bought it. I found it easy to assemble and the instructions for operation were easy to understand. Any novice getting one will be able to start detecting within an hour or so with a llittle practice on a coin garden. I tried it out on mine this morning and each coin was identified correctly loud and clear. I stress loud as this machine really bangs over a coin! You will definately need ear phones with adjustable volume or it will blow your shorts or panties off! (whichever you prefer). The pinpoint feature which is actually an all metal mode seems to be right on with no fumbling around to find where to dig. There is also adjustable discrimination and sensitivity control dials although ground balance is automatic and not adjustable. The ACE 250 is extemely light weight and I should be able to swing it several hours without wearing myself out. I am entering a club seeded treasure hunt at the end of this month and I am not so sure I won't use the ACE instead of my BH Land Ranger just for the speed and ease of use in recovering coins which is what many of the seeded targets will be. If you wear glasses with bifocals or have a vision problem you might have trouble reading the LCD screen as it is small compared to my B H L R. Be sure you have your glasses if you wear them. So far othing negative to report. For a couple of bills it's a lot of machine for the money.

Speaking of high end machines, I still haven't made up my mind which one I want to buy but with the quality and efficiency of this little machine I think I will give the Garrett lineup a good look too.

 

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[gregl01]

Thanks for the report. I am waiting for my ace250 to show up via UPS. I bought one from Kellyco that included volume adjustable headphones since all reports say that this thing is loud on coins!! I am also moving up from a BH and hope this machine is a huge improvement as I sometimes lose faith in the BH.
Good Luck with yours!!!!! HH
Greg

 

[hollowpointred]

thats a very accurate review jimmileo! i found the ace 250 behaves exactly as you describe it. for $200 it doesnt have much compitition.its a great machine.

 

[flamzz]

I could not agree more. I just got mine last night and took it out for an hour or so. On my first swing I found a penny 2" down in a schoolyard. I will definately look into buying some headphones with a volume control. She definately bangs loudly over those coins. Great investment and I'm looking forward to many future hunts!
Being a newbie to the hobby, I wanted to thank all who post on this forum.....a great place to learn!

 

[treasurekidd]

Glad to see yet another happy ACE250 owner! Jimmy's review is exactly how I would describe mine. I've been using mine since I got it in early March, and I love it! I LOVE that sweet ding-ding belltone it makes when you hit a coin!

gregl01, I upgraded to the ACE250 from a BH Pioneer 101, and the difference is like NIGHT and DAY! My coin count per hunt has tripled, and I found my first 2 silver rings two weeks ago. I don't know what BH you're using, but I know you'll be pleased with the ACE250. Good luck!

 

[gregl01]

Hey kidd, I have a Radio Shack Discovery 2000 I purchased in 1998. I never really figured out this machine. Sometimes its very accurate, other times its so unstable I dig holes all over and find nothing. I've tried adjusting ever which way and it still acts up now and then. I am glad to hear the ACE 250 is that much better. Now I have to wait on the UPS man to deliver!!!
Thanks for the input!!!!
HH
Greg

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Don't discredit the Bounty Hunters in all. I have a Bounty Hunter Quick Draw 2, except when I first started I have been digging something everytime. No silver yet but I have only been detecting 3 weeks or so. Pinpointers help a lot too, also false signals can be made from some kinds of coal so look out for that.

HH!!

 

[Monty]

I don't discount Bouinty Hunter at all. But I do have both detectors and I know which one suits me best.The information I am putting out here is designed to report on the ACE 250, not to comment on the BH, but if someone asks I will relate my experience. And it is based on my experience alone. "I report, you decide" as Bill Orielly says.

 

[SantaFeNM]

Thanks for the report Jim! I have an ACE 250 on the way, and it's because of all the great feedback I've seen on this forum. So thank you to all that have put in your two-cents worth. I am replacing a Bounty Hunter - Prospector, which was very subpar. I dug many a findless hole too. It found nails great, but that was about it. It could find coins in air tests, but hardly ever once below ground. I could never get it to bang over a thick 14K gold bracelet I air tested with. The thought of NEVER finding gold with it made me look to this forum for help. Best of luck to everyone, with whatever you've got!

 

[Willy]

You'll also get a lot of pops & crackles when running near the edge in high mineralization.. which just the way I love to hunt & so do a lot of other prospectors. This past winter I've pulled out heaps of silver from an old public beach by hunting in this manner. This beach has been hunted by between 5-10 people a day during the spring/summer/fall for the last 20 years & they've missed all these goodies. Another thing that will give a lot of pops is a high percentage of buried iron (rusty) of varying sizes. ..Willy.

 

[Monty]

I took the ACE to the park yesterday for a short hands on run while my Granddaughter played on the equipment. I ran it over an area where I had searched several times in the past. It seemed I got a hit every two or 3 feet even though I had been over this area repeatedly. In th limited time I had I dug a quarter and four pennies all clad. A couiple of 6" tones happened to be a mutulated piece of metal of some kind, probably aluminum. Not being use to the tones of the ACE the quarter was a surprise. It was rather a muted signal and I dug it at 4". On the other hand the penny tones blew my ear phones off! I hit a couple of strong signals at at 2" and dug up a couple of aluminum soft drink cans. The next similar tone I raised the coil about 6 " and the tone continued. I dug this one just to be sure of what I suspected and sure enough another soft drink can. So, I learned that when the coil is raised while the tone continues I don't have to dig it because it will be a soft drink can 99% of the time. This is a trait common to many detectors. All in all I am very pleased with the ACE performance. I'm sure I will learn more as time goes along.

 

[Monty]

I hit my small front yard last night where I had previously dug up a few coins until I began to run out of shallow targets ( don't want to dig up my lawn too much). In about 30 minutes I dug up 6 pennies at 4" or less with the ACE. This little machine is coin sniffng marvel!

 

[Monty]

I would think you would have to compare the ACE with some of the low end detectors by other companeies. I don't know from what about depth. It's not designed to go beyond 8"according to the manual. I see it as more of a coin shooter than anything else although I think it would perform adequately for a lot of other uses if you are seeking targets you don't have to dig with a shovel. I am not a rep for Garrett and this is the first of their products I have owned. If they wanted to send me a couple of bucks I wouldn't turn it down but it would not effect my opinion. So, if kyou ae looking for a fun machine that is easy to learn and can have results instantly this is the one. It woiuld probably do OK in a club event where you have planted targets also. If you are seriously looking for treasure or for some special application you will want something much more sophisticated. I have a couple of high end machines from Bounty Hunter and they have many more applicatioins than the ACE but for simple detecting, I really think the ACE would hold its own with them.

 

[alabamadan]

In my second outing with the A250 and no previous experience MDing at all, I found an air-gun pellet about 4inches down.

 

[birdman]

I have never used one but I have talked two people at work into buying one.All the feed back and reviews,must be somthing to them.

 

[hollowpointred]

you know michigan that coin garden showdown with the ace and other brand/price level detectors would be really interesting! i would love to know how good these things really are stacked up against other more expensive models.i really dont know how it would do but i would love to find out.

 

[Pooley]

I just ordered the ACE250 tonight and hope to have it by the weekend!!!! I am a detectorist from way back but have had a 15 year layoff and just got back into it about 1 month ago, currently have an older Whites GEB Discriminator and a Radio Shack Discovery 3000 / Bounty Hunter. I think for the price that Garrett will be hard to beat. Will report my first finds on the board with my new ACE

 

[Monty]

I don't think the ACE 250 is God's answer to metal detecting. It is just an example of smart marketing by Garrett Detectors. They took a bottom of the line detector and added a couple of bells and whistles from the newer technology, high dollar detectors and offered it at a reasonable price. The ACE has probably done more in the last few months to add new detetorists to the market than any other detector in several years. When these novices are ready to upgrade you can bet they will remember the Garrett name and will pull in a lot of sales for them. Smart, real smart and I think it is going to be good for the industry and the hobby. I have just upgraded from BH to a Garrett GTI 2500 pro mainly bcause of the outstanding success of my ACE 250.

 

[alabamadan]

If running the ACE 250 in "ALL METAL" mode and you're getting too many hits to dig. For example, you know you're only in a place for two hours. Would you run in "COIN" mode only?

 

[Monty]

alabamadan, I think it would depend on what you were hunting for. If you were just content with coin shooting I would run it on coin but if I wanted rings or jwelery, I would set it on the jewelry mode. If you run it strictly on coin it is going to dis out all but silver jewelry.

badger, as a coincidence the first unit I had was a Chinese made detector. I hated it and it was the first one I had laid my hands on in 30 years. It had a really good pinpointer on it , the best I've seen but that's all it had going for it. You couldn't get extra coils and accessories for it and my dealer couldn't guarantee repairs or parts in a timely manner. It had a target ID feature but you couldn't trust it as it was wrong about 99% of the tme. It had similar features as the U.S. made detector I wound up with but cost about a hundred bucks less and it was lighter and easier to swing. They have a way to go yet but if they import U.S. technology (we probably have already given it to them) they will take the market due solely to economy. I think the ACE 250 and similar products, if the U. S. manufactures are paying attention, will go a long way to staving off the inevitable.