Garrett Ace 350 advice needed

[jaypop06]

I'm fairly new to the hobby of metal detecting (about a year detecting so far) and I've recently upgraded from a Harbor Freight detector to a Garrett Ace 350. I've had fun using this new machine and I've found a few coins (clad) and had my first EVER interesting finds last week with a 5 cent trade token and most recently a boy scout shoe token . However, I feel like I'm not using the detect properly or something as I'm hardly finding anything worth mentioning, not even very much clad (only about 15 cents in pennies). I usually hunt local parks and ball fields and I'm starting to think the case may be that they are simply hunted out.

I'm just curious if there is something I'm doing wrong or is it the detector? I have been hunting in "coin mode" since the day I bought the Ace 350 and it seems like I'm digging a lot more trash (I know trash is to be expected, but I didn't know this much) than I did with the cheap Harbor Freight detector. It could just be me expecting too much too quickly.

It also seems like I lose a lot of signals when the detector picks them up. When I get a signal, it will suddenly be gone before I even attempt to dig a plug.

Any tips you could give on how to better operate this detector would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

 

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[releventchair]

Easier to show you but heres a try anyway.
Jewelry mode. Two notches below max sensitivity. (no idea how your hunting area will affect settings ,these are for areas in my part of lower Michigan)
Eliminate a couple bars worth of iron of your display,don,t knock out above foil area or you will likely miss gold.
Losing signals before digging ,either a sensitivity is to high or my guess and its only that not watching you, is your rushing the detectors discrimination functions.
A tone for a target other than what your after,iron for example still sounds. How ever a couple heartbeats after, it goes quiet(but icon will still show) if you don,t have your machine set for hunting iron. Some other signals,and I swing slow,will tone hey! then when the coil is run over target area the machine gets a better "look" and won,t duplicate same tone again. However ,sometimes when your moving along it will do the opposite and when you swing back over that maybe tone spot it will ding ding ding a high tone for a score.Sometimes if lots or big iron near just a tiny bit of high tone sqeaks through while a lower tone trys to dominate.That happens pinpointing also,iron pulls you away from where target was,at an angle to new spot.
Before you dig ,experiment with your target. Try a different swing direction/angle. Raise coil above target a few inches. Swing fast over it,then slow. Back your sensitivity down. Bump it up. Try different modes.Dig those solid repeatable signals and in a small area you can rehunt after,skip all non repeatable one way signals that are not high tones and dig only solid two way (direction)signals as an experiment.. All things you could do in a test garden you make yourself. Time required underground for what you bury to develop all characteristics stuff in the earth a while exhibit but still a good test and learning. Keep digging all that trash and when you can call a type item before digging it great,but pull tabs and gold rings are going to be a challenge best resolved by digging tabs to find gold.
Try the jewelry setting a half hour or so,then go back to coin and hit same area. A 350 will produce.

 

[punkass761]

it sounds like your lost signals could be ghost signals my son was having the same problem with the ace 250 i got a couple of velcro straps and ran the searchcoil cable straight up the shaft for a foot or so i put 3 straps to hold it to the shaft then wrapped it the rest of the way up. if you just wrap it around the shaft sometimes just bumping the coil can cause false signals because the wire moves or bumps the shaft. for my sons it completely took away the ghost or false signals.

 

[jaypop06]

Thanx for the info guys. All the info is very informative and helpful. I'm goin to try all the tips mentioned so far. I'll post results as soon as I get some. Thanks again. Anyone else is more than welcome to share their thoughts and advice as well.

 

[jaypop06]

Releventchair, do you have/use an Ace 350? If so, I'd like to hear about your finds.

 

[dustytrails123]

Releventchair, do you have/use an Ace 350? If so, I'd like to hear about your finds.

the ace350 can hunt but its not the best machine out there it doesnt have the best discrim or the best depth...but it all comes down to the location your hunting and if its been hit hard or not in the past .....i dug 11 silver out of a park in my first day i thought was virgin but it was just another hunted park...just not hunted to death....but i assure you its hunted to death now lol ;-)
Heres a link
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/general-discussion/293987-honey-hole.html

 

[Keppy]

the ace350 can hunt but its not the best machine out there it doesnt have the best discrim or the best depth...but it all comes down to the location your hunting and if its been hit hard or not in the past .....i dug 11 silver out of a park in my first day i thought was virgin but it was just another hunted park...just not hunted to death....but i assure you its hunted to death now lol ;-) Heres a link http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/general-discussion/293987-honey-hole.html

Well that Garrett detector did well for you ….

 

[dustytrails123]

Its paid for itself afew times over...its when you get to know your machine so well you learn the limitations of what it can and cant do ...and its very limited

 

[releventchair]

Releventchair, do you have/use an Ace 350? If so, I'd like to hear about your finds.

p.m. sent.

 

[jaypop06]

Thanks guys. This site has helped more than any owners manual. They make it sound so easy. Lol

 

[tenecvolfan]

I am just getting started at this hobby and am also looking at getting an Ace 350.How do you like it so far?

 

[jaypop06]

I am just getting started at this hobby and am also looking at getting an Ace 350.How do you like it so far?

So far I like it a lot. But, the Ace 350 being my first QUALITY detector, I don't have much to compare it to. It takes some time to learn how to use it properly which is the stage I'm in now. Overall, it's an excellent machine for the money. One word of advice however is BUY A PINPOINTER, be it the Garrett Pro Pointer or another quality name brand. DON'T buy a cheap one, because as with all things, you get what you pay for. If you buy one for say $20 (Harbor Freight) it'll operate like $20. I would recommend the 350 to anyone.

 

[fireguy]

What happeneds a lot with the signals that disappear is that while sweeping the detector might think it's a coin and ding the first sweep. Then when you go over it slower the detector discriminates it out realizing it isn't. If you look when that happened the indicator is probably showing something discriminated out. If the parks are high traffic areas such as shelter areas and ball diamonds the stock 8x11 might be a little big and picking up multiple things so some of the good targets get masked. In general if it registers a coin and you sweep a very tight spot around an inch or two back and forth and it rings coin without fluctuation then you hit it a from 90 degrees with the same thing it's a very very good chance it's a coin. If it is jumping all over its probably aluminum. When you pinpoint coins have a very sharp rise and drop off. In the matter of an inch or two much more it's something larger. Here's a good video this will help a lot.

 

[gman7665]

I am a Newbie as well and got a Ace 350 and Garrett Pin-pointer to start off last year. I searched My front yard and found a Large Cent 1838 ,and a Indian Head . I thought I had searched the yard pretty good? The next day I looked again and found a Silver butter knife ' and another I.H. cent. Same area I thought I hit good the day before ... I mostly use and Dig Everything as suggested , I have found plenty of Silver and about $50-60 in Clad . No GOLD yet but this year I have faith in the 350 to score some... The Pin Pointer is a Must Have and Big Time saver... So Re Check and Check again , Research Your area look for Old Town maps online and check out everything You think might be a good spot. Good Luck and Happy Hunting... I even think I found a Meteorite ? it rang up as Nickel and Iron 'Bounced back n Forth' and has all the right things So Im sending a Sample of it out Monday morning to be tested. Hopefully Its real and worth a few bucks so I can up grade to a Bigger Garrett !!!

 

[Keppy]

Its paid for itself afew times over...its when you get to know your machine so well you learn the limitations of what it can and cant do ...and its very limited

.. I have always heard that the limitations was not the with the detector.. But with the user………….. For all detectors will work great if the user has full knowledge of the detector's works and like's the detector………But when one does not like the detector they use no matter what brand or the cost they think that the detector does not work as good as some one else's……….. You know the grass is always greener……..

 

[dustytrails123]

.. I have always heard that the limitations was not the with the detector.. But with the user………….. For all detectors will work great if the user has full knowledge of the detector's works and like's the detector………But when one does not like the detector they use no matter what brand or the cost they think that the detector does not work as good as some one else's……….. You know the grass is always greener……..

Well sir ill explain so that you may understand...the ace line does have limitations and you will discover them once you put in the time to learn the machine...its very unstable around iron it falses all the time it hits hard on anything round may it be a bottle cap steel washer or a tin can lids they all scream silver....and when it comes to depth 5-6 inches on quarters and dimes doesn't impress me ...maybe its what your looking for but for myself ill be changing suits this summer

 

[Lefty]

Hi Jaypop06, I have the ACE350 and started almost a year ago. I haven't found any gold yet but have found about a dozen silver items (coins and jewelry), also about 160 bucks in clad. It took me awhile to get use to the pin pointer in the 350 but I'm pretty good with it now. For me, the shallow targets show are at the end of the coil and the deeper the target the more to center the target will be. Happy Hunting.

 

[dustytrails123]

Hi Jaypop06, I have the ACE350 and started almost a year ago. I haven't found any gold yet but have found about a dozen silver items (coins and jewelry), also about 160 bucks in clad. It took me awhile to get use to the pin pointer in the 350 but I'm pretty good with it now. For me, the shallow targets show are at the end of the coil and the deeper the target the more to center the target will be. Happy Hunting.

When you pinpoint and get over the target let off the pinpoint button and hit it down again and it will become more sensitive and really get you on your target....everything shallow or deep pinpoints in the center of the first square hole on the coil in front of the shaft

 

[jaypop06]

All excellent information. I've been working on some of the techniques mentioned in this thread. All has been more than helpful. Please keep them tips coming. You can never get enough help

 

[Lefty]

View attachment 953683
When you pinpoint and get over the target let off the pinpoint button and hit it down again and it will become more sensitive and really get you on your target....everything shallow or deep pinpoints in the center of the first square hole on the coil in front of the shaft

Thanks, I'll have to give that a try.