My first hunts in my back yard....

[SilverThumb]

Good day to all of you...
I havent posted too much at all, i basically troll for information like Johnny5 needing more data .
Decided to practice in my yard with my ACE 250 purchased thru the for sell section here on TNet my yard is about 50x50 nothing too big in the city of York,PA. (house is about 70 years old)

So far ive recovered 4 old rusty nails, 1 rusty screw, 1 square nut, 2 clad quarters, and 4 clad pennies. 1 of the pennies was so coroded when i tried to pick off some dirt the penny broke apart...

Digging plugs has been getting better and less noticeable. But the biggest thing right now is that i get alot of empty holes , and cant find the target. It can be very frustrating and im sure you've all been there. I do have a cen-tech pointer it definitely helps. I've watch the pin-pointing videos, and ive been using the tip of the inner coil trick sometimes it works, alot of times i cant find it....any advice or does this come with the territory and learning of the machine?
Thanks and HH.

 

[Iron Patch]

You're probably chasing targets that barely come through your disc. when they are in the ground, but once the plug is cut, and signal made a little weaker, the disc. rejects them. The pinpoint in some cases might pick them up, and if not drop to zero disc. and scan again. Pretty common thing to happen when you're new and still learning the sounds.

 

[djm of PA]

I also started with the centech pinpointer and it works pretty well for awhile. I had some similar experiences, all turned out to be iron deposits. The centech won't pick them up and once you break them up, the signal from the machine goes awry as well. Just a thought?

 

[SilverThumb]

When you say your getting alot of empty holes,are you saying that the signal dissappears once you remove the plug?

Not quite i just cant find the target, weather it be a coin, nail or screw....

Im trying to cut the smallest plug but sometimes need to open the hole a little (or alot) to find something, right now i have a hole dug that im going to continue tonight it said 8+ for a quarter and i ran into fill rock, that im digging out im not filling the hole until i get my nail or coin out of it.

It still says something is down there after i rescan the hole to make sure im not chasing my tail. I was running high disc so i wouldnt miss anything. But would a high disc give me ghost signals in a non trashy area?

thanks again...

 

[CRUSADER]

When you say your getting alot of empty holes,are you saying that the signal dissappears once you remove the plug?

Not quite i just cant find the target, weather it be a coin, nail or screw....

Im trying to cut the smallest plug but sometimes need to open the hole a little (or alot) to find something, right now i have a hole dug that im going to continue tonight it said 8+ for a quarter and i ran into fill rock, that im digging out im not filling the hole until i get my nail or coin out of it.

It still says something is down there after i rescan the hole to make sure im not chasing my tail. I was running high disc so i wouldnt miss anything. But would a high disc give me ghost signals in a non trashy area?

thanks again...

As IP said (& this may not be the issue), if your running high Disc, & dig a plug the machine's Disc kicks in because it is either in the plug & the machine now knows its trash, or its in the hole but less dirt is in the way & it realises its trash so rejects it. As IP said, when this happens just turn down the Disc & see if it reappears.

Personally I never use Disc, so don't have this problem, I like to hear everything (without messing) & decide myself. Can be noisy sometimes but its how I get results.

 

[Iron Patch]

When you say your getting alot of empty holes,are you saying that the signal dissappears once you remove the plug?

Not quite i just cant find the target, weather it be a coin, nail or screw....

Im trying to cut the smallest plug but sometimes need to open the hole a little (or alot) to find something, right now i have a hole dug that im going to continue tonight it said 8+ for a quarter and i ran into fill rock, that im digging out im not filling the hole until i get my nail or coin out of it.

It still says something is down there after i rescan the hole to make sure im not chasing my tail. I was running high disc so i wouldnt miss anything. But would a high disc give me ghost signals in a non trashy area?

thanks again...

Trash targets or targets on edge can often be in the side of the hole but pinpoint in the center. At least that's the case with my explorer and it happens often.

 

[SilverThumb]

Sounds like you just need more practice....It took me some time to get the pinpointing down with the ace...especially if there is more than one target (remember pinpoint is allmetal) and even more so if they are shallow or on top of the ground...try turning down your sensitivity and you might try pinpointing with your coil a little off the ground this should shrink your target....as far as that deep target....my vote manhole cover...lol....dig till you find it,or get tired...hope this helps....good luck Soup

I agree with the more practice completely, but i also didnt realize that pinpoint is all metal....i also might try without the disc maybe 2 bars or nothing just to see what goes on. i know theres got to be silver some where in my yard ...

Thanks for the advice everyone...i cant wait to get out of work so i can continue my search!

 

[bill-USA]

Silverthumb, correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're using the word disc when you actually mean sensitivity. There are eight or so segments for sensitivity on the Ace 250 and typically you would run in four or five bars depending on your ground.

The discrimination feature has to do with the horizontal notches left to right, that change when you select jewelry vs coin vs relic etc.

The individual notches can also be turned on and off. However, I recommend you try using the default entries for coins or jewelry until you become thoroughly familiar with your machine. By selecting jewelry or coin, the left most notches should disappear. That is the area for small iron and foil and no blocks means they will not beep. The detection process still occurs but the machine has been told to be quiet on those items.

That means anything detected in that area will not cause a beep. Anything detected in the black area of the discrimination bar will cause a beep. Many time you will get a bouncing reading, one that reads iron (no notch) and one that reads within the discrimination bar and beeps. These targets in my experience are rusty iron pieces and repeated swings of the coil over the target will continue to show a bouncing cursor. (By cursor, I mean the single indicator block above the discrimination line. It attempts to tell you it's best guess as to the composition of the target.)

When you get a steady cursor (through multiple swings) and the cursor is on or near one of the coin indicators, it will almost always be a coin. This is when you can use the left right swing to center the target and then draw the coil towards you and the center of the front inside coil should mark the spot when the sound drops off.

For deeper coins, the center spot is forward of the coin when the sound drops out. This is due to the cone shape of the detection field and your use of the 'edge' of the cone to identify the location. I would use the front center spot for items up to four inches but dig closer to you when the coin registers over four inches. Practice will show you the best results.

Many folks construct a test garden by burying different coins at different depths in their coin garden. Also bury some scrap so you can begin to learn the difference. Using the coin garden allows you to insure that you can detect the same coins repeatedly, and that you can tell where they are pinpointing on the coil. (Place golf tees directly over the coins to help in the pinpointing process.

Best of luck, and congratulations you've purchased the detector that I have to rate as the best bang for the buck, bar none. That doesn't mean it's the best detector out there, just the best for that amount of money. It a really fun machine. Enjoy!

 

[Skelly607]

On my Ace 250,,,it will pick up the smallest piece of metal. It may be there but your missing it in your findings.

 

[PA John]

Hey Silverthumb, I am just north of York in Mount Wolf, PA

Let me know if you want to try to meet up at a local park. I am no expert but I know a couple of places that you will be able to find a lot of coins.

I am not very familiar with the Ace but I hear good things about them.

Let me know

 

[Tnmountains]

This may sound stupid but are you digging with a digging knife or a shovel? If you are flipping over large deep plugs with a shovel flip your plug back into the hole and look more to the surface.
But then what do I know I dug up a guys watering system today many times !!!!
Good luck and I suggest planting a practice garden. It sure helped me years ago.
HH
TnMtns

 

[JD-GA]

One of the biggest things i can tell you that will save you tons of digging time is get the ace 250 Sniper coil. The thing is simply awesome. So much so that i dont even use a pin pointer any longer. Once you hear a target sweep across it both left and right then hit your pinpoint button and center it with the sniper coil. I will dig a plug exactly the diameter of my sniper coil with the target being in the middle of the coil and im having about 85 to 90% success on first tries. The original coil that came with my ace 250 had me digging holes like i was on drugs. Countless times I would simply give up. Ive had no trouble with the sniper coil. The only downside is you have to slow down since its so small but ive easily tripled my finds due to tons less dig time.

 

[SilverThumb]

Silverthumb, correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're using the word disc when you actually mean sensitivity. There are eight or so segments for sensitivity on the Ace 250 and typically you would run in four or five bars depending on your ground.

The discrimination feature has to do with the horizontal notches left to right, that change when you select jewelry vs coin vs relic etc.

The individual notches can also be turned on and off. However, I recommend you try using the default entries for coins or jewelry until you become thoroughly familiar with your machine. By selecting jewelry or coin, the left most notches should disappear. That is the area for small iron and foil and no blocks means they will not beep. The detection process still occurs but the machine has been told to be quiet on those items.

That means anything detected in that area will not cause a beep. Anything detected in the black area of the discrimination bar will cause a beep. Many time you will get a bouncing reading, one that reads iron (no notch) and one that reads within the discrimination bar and beeps. These targets in my experience are rusty iron pieces and repeated swings of the coil over the target will continue to show a bouncing cursor. (By cursor, I mean the single indicator block above the discrimination line. It attempts to tell you it's best guess as to the composition of the target.)

When you get a steady cursor (through multiple swings) and the cursor is on or near one of the coin indicators, it will almost always be a coin. This is when you can use the left right swing to center the target and then draw the coil towards you and the center of the front inside coil should mark the spot when the sound drops off.

For deeper coins, the center spot is forward of the coin when the sound drops out. This is due to the cone shape of the detection field and your use of the 'edge' of the cone to identify the location. I would use the front center spot for items up to four inches but dig closer to you when the coin registers over four inches. Practice will show you the best results.

Many folks construct a test garden by burying different coins at different depths in their coin garden. Also bury some scrap so you can begin to learn the difference. Using the coin garden allows you to insure that you can detect the same coins repeatedly, and that you can tell where they are pinpointing on the coil. (Place golf tees directly over the coins to help in the pinpointing process.

Best of luck, and congratulations you've purchased the detector that I have to rate as the best bang for the buck, bar none. That doesn't mean it's the best detector out there, just the best for that amount of money. It a really fun machine. Enjoy!

Yes you are correct i was using the disc word meaning the sensivity (I'm using the jewelry mode as of now)....
The test garden definitely sounds like it would help and i have a good spot for it as well, probably should have done that first.

And just for an update i tried again at that same hole it was big enough to fit my coil in it and the signal was still iffy when i could find it again so i just filled it back in, i think there might have been some interference with my shed even though i was in jewelry mode it would still pick up the metal shed. So i went to pack it in was walking with detector on and heard a beep, took me all of 3 minutes to dig a 5" 1971 penny.

Thanks again to all.

 

[SilverThumb]

This may sound stupid but are you digging with a digging knife or a shovel? If you are flipping over large deep plugs with a shovel flip your plug back into the hole and look more to the surface.
But then what do I know I dug up a guys watering system today many times !!!!
Good luck and I suggest planting a practice garden. It sure helped me years ago.
HH
TnMtns

Im using a digging tool that i bought from Lowes, blue handle cant remember the name. Its working rather well too.

 

[bill-USA]

In one of the responses above you mentioned interference from a shed. It's absolutely true that large iron objects will override the discrimination. The simplest way I've found to identify this interference (sheds, around the poles of steel playground equipment etc.) is to note that the machine ALWAYS beeps as you reverse the swing, coming away from the major steel object.

Good that you found the coin so soon after giving up on the iffy signal. Best of luck and keep on learning!

 

[ddjames]

I have found great stuff with my Ace 250. There are some really good pinpointing videos on Youtube that would have helped me if I had watched them before digging huge holes in my yard as well. I think the thing that has improved my recovery time the most is not a cheap option but my time is worth somthing, was the Garrett ProPinpointer. I can find the target with my detector and have the item I found dug within a minute 99% of the time. I used to spend 15 minutes or more sifting through the hole and the plug. Now I am in and out. Your good targets will have a bell tone to it as well. Don't forget to dig some pull tabs, I found a nice 14K mans wedding band with my Ace 250 that rung up loud and clear as a pull tab. Have fun.

 

[Old River]

Need to find yourself a good pinpointer. I wouldn't hunt with out one. good luck, and happy hunting....

 

[Iron Patch]

I have found great stuff with my Ace 250. There are some really good pinpointing videos on Youtube that would have helped me if I had watched them before digging huge holes in my yard as well. I think the thing that has improved my recovery time the most is not a cheap option but my time is worth somthing, was the Garrett ProPinpointer. I can find the target with my detector and have the item I found dug within a minute 99% of the time. I used to spend 15 minutes or more sifting through the hole and the plug. Now I am in and out. Your good targets will have a bell tone to it as well. Don't forget to dig some pull tabs, I found a nice 14K mans wedding band with my Ace 250 that rung up loud and clear as a pull tab. Have fun.

That's a problem in detecting you can actually buy your way out of and it works! Usually it's people wanting a better detector and giving little thought to finding better sites. Money spent on another detector will never really improve things that much unless you're currently using something pretty bad.

 

[Happy Harry]

Hello SilverThumb,
I have had my Ace250 for going on three years. The more time that you spend with it the better you get. I have paid for my machine several times over with my finds. That wasn't my goal it just happened. I use the mid-size coil with a Propointer. I did not hav a Pro pointer until this year. It does speed things up. I read in one of the Garretts books that you should have a good handle on your machine once you have 100 hours using it. It is true at that point you become familar with the tones that the different items make. If your cursor bounces between coin and pull tab or foil it probable some type of iron item or foil. A steady cursor on coin regardless of the tone is some type of coin or jewlery. I use only all metal or coin modes. As another mentioned here sometimes the all metal mode is too noisy. That is usually because there is too much trash, pull tabs,beer bottle tops, screw caps, gum wrappers, etc.

 

[Iron Patch]

As another mentioned here sometimes the all metal mode is too noisy. That is usually because there is too much trash, pull tabs,beer bottle tops, screw caps, gum wrappers, etc.

But having to add disc. from your "zero disc" setting can also be an indication you are going to fast. There's a very big difference in zero disc in disc mode and all metal.


Does the Ace 250 have true all-metal? I wrote the above with the assumption it does not which I think is most likely the case.