Thanks worldtalker.
Im starting to lean toward the Garrett Ace 250 or Fisher F4.
These models seem pretty common and user friendly.
Will these models pick up a old gold coin ?
Im having trouble understanding specifications.
Hey Mudball,
I started this year, too. I settled on the ACE350, because of the slightly better discrimination (out) of Iron, and the Double D coil (which is a bit larger than the concentric on the ACE250). I couldn't have been happier. As far as jewelry goes, I found 3 gold rings in the first month (non-typical). What I DID do, was sell the gold rings, and then buy an ACE250 for my sons to use when I go (they were using a really cheap $40 metal detector... which worked GREAT for simply finding metal... all types of metal... they dug a lot of trash in addition to their pocket change).
I've now used both the ACE 250 and ACE 350, and if you're considering the 250, I can tell you it's VERY worth the minor upgrade to the 350. Both of them have the same learning curve (almost identical readouts), and are very appropriate for beginning/intermediate users. It's got bell-tones, which helped me a LOT... Knowing the different sounds different types of metal makes, and the sound bouncing that some metals make (like bottle caps), helped me learn what to dig. It's also easy enough to learn, that I can hand it to a co-worker and tell them go for it... and they find stuff.
I really liked the 350 over the 250 for two main reasons though.
1) Extra size on the Double D. Coil. It's a couple inches longer, which means every sweep of the coil, I get a lot more coverage. I spend less time swinging and more time digging.
2) the double D coil makes it easy to pinpoint the item in the ground. Unlike the concentric coils that have kind of a "ball" shaped detection field, the Double D is more like a blade that your wiping vertically through the ground. This means you can wiggle the blade back and forth over the target (side to side) to narrow down the location very easily. Then you simply move the wiggle backward until the beeping stops and presto! your target is right at the front tip of the Double D coil (albeit, still in the ground).
The ACE 350 also seems to discriminate better on foil and nickel targets (it seems to have 3 notches that they show up in, verses 1 or 2 on the ACE 250), though silver/coin differentiation is less (it's really not an issue... anything that shows as a dime or above, you dig anyway!).
Supposedly, the ACE 350's gold discrimination is better, too, because of the slightly higher frequency.
That being said, those are my ONLY experiences. (That and the harbor freight detectors!). I've really enjoyed the ACE350, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend based on easy of use, durability, and longevity of the 4 batteries (I can swing for 20+ hours on a single set).
One thing you absolutely should consider when you go to make your purchase, though, is a pinpointer of some type. I did this from the onset, and I've NEVER regretted it. Only when the batteries in the pin-pointer died, did I realize what an amazing tool that is. It's SO hard to find small dirty objects in a clod of dirt (they're invisible!) when you don't have a pinpointer. With a pinpointer, you take 5 seconds to locate that 22 shell that is now dirt colored, without one, it's MINUTES of hard sifting and wiping each handful of dirt in front of the coil to see if the target is "in there." Again, it goes back to time finding stuff, or time spent digging/searching. I find a TON more things by reducing my recovery time.
I wouldn't have chimed in on the ACE 350, if you hadn't said $300-$500. That was my target cost, as well. I purchased my ACE350 and Garrett Pro-Pointer BOTH for less than $500 (I got the adventure pack, and it included headphones, a coil cover, digger tool, etc.). I've never regretted it one instant.
Cheers,
Skippy
) Welcome too by the way. Any machine you use takes time to learn what it is telling you..patience and persistence is your ticket,oh...RESEARCH and LOCATION are right in there too!
