Ace 250 benchtest, segments 2-4-6-8 and how deep they read for me

[musky8it]

I am new to MD this year, done allot of research here, other forums, and watched a ton of Youtube videos. Has helped me out a ton and I thank everyone in here who has posted helpful info. I seen a few bench test on how the 250 reads different coins but didn't see anything on sensitivity segment settings and how far in the gound the signal will reach when I decrease sensitivity.

Also while hunting I notice most of the coins and junk I find are not as deep as the MD says, usually about 2 inches less. If it says 6" deep I am finding the target around 4", if it says 4 its around 2". So I did a benchtest my self. I taped a plastic ruler to bottom of the coil so depth would accurate. One thing I also found was when I passed the coin slow past the coil, it did read approx 2" to deep, but when I passed if real fast back/forth it was real close to correct depth.

When I did the test I tryed to be consitant on the regular sweep speed, like I would when walking. Because the faster the swing the deeper the coin would read. On the fast sweep speed results, it was like I was wiggleing the tip of the middle coil back/forth as fast as I can bout 2-3 inches wide when I am using the coil to pinpoint, I like doing that instead of the pinpoint feature. These results may be to high, cause I don't think I can swing the coil as fast as I moved my hand.

Like I said, I am new at this. I am probably wrong, but I have read that I should set my segments anywheres from 4-6. That is what I have been doing. On the beach I even went down to 3. But from the looks of my test when sensitivity segments are at 4, I am missing everything that is 5-6" or deeper. Maybe thats why I haven't found any merc's, silver coins, or early 1900's. Everything I find is clad and mostly 1-4 inches down. I know air is way different than the ground. So maybe if I tested in the ground my findings may be different.

I am probably way off but here is what I came up with. The ring I used was my wedding band, so I know its 10K

 

[tulsa]

Interesting test results. Welcome to the forum.
If it shows the target is six inches away, that is six inches from the coil. Supposing your coil is two inches off the ground during the sweep, you would expect to find the target at four inches as you describe. Of course, other factors may come into play as well. Does this sound right to you other users?

 

[musky8it]

Tks for the input Tulsa.
All the test I made where made with the ruler taped to the coil, not made in the ground where there could be 2" of grass. On the test above the regular sweeps where all 2" more on the depth reading than the distance away from the coil. When I sweeped a coin 4", it read 6". even when I was at 3.5" it would read 6". Two inches away it would read 4" and so on.

You think maybe I got a defective MD? Just got it less than a month ago. I also thought what you said, 2" above the ground level for the grass. So I just went outside where I had some bare dirt, no grass. Check the area first for anything and it was clear. I dug a 1" deep hole, measured it with a ruler to be sure. Set on 6 segs and tested a penny, it jumped back and forth between 2 and 4" deep. I would think that meant 3" since it jumped between 2 and 4. I was running it right along the top of the dirt. So it couldn't have been more than 1-1/2 inches from the penny. I also tried a quarter and it tried a few times jumping to 6" deep but mainly stayed at jumping between 2" and 4". I am no expert so I don't have a clue.

It also could be that if a person wants a MD that is very accurate on depth, they will have to get a high dollar one. One last thing, when I do hunt I imagine I am 2" above dirt with the grass. But most of the time what I find is in the roots, that is approx 2" thick. And those reading normally are telling me its 6" deep when its 4" or less(2" of grass & 1-2" of roots).

I don't know, I still have fun and like my 250. Maybe one day I can afford a more better MD.

 

[musky8it]

Forgot to add on that last post with the bare dirt, I also tried 4 segs on sensitivity and same results. THought maybe 6 was to high for only being 1" under ground.

 

[John-Edmonton]

Depth indicator on all metal detectors is directly affected with the size of the target, mineralization in the ground, and any halo that might have formed on a target that has been in the ground for a long time. Depth measurements are a probability, not an exact science, based on usually coin sized objects. Once you really learn your detector well, you will actually be able to tell with fairly good accuracy the depth of the target by how hard it hits on the target, how soft the signal is and by dragging the coil from the target with the pinpoint button held, and listening to how fast the target disappears when the inner toe of the coil passes over the target.

 

[musky8it]

If I can find a camera to take a video, I will. Its hard to explain things sometimes, but easy to see thru a video. We have one but there is no connection for a PC. All I can do is plug it into my TV and watch.

 

[Uncle Willy]

First of all air tests proof nothing except that your detector is working and doing what it's supposed to do. Nobody detects in the air. And for the thousandth time - sensitivity is not a depth control and moving it up doesn't drive the signal anywhere, least of all deeper into the ground. I hunt with my sensitivity set at four bars and dig coins at 6-8 inches all the time and up to ten inches in bark chips. Increasing sensitivity renders the coil more sensitive to the targets you hope to find but it also renders it more sensitive to all the mineralization in the ground and to every piece of junk that was ever dropped or buried, therby rendering your detector nearly useless for finding anything.

Since your detector is a motion detector it will always discriminate better, ID better, and go deeper the faster you swing it. That's the nature of the beast. That's why "twitching" works so well at turning lousy signals into good ones. And let me dispell the age-old myth that all old and silver coins are buried halfway to China. This myth has a never ending life and just won't die. I have found coins from the 1700-1800's at two inches and modern clad at eight inches in the same area. What does this tell you? Coins do not just keep sinking forever. If you aren't finding any old or silver coins it's because they ain't there. Detectors have been around since 1931 when old man Fisher invented them and you aren't even close to being the first person to hunt any given area. Back in the 60's-70's and 80's me and a lot of other beeper swingers cleaned a ton of silver out of parks, schools, and everywhere else and none of it was buried out of reach of our detectors..

Your 250 will find just about anything naturally buried and the sensitvity doesn't have to be cranked up to the moon. Another thing to remember, due to the configuration of the signal coming out of your coil - at depth it is only covering an area about the size of a quarter, not the 6x9 area you are seeing on top of the ground. So even if you ovelap each swing you are still missing a ton of real estate at 6-8 inches down. Since the average coin will fit into one-square inch and you are hunting a plot of ground 10'x10' - there are 14,400 square inches in that plot or 14,400 potential targets' Do you think you are actually hitting everyone of those 14,400 inches? Not in a million years. This is why old coins are constantly found in areas deemed to be hunted out. You can't clean any area out completely unless you dig up every square inch of ground down to a given depth then sift every square inch of it.

Just enjoy your detector and stop worrying about finding those old coins. There ain't that many of them left as they don't make them anymore and when they are gone they are gone forever. If there are any old coins out there you will find them but your coil first has to pass over one or you have to find an area that has never been detected before - such as private property. Good luck.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah all depth is from the bottom of the coil to the target regardless of what is in between. Freshly dropped or buried coins don't ID for squat due to an effect known as Metallurgical Phenomenon and no detector ever made gave an 100% accurate reading on anything, just probability. A detector can see into the ground no better than you can. It's like being blindfolded and sticking your arm down into a barrel full of a thousand goldfish and trying to pick the one black one out of all the rest..

Bill

 

[musky8it]

at depth it is only covering an area about the size of a quarter, not the 6x9 area you are seeing on top of the ground. So even if you ovelap each swing you are still missing a ton of real estate at 6-8 inches down.

Willy, tk you so much for the input. I can't remember what thread it was on. But before I read one of your post on another thread, I kept my sen. set at 6, after I read your post I turned it down to 4 on regular ground, 5 on playground with wood chips, and 2-3 on wet sand. So I do listen, even if I am a greenhorn.

One thing that confuses me is what you said above in italic. If the coil only covers 1 square in a sweep. Then is the signal coming out of the coil cone shape with the cones tip down in the ground? I know lots of times when I am trying to pinpoint with the inner oil and not the pinpoint feature. I find the target with the front tip of the inner coil, then wiggle a tight sweep(2-3") back/forth while slowly going forward. Most of the time I get the same exact ding ding clear to the back tip of the inner coil. The inner coil is about 6" and allot of times I get the same ding ding from tip to back. If the ding ding fluctuates any in that 6" I will never be able to tell. Sounds the same the whole 5-6" of ground I cover. I am 55, no spring chicken, and I don't think I have enough yrs left to gain all the knowledge you have. But I will listen and try. Plus I am a little hard of hearing, 20 yrs in a meat packing house kindof took its toll on the eardrums.

Anyway, one day hopefully I will find some old coins or 1800's relics. I am a very persistent person, I don't give up. Maybe as soon as the vegetation clears this fall, to thick when I was there 2 wks ago. I will go back to the creek in my town where 900 Potawatomi Indians camped for 3 days back in 1838. The US Gov. forcibly moved them from Michigan to a reservation in Kansas. Logansport was one of there resting spots. The 61 days journey was called the " Trail of Death ". Maybe there I will find my 1st old coin. Or possible I'll get lucky at France park, where part of the Wabash/Erie Canal went thru and operated in the mid 1800's.

I am on a quest, find at least one coin from the 1800's before the snow flies this year. Bye for now and tks all for the info on this site.

And yes, I am long winded. Sorry for the long post. My wife says I analyze to much, I think she is right.(I know she is)...

 

[metalhead]

Great post and replies all around.You'll find those old coins and stuff some day musky8it. Just a matter of time. Sounds like you're off to a good start with the research that you've already been doing. Research is 90% of any treasure hunting. Research can be very fun and rewarding. I love to research old treasure stories and possible huntin' sites. You've got a great machine there to. That Ace 250 will sniff out them old coins and treasure!It's all there in the ground just waitin' for you and your detector. Enjoy! Happy Hunting!

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

n/t

 

[Uncle Willy]

I wonder who he is. HAAA.

Bill

 

[musky8it]

I wonder who he is. HAAA.

Bill

If you're asking me. I'm Jeff S. from Logan Ind..

 

[NM5K]

Your tests match the one I did right on the money. "That was quite a while back"
With the stock coil, I also generally saw 7 inches on quarters with the sens at
max.
Your test is accurate. If you run mid range on the sens setting, you will miss a bit
at the maximum depths.
But there is a trade off. More falsing.. The reason most advise to run mid range,
or at least at first, is to reduce confusion from false signals, and real signals.
But after a while you can learn to tell what is false, and what is real, and you
kind of notch out the false signals in your mind or ears.
It's fairly simple really. False signals do not repeat. They are random.
Real signals repeat. So if I'm running hot and hear a signal, I'll swing back
over it again at a fast swing. If I get nothing, it was probably false.
But real targets will repeat. So you train your ear to ignore the non repeating
chatter you might get.
Also each area will be a bit different to the amount of chatter you might get.
If you are in the city around a lot of power lines, and strong RF signals, you
are quite likely to get more chatter than if you are out in the sticks.
I can often run full blast out in the country with little falsing. Even with the 9x12
coil, which being the biggest, is the most prone to chatter with a high sens.
You will notice the sniper chatter fairly little even in the city, being it's smaller.
Anyway, your results match all the testing I've done with mine.
You will go a bit deeper if you crank it up, but it takes a little ear training to
know what is real or false.
I usually recommend to run as hot as you can depending on the ground
you are over. If the chatter gets too bad, roll it back a bit.
But on the other hand, I still think it's best for beginners to the machine to
run about half way at first. It's less confusing. After they get used to the
machine, they can start cranking it up a bit.
But after lots of testing, and also real ground use, there is no doubt in my
mind that you will miss a few deeper objects if you run too low.
I've had hits with it set at 7-8, that it would totally miss if set at say 4.
Also, lots of times the deepest objects will hit a bit sporadic or be
"one way" hitters. So if you get a sporadic hit, but it repeats a bit,
dig it. BTW, the pinpoint mode will verify if a target is real or not.
False hits won't pinpoint.. Nuttin there to pinpoint.. But real targets
will pinpoint. So again, if you get an iffy maybe deep target, and it
does pinpoint as an object, it's worth a dig. I've found a few deep
coins that way.
My $4.37 worth anyway.. :/

 

[parrott]

Well, let me say... Jack Slade is a wily ol' guy... he is older than dirt and
knows all of the "old-timers" as he is one too... He is tougher than nails
but has a heart of gold...

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

Well, let me say... Jack Slade is a wily ol' guy... he is older than dirt and
knows all of the "old-timers" as he is one too... He is tougher than nails
but has a heart of gold...

Everything you said is true, but I read an article by some joker named Johnny Ringo and He doesn't know what he is talking about.