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ACE 250 problem

C

cyndric

New member
So I just got my first detector a week ago and have been out with it everyday this week. I watched the video and read a lot online about setting it up and how to use it and such, but i'm having a problem with it.

If I put some coins or a ring on the ground and run over it, the signal is consistantly right on with what the item is. But if I dig a hole and place the item in the ground, 4-8 inches deep, the signal is never consistant. The meter bounces around a lot and doesn't show clearly what the item is. If I put the item only 2 inches down, it's pretty much right on again with just an occasional bounce here and there.

I have tried adjusting the sensitivity up and down and still get the same affect. Also, I checked the ground in the area before placing the items to make sure nothing else is interferring, and there is not much iron or anything in the soil. Any idea what is causing this behavior? I even tried loosening and tightening the cord that wraps around the shaft, no change.

I went to the park and found 5 - 6 coins, and a silver braclet, and not a single one of them showed a consistant signal, unless it was on the surface or just a little below. Everyone of them had the meter bouncing around between nickel dime penny, $1 quater nickel, etc... again I try adjusting the sensitivity up and down and nothing gives me a solid signal. The bars is always bouncing all over the place between at least 2-3 different things.

Thanks for any help you can give me!
 
:usaflag:I guess you could call Garrett and ask. I get the bouncing signals too, but when it's a coin it is usually spot on. Could be a coil issue? I would call Garrett. Good luck.
 
To begin with freshly buried coins or coins dropped in a hole are difficult to impossible to detect due to an effect known as Metallurgical Phenomenon. Are you scanning with your coil off the ground at least an inch and on the items that caused a jumping cursor did you do the "twitch" over them to see f you could settle it down. Your sensitivity on a normal performing 250 should be set at four bars and left there. Most of us run the cord straight up the shaft at least a foot or so and fasten it down with tape or electrical ties because the coil picks up the slighhtest movement of the cable. Are you scanning fast or slow? If you continue to have problems you could have a squirrely coil. Has it been this way since new? Contact Melinda at Melinda.Harper@garrett.com and tell her your problem.

Bill
 
Hello. After reading some more, I am now aware of the newer coins dropped in a hole issue. So ok, that makes sense.

As for the coins I found not registering correctly...

I don't know the "Twitch", but I tried scanning in X and from different angles and also very short and also long passes over the item and still get a bouncing meter.

Yes scanning 1" off the ground, scanning medium pace, I would say 1 foot per second or so give or take, manual says 6" - 1 foot per sec.

I will try taping the cord up the shaft as you suggest and see if that helps. If not then I will email Melinda and see what she says. Thank you for the address.
 
:usaflag:It never occured to me that the coil might pick up on the cable. Mine is wrapped all the way, not taped, I've never heard anyone here mention taping theirs. Either way my cable is wrapped snug enough that it does'nt sway when I'm swinging. I would think you would have to have your sensitivity set at darn near maximum to get it to pick up on the cable.
 
To twitch you center the coil over the target then whip it rapidly side to side about two inches or so each way. The 250 is a motion detector and the faster you move the coil the better it discriminates and the deeper it goes.

Bill
 
If you have your sensitivity backed off (4 to 6 bars) another simple thing that might be causing a problem, is other metal items in the ground near where your coin is. You'd be surprised how much metal is in the ground. It's a good idea to check the ground where you are going to place a coin for testing, while in the pinpoint mode. This is the only real all metal mode on the Ace. That way you can be sure that the ground is clear. Another possibility, could simply be the ground itself. If you live near a volcano or otherwise, mineralised ground, then that can also cause the unstable operation of the Ace. Although the Ace does not have a ground balance feature to compensate for this, if you drop your sensitivity to a max of 5 bars and knock out the bottom 3 notches, then it should operate fairly smoothly.
Mick Evans.
 
Welcome to detecting!! You have found out what a lot of us already know...no detector is 100% accurate. And, the deeper the target the more the percentage of accuracy declines. At 8", that is about the range your 250 with the stock 6 x 9 coil will reach. Although I may not be totally accurate with this, I use coil size as a general rule of thumb for depth. So, with a 6 x 9 coil (6+9=15 divided by 2 =7 1/2") 71/2 to 8" is aboout the depth you can expect under good conditions. Now, take into account the many other variables that affect target ID, as in mineralization, proximity to another target (ie: a rusty nail or bottlecap), the cone effect of depth and target ID at depth is a shaky thing at best. I'd say your 250 is working fine, just don't expect it to be dead on on the ID on the deeper targets. Learn to use your ears more and the display less to determine when to dig those deeper signals.
 
Welcome to the forum!:wave:This is a wonderful community and a great place to share info!:garrett:Welcome to the hobby of metal detecting!:detecting:You've got a great machine to begin with.:thumbup:That Ace 250 is a coin magnet! One thing I'd like to add here is that if you use a coil cover it's very important to remove it after each hunt and clean the search coil as well as the coil cover. Dirt and debris gets caught in between the search coil and coil cover and can interfere with detecting with false signals cause by the mineralization in the dirt and loss of detection depth and accuracy of discrimination.
Best of luck to ya!:biggrin:Happy Hunting!:)
 
If I put some coins or a ring on the ground and run over it, the signal is consistantly right on with what the item is. But if I dig a hole and place the item in the ground, 4-8 inches deep, the signal is never consistant. The meter bounces around a lot and doesn't show clearly what the item is. If I put the item only 2 inches down, it's pretty much right on again with just an occasional bounce here and there.

That is not a problem; it is just the way it is and not just with the Ace but with most detectors.Ground conditions, depth
mineralization, etc all effect the signal. Also, pennies are made of different metal depending on the year. One will read
like a dime while others will be spot on. Zinc will also read differently. Your detector is fine. Call Garrett (Melinda) and you will
probably be told the same thing.

Katz
 
Hello all, thank you for the fast replies!

I have spoken with melinda and she did say pretty much the same thing. So it looks like everything might be running normally after all and i'm just not used to it yet. I went with the ACE 250 because of the ID display, but I guess I didn't read up on it enough and was sort of expecting it to be right on all the time.

Oh well, I will keep practicing and hopefully will get the hang of it soon. I do love this detector though. I never have to walk far at all before it picks something up, and so far almost every single time the pin point has been spot on! I was a little aftraid I might have to dig 10" holes all over the place to find the items it was detecting, but there is no need for large holes with this detector! It seems to be very acurate as to where to dig.

Also, thanks for the greetings! I really see myself getting hooked on this, so i'm sure i'll be back here often to get to know some of you. Thanks again :)
 
I had the same problem and there are two things that i have found, first start by running the cable straight up the shaft to the first section about a foot up and then coil around the shaft up to the control box, second reset the unit by holding down the off on button until it beeps twice, some times i do this one or two time per hunt.

Like all detectors it will not read true all the time but the more you use it the more you will know which sounds are good. Remember to alway cross your signal both ways to see if the detected item stays the same, if it changes it is usually trash.

Good luck and don't give up. Most all of the problems are because of not enough experience in the model you are using.
 
Iam new to the forum and this website and i have been having the same problem as cyndric. I have taped my coil about a foot also and will see what happens. I also have my coil very tight so there is no movement. I have not found any coins yet in the dirt. I have had my detector now for 9 days and watching the videos on you tube makes me want to go out and see what i can find. In a sand volleyball court i found my first day 63 cents. I have been detecting around a old house that is vacant yet the soil seems to be very rocky and you almost need a jackhammer to dig in the dirt. I have not found anything at all. So my search continues at a local city park monday. I hope i find some coins, this park is very old and has ball diamonds and a field where its been a while since a game was played there. i will let you know what i find i also like this website a lot seems everybody is very helpful here.
 
Hahahaha. Yea, a jack hammer is useful but too heavy for me to carry around.:)-) The summer can
be a bad time to detect depending where you are. When its hot, even the parks and soccer fields
are hard to dig in.
Katz
 
Yeah the jack hammer would be a tad too heavy thats for sure. I like to detect any time of the year i used to detect 20 years ago on and off for a while. About the only time is when the ground is rock solid frozen and theres snow out thats when i go bowling.
 
hey old katz question for you, if you recieved 220.00 and was told to either buy a ace 250 or a fisher f2 which would you buy? Me iam starting to wonder about the garrett brand iam not convinced they are the best around iam beginning to think i should have bought a fisher f2 or f4 model. I have talked with friends who own a fisher and they love it. just wanted your opinion and other people opinions thats all. appreciate it
 
well my ace 250 works fine i called and talked to Sue at garrett and she says that finding beer cans in the coin mode is normal. Went hunting today found 2 beer cans and a old dime 4 inches deep. So this is my first dime in the dirt i have ever found. I usually go to a sand volleyball court and do ok there but this was cool. Sue says that these detectors are so sensitive you can and will find anything. So i switched to jewelry mode and ran the sensitivity at 4 on the sensitivity level and thats when the dime came up and it was a astrong signal it didnt bounce around. watching other people on youtube helps.
 
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