ace250 coins vs. pull tabs

[Rick123]

Just got my ACE250 and I am confused. In the "coins" mode all my hits (with audio) that show as coins are either nails or pull tabs. I'm new to this and very consused. I've tried different sensitivity levels with the same results. What am I doing wrong?

Rick

 

[slingshot]

Don't know about the nail, but the sta-tab registers as nickels on ALL detectors. Other than that, the machine needs to be sent back or the cable connections checked.

 

[widebody]

[size=large]it may not be the machine. for instance on my old ace 250 pennies came in just to the left of mark for them. if the signal fell right at penny the it usually came up a pull tab. tabs and such will do that. come up around the coins that is. so you need to find the quirks of your machine. this isn't to say you don't have a problem. just that it may be because you haven't become one with your machine. some are bad or the coils can be. with-out being there one doesn't know if it's the owner or the machine. you just don't want to cry wolf just yet. would help to know where you are so maybe a forum member could contact you and give a hand figuring out your problem.

HH[/size]

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Are you just air testing or is this with targets on the ground? If it's targets on the ground then I suspect that you have unwittingly placed your test targets on the ground where there is a larger than a coin sized target in the ground below your test targets. In this situation, the detect will ignore the smaller target and only see the larger target that you are not aware of. Put the detector in pinpoint and sweep over the ground to check for metal targets in the ground (The pinpoint is the only real all metal mode on the Ace).
If you have a coil cover on, take it off and check it for debris.
Mick Evans.

 

[NM5K]

Nothing. The pull tabs just happen to be about the same conductivity as the coins.
Ditto with the high hits from nails. If they are hitting in the coin range, they almost
surely have rust on them. Rust is highly conductive. Higher than the metal the nail
is made from. If you run the machine wide open, you can usually see the bouncing
from high to low on rusty nails. IE: if you get a coin range hit, and jiggle the coil and
also see low iron hits, it's almost always rusty iron. But you won't hear the low hits
if you run in coin mode. But.. you can still see the low hits on the screen, even though
the audio is notched out.
Pull tabs are trickier. There is no low conductivity, so the only real way to tell what it
is, is to dig it. If you try to avoid digging all targets you think might be tabs, you
are going to miss some good stuff. Digging tabs is one of the necessary evils I'm
afraid. Not much way to avoid them, and also be sure you are not missing a coin, ring,
etc. Besides, once you dig it up, that's one less tab to be a nuisance. :/
There is nothing wrong with the detector. It's just that the coin conductivity tabs on
the screen are only accurate if it's actually a coin. Other objects can have the same
appx conductivity. The ID is never a sure thing. It's just an appx guide when the target is
actually a coin. The high/low bouncing on rusty iron is one reason why I tend to run
wide open most of the time. I prefer to hear everything. In coin mode, you only hear
the high hit, not the low, as it's notched out. So it's easier to be fooled by rusty iron unless
you are looking at the screen while you hunt and happen to see the low hits visually.

 

[BigCatDaddy]

I'm just guessing here, but since you are a newbie, you probably think that in Coin mode all you should be detecting is coins. No detector will just find coins and nothing else. There are tons of junk targets out there that will mimic a coin. Your detector is only telling you that there is a possibility of a target being a coin. The first thing I would tell a person new to the 250 is to LOWER THE SENSITIVITY to 4 bars in the Coins mode (this will smooth out the 250, you can always bump it up after you learn you machine)), make sure you coil cable is not flopping around any down by the coil (I velcro mine) with the first wrap going OVER the lower shaft, start digging and begin the learning process. Run at least 100 hours like that and see how you fare. We all wish we could just dig Coins or just dig Jewelry, but it doesn't work that way. Don't get frustrated, keep swingin' that coil and keep learning!! All of us have gone thru this process.

You have to dig this.....

[attachment 203122 04_16trash.jpg]



to get this!!!


[attachment 203123 0drrings.jpg]

 

[Dan-Pa.]

In a nutshell many items mimic coins.....especially in a trashy park.....might talk to a local dealer or visit a detector club meeting for hands on advice...Your unit could be faulty but I doubt it as the first year in the hobby is certainly a learning experience...

 

[Rick123]

Thanks everybody for the replies and great advice. I've only had the detector a week and really don't know how to interpret the signals. The reason I ask is because I thought it wasn't supposed to sound off on nails in the "coins" mode even though it might give a visual indication below the icon. I was hoping I just didn't have it set up properly. I'm sure it's "operator error"

Your replies have been very helpful! Thanks.
Rick

 

[Orion42]

Yeah, rusty nails are a real pain. They almost always ring up as a good coin.

John

 

[JimCVA]

Big cat daddy told you good I hunt a lot in the coin mode the (nickel) you will pick up a lot of pull tabs pennies, dimes, and quarters you should not pick up a lot of junk you will pick up some.
It take patient to learn how to use your matel detector well

 

[LandOLincoln]

Try turning down the sensativity to 6 or 7. Make shorter more level swings. Only dig targets that sound off good in all directions. Hunt in jewelry mode instead of coin mode. Nickels usually hit nickel then drop down the scale a bit then back to nickel. Trash usually hits nickel then up to pulltab then back to nickel. Silver war nickels hit nickel then up to penny or higher then back to nickel. Usually when nails sound good you are lifting the coil during your sweep. It took me at least 3 solid weeks of using my ace to figure the machine out.

 

[slingshot]

Try turning down the sensativity to 6 or 7. Make shorter more level swings. Only dig targets that sound off good in all directions. Hunt in jewelry mode instead of coin mode. Nickels usually hit nickel then drop down the scale a bit then back to nickel. Trash usually hits nickel then up to pulltab then back to nickel. Silver war nickels hit nickel then up to penny or higher then back to nickel. Usually when nails sound good you are lifting the coil during your sweep. It took me at least 3 solid weeks of using my ace to figure the machine out.

If I ran my Ace above 4 bars sensitivity, it would be constantly bonging in my trash laden sites. The only way I can run it higher than this is to slow the sweep speed in half.

 

[jazzman58]

The rivets off of blue jeans will also hit the scale around the penney area on the 250. As stated before turn down the sensitivity to about 3 or 4 bars, run in jewelry or relic mode for a while, just dig everything and see what you get. You could be suprised! Welcome to the hobby and HH.

Jeff

 

[Muddyshoes]

The learning curve for new machines is really tough at first. But after you cross the 10-20 hour mark, your ability to handle all kinds of signals really improves quickly. The AT Pro has been taking me longer than any of the dozen machines I've owned in the past.

I know many times as I learn, I'm wondering if there is a problem with the machine or if it's just me. I think... it's just me at this point.

Good luck! You'll be pulling in the stuff you want very soon!

- Muddyshoes

 

[nova74]

I run a garrett GTAx 550 so not to different then the Ace 250 and pennies hit from 1 to 2 bars to the left of penny if its a zinc one & if copper it reads from 1-3 bar up to the left of where dime reads. The largest thing is that with time you'll learn your machine we all go thru this but know that soon you'll get into the learning curve and then you'll be picking and choosing what target you dig. 100 hrs it what it takes to learn your machine and if your like me it may take a bit more but its a life long love for the hobby that keeps you wanting more