Confessions of a converted skeptic......

[Ralph Bryant]

It seems the more I bounce around the different forums, the more I see mention of the Garrett Ace machines, with kudos being bestowed on them from newbies all the way up to the old-school die hards. Not having been much of a fan of Garrett in recent years, I continued to be somewhat skeptical of their new "bottom-end" machines simply based on what I had experienced with other such machines from various manufacturers through the years. With very few exceptions, they mostly left alot to be desired.

Last week I noticed one of the online dealers offering the little Ace 150 units at what I considered a bargain price, even if it were just as an opportunity to pick one up and give it a spin to see if it lived up to the accolades being received. At my request, the dealer even agreed to provide it with the little 4.5 sniper coil in place of the standard coil since my primary interest was in comparing it to the Tesoro Compadre, a machine I have long considered one of my staples for hunting in very trashy conditions.

Well, to make a long story short, the 150 and 4.5 arrived in today's mail and I managed to get out with it for about an hours hunt at the local elementary school playground just before dark. Not one who places much confidence in any visual ID these days based on some rather disappointing experiences with a couple of new unit tests, I was actually surprised at just how well the 150 actually performed. Net results for the hour or so initiation period were a variety of 39 clad, copper, zinc, and nickel coins and two rings running the new detector in jewelry mode with sensitivity full open. Some of the quarters recovered were estimated at 6 to 7 inches which proved to be a good showing for the little 4.5 inch coil, and many of the others were down into the hardpack below the 4 to 5 inches of gravel cover near the playground equipment. All in all, a pretty impressive little machine considering the price point.

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One of my last finds for the evening as it was just getting dark just about had my heart jumping out of my chest as I pulled this little beauty from about 4 inches deep. There was not enough light to make a positive ID until I reached home, but unfortunately it proved to be an "Avon" designer piece, though constructed in such a manner as to make it a "fooler" to say the least. The other ring was a sterling silver and turquoise kids ring found a few minutes earlier.

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If my first hour with the Ace 150 is any indication of things to come, I can see the two of us getting along just fine where others tend to stumble and fall more often than not these days.

Good job Charlie...... I'm impressed !

Ralph

 

[NM5K]

Nice first spin! The ace 250's get a lot of the comments, but the ace 150's also seem to be real nice detectors from what I've heard. With the differences in depth readout, "6in vs 8 in", you would get the impression that the 250 goes deeper, but I sorta suspect they are pretty close really. From a cost to build standpoint, it doesn't make much
sense to make the overall design drastically different.
If there is a difference in depth, it's probably from having more selections of sensitivity, and maybe running the max sensitivity at a higher level on the 250, rather than the actual board/coil design itself.
The coils are the same between the two models. I ordered a ace 250 monday. Hope I do half as well as you did on my first test drive.
I'm hoping maybe I'll get it saturday. ? Only the UPS knows fer sure..
I decided to spring the extra for the 250, to get the pinpoint mode,
and few extra frills the 250 has.. :/ I've been aware of detecting for
years, but am a newby as far as actually getting one. In the 60's and 70's, my dad worked as a magazine distributor, and one of the mags he dealt with was one of the major treasure hunting mags.
I often got free old return issues from stores, when they didn't sell them all. All we had to do was rip the covers off.
I always wanted one back then, but alas, no money as a young kid to buy pricy detectors...
So I've followed it for years, but never actually got a decent one till now. I had a cheapy radio shack thing once, but it was fairly useless.
MK

 

[Cody]

Ralph, I said the Ace150 and 250 were going to be the sleepers of the new flock. I already told you that but it feels so good to say it again.

 

[DavHut]

Ralph, its okay to be a skeptic. I was one once too, on the Garretts. Then I read something that stuck with me to this day:

"The value of any education is to prepare ones mind to open"
--- Unknown

Being a Tesoro man, too, I can relate to your sentiments. But since I got my Garretss and allowed them to teach me (instead of the other way round), I have learned alot.

The Ace series is an excellent little step in the advancement of the field. They were never intended to be the do-all detector we expect EVERY machine we get our shaky little hands on to be. It was simply the goal of Charles Garret to cram the most useful "stuff" his company could pack into the $200 price market. He succeeded.

You've said that you dont want all the bells and whistles and prefer to keep it simple. Well, I admire your spartan attitude and I feel that you may have an opportunity to advance your own position on the matter by trying "all that silliness".

I did. I got the 250. I rarely use the pinpoint feature, preferring the patented "MindsEye Pin Point" technique. But, it's there if I want it (by the way, Im sending you my "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About the Ace 250 - But Were Afraid To Ask" compilation).
I use the mode features alot too, hunting in All Metal often - letting the tone ID talk to me.
Selectable, 12 step notch DISC for under $200? Egads man, what a concept!
I work the SENS plenty, too - turning it down more often than not.

You did a great thing Ralph. You took a leap of faith - hardly an easy thing for any of us. In so doing, you let the rewards come as they may, not as you expected them to. That's the other hardest thing to do - keep an open mind. Welcome aboard, 'ole man!

 

[Dick from IA]

Ralph: Happy to hear about your great experience with the Ace. As someone fairly new to this I put a lot of "stock" in field testers like yourself. The company and magazine tester reports are good, too, but they can often be biased.

I've been following this forum for over a month, now, while trying to make a decision. Your input places the ACE 250 at the top of my list. I currently use a Titan 2000XD by BH, which would become my backup detector. Was considering the BH Land Ranger, too, but I really don't need the complexity. The Ace is it: gonna get it ordered

 

[Ralph Bryant]

Next time I'll listen ! Ordered yours yet ? Might disagree with one little thing you said......about it being a "sleeper". I don't think this one will spend much time in the closet sleeping, and already see it getting more use than any machine I have. Should obviously prove to be a great jewelry machine. Unreal sensitivity to some very tiny bits of aluminum and brass.

Ralph

 

[Ralph Bryant]

Thanks. It actually took alot less time to become accustomed to the 150 than it did to read the tips. Very intuitive little machine. But unlike you suggest, I've run the gamut of "all that silliness" with more machines than I care to remember. Simplicity has it's virtues, though the other "stuff" is sometimes fun to play with and undoubtedly functional in helping get "just a little more" out of any machine from time to time. Full-range notching has it's place, and is a great feature to have, but more often than not I find myself running in either all-metal or very low discrimination such as the jewelry mode of the 150. I'll have to add though, that "snooping" through playgrounds with that little 4.5 coil doesn't miss much. It's a great combination. And as far as Garrett is concerned, well.... let me just say, sometimes you really CAN teach an old dog a new trick or two.

Ralph

 

[Ralph Bryant]

Hi Dick,

I don't think you will regret your choice for even a moment. Like I mentioned in my post last night, I'm hearing more and more of the "old-timers" and die-hard detectorists praising the little Ace machines, and after spending a little more time looking one over, I think Tesoro and other mainline manufacturers better wake up and smell the coffee, not to mention some of the relative newcomers and well-established companies who think that offering different coil options is perhaps "not important". This is the first time in many years that Garrett has gotten my attention, and they have really taken the "low-end" market by storm with these units. Absolutely the "biggest-bang" for the buck, hands down. As a matter of fact, this little 150 will replace two other mid and high-end VID units in my collection, what amounts to a $125 purchase replacing machines retailing for upward of $1500 or so combined. This is not in saying that the Ace will perform up to the level of other high-end units in certain circumstances, but for my type of hunting (call me Oscar, I love the trash), it's more a matter of performing "DOWN TO" the level that I need in a machine. That's the real advantage of having the ability to either tame the machine, or to let it run wild.....at the option of the operator rather than at the option of the designer.

Ralph

 

[Ralph Bryant]

From what I've heard from those who have used both models, the only real difference is in the feature options added to the 250, as both reportedly get the same level of raw performance. 90% of the time I spend hunting in the trash with small "sniper" type coils, so pinpointing is not an issue. Notching availability is a nice option too, so I'm sure I will more than likely end up giving the 250 a spin too and running it through it's paces to see if the added options really provide anything I might find useful.

Keep us posted and let us know how the new machine does for you.

Ralph

 

[Dick from IA]

Thanks Ralph for the encouragement. I'll keep y'all up to date on my progress (or lack of it).

Will order it to receive about March 1; other things going on now. Will have to do with the till then

 

[Uncle Willy]

Hi Ralphie,
You finally seen the light bud. I figured if you ever got around to playing with one your tune would change. I told Jack Lowry after I field tested the 250 that I hoped Garrett was geared up for some serious production as this little puppy would sell like a house afire, and it came to pass. It is Garrett's top selling detector and is going out the door as fast as they can produce them.

A lot of us old farts have parked our big dollar machines in favor of the 150/250. The folks at Garrett discovered the secret with this little puppy and the other manufacturers got caught with their pants down when it hit the scene. You might want to try the 12 inch coil for areas without so much trash. Take care my friend and keep us posted on your success. Glad to see you aboard.

Bill(OR)

 

[Ralph Bryant]

How you been Bill ? You were sure right about the 150/250, and I kick myself for not trying one earlier. Would have saved me alot of time and $$ elsewhere, if you get my drift.....

Ralph

 

[ohio fred]

n/t

 

[Uncle Willy]

Hi Ralph. At least you got on the bandwagon before it sped out of sight. I don't know what Garrett is going to do to top this one but I'm sure they will. There's a guy on the other Garrett forum who hunts what must be virgin territory in Australia and finds close to $100 per day in coins with his 250. I'm thinking of moving over there.

Did you see the beautiful gold coin found with a GTI 2500 posted on this forum? It's probably on page three or four by now. Check it out. Take care my friend and enjoy your new toy.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Forgot to mention - suppose you've noticed the lightning fast target response and recovery on this little puppy. Also the faster you swing the deeper it goes. A true motion detector.

Bill

 

[NM5K]

I got mine this afternoon. Got here earlier than I thought. Well, I didn't get too much time to play before it got dark, but I was starting to get the hang of it. You got me beat for a first spin..:/ I found 3 nails, and two old pennys. The pennys were fairly deep, and one was so
corroded it looked like it was dipped in acid for a while. But later
this evening, I did some practicing with it, and did some tests letting it try to ID coins. Pretty accurate as long as no trash in the area.
All coins ID'ed correctly in my quicky test. Even the nickle. I've pretty
much got the pinpointing down as far as procedure, but still practicing
making sure I'm actually on "top" of the target, rather than off to the side. The pinpointing seems fairly broad when first turning it on. But
I've been trying setting it down and resetting the pinpoint to detune it,
and that seems to help sharpen it up. I was puttering around in the dark
a little while ago and found a few good targets to dig. One was out by the curb, where the grass meets the curb. I found a hotspot that was showing hot coins at 6-8 +. Was getting 1/2 doller lightup quite a few
times, but sometimes see quarters, etc.. It's like maybe someone dropped
half a pants full of change...
Anyway, so far seems to be working fine as far as I can tell.
The extra pinpointer I bought has already helped..It made finding that
corroded penny easy, which was mixed in the gumbo pretty well.
I think I'm gonna be glad I bought it, as it's handy for probing the holes, and also my dirt piles..
I think this playing in the dirt is going to be fun.
BTW, DavHut...Can you send me that file also? Sure would appreciate
it. I've been collecting some info, but can use all I can get.
I'm not sure if you can see my e-mail, or if it's allowed to post
it here??? Some places frown on it, cuz the spambots go after it..
If you can't see it, let me know, and I'll get it to you someway.
MK

 

[Uncle Willy]

Hi Ralph,
The gold coin pic is currently on page seven but will move with each new post on page one. THe post reads: Garrett 2500: Gold coin found by hunting partner.

Bill

 

[Ralph Bryant]

Hi Bill,

What I have noticed is that with the "elongated" signal of the coin-range bell-tone, it is damn near impossible to miss a coin if you get the coil across it, regardless of sweep speed. First time I tried the Ace, I really disliked that bell-tone, but once I actually saw the advantage it provides, I've learned (very quickly) to like it..... It has a different reaction time and signal response than my old Compadre standby that I did the 4 inch coil modification on, but the tone and visual ID of the 150 offer more target information by far. With progressive discrimination, you are pretty limited in using the machine to "cherry pick" the trash, while visual and audio ID really provide an advantage in that regard. I'm looking forward to trying out the 250 and seeing what the notching on that particular machine can accomplish.

Still raining there I see...... I got a kick out of the suggestion that you just stand in the shower with coins spread out on the floor to get in some practice. haha

Ralph

 

[Ralph Bryant]

Just a couple of advantages of using the little 4.5 inch "sniper" coil are that it pretty much does away with any pinpointing concerns. No need to pinpoint when the coil gives a very distinct and very tight signal right on top of the target center. The 4.5 sniper is very good in this regard. And considering that the smaller coil surface area "sees" less ground and picks up less external interference, you can also run your sensitivity at maximum levels in comparison to larger coils. This factor alone will help you regain alot of the "lost depth" of going to a smaller coil in the first place. Then you also have the advantages of target separation in heavy trash and the ability to get into some very tight spaces and close to metal poles, aluminum bleechers, chain link fences, and etc. There are alot of advantages to using smaller coils than you might realize at first.

FWIW,

Ralph

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah I been considering the shower gig but the weather guy says dry tomorrow and for a few days more. I'll see if he is full of crap again. I think you'll like the 250.

It's almost impossibe to miss a target with the PROformance coil no matter how fast you swing it. Course slow is always better. One thing on the 250 is the Elimination button. If you keep encountering one specific, pesky, target, you just blank it out. Garrett crammed a lot of technology into this little puppy and caught the rest of the industry with their britches down. Have fun.

Bill