-Detectorstuff member Ian Pettigrew (AKA draaiorgel) has written up a great new users guide with tips and helpful information on the Garrett Ace 250! Many thanks to Ian for his contribution….
All about the Ace 250 for newbies.
The Ace 250 is an ideal beginner’s machine especially if you know absolutely nothing about metal detecting. (Just like me when I first started)
I had read on many MD forums about what a fabulous machine it was and
the price was right.
Believe me, you will find stuff first time out.
For me it was a first class coin hunter.
Read the manual that comes with it several times before using it,
I know it’s hard to do that with a shiny new machine just out of the box. But, just do it.
The first mistake any learner will do is to set the sensitivity (sens) too high,
There are 8 bars of sens and the Ace is a very sensitive machine.
Tip No.1. Don’t set the sens any more than 4 bars until you’ve used the machine a lot over a period of at least a month.
You will also have the choice of 4 factory preset hunting modes,
and one custom mode (that is saved when you switch off so the custom mode is the way it was set before you switched off the last time) you can set how you want it once you’ve built up a bit of experience.
Tip No.2. Jewelry mode is a good mode to start with, (only discs out the iron)
and you will not miss any coins in that mode.
Tip No.3. Don’t be impatient to match other detectorists who’ve had
their machines for years. (They have had years of the 3 Ps.)
Tip No.4. Remember the 3 Ps.
Patience, Practice, and Persistence.
Also remember detectors all have their own language and it will take a very good deal of time to get to know and understand what your machine is telling you.
Be prepared to dig a lot of trash such as – bottle caps, pulltabs, and rusty nails.
Bits of foil such as gum wrappers etc.
Tip No. 5. If you find it’s too noisy for you in a high trash area, you can quieten
it down by using coin mode. That will notch out most of the trash for you.
Many of these items can fool a detector into thinking it’s a coin.
Try to concentrate on the sounds and ignore the screen as much as possible until you are more familiar with your machine.
Then only use the screen as a backup to the sounds you are hearing.
You will find with practice the Ace is simple to operate,
but is a first class machine and very easy to use for the price.
Tip No. 6. Listen for the bell tone, it sounds kind of like a
d ding d ding d ding in rapid succession. That is the sound of money.
Always remember any sounds or reading on the screen is only the machines best guess.
The 250 is sensitive to small objects and gold and you will find it performs like detectors costing three times as much – the reason for its popularity.
There are many thousands of experienced detectorists who are very happy and successful still using the 250.
The 9 x 12-inch coil will get you another 2-3 inches in depth and works the same as the stock coil. (6.5 x 9) inches.
Having never used the Sniper coil I can’t comment on it.
Pinpointing needs a bit of practice to get good at it, but once you’ve got it,
it will be spot on every time.
When using pinpoint remember it’s a press and hold button.
Just scan side to side to centre the target then drag the coil straight back towards you until the instant the signal stops and your target will be at the front inner coil tip.
Note if it’s a coin you won’t have to pull the coil back very far,
This can be used to size the target too, and that will come with experience.
De tuning in PP mode can be used to shrink the target for a more accurate Pin Point.
Once you have centred the target move your coil 5-6 inches
to the right of the target (if your right handed) then press PP button twice rapidly and hold it down on the second press while centreing and dragging back towards you.
Tip No.7. A deep coke tin will read as a coin, to check this –
While pinpointing if you raise the coil 6-7 inches off the ground and still get a strong signal 99% of the time it’s a tin.
If the target doesn’t sound after 3 or 4 inches it’s obviously a smaller target.
I feel I must warn you this machine beeps loudly and there is no volume control,
(I believe it could pull a crowd round you in the middle of a desert.) LOL.
So, if your going to use earphones to avoid the crowds,
make sure they have a volume control or you will have sore ears.
Enjoy and have lots of fun with your new 250 Ace.
Ian Pettigrew.