Cold Hunt With The "ACE" Today.....It Truly Is A Unique Machine!

John-Edmonton

Elite Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
2,564
Location
Way up North, Canada
It was cold today! I Detected for about 3 hours, then the sun set and it was time to call it a day. I did manage to dig up 11 coins in the snow, mostly in the top 2 inches.

The Garrett ACE 400i has AVC (automatic volume control) whereas most other detectors utilize modulated audio. Modulated audio is a feature which allows the user to know deep targets from shallow targets simply by the strength of the signal. ie - shallow targets are louder then deep targets, which are quieter. Hence, when using headphones, often times you listen for soft whispers, which indicate a deep target (or very tiny one) and has a good probability of being old simply because of it's depth.

The Garrett ACE Series operate using AVC (automatic volume control). This feature is really useful when you want to hear noises around you, ie hunting in undesirable places in town or in the wild, where predators may be after you. You won't need to use your headphones. In quieter places, the speaker volume is adequate to hear even the deep or tiny target signals, as they are all amplified to the same volume. You can just peek at your readout to see the target ID number/depth and decide if you want to dig it.

Another situation, is when you are hunting side by side, with a buddy, say in a ploughed field. You can easily carry on a conversation without a headset, yet still here a target, regardless of it's depth or size.


"Having that ice cold wind on your face is like a good shot of Jack Daniels! It burns a bit at first, then feels real good!" :lol:
 

Attachments

  • jan 28.jpg
    jan 28.jpg
    44.8 KB · Views: 571
John, this makes me want to pick up an Ace...NOT!

Kidding aside, a lot of detectorists cut their teeth on the Ace 250 and other Ace series detectors. And a lot of great finds have been made with them over the years. Garrett revolutionized the entry level market with the features you could get for a low price.

Everyone has their own take on the bright yellow color...of course how they look has nothing to do with performance...but my take is that they are just about the ugliest detectors I've ever seen.:hornetsnest:
 
John, this makes me want to pick up an Ace...NOT!

Kidding aside, a lot of detectorists cut their teeth on the Ace 250 and other Ace series detectors. And a lot of great finds have been made with them over the years. Garrett revolutionized the entry level market with the features you could get for a low price.

Everyone has their own take on the bright yellow color...of course how they look has nothing to do with performance...but my take is that they are just about the ugliest detectors I've ever seen.:hornetsnest:

A lot of people found the ACE Series well, sort of ugly. That "yellow" color got everyone's attention, and well......you either liked it or hated it.

I remember 11 years ago on Findmall running a "Dress Your ACE" contest at Halloween. There were some great entries. I was trying to find some of the pics, but I guess I removed them from my hard drive. There was also a "waterproof your ACE" cult following that was quite popular too. Apparently, the ACE Series when first released was the largest single metal detector sales ever!

Below is a pic Mary Penson used for a slide presentation put together for school kids. If you look real carefully at the photo, you can see the "Yeller Feller" ( as he was nick-named) actually smiling. I had put a peanut on the ACE and had to wait a half hour before that squirrel climbed on the detector. The shot turned out one in a million.
 

Attachments

  • yeller feller huge.jpg
    yeller feller huge.jpg
    89.5 KB · Views: 384
If you say it's cold and being from Canada- I believe you! They'd have to guarantee me silver before I would be out there. I never owned a Garrett but heard the 400 is about the same as an at pro except not wp.
 
If you say it's cold and being from Canada- I believe you! They'd have to guarantee me silver before I would be out there. I never owned a Garrett but heard the 400 is about the same as an at pro except not wp.

Not the same at all. The AT series is a step up in most everything from the ACE series detectors. I've used the AT Pro for almost eight years and have used a buddy's Ace 250. The Ace series audio is not in the same league. I'm not a fan of Garrett's old style binary audio, although I can see where it could be an advantage for someone who has severe hearing loss.

John would know this better than me, but I believe the method he described of hunting with the Ace 400 can also be duplicated by putting the AT Pro in the standard binary audio mode as opposed to the pro mode. Can't speak to it myself because beyond some initial comparison testing, I've never used the standard mode.
 
So I have bad taste! My "puke" yellow Ace 250 is the prettiest of all my detectors!:laughing::laughing:. With the sniper coil it gives the competition a run for the money as I can get where no other detector I've ever owned can and manipulating the sensitivity/sweep speeds in places other detectors overreact. I once had fun posting as "Snipey and the flying Ace"- a castoff of Peanuts. Most flexible detector I have!
 
If a detector brings enjoyment and finds the goods, then it is a beautiful machine.:yes:
 
Ace 250 was my first detector and never knew I was supposed to hate the color?! It’s a very capable machine and I found my first gold with the yella fella
 
Though I prefer to use other machines, the ace series was always fun to use and I always came home with something using one. Very capable, easy to use rig. I never had an issue with the yellow color. I cant tell you how many times I've put down my AT Gold in the thick woods to show a fellow hunter a find and couldn't find it after :laughing: Congrats on getting out John! Hoping for a quick meltdown around here :roll: good luck this year!
 
Though I prefer to use other machines, the ace series was always fun to use and I always came home with something using one. Very capable, easy to use rig. I never had an issue with the yellow color. I cant tell you how many times I've put down my AT Gold in the thick woods to show a fellow hunter a find and couldn't find it after :laughing: Congrats on getting out John! Hoping for a quick meltdown around here :roll: good luck this year!

I guess a "quick melt down" can be directed at all of North America this week!:snowballfight: :snowman3: :snowshovel: :snowtruck: :sledding: :snowflake:
 
Ace 250 was my first detector and never knew I was supposed to hate the color?! It’s a very capable machine and I found my first gold with the yella fella

I'm with ya. My first detector was an ACE 350. Still have it. I have found 8 gold rings since I started detecting. My 350 is responsible for my first and largest gold ring. That was the day I went from hobby to addiction. I love the yellow.
 
I'm with ya. My first detector was an ACE 350. Still have it. I have found 8 gold rings since I started detecting. My 350 is responsible for my first and largest gold ring. That was the day I went from hobby to addiction. I love the yellow.

I often wonder if the ACE Series were purposely chosen the color to represent Au. It is hot on gold. I know there were lots of posts where people were sniping for tiny nuggets using the small sniper coil and being successful.
 

Attachments

  • download (1).jpeg
    download (1).jpeg
    12.1 KB · Views: 274
I often wonder if the ACE Series were purposely chosen the color to represent Au. It is hot on gold. I know there were lots of posts where people were sniping for tiny nuggets using the small sniper coil and being successful.

I know a lot of people don't like the ACE series but they find the goods. Crazy thing about the 350 is it operates at 8.25 khz. It's strong on silver but it really will find the gold.
 
I really enjoy my Ace 400 especially in the woods. I've had it in parks. Found rings on the beach.
Really hones in on silver.
I see 79 I get IHP
But no gold:no:.
 
Back
Top Bottom