Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Garrett 400 newbie

T

TB8788

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2019
Messages
49
Hello All, I'm brand new to this forum and very new to detecting. After buying a junk detector I decided it was time to buy a real one. I bought the Garrett Ace 400 and i was wondering if anyone had any tips for me. I have a decent understanding of how it works. It actually seems to preform just fine at the beaches I've tried despite what everyone says about beach hunting with it. I just keep my sensitivity about mid way.

Any advice and tips for me? I live in CT and any hunting spots would be much appreciated as well! Happy huntin!
 
Never had the ace 400 but I did own a 350..400 is way better from what I see..The ace series came a long way, from the 250.
I would definatly run zero disc, that always helps unmask and gives deeper and cleaner hits..I know the old saying of using higher frequency machines for gold, but the ace machines do a great job of hitting on gold.
I like the full gain audio of the ace, don't care for modulated audio.
.Saw a few guys use them exclusively and pull pockets full of rings every year..Good luck , sorry I couldn't be more help
 
woodbutcher said:
Never had the ace 400 but I did own a 350..400 is way better from what I see..The ace series came a long way, from the 250.
I would definatly run zero disc, that always helps unmask and gives deeper and cleaner hits..I know the old saying of using higher frequency machines for gold, but the ace machines do a great job of hitting on gold.
I like the full gain audio of the ace, don't care for modulated audio.
.Saw a few guys use them exclusively and pull pockets full of rings every year..Good luck , sorry I couldn't be more help
Click to expand...

It seems to hit very cleanly on gold, solid 64,65 every time I did a test
 
TB8788 said:
It seems to hit very cleanly on gold, solid 64,65 every time I did a test
Click to expand...

I've watched videos of that machine, and it looked like a quality build..Garrett makes quality , always have..Did you try smaller gold rings? I would think they'd register a little lower, in the foil range..
I would expect bigger gold rings weighing 5 grams and up to register in the 60s.
Your lucky to have a beach close by, good luck.
 
I have an Ace 400 that is the backup unit to my AT Pro and Max. The 400 is a very good detector for the money and will find the good stuff. I'm not a beach hunter so I can't comment on how well it performs in the sand.
 
woodbutcher said:
I've watched videos of that machine, and it looked like a quality build..Garrett makes quality , always have..Did you try smaller gold rings? I would think they'd register a little lower, in the foil range..
I would expect bigger gold rings weighing 5 grams and up to register in the 60s.
Your lucky to have a beach close by, good luck.
Click to expand...

I was bench testing with a 14k gold ring
 
My Ace 250 found me lots of gold, most hits at nickel or below. Not in the iron range though. My 250 has no vdi numbers.
Happy hunting!
 
I have the ace 400 as a backup and for my grandkids to use. Good machine it has found me a men's 14K gold ring. It rang up like a zinc penny. It is also found me silver rings and coins.
 
TB8788 said:
Hello All, I'm brand new to this forum and very new to detecting. After buying a junk detector I decided it was time to buy a real one. I bought the Garrett Ace 400 and i was wondering if anyone had any tips for me. I have a decent understanding of how it works. It actually seems to preform just fine at the beaches I've tried despite what everyone says about beach hunting with it. I just keep my sensitivity about mid way.

Any advice and tips for me? I live in CT and any hunting spots would be much appreciated as well! Happy huntin!
Click to expand...

Here is a couple videos to get you started.

https://youtu.be/QUb5XVCDxAI

https://youtu.be/ub79BhaKaHs
 
TB8788 said:
Yup I’ve watched them already.

Which frequency would you set it while at the beach? Does it help either way?
Click to expand...


I only used it on the freshwater beach a couple of times. Just remember the yellow control box is not waterproof. Always try to keep your machine as stable sounding as possible. Rather you adjust the frequency or the sensitivity. A machine that is chattering is not as accurate.

Try searching YouTube for water hunting videos with Ace 400.
 
Dan B. said:
I only used it on the freshwater beach a couple of times. Just remember the yellow control box is not waterproof. Always try to keep your machine as stable sounding as possible. Rather you adjust the frequency or the sensitivity. A machine that is chattering is not as accurate.

Try searching YouTube for water hunting videos with Ace 400.
Click to expand...

It doesn’t chatter much on the beach, I put the sensitivity in the middle and it works very nicely
 
My Ace 400 is amazing in dry sand especially with the iron audio cuts down on the bottle caps.
Its good on damp salt with lower sensitivity.
It is horrible in salt water have to lower the sensitivity way down or notch out everything below 50 on the VDIs
If it had a ground balance function the Ace 400 would be incredible.
 
HistoryHippy said:
My Ace 400 is amazing in dry sand especially with the iron audio cuts down on the bottle caps.
Its good on damp salt with lower sensitivity.
It is horrible in salt water have to lower the sensitivity way down or notch out everything below 50 on the VDIs
If it had a ground balance function the Ace 400 would be incredible.
Click to expand...

Do you play with the frequency at all when your out at the beach?
 
Tried the frequency shift in the water doesn't work for me.
Like I said works great for the damp sand and the dry but not in the wet sand or water. Lower sensitivity like down to 2 bars quiets it or notching out every thing below 50. That kills all chances of finding gold.
I tried putting a dime down on the wet salty sand and it wouldn't even sound off on it until notching all that out.
I'm happy in the towel line anyway.
 
HistoryHippy said:
Tried the frequency shift in the water doesn't work for me.
Like I said works great for the damp sand and the dry but not in the wet sand or water. Lower sensitivity like down to 2 bars quiets it or notching out every thing below 50. That kills all chances of finding gold.
I tried putting a dime down on the wet salty sand and it wouldn't even sound off on it until notching all that out.
I'm happy in the towel line anyway.
Click to expand...

what number do you usually find gold at?
 
Any VDI in the midrange after iron. Found gold at 40 found big gold ring solid 60. Gold is in the foil, pull tab, and nickel ranges.
 
HistoryHippy said:
Any VDI in the midrange after iron. Found gold at 40 found big gold ring solid 60. Gold is in the foil, pull tab, and nickel ranges.
Click to expand...

Thank you!

I was thinking of hunting in jewerly mode and knocking out the box below the nickel symbol. picks up trash at that box on the beach.
 
I dont notch out anything especially in jewelry mode because those trash signals are the gold signals. I have only found two gold rings and I thought they were both trash until I dug them. Small ring came in solid 40 my brain went pulltab the big ring at a basketball court was jumping around 50-60. I thought it was gonna be more junk. I was very suprised.
The Ace 400 is really good at missing bottle caps. Jumpy VDI and the iron grunt. But beware sometimes that will fool you with the iron grunt and its a coin surrounded by iron. Raise coil. Wiggle coil. Heel toe. Usually if the VDI stays solid it's something good. Takes practice.
 
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