Here are some tips that will help, some tips already mentioned
here.
1-Make sure your coil wire is snug around the shaft all the way up.
2-Turn your sensitivity down 1 or 2 bars and make sure no rings
on your fingers or steel in your boots.
3-Use all-metal mode and don't worry about all the sounds the ACE series
detector is making and don't even look at the lcd screen (really). Go
out in the yard and start swinging the detector, moving very slowly
with your walk but at a medium swing speed.
4-Now at this point the targets are going to have to pass a few tests before
you are even going think about digging them up.
TESTS
1-The target has to sound off as a ding sound or a high tone. PASSED
2-The ding sound target has to be repeatable on both left and right swings. PASSED
3-Turn 90 degrees to the target, the ding sound has to sound on both left
and right swings. PASSED
4-Cool trick here, use your MD pinpointer to check the size of the target.
Press and hold your pinpointer button in and scan the target with
a left and right swing. The pinpointer hum should fall off sharply within
3/4" width of the swings, very small just like the size of a coin. PASSED
5-Turn 90 degrees and repeat step 4, if it is a coin the pinpointer hum
should drop off sharply at a 3/4" width. PASSED
Note: During the size check test in steps 4 and 5 if at any time you
scan the target and it measures big say 3 inches by 6 inches it is most
likely a pop can or if you scan the target and it is greater than foot in
length it is most likely a pipe, FAILED don't dig it.
6-Go ahead and pinpoint your target in the normal way and dig the target.
7-If you find you are digging way to deep and nothing is there. Widen
your hole some as targets are sometimes in the walls of the hole.
8-Still getting a ding or high tone sound but nothing in the hole ?
Raise your coil about 6 inches above the ground, if you are still getting
a ding sound it is more likely large iron or a deep pop can. FAILED, bail out
and fill the hole and move on. A coin will not ding at the 14 inch mark
with the ACES series and this is a good tip for the ACE 150 users as they
can not do the size check trick in steps 4 and 5 because of no pinpoint
feature.
These series of tests will become routine and automatic over time
and take around 30 seconds to complete and will saves you hours of
senseless digging.
Later on once you got the ding or high tones down pat you can
do the same tests for the other metals etc.
If there is something you don't understand let me know.
Take care,
CDNsilver