Big Boys Hobbies

New to ACE 250

infiniteMPG

infiniteMPG

Junior Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2014
Messages
55
Location
Bradenton, Sunshine State
Been toying with my old clunky Garrett Groundhog for a while now after it sat in hibernation for decades. Got the bug bad enough that I went and bought a new Garrett ACE 250 and a low end pin pointer. Toyed in the empty lot next door and in a few hours snapped up15 pennies, 4 dimes, 1 quarter, 1 game token, some old copper pipe fittings and a beat up Hot Wheels car. Of course dealing with pull tabs, crunched up aluminum cans and some sheet metal scraps along the way. Trying to learn the ropes of my new toy.

Went out to an area in the woods where we knew some old abandoned concrete structures were, looked like water supply supports from many years ago. Managed to snap up tons of old big iron pipe fittings, round iron caps, and torch burned pieces of thick steel plate. But not a very productive day...these workers couldn't drop some change? Lose a ring? Drop a gun or knife? PUH-leaseeee....

Anyway, looking at options found some larger coils available for the 250 but not sure off they're worth it? Are they? Saw a 6.5" x 9" PROformance, 5" x 8" or 8-1/2" x 11" DD PROformance. Good? Bad?

Any hints would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!!
 
Welcome to the forum

Stick with the basics and dig everything until you have about 1000 targets total.
Then re-evaluate if you still like the hobby.
Then I would suggest a PRO-pointer and a larger coil.
Next step would be an AT-PRO:yes:
 
I bought the 5x8 DD for mine and never took it off again. It is a really good coil and seemed to make the ACE real hot on coins. It is also WAY lighter than the stock coil. I recommend it. The biggest downfall of the DD is it sees bottle caps as high silver. With a little practice however, you can tell when it's a bottle cap.


Sent from my Mobile Command Center (MCC)
 
She's a great li'l machine!

I have the 8.5 x 11 DD on mine and it's been on there for 3 years now. It will fool you on bottle caps and make you think they're quarters but you can tell most times after you get use to the machine...

Don't let anyone tell you that 250 is any kind of a slouch, it ain't! Learn that machine and make it an extension of yourself and you'll do good with it. Mine paid for itself many times over before I started upgrading and became a detector collector :lol: . It paid for my second detector, a used White's Surf PI. Now I have a Minelab Sovereign Elite and a Minelab E-Trac as well, but I STILL get that sweet little ACE out and swing her from time to time.

373781_10150897526570635_336049713_n.jpg

By the way,

Welcome aboard from Panama City Beach!!​


I used to live in Bradenton, and know a couple detectorists from down that way....
 
6.5x9 PERformance coil comes with the 250. Check the 5x8 DD and the 8.5x11 DD coils. DD coils seem to work better on the beach and where mineralization is higher. I just got a 8.5x11 DD for my 250 and will be trying it when I go to Fla in Feb. HH Minlooker.
 
The 250 is still a single frequency machine and as such it does struggle in the wet sand but the DD coil WILL help that. In the dry sand it absolutely KILLS IT though. If you get around Panama City Beach, gimme a holler!

Here's one of my more favored pic's from the 250 days... It proves you can get the goodies IN salt water with an ACE250. This nice little ring was 6'ish inches down in the sand under some 4 inches of water!

312802_10150808614900635_877060634_20590848_481855404_n (2).jpg​
 
Thanks bunches for all the info and the helpful hints. Happy with the 250 so far and enjoy it more than my ol' Groundhog. The delay is tough to get used to and getting a "hit" but pulling back and re-sweeping and not getting a blip is a tad frustrating. Love the ability to zoom in after the initial blip and that has been spot on. Not doing beach combing, doing old areas where I believe some historical stuff was has been my cup o' tea so far. Will hit the beach soon and the 8.5 X 11 will be on my Christmas list (along with a tumbler for the stuff I already found). The other day was hunting around and had eliminated "iron" and got some hits that looked well above the low end of the spectrum but after digging up (and digging deep) found rusty ol' chunks of cast iron. Hmmm, something else to learn, the depth reading. Dug a foot deep expecting some good metal only to find a rusty ol' broken chunk of cast iron.

Thanks again and appreciate the hints and help. No turning back now :cool:
 
HELP..... again :shock:

Was shopping around and saw the 5" X 8" and 8.5" X 11" DD coils cost about the same. What would be the advantage of one over the other???

Thanks in advance for your assistance.
 
infiniteMPG said:
HELP..... again :shock:

Was shopping around and saw the 5" X 8" and 8.5" X 11" DD coils cost about the same. What would be the advantage of one over the other???

Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Click to expand...


The only real advantage of the 8.5x11 is you "may" get a little extra depth. The reason I say "may" is because while its capable of more depth it can also be more prone to target masking because of its size , so its better suited for beaches and fields where targets are spread out. The 8.5x11 is also a lot heavier and will make the detector unbalanced. On the other hand the 5x8 is smaller and less prone to target masking and is claimed to be easier to pinpoint with and seperate targets , so its more suited for parks or any other target dense areas. And of course if you are in a target dense area then accuracy usually becomes more important than depth. It would be good to have both , but if you are like most of us once the 5x8 is on the detector you may never use the 8.5x11
 
ohiochris said:
The only real advantage of the 8.5x11 is you "may" get a little extra depth. The reason I say "may" is because while its capable of more depth it can also be more prone to target masking because of its size , so its better suited for beaches and fields where targets are spread out. The 8.5x11 is also a lot heavier and will make the detector unbalanced. On the other hand the 5x8 is smaller and less prone to target masking and is claimed to be easier to pinpoint with and seperate targets , so its more suited for parks or any other target dense areas. And of course if you are in a target dense area then accuracy usually becomes more important than depth. It would be good to have both , but if you are like most of us once the 5x8 is on the detector you may never use the 8.5x11
Click to expand...

VERY good information. Not really interested in searching beaches for lost trinkets, more interested in historical finds in old historical areas (that I can access.... ::sigh::). The weight is a major factor, too. When I hit a decent sized area I could be swinging that thing for a couple hours. And target accuracy is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT to me that area. THANKS!!!! :grin:
 
Also it appears the 5"x8" DD weighs in at 12oz, the 8-1/2"x11" weighs 15.2oz, a MASSIVE 3.2oz difference so not sure the weight is something to base an opinion on. Been reading and STILL CONFUSED between the two coils. I generally search in large open areas, fields, wooded areas, but need to cover a lot of area. Concerned getting a coil that is even smaller than the stock 250 coil, even though a better coil, will take more time, more swings, to cover the area of the larger coil.

Question: If you get a target, say coin sized, with the larger coil, and you switch to pinpoint it, will you be able to pinpoint as accurately as the smaller coil, or at least within a couple inches????
 
infiniteMPG said:
Also it appears the 5"x8" DD weighs in at 12oz, the 8-1/2"x11" weighs 15.2oz, a MASSIVE 3.2oz difference so not sure the weight is something to base an opinion on. Been reading and STILL CONFUSED between the two coils. I generally search in large open areas, fields, wooded areas, but need to cover a lot of area. Concerned getting a coil that is even smaller than the stock 250 coil, even though a better coil, will take more time, more swings, to cover the area of the larger coil.

Question: If you get a target, say coin sized, with the larger coil, and you switch to pinpoint it, will you be able to pinpoint as accurately as the smaller coil, or at least within a couple inches????
Click to expand...

If you are hunting a large open "TRASH FREE" area, then go with the larger coil. If there is a LOT of trash in the ground where you hunt, then get the smaller coil. It's the trade off you'll have to make. A smaller coils covers less ground but separates the targets better. The larger coil does not seem heavy at all to me.

I have the 8.5x11 on my 250. NEVER did go back to the 6x9 after I put the 8.5x11 on. All of my land machines have bigger AND smaller coils for them. I have the sniper for the 250 as well as the large DD and the stock elliptical. My Sovereign has the 10 inch Tornado DD coil and a 5 inch round Detech Excellarator Sniper coil. My E-Trac has the stock 11 inch Pro Coil (a DD coil) and the NEL 5x9 Sharpshooter DD coil, and I plan on getting either the 13 inch Ultimate or the Coiltek 15 inch for the E-Trac one of these days.

On the ACE250, the 8.5x11 DD coil pinpoints BETTER than the stock coil, at least for me.
 
robby4570 said:
If you are hunting a large open "TRASH FREE" area, then go with the larger coil. If there is a LOT of trash in the ground where you hunt, then get the smaller coil. It's the trade off you'll have to make. A smaller coils covers less ground but separates the targets better. The larger coil does not seem heavy at all to me. On the ACE250, the 8.5x11 DD coil pinpoints BETTER than the stock coil, at least for me.
Click to expand...

Was weighing out the facts and appears we're talking ounces and both are lighter than the stock coil. The 8-1/2" X 11" is on my Christmas list :cool:

robby4570 said:
I have the 8.5x11 on my 250. NEVER did go back to the 6x9 after I put the 8.5x11 on. All of my land machines have bigger AND smaller coils for them. I have the sniper for the 250 as well as the large DD and the stock elliptical. My Sovereign has the 10 inch Tornado DD coil and a 5 inch round Detech Excellarator Sniper coil. My E-Trac has the stock 11 inch Pro Coil (a DD coil) and the NEL 5x9 Sharpshooter DD coil, and I plan on getting either the 13 inch Ultimate or the Coiltek 15 inch for the E-Trac one of these days.
Click to expand...

Dang Robby, just how many arms do you have for all those?!?! :shock: That's an amazing collection. I was concerned having the 250 and keeping my Groundhog was having one too many detectors.... not anymore :yes:

Thanks!!!
 
infiniteMPG said:
Dang Robby, just how many arms do you have for all those?!?! :shock: That's an amazing collection. I was concerned having the 250 and keeping my Groundhog was having one too many detectors.... not anymore :yes:

Thanks!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know, Huh? I have the new title of "Detector Collector" around our house, but my wife understands the need for so many... :cool::cool:
 
robby4570 said:
Yeah, I know, Huh? I have the new title of "Detector Collector" around our house, but my wife understands the need for so many... :cool::cool:
Click to expand...

Hmmm, might need to ask you your secret... here one GPS, one computer, one guitar, one car, one kayak, one mountain bike, TWO metal detectors?!?!?! But it seems perfectly fine to have SEVEN TV's for the two of us. LOL :lol:
 
sweet little machine

My detector of choice is a Tesoro Tejon. Also just bought a Fisher F 75. I haven't mastered the F 75 yet. Went civil war detecting two days ago and threw our Ace 350 in the back of the truck as well with the other detectors. It was deep detecting and a joy to use. I had a ball digging .58's with the Ace 350. The bell tone gets on my nerves. The slight delay bothers me. But other wise it may look like a toy but its one sweet little machine and a joy to use. We have two coils. The big one and a smaller one like the ace 250 has. Both are very good. If and when Garrett updates this model , it could become one of the best of all time. A ground balance model , a VDI , and do something about that delay ... Its weight and balance is very good unlike its big brothers.
 
roaddust66 said:
My detector of choice is a Tesoro Tejon. Also just bought a Fisher F 75. I haven't mastered the F 75 yet. Went civil war detecting two days ago and threw our Ace 350 in the back of the truck as well with the other detectors. It was deep detecting and a joy to use. I had a ball digging .58's with the Ace 350. The bell tone gets on my nerves. The slight delay bothers me. But other wise it may look like a toy but its one sweet little machine and a joy to use. We have two coils. The big one and a smaller one like the ace 250 has. Both are very good. If and when Garrett updates this model , it could become one of the best of all time. A ground balance model , a VDI , and do something about that delay ... Its weight and balance is very good unlike its big brothers.
Click to expand...

Wow! Maybe someday (when I win the lottery). Amazing inventory!

Since you do civil war detecting you could possibly help me. A few sites around I have been scoping out that have some history to them and have tried a few quick scans. One thing I seem to get nailed by all too often is that I get a decent hit with the 250 set for coins (or jewelry). Raise up and looses signal and move it around pinpointing and doesn't seem like a big target so start digging. Dig out an area about 5"-6" in diameter and 3"-4" deep, use the detector again and signal is still in the hole. Dig a few more inches and try again... still in the hole. End up digging down 8" or so and clunk, run into the top of an aluminum soda can standing up on end buried in deep in the soil.

Any way to kind of isolate something like that? I mean once I get down so deep the "don't quit or you'll miss something good" juices get flowing and I dive in all the way.
 
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