John-Edmonton
Elite Member
About 10 years ago, I purchased an ACE 250, a new machine by Garrett Metal Detectors. It was a real winner! A machine at that price, with all the bells and whistles (notching, depth readout, target ID, various-programmed hunting modes) along with great depth turned a lot of heads. Even the accessory coils were moderately priced. Charles Garrett had often stated that he always wanted to build good metal detectors, affordable to all. The ACE Series was good example of this.
Fast forward to 2016. The ACE 300i (International version) has some new features not previously available on the first ACE Series generation. It still comes with a 3 piece attachable rod, a 18 x 25 cm (7" x 10") PROformance™ (concentric) submersible search-coil at a mere 2.8 pounds. However, that little yellow box is packed with new technologies:
New- higher frequency (8 kHz) provides better sensitivity on low and medium-conductivity targets (i.e. gold, lead)
New- Increased Iron Resolution: 3 x the iron resolution of an ACE 250, to help overcome target masking in iron-laden hunt sites
New- Adjustable Frequency to help eliminate interference
New- Cam-locks for increased stem stability
New- Includes Pulse-Width Modulation audio: sharper, more responsive Audio/Digital Target
New- ID: 0 to 99 scale offers target information
Before doing this writeup,I managed about 10 hunts, including relic hunting in the woods and many hours hunting parks and sports fields. This machine is so EASY to set up and hunt with. Just pick a hunting mode (jewelry, relics or coins) or hunt in zero discrimination. You can also create your own mode which the ACE stores as memory.
One of my favorite hunting modes is shown above. It was designed, by throwing various coins and silver rings on the ground, running my coil over them and copying down the ID number. Then, I made my own "CUSTOM" mode by removing all the notches from the ID range except for the ones which should sound off an audio signal on many of my preferred targets. So, hunting for coins and rings was sooooo easy! I just hunted trashy areas with those settings, and the ACE 300i easily picked out the coins/jewelry with those settings. In less trashy areas, I preferred to hunt in jewelry or relic mode.
This new detector is a coin vacuum! It sounds off on all my coinage. You have to practice going over planted coins to get comfortable with the designated ID numbers . For best results, keep the coil 2-3 inches above the ground and overlap each swing by about half. I found that the ACE 300i has too much power packed into it. Therefore, I could not run it with full sensitivity, even at great distances from power lines. I ran it at 6/8 snsitivity, which gave me excellent depth with good quality ID-ing. One thing to take note on, is that deeper copper coins past the 2-3 inch mark will read s few numbers high. For example, a shallow penny with read about 84. If it's down 3 inches, the number will increase to about 86. A good little piece to remember, as it is not in the manual.
The ACE 300i bangs real hard on rings. It sounds of with equal audio in all directions. I was really surprised to dig 6 of them. Pull-tabs read at about 78, often times with a double beep, making them quite easy to identify. And again...as previously mentioned, beyond 3 inches of depth with pull-tabs, expect a higher number value.
I was quite pleased, getting a signal in the low 60's, strong, yet soft. After trying to carefully pull up the unknown target, I saw a small glimmer of a gold chain. I carefully dug up the chain, and along with it came a gold heart! Made my day.....Some of the other unusual signals, strong, but not suggestive of coins or pull-tabs, came out of the ground as bling! I was rewarded with plenty of earrings and other odds and ends.
Having recently been overshadowed with a mosquito infestation in and around Edmonton, allowed for only one hunt in the woods searching for relics. Even 3 coats of mosquito repellent wouldn't keep those hungry blood sucking bugs off me. Recent stories about the Zika Virus didn't help either! However, I have no doubt in my mind, that the ACE 300i would have pulled out some great finds from the dirt in Edmonton.
I did perform an air test on the ACE 300i. Doing an air test on a single frequency metal detector with will show it's most maximal potential detection depth. Now, you will most likely not get these depths of similar targets in your soil or water. However, if a metal detector air tests 8 inches on a gold ring, it will NOT read any deeper then 8" in the ground. Mineralization, salinity, moisture all interfere with a metal detector's ability to detect a target deep.
Here is what each target's numerical target was during the air test. The exact same targets will read differently if covered with oxidation, are extremely deep or are found with different mineralizations in the soil.
If you are new to metal detecting, and are looking for your first metal detector, don't overlook the new Garrett ACE Series metal detectors. They pack a lot of performance, technology and can be purchased at a reasonable price. If you are looking for a coin shooter to hunt well manicured lawns, the ACE Series would also fill that need.
For more information, contact Garrett Metal Detectors or call your local metal detector dealer.
http://www.garrett.com/
Fast forward to 2016. The ACE 300i (International version) has some new features not previously available on the first ACE Series generation. It still comes with a 3 piece attachable rod, a 18 x 25 cm (7" x 10") PROformance™ (concentric) submersible search-coil at a mere 2.8 pounds. However, that little yellow box is packed with new technologies:
New- higher frequency (8 kHz) provides better sensitivity on low and medium-conductivity targets (i.e. gold, lead)
New- Increased Iron Resolution: 3 x the iron resolution of an ACE 250, to help overcome target masking in iron-laden hunt sites
New- Adjustable Frequency to help eliminate interference
New- Cam-locks for increased stem stability
New- Includes Pulse-Width Modulation audio: sharper, more responsive Audio/Digital Target
New- ID: 0 to 99 scale offers target information
Before doing this writeup,I managed about 10 hunts, including relic hunting in the woods and many hours hunting parks and sports fields. This machine is so EASY to set up and hunt with. Just pick a hunting mode (jewelry, relics or coins) or hunt in zero discrimination. You can also create your own mode which the ACE stores as memory.
One of my favorite hunting modes is shown above. It was designed, by throwing various coins and silver rings on the ground, running my coil over them and copying down the ID number. Then, I made my own "CUSTOM" mode by removing all the notches from the ID range except for the ones which should sound off an audio signal on many of my preferred targets. So, hunting for coins and rings was sooooo easy! I just hunted trashy areas with those settings, and the ACE 300i easily picked out the coins/jewelry with those settings. In less trashy areas, I preferred to hunt in jewelry or relic mode.
This new detector is a coin vacuum! It sounds off on all my coinage. You have to practice going over planted coins to get comfortable with the designated ID numbers . For best results, keep the coil 2-3 inches above the ground and overlap each swing by about half. I found that the ACE 300i has too much power packed into it. Therefore, I could not run it with full sensitivity, even at great distances from power lines. I ran it at 6/8 snsitivity, which gave me excellent depth with good quality ID-ing. One thing to take note on, is that deeper copper coins past the 2-3 inch mark will read s few numbers high. For example, a shallow penny with read about 84. If it's down 3 inches, the number will increase to about 86. A good little piece to remember, as it is not in the manual.
The ACE 300i bangs real hard on rings. It sounds of with equal audio in all directions. I was really surprised to dig 6 of them. Pull-tabs read at about 78, often times with a double beep, making them quite easy to identify. And again...as previously mentioned, beyond 3 inches of depth with pull-tabs, expect a higher number value.
I was quite pleased, getting a signal in the low 60's, strong, yet soft. After trying to carefully pull up the unknown target, I saw a small glimmer of a gold chain. I carefully dug up the chain, and along with it came a gold heart! Made my day.....Some of the other unusual signals, strong, but not suggestive of coins or pull-tabs, came out of the ground as bling! I was rewarded with plenty of earrings and other odds and ends.
Having recently been overshadowed with a mosquito infestation in and around Edmonton, allowed for only one hunt in the woods searching for relics. Even 3 coats of mosquito repellent wouldn't keep those hungry blood sucking bugs off me. Recent stories about the Zika Virus didn't help either! However, I have no doubt in my mind, that the ACE 300i would have pulled out some great finds from the dirt in Edmonton.
I did perform an air test on the ACE 300i. Doing an air test on a single frequency metal detector with will show it's most maximal potential detection depth. Now, you will most likely not get these depths of similar targets in your soil or water. However, if a metal detector air tests 8 inches on a gold ring, it will NOT read any deeper then 8" in the ground. Mineralization, salinity, moisture all interfere with a metal detector's ability to detect a target deep.
Here is what each target's numerical target was during the air test. The exact same targets will read differently if covered with oxidation, are extremely deep or are found with different mineralizations in the soil.
If you are new to metal detecting, and are looking for your first metal detector, don't overlook the new Garrett ACE Series metal detectors. They pack a lot of performance, technology and can be purchased at a reasonable price. If you are looking for a coin shooter to hunt well manicured lawns, the ACE Series would also fill that need.
For more information, contact Garrett Metal Detectors or call your local metal detector dealer.
http://www.garrett.com/
