My Brothe, Uncle and I all have an Ace 250. It has been 4 Months with it and it is the worst I've owned. They both agree as well. 1 of 20 are false readings. HIGHLY innacurate pinpointing. Size and depth register is WAY off. Garrett is a good company, but the 250 is a complete bomb. You get what you pay for and honestly it's price is way too high. The tiume we have all wasted is a horrible thing. I've put in an e-mail to Garrett about this and have yet to receive a response. I will be calling them. I will return it and go with a different company and a higher quality detector. The accuracy reminds me of the childs Fisher model that I purchased at Radio Shack in the 80's. Actually, I had much more luck with that. I live in Virginia along the James and surrounded by Civil War sites and have found not one single shred of an artifact after 3 weeks of all day and every day detecting. Something not right. My advice is this. If you are looking for a good detector, go with one within the $900-1500 range. Very dissapointed with this model.
Garrett Ace 250 Review
- Thread starter tmoody
- Start date
Well, now that's a he11 of a way to introduce yourself... Regardless, welcome from NW Florida from one VERY HAPPY owner and near daily user of an ACE 250. I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble getting used to yours, but only 1 in 20 being a "false" (what do you consider a "false" anyway?) is a really good ratio I think. I hope you can get the dealer who sold you the unit to take it back, but I doubt that Garrett will unless you bought it directly from them. If you'd like some help with sorting through the issues, I be happy to PM with you because as I said, my ACE 250 is a great machine! If you want to have a dialogue and try to resolve your issues, I'm here. It sounds as if you would rather vent though and that's fine too. I know plenty of other ACE 250 owners who share my views and are very happy with theirs.
Good Luck with whatever you end up doing.
Good Luck with whatever you end up doing.
I have the 250 and find it works just great. For the price tag I'm not sure what else could compete with it. Pinpointing is not terribly difficult but just a matter of learning your detector. I was frustrated at first with it but through learning and asking others...I believe it's a great detector for the money.
banspy
Elite Member
I too own the 250 and I've never had any complaints with it especially for the price. I admit it can be frustrating sometimes in trash rich environments but that is where learning your machine and putting the hours into it really pays off. Good luck with your new purchase, maybe you will find that one piece that will bring in the big $$$.
iDugit
Full Member
I think you may need some more time to learn the machine. I'm a 250 user, and it's gotten better and better the more I use it. I average about 1 "keeper" a hunt. The pinpointing works great, and the depth isn't bad. I think it is a really great value for the price! If you need any help, feel free to get in touch 
ohiochris
Elite Member
It depends on what you consider a "false". If you hit on something , and the signal is good but the indicator on the screen bounces around to show different targets while swinging then its not a false , the discriminator is working properly and showing you that your target is not what you think it is , all detectors do this in some form. The ace 250 does actually "false" sometimes because it is VERY sensitive ( which is a good thing for very small or deep targets ) , if you find this happening then cut back on the sensitivity and most of it should clear up. If the machine is working properly then the pinpointing is extremely accurate ( if you do it right ). You tell the size of the item by how long the pinpoint bars at the top stay full while moving the coil side to side and forward and back. The depth indicator can be off if the soil is extremely dry or extremely wet but under "normal" conditions the indicator is almost always accurate to within an inch or two , unless the target is extremely large or extremely shallow ( like just below the surface ). Also , just like any target identification machine regardless of price , the screen alone should not be relied upon , its just extra tools in the toolbox , use what you hear AND see to make a judgement on whether or where to dig. I mean no offense by saying this , but you are not using the detector right and havent given it enough of a chance. By your description of how the machine is failing , pretty much any detector with target ID would disappoint you. As for finding artifacts , they have to actually be there in order to find them , and your detector will find them easily in all metal or relic mode , many of them even in coin mode. The ace 250 is not perfect , and has its quirks , but there are too many of us seasoned detectorists atleast " satisfied " with it for us all to be idiots
Title is misleading!
If you are not willing to spend the time learning your ACE 250, then you definitely will be off on the wrong foot with a $900 to $1000 machine!
You don't state exactly what you are wanting to find with this machine. If you are relic hunting since you state where you are from, then perhaps you don't have enough experience yet to even know what might be on the sites you are hunting!
Or perhaps you are hunting very trashy sites. If so, then no matter what detector you have, you will have to spend the time to dig all the trash to clean the site up to where you can find the goodies that lurk below the junk.
I feel you may have joined the wrong group here with your expressed attitude...you might need to find the "Whiners with metal detectors" group...got to be one of them somewhere on the internet!
I have read many reviews of this detector and most all were favorable. Seems to be "operator error" to me!
Administrator, you can delete this if you wish but I felt I needed to come out and say this to this person!
If you are not willing to spend the time learning your ACE 250, then you definitely will be off on the wrong foot with a $900 to $1000 machine!
You don't state exactly what you are wanting to find with this machine. If you are relic hunting since you state where you are from, then perhaps you don't have enough experience yet to even know what might be on the sites you are hunting!
Or perhaps you are hunting very trashy sites. If so, then no matter what detector you have, you will have to spend the time to dig all the trash to clean the site up to where you can find the goodies that lurk below the junk.
I feel you may have joined the wrong group here with your expressed attitude...you might need to find the "Whiners with metal detectors" group...got to be one of them somewhere on the internet!
I have read many reviews of this detector and most all were favorable. Seems to be "operator error" to me!
Administrator, you can delete this if you wish but I felt I needed to come out and say this to this person!
mws_1984
Elite Member
I really dislike when a detector I'd like to get has bad feedback. It simply could be not willing to learn the machine? Unless there is the spot chance that there are bad detectors produced in a batch of product, but it can't be all of them.
If you do not take the time to learn how to use a metal detector, then I am afraid that you are going to think the next detector you get is junk also. The Ace is a very good detector but there is a learning curve like anything else in this world and if you are not willing to learn it no one can do it for you. Sorry, that is just how it is.
Jerry
Jerry
1960DPenny
Junior Member
I will chime in.
I have had two lousy weekends with the 250. Two key problems: pin pointing in "trashy" areas and inaccurate depth readings.
I have expressed these frustrations in various posts.
In the end, however, and as others have suggested, there is a learning curve -- and while I still struggle, I am slowly learning.
I definitely empathize with anyone's frustrations, but I believe patience is key.
I have had two lousy weekends with the 250. Two key problems: pin pointing in "trashy" areas and inaccurate depth readings.
I have expressed these frustrations in various posts.
In the end, however, and as others have suggested, there is a learning curve -- and while I still struggle, I am slowly learning.
I definitely empathize with anyone's frustrations, but I believe patience is key.
SkiWhiz
Elite Member
Geesh I thought I didn't like the Ace, even I am not that hard on them. Reason for me not caring for the Ace is because I don't like the belltone and the they have a slower recovery/response time than I like. Other than that they are a pretty good detector, lots of features for the price. In my opinion a person doesn't have to spend $900.00 - $1,500.00 on a detector to get a good one.
sllingshot47
Elite Member
searcher sully
Elite Member
I got a feeling this won't be a very "popular" thread for the poster. I dont even have a garret but I thought that was a bit harsh.
I dont even have a garret but I thought that was a bit harsh.
wildman4910
Full Member
I like my Ace just fine and they do work well, while it may not be in the same league as the $1500 detectors if you couldn't figure out the easy to use Ace get another hobby as you will pull out your hair tryin to figure out one of the high end~hi tech machines.
Most all of your rant is false, sorry but the only occasional "falsing" I get is when I whack the coil into something.
All these machines have to be learned.
Do you really think your the only one that has pounded those detectable CW sites?
Most all of your rant is false, sorry but the only occasional "falsing" I get is when I whack the coil into something.
All these machines have to be learned.
Do you really think your the only one that has pounded those detectable CW sites?
sllingshot47
Elite Member
Since I've paid for mine several times over, I'll just bite the bullet and keep it.
amxfred
Elite Member
My hunting buddy SilverStar is kicking my E-Trac's butt with his Ace 250. Maybe yours is just defective.
40acre1870
Forum Supporter
My 250 has been very, very good to me!
Mike
Mike
scout23
Elite Member
Loved my 250, found many great finds and very accurate on pin pointing and ID. Almost everything below was found with my 250, including about 175.00 in clad(May 2008-Dec. 2010). PS The clad alone paid for the detector.
007tallguy
Elite Member
wow! after reading that review, i was initially wondering if you had batteries in your machine and if you've tried using the "power" button when you start detecting?
i've got the 250 and no problem with it what-so-ever!
if your sensitivity is set too high, you might encounter some falsing with it. try running it at around 4 or 5 and it should work just fine. if you're in a really trashy area, yes pin-pointing can be a bit tricky. but that's where a Pro Pointer would come in really handy and you'd be surprised how many different targets can be hiding in one 4 inch diameter hole. but with some practice, the 250 will do a pretty good job with the pin pointing.
also, for the id and depth indicators, that's meant to be mainly "coin sized" objects. a tiny little rusted nail or a big horse shoe in the ground are most certainly going to show up as different readings on your display than a quarter will.
it just sounds like you're expecting miracles and silver and gold coins with it, where instead, you probably just need some more practice with it and get the learning curve out of the way by putting some honest to goodness TIME into it.
it's supposed to be a "fun" hobby and if you're finding it and getting that frustrated with it, maybe it's just not your hobby.
there are some excellent videos on youtube, more than a score of folks on here how have mastered the Ace and between both of those, many of us have learned our machines capabilities and are more than satisfied with the 250.
DirtyRob
Forum Supporter
What a bunch of.....! Check my stats below....It's not the best maching in the world....but I LOVE IT! If I ever...or....when I decide to move up...this will be my back-up machine forever.
I guess some people's learning curve is harder than others....!
I guess some people's learning curve is harder than others....!
