Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

Idaho PRB

Jr. Member
May 21, 2005
76
4
South Central Idaho
Detector(s) used
Minelab Xterra 70, Ace 250
Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

I have two questions.
1) What exactly does changing the sensitivity level do and why do I hear knolwedgable people say to turn it down?
2) Are the different "modes" just different discrimination levels of "all metal" mode or are "jewelery" and "coin" mode different frequencys?
Thanks,
Idaho PRB
 

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Re: Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

someone correct me if i am wrong but i am going to take a crack at your questions. to my knowledge........1- the sensitivity on the ace makes the machine more sensative to detecting targets so by turning the sensativity up,it can detect smaller and more deeply buried targets.it also makes the machine more sensative to ground mineralization which is why if your sensativity is set to high you often will get erratic chirps and false readings.this is why people will often tell you to turn the sensativity down if you are having trouble with falsing.

2-i believe that the jewelry and coin modes on the ace are just different degrees of discrimination applied to all metal mode.

this is my understanding of how the ace works. if i am wrong someone please let me know.
 

Re: Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

Good job Red!!! Yes the sensitivity has an effect on how deep and ground conditions. In my area I only use 5-6 bars MAX. Any more and the machine goes crazy. Also if you hunt around metal playground equipment you need to turn it down because of metallic interference. Coins and jewelry modes just change what is notched out i.e. jewelry lets in pulltabs and one notch below nickels. This allows you to get those hard to find gold items(and also alot of junk!!!) Hope this helps!! Keep on diggin'
HH
Greg
 

Re: Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

Hi PRB,

It took me a couple of days to see what was then very obvious, as far as the modes. Across the top are all the segments that are below the different labels, 10C, 25C etc. When the machine detects something (or thinks it detects something) it will turn on one of these segments. Right below that row of segments is another row. Which ones of these are turned on determines when the machine will sound. The "modes" are just preset selections of which are turned off and on. Relics and Jewelry and All Metal are very similar. Only difference is in Relics the first notch (iron) is "turned off" so it will not sound. In Jewelry, the second notch is also off. Some people (including me) have found it more pleasant to hunt coins in the coin mode but with the 2 notches under the penny turned off. Makes it a little quieter. And you still find pennies usually since they will ring in as dimes, but you can experiment and see what you like. As far as sensitivity, I have found that 4 out of 8 works well and others have said the same thing. I have not found that higher sensitivity helps at all, just makes a lot more noise from false hits. IMHO.

Mike
 

Re: Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

The all metal mode is different than the other search modes in that it does not discriminate anything and does not require the coil to be moving constantly to indicate a target. It is probably more closely related to the Pinpoint function than anything else. The sensitivity being turned down is helfpul where there is an abundance of targets. Eith the sensitivity set too high the signals will come so fast and furious they will over run eachother and you can't make sense of what your detector is telling you. Turning the sensitivity down slows things down and helps sort things out. You should run your sensitivity as high as you can and still be able to track targets. JIM
 

Re: Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

Your questions been pretty well answered - I'll only add that, as a practical matter, you want to operate with the sensitivity as high as conditions will allow. This allows deeper ground penetration - And of course you know what that means.
Some places I hunt I jack it up to max - Other times I'll knock it down a couple notches when it seems overloaded/erratic.
Luckily in my area hot rocks/mineralization don't seem to be much of a factor - But in high trash areas/when your detecting around metal equipment fences/play areas what not, you'll want to back off a bit.

Modes, yeah you answered your own question.
All metal mode is just that - And the various modes notch out various items.
I set my custom mode, which I don't use too often, to reject everything except pennies, dimes and quarters.
This works well in high trash areas where the junk hits drive you nuts - But obviously you sacrifice the chance of finding gold/rings/dollars ect.
 

Re: Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

Thanks everyone for sharing your knowledge with me. I am grateful and will continue to put my time in and learn more. This sure is a fun sport. I am always anxious to steal my next hour from the system to relax and go treasure hunting. Im looking forward to getting down to my buddy's property and detect an old general store site from around 1900 that is located on his cattle ranch. Creek's still too high to get across.
Idaho PRB
 

Re: Ace 250 sensitivity and "mode" questions

that sounds like an awesome spot! i will tell you what others told me....turn up your sensativity as much as you can,turn down your discrimination as much as you can, and slow down and overlap your swings! there could really be some great stuff at a site like that! good luck!!
 

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