Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250s?

[coolio]

Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

Heres the problem.

In the past year I have done a lot of research on the history of my area. I have located a good number of once popular locations (old picnic groves, old swimming holes, beach spots, etc). Most of the places were popular from the mid 1800's to the early 1900's.

I have also received permission from 7 land owners to MD on there property. There abandoned farm houses dating 1875 to 1910.

I also believe that all the spots I have found have not been detected on before, with the exception of maybe one beach.

I know that all these places will have treasure, old treasure to be found. maybe even a cache or two on the farm sites. Fingers crossed. I'm willing to spend in the thousand dollar range for a MD, however my wife said "If you think your going to find valuable coins and other treasure, buy a cheaper model and use your MD finds to finance a high end model".

I accepted the challenge. Hey we all make mistakes.

People said to stay away from the titan 3000 for example. "Don't buy cheap". Lots of the members on TNet seem to like the Ace 250, so is the Ace in the don't buy because its cheap zone?

I'll be using the detector for old farms, beach hunting including shallow water, and big open fields where many social events have happened in the past and still in the present.

WOULD THE ACE 250 BE A GOOD CHOICE FOR THE DETECTING I WILL BE DOING?
(Or at least until I can get a higher end MD).

Thanks for looking.....................................

 

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[jorge del norte]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

Titan is a over priced BH in sheep clothing, if you must, get a Radio Shack 3300 used off ebay......don't go over 100 bucks for it.......they will find some stuff.......and you can abuse it.

Garrett is made better......250 is cheaper line of Garrett.....never used one but have held one...they are nice quality....main thing is get started....buy a temporary detector....learn it....then step up later....when you find you like the hobby.

if you have more cash.......buy the Garrett ace 250.......

i bought a used Tesoro for a step up and to be different....they discriminate well.....my BH 3300 was deeper, i believe, but couldn't discriminate as well....my finds are of a different quality with the Tesoro, they got older....but old silver still eludes me.

it really is where you hunt though.......ace 250 might not do well at the beach.....

just my 2 cents

happy hunting

 

[SC_hunter]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

jorge del norte....first..Welcome to TNet..You can find a lot of information on this site. Now back to your question about the Ace...I own one and love it. Not real heavy and has extra's that are found on 500 dollar units...All the coins in my coin count has been found with the Ace250 since i got mine in late Feb or early March. If you are planning on hunting salt water beaches..stay out of the surf...it doesn't like it much and gives a lot of false signals..wet sand it does pretty good and in dry sand just as good as most other detectors....Just don't let the price fool you..In fact...I think the only other machine I might invest in would be the Whites DFX....So I am gonna keep this one for some time..Good luck and whatever you get have fun and may you find lots of treasures.

 

[gregl01]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

I would get a model a little better than an ACE250. Something like a Tesoro Vaquero. Not a whole lot of money but big on performance, depth and versatility.
Greg

 

[Tin Nugget]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

For the price I believe the Ace 250 is the best buy for the dollar and a good detector, however, you have a large area to cover with a possibility of many relics and deeper items. If you start with the ACE then you will have to hit the same area all over again with your higher end unit when you get it. If you are going to upgrade anyway, with the type of places you are going to be using it, I would just go ahead and ante up right now.

 

[jorge del norte]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

by the way my find counts below are just because i don't hunt a lot........got other things i gotta do right now!!!!!

cheers

 

[Sandman]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

I would get a model a little better than an ACE250. Something like a Tesoro Vaquero. Not a whole lot of money but big on performance, depth and versatility.

The Ace 250 is not junk or cheap. It is under priced in my estimation for the performance it gives. If the detector in question is not a Minelab, Garrett, Tesoro or Whites, Troy, or Nautilus, It is not a major brand. Bounty Hunters are popular, but only because of the price in my humble opinion. Most that get a BH, talk about upgrading. LOL....

You should look into the Tesoro brand. They are light weight, deep, well made and don't cost an arm & a leg. But the ACE 250 will do for now and can be your back up IF you still think you (need?) to get a higher costing detector.

Good Luck,
Sandman

 

[shootist]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

For an initial investment you really cant go wrong with the 250. Its cheap to get you into and its quality made. It may not do as well as more expensive detectors in different situations,but its not going to malfunction or decompose. Basically since you are new to the hobby you arent really certain that you will even get hooked on it so no point in shelling out a grand for something you may not even use after a couple of months. With the Ace even if you dont get hooked you can turn around and sell it on Ebay and get almost what you paid for it new. Or if you do get hooked you can sell it and apply the money to an upgrade or keep it for your kids or as a backup. It really is a wonderful hobby but its really not for everyone. Getting a reliable detector and going out and digging for a couple of months will help you to decide if its a hobby for you,happy hunting...Shoot

 

[jorge del norte]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

For an initial investment you really cant go wrong with the 250. Its cheap to get you into and its quality made. It may not do as well as more expensive detectors in different situations,but its not going to malfunction or decompose. Basically since you are new to the hobby you arent really certain that you will even get hooked on it so no point in shelling out a grand for something you may not even use after a couple of months. With the Ace even if you dont get hooked you can turn around and sell it on Ebay and get almost what you paid for it new. Or if you do get hooked you can sell it and apply the money to an upgrade or keep it for your kids or as a backup. It really is a wonderful hobby but its really not for everyone. Getting a reliable detector and going out and digging for a couple of months will help you to decide if its a hobby for you,happy hunting...Shoot

well said Shootist.....and post your finds dang it!!!!! This place always helps me get more out of the hobby!!!!!!!

 

[BioProfessor]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

I agree with what the others are saying about the Ace 250. It is a good "starter" machine and you can always sell it as they are so popular. This question is almost like the "What is the best detector?" that everybody wants answered when they first start out with the difference being that it is a "What is a good first detector?" type question. I think that one is easier to answer. First, decide if you REALLY intend to hunt the beach and shallow water. If so, your Ace won't be too long for this world. The first time you get tripped up and fall in the shallow water, you might as well have a "Let's see how far out I can throw this detector?" event. The coil doesn't like salt water, the electronics don't work so well after getting wet with salt water, and neither work very well in wet sand. If the beaches you are going to hunt are ones that are replenished with new sand every now and then, even the dry sand will have a mineral content above what the Ace can handle (This is from person experience. I just traveled 100 miles to hunt a beach that was replenished a year or so ago. My DFX would not ground balance with any of the 3 coils I have in any of the sand conditions. Wasted day). So if hunting the beach is high on your list, the Ace 250 may not do the job. If you can stay away from the beaches or not expect to do as well on some beaches, then the Ace 250 will be a very good investment. If you have/want to hunt the beaches and shallow water, you should probably move to a PI machine. These machines are specialized for high mineral conditions, have almost no discrimination, and are have a pretty steep learning curve. Good for you since people sometimes buy them and can't seem to get them to work properly (read can't figure out the signals) and sell them for a song. Bad for you because they are not very good in "normal" places as the lack of discrimination will have you digging more holes than you want to count.

IMHO, the Ace 250 won't do both the things you say you want to do. My advice, get the 250 and accept the possible problems with the dry sand at the beach. If you get the beach bug, look for a good used PI machine that will handle the water and minerals.

If money is no problem and you don't want to worry about upgrading, get the DFX and a waterproof PI.

Daryl

 

[l.cutler]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

If you could spend a little more I think the Cibola would be a better choice, and Vaquero better yet for your type of hunting. If you want older deeper coins I don't think the 250 is the best choice. Target ID is not needed when looking for old deep coins, and while a good detector the 250 may not have the depth for those coins.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

............... and the Tesoro comes with the life time warranty!

 

[Ant]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

The truth is, get the high end detector if you can afford it and are willing to spend time learning how t use it. You said you had a wife. Well detecting takes lots a time away from the wife, and they don't like that. So spend wisely because you might not have that much time to use it.

Check the clubs in your area to see what detectors work best for the hunting you intend to do. Check out the New Fisher models.

 

[Stacylee926]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

I love my ACE250! I can find things over 6" deep - or at least 8" in dry sand areas.
I love it because it was easy to learn, has multiple tones to identify the item in the ground with out even looking at the readout. Also, it has an awesome pinpoint feature.

I would definitely not put the ACE in the cheap category. It is worlds apart from my BH1100.

I can find most anything others find with their fancy machine. I have items that are only 1/4" wide! The main reason I do not find really great, valuable things is because I stick to tot lots and elem schools. I have found diamonds, gold and silver though. Lately I have been branching out to some more historical areas and have found some cool relics.

I understand that some of the expensive machines can be quite complicated to learn and people have put aside those machines because they were frustrated. The ACE will find you same things as the guy with the $1000 machine, if you know where to look.

 

[TonyinCT]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

Cheap in this sense does not necessarily refer to price point. It more refers to construction and performance. The Ace is superior to many at a LOW cost.

 

[coolio]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

Thanks for all your comments. I'm finding them very helpfull.

PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING.

Coolio

 

[kool007]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

I don't think the ACE250 is a cheap machine. It does what it is supposed to. I think it's even a good park machine. I had one for a while. It wasn't for me. I could never get use to the bell tone.

For relic hunting I prefer a manual ground balance machine. I am not using a newer machine, I am using a Tesoro Bandido II uMax. I like this machine because sometimes you can tell by the sound a good target. It doesn't have tone ID, but it does have something to do with the beep, on how clear or crisp it sounds.

Imaging relic hunting on the salt water's edge. The Ace250 won't work good there. The Bandido won't work good there either. There are only a few machines that can handle that type of mineralization properly.

I use the Minelab Excalibur where salt water hunting is concerned. I also use the Minelab Sovereign Elite, or GT for wet sand or where the Bandido fails.

I might have wished I would have kept it, but if fresh water was involved, I think I might have gone with the Tesoro Tiger Shark. Too bad for me.

Anyway, if the machine doesn't perform properly, would you know?

I hope that whatever machine you do get, it works good for you. I just hate for someone to get frustrated over their machine and for it to be a combination of both person, and machine problem. If you can, get with a local club, or find someone that hunts and ask questions. Try to get a feel for what works good in your area. And don't be surprised if you get an Ace250 and never get a higher priced machine because the Ace might be all that you need.

laterz

ed

 

[Michigan Badger]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

Good thread! I don't have time to read all the postings so I'll cut to the chase here.

I wish you could start with a high end machine but you also want to keep the better half on your side. I've been married 37 years and learned a long time ago that somethings just aren't worth it.

Okay, the ACE 250 has made a good showing for a low cost machine.

If you must go entry level a Tesoro Cibola would be my choice. You'll find loads of Cibolas used in the UK for ancient coins but it's rare to see an Ace 250 in the fields.

Both the ACE and Cibola have good resale when it's time to move up.

But I still think it's too bad you're not going to have a Tesoro Tejon for such super sites.

Badger

 

[grizzly bare]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

Ace 250 is a darn good machine, but you might thing about buying a 250 Pro with the larger coil. Gives you additional depth and makes it more versatile.
Buy a machine and get out there and hunt!

grizzly bare

 

[Willy]

Re: Dont buy cheap MDs - Does that statement include Ace 250's?

One thing I like about full range notch/ID detectors (Ace 250, XTerra's) is that, if you're hunting low conductors only, you can either notch out the coin range or ID by tone. Can't do that with a Cibola. I just picked up an Ace 250 a month ago and find it to be a really nice little detector, equal to many high dollar detectors I've used in the past. One ting to consider when people are doing depth comparisons between the 250 and other detectors is that the coil is equivalent to a 7.5" round coil.. considerably smaller than the 9.5"+ coils found on many other detectors. ..Willy.