help with iffy signals on my Ace 250

[funkman]

Still trying to figure out my Ace 250. I was out Saturday afternoon and had the detector in all metal mode and eliminated iron. While scanning I was getting funny signals. Sometimes I would just get one beep then I would scan that area from every direction and not get anymore. I had the sensitivity up to 3/4 of the bar. Is that just the detector playing tricks with me or should I have done something different? Other times I was getting consistant signals, but they were all over the target id from trash all the way to treasure. Could not get it to give me a consistent signal at all. Should I have dug up whatever it was that was fooling my detector, or should i have done what I did and just move on to find a consistent signal that was a consistant target id? I did manage to dig up a 1946 wheat penny so I know it can find some stuff. Just wish I had a guardian metal detecting angel with me to tell me what the detector is beeping for. Unfortunately there is no one by me that has a detector that can go out with me and watch this newbie at work and tell me what I should be doing to improve.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks all

Funkman

 

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[Rusted_Iron]

This reply is based on general metal detector properties, not specifically on the Ace250, but it should still apply.

Deeper targets that are on the fringes of a metal detector's capability are usually well beyond the range of accurate readings from the target ID meter. In other words, the audio will read deeper than the ID meter.

If they're deep enough they can also be on the edge of a detector's audio capabilities even in all metal mode. I can't guarantee they're not hot rocks or tiny bits of trash (no one can). Best bet is to grid a small area, maybe 5 x 5 foot, and go to work. Dig every signal that sounds iffy.

I do know the Ace 250 has only one tone volume for targets... you can choose from loud, loud, or loud. You can't use audio to distinguish how deep the targets are, so even the ones on the fringe of the detector's capability will sound just as loud as shallow ones. That probably goes for broken or "iffy" signals. The best thing you can try here is lift the coil up and swing again. If the signal disappears, it was a deep one. If it's still there, it's shallow or large trash.

Even the more expensive detectors will sometimes give one-way signals on good targets. I dug a wheat penny that gave a good signal along one axis, and no signal along the other! If the coin is slanted or has nearby iron that is causing it to null out, you will have this happen.

 

[funkman]

Rusty,

Thanks for the reply...my main beef is the ones that sound once then disappear. Then I can never figure out exactly where it was when it beeped. If I pinpoint somewhere in the area, will that help me or would the poinpoint not be accurate? BTW...how accurate is pinpointing? In other words if I was scanning an area in all metal mode and did not get any hits in an area, could I then put the coil on the ground, hit pinpoint and I should not get any signals right? I have not tried this...just popped in the noggin...but was wondering if it did give me a full pinpointing signal, then what??

thanks

Funkman

 

[Rusted_Iron]

Funkman,

the strictly one-time signals are probably falsing, ground minerals or tiny trash. If you get one, slow down, go to all metal mode, and hit it from different angles. If it goes away completely and never comes back, I'd say ignore it and move to another target.

Sorry I can't help you much with pinpointing on that unit, but as a rule you're better off pinpointing in all metal mode, because ferrous trash can "throw" its signal especially in disc mode.

HH,
Chris

 

[TXKajun]

Funkman, you have a great little beeper in that Ace 250. One thing you left out....what size coil are you using?

A few things from my experience with my Ace 250. #1, get the large coil and use it! That's what I use almost 95% of the time. #2, I've found that if I have the sensitivity over 4 bars, I get false signals at the end of some swings. Then, when I check, no signal there. That may be one thing you could consider....either turn down the sensitivity one bar or so or slow your swing way down and watch the ends of the swings for false signals. #3, don't wear shoes with metal.....ANY metal....in them. I've read more funny stories about folks getting signals off their shoes each step! #4, I've found with my Ace 250, that a fast swing seems to get me more depth and sensitivity than a slow swing. #5, get a good, inexpensive pinpointer, like a Tinytec Deluxe ($39.95) and use it! That will decrease the time it takes to recover targets as well as getting your holes down from plate size to cup size. #6, I hunt almost exclusively in jewelry mode. That seems to get me everything from canslaw and poptops to rings and coins, including nickels and with the tone discrimitation, I dig darn few poptops anymore. I figure if I ever swing my Ace over any good jewelry, its mine! LOL #7, get a good set of headphones. They help keep you focused and kill the outside noise like dogs barking or traffic (and they also discourage folks from coming up and talking your ear off! ). #8, tape your cable tightly, especially down near the coil. Eliminate any noise due to cable rubbing, wiggling, jiggling or being loose and that may help eliminate false signals.

Last but not least, practice, practice, practice! The more you use your Ace, the better you'll get at it. Its a rare day that I head out to old, hunted out spots (even some hunted out by the best around here.....ME! LOL) and I always seem to find a few more coins or a little ring or something. I just KNOW there's a $15,000 ring calling me! All I gotta do is get the Ace over it!

HH, ya'll!
Kajun

 

[funkman]

thanks for the tips Kajun...will give them all a try. Now that you mentioned it, I do recall some of this empty signals being on the end of a swing. Going to have to watch that. I will also tape up the cord near the end with the coil....couldn't hurt

Thanks again.

Funkman

 

[rebelinmass]

First off, Opus rules(Bloom County) I too use an ace 250 and have had many one time hits. I've dug my share of empy holes in the process. I still dig them just in case. If you hit the pinpoint button without a nearby target it may still act like somethings there. I just use it when I get a good hit. I found a 10kt gold ring with the ace and the indicator was going alll over the place bouncing from one coin to the other. I hope all goes well for you.

Rebelinmass

 

[PostFatal]

that is common to all detectors I think (I could be wrong) today I was getting a lot of one hit tones with my discovery 3300, I couldnt figure it out. Then to make things worse, I would get changing beeps without even moving my coil (it's requires motion but I wasn't moving and still got an ever changing beep) I soon figured out that the gas station not far from me was using their outside intercom a lot at that time of day for some unknown reason and it was getting picked up by my unit. It was really weird, I had the coil in the air waist high and I was getting signals every couple of seconds. one time a penny and the next second a quarter and then a pull tab and this was in the air. I've found that the time of day that you hunt can make a difference if you are in the city.

 

[joe_black]

I'm using a Garrett TA 100, and am guessing that both our detectors use the same computer chip for analysis and descrimation. Many times i've gotten then one beep on the first swing then then signal would disappear. If i wait a few seconds then swing again, i get the same behavior - one beep then none. I've dug many of those and usually end up with a small piece of trash or iron. I dont have a visual id or pinpointing mode so i cant help there. But i'm guessing that whats happening is this- one first swing the machine detects Somthing, then by the time i've swung again, the computer has determined that the object should be descriminated and does not register it again. Does this sound like it makes sense to ne1? Also, usually in this case i will not get a signal from swinging the other axis either. If i do swing the other axis and get a reading then i'm thinking it could be a deeper target instead of just trash. Some1 plz correct me if i'm way off base, I am a newb afterall. :P

 

[Monty]

Hmmmm.....Several things come to mind. I have a post up in the Garrett forum regarding pinpointing with the ACE 250. It's a method that works for me and most of the guys who have tried it. And, I've had my ACE 250 for over a year and didn't know you could discriminate out iron in the all metal mode. Before I say you can't I'd better check it out myself. The 3rd thing I see also relates to pinpointing. When you push the pinpoint button you are actually going into an all metal mode. This could be part of your pinpoint problem. As an example, say you are working a trashy area and get a strong bell tone signal but there are also trash signals bleeding over right next to your bell tone. When you push the pinpoint button you may be losing the bell tone and picking up the trash signal instead. This is especially true if the trash is a larger object and closer to the surface than your good target. A way to tell if that's the problem is to release the pinpoint button while holding the coil right over your pinpointed target. Move the coil side to side very rapidly only at only an inch or so at a time. If you are zeroed onto the good target, the bell tone should sound very rapidly in a constant ding, ding, ding signal almost like ringing a bell. If you have accidentally keyed in on the close trash signal, the bell tone either will not sound or will be found on the edge of your pinpoited spot. Hope that makes sense, it's a lot easier to demonstrate than to explain. Monty

 

[Jerxs]

I think to really find out what all those beeps and blips are you have to dig. Dig em all untill you figure out what your detector is tryin to tell you. It is also very important to relize that a display and even tones on a detector are pretty much useless when trying to reach those fringe targets. I try to detect by this rule if its deep dig it! No matter what the tone or display indicates.
I dont use an Ace250, but I think the above can be applyed to any detector.