What am i doing WRONG ??

[USTiger]

Hi all i need serius help.

i went out today to an old park to use my New ACE250 ,, unfortnely there was a big family gartering at the park so i could not detect there.. i went to an old school that have been closed for 15 years i went over to the playground and set the mode to jewelry and sensitivity 3-4 .. and after about 3 minutes i got my first signal about 6 inch down i was happy finaly i could dig up something, i grap the digger and start digging.. 6 inches down still nothing,, ok i think i will expand my hold and maybe i was off a bit ,, after the hole is 15 x 15 inch and 8 inch deep i give up .. nothing there,, i go on and after 4 minutes i get a nickel signal 4 inches down ,, again i dig and again NOTHING. after about 7 empty holes i startet to get frustratet.

NOW I ASK YOU FRIENDS WHAT DID I DO WRONG ?

3 hours nothing .. on my way home i do what i allways do eyeball the road and i find 2 pennies.

HELP HELP HELP

USTiger

 

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[JerV3]

It's not you.

I noticed today with the 250 it would give alot of falsing. But the area I was hunting had alot of hotrock.

My dfx handles it with no problem.

But the 250 will hit them in the nickle pulltab range.

Just look and listen for the solid repeatable targets.

Those are the one's I seemed to find actuall targets on.

Like anything it's gonna take some time to master.

I only have a hr and a half or so on the unit.

I was able to get it to find old coins. It was tougher because I am used to high end machines.

But the ace has great potential I think if learned right.

Just use it alot play with it and it will come to you. Slow your sweep speed down.

HH Jer

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

U.S.,

you hit one location and could not hunt, your
second only gave you off signals.

Give yourself some time to learn that new machine.

Slow down, take your time. We all have many
bad days.

It will come; enjoy the hunt.

have a good un...............

 

[USTiger]

U.S.,

you hit one location and could not hunt, your
second only gave you off signals.

Slow down, take your time. We all have many
bad days

It will come; enjoy the hunt.

have a good un...............

well i belive you .. but it was just frustrating for 3 hours and nothing.

USTiger

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

US,

the best is yet to come.

Again, enjoy being out hunting; it will all
fall in place.

have a good un............

 

[Jeffro]

Some good advice there Tiger- Also I always like to tell newcomers to run there sensitivity on the low side, until you get used to playing around with the other settings- avoids a lot of false signals. A couple weeks buddy, hang in there!

Also, I forgot to ask, what areas would you like to hunt? Parks, a ghost town, other relic areas? whats your fancy?

 

[Maggot]

I don't know the machine but I do know playgrounds. Sometimes there are little spikes holding like a cotton groundmat down that makes machine go buggy. Also sometimes if there was a fire or they moved some metal play equipment you get all crazy signals. Try some other places and get to learn your machine.

 

[BIG61AL]

I OFTEN WONDER WHAT SIGNAL YOU WOULD GET FROM THE COPPER PLATED ZINC CENT THAT HAS COMPLETLY DISINTERGARTED. AS THESE COINS STAY IN THE GROUND FOR A SHORT TIME BEFORE ROTTING AWAY, WILL THEY BECAME THE DREADED PULL TAB OF THE FUTURE?
AL

 

[funkman]

USTiger,

I also have the Ace 250 and have had some funny signal also. I was frustrated at first using it because I was getting signals that were bouncing all over the place. SOmetimes I was getting great signals and when I dug all I found was road asphalt. I would go another 2 feet and get another good signal and sure enough....asphalt. I just walked away and did another area.
I have a couple of questions for you.

1.) I'm sure you do this but it was not mentioned in your post but after you dug a little bit, did you re-scan the hole and was the detector still showing as something there? It could be possible that the item is actually a bigger piece of metal and is actually deeper that what the detector shows it at. I just had this that showed me a great dime signal at 4+ inches and I kept digging and digging and re-scanning the hole and still was down there according to the Ace. Finally at about 8 inches it turned out to be 2 big pieces of roofing flashing (tin). Bummed me the hell out, but at least I know what it was and don't have to wonder anymore.

2.) when you found these signals, did you scan them from different directions and get good responses on each swing? Sometimes I have had the detector beep only once and for some reason I noticed it was at the end of my swing just before starting to swing back in the other direction. That happens sometimes and you just have to be aware of it cause it could be just the way you (and I) are moving the detector....wanted to say swinging but I know there would be a joke there

3.) how close were you to the play equipment? I'm not sure but sometimes the metal poles could be partially buried and at an angle so you might even be detecting the play equipment themselves.

Basically just keep at it and you two will get better at understanding each other....you are talking in english and the machine is talking in Swahili or something. I'm slowly learning this detector myself and I try to concentrate on those really good signals. The ones that repeat every time you swing the coil over the spot. I might start digging some of the signals that the detector beeps on all ranges of symbols over the same hole just to see what the heck it is saying is down there, and that way I won't have to go through that again if I detect the same area again.

Hope all this helps and Private Message me anytime if you have any other questions and I will try to help you as best I can.

HH

Funkman

 

[TXKajun]

This may sound silly, but what kind of shoes/boots were you wearing? Stories abound of folks swinging detectors, getting signals, digging and nothing.....the signals were coming from metal in their shoes, either from the arch supports or from the metal eyelets on the lace holes.

Keep on trying and don't get discouraged! The Ace is a coin magnet! There's tons of clad just begging to be found for a patient metal detectorist!

HH, ya'll!
Kajun

 

[USTiger]

Some good advice there Tiger- Also I always like to tell newcomers to run there sensitivity on the low side, until you get used to playing around with the other settings- avoids a lot of false signals. A couple weeks buddy, hang in there!

Also, I forgot to ask, what areas would you like to hunt? Parks, a ghost town, other relic areas? whats your fancy?

Parks / Playgrounds / Beaches when i can get to it.

USTiger

 

[USTiger]

This may sound silly, but what kind of shoes/boots were you wearing? Stories abound of folks swinging detectors, getting signals, digging and nothing.....the signals were coming from metal in their shoes, either from the arch supports or from the metal eyelets on the lace holes.

Keep on trying and don't get discouraged! The Ace is a coin magnet! There's tons of clad just begging to be found for a patient metal detectorist!

HH, ya'll!
Kajun

Sneakers No Metal

USTiger

 

[RatRacer]

I, too, have been confused by what my ACE250 is telling me. It will bang on steelmill slag (Unfourtunately abundant here near the Steel City), usually giving a -dime at 4" - signal. Asphalt lumps and deeply buried aluminum cans will also show as coins. I turn the sensitivity down to about 3 bars, and it doesn't jump on every tiny thing. It's a good machine, it just gets a little over-excited sometimes! Good luck, and keep searching!

 

[Monty]

Anytime you are hunting playgrounds, especially in the chips or sand you will get false signals if you get too close to the metal posts that are anchored in the ground. Usually you have to stay 6 to 8 inches back from them. If not you can dig to China and still get a signal saying it is on down there somewhere. Also if you are running your coil under some overhead metal it will put out a false signal. If you get the little "Stinger " coil you can get a lot closer to the posts. I find a lot of coins with the Stinger coil that I couldn't find with the standard oil. Ditto around sidewalks and concrete slabs with rebars, baseball backstops, etc. If you plan on hunting many play grounds or athletic fields you will need the Stinger coil. Monty

 

[coolcash2004]

Sometimes this happens with my ace250 also. It might mean that there is a very large target burried very deeply.

-CC

 

[Ole Mole]

Here is what I have figured with my ACE 250 and it seems to be working for me. When at a playground area I am using the coin setting and I do pick up the occasional pulltab or foil. I have also signaled on the playground equipment when real close to the support posts as well.
When I get a hit on coin I move the coil to the left and right to make sure that I am getting tone in both directions. If for some reason I get tone in just one direction, I will turn 90 degrees to the location that is hitting and swing over it again. If I don't get a tone at that angle I move on, although this may be a mistake on my part to do so.
When I get a hit from left to right and the tone is the same I then pinpoint with the detector. I will first eyeball when the coil is making tone and mark the spot with my eyes (pick a leaf or a particular stone as a reference). I then take the coil to the side of the marked area and push the pinpoint button and slowly bring the coil over the target area, going left to right and I watch the bar graph on the meter for the strongest position. Once I have narrowed it from left to right, I then move the coil from front to back and again watch for the highest mark on the graph until it just starts to drop off when bringing the coil towards me. The highest point on the graph when bringing the coil towards you is now dead center (or closely to being that) over your target. Again I make a mental note (no jokes here please) and cut a plug around the imaginary spot. I lay the plug on a old t-shirt and scan the hole. If you don't get a tone on the hole take the plug and pass it by the coil. If you get tone when passing the plug then you know that the object signalling your detector is in the plug.

Hopefully you will find this helpful enough to relieve the frustration. I am still learning the Ace 250 and am getting my practice in at the playground areas as well.

Also one other thing I forgot to mention when pinpointing. Once I have had my target located with the coil, I rest the coil on the ground over the target area. If it is a coin, the detector will be sounding off like a pinball machine and that tells me that I am directly over the target area.

Good Luck and If you have any more questions on this I am more than willing to help you out in any way that I can. Just PM me and I will get back to you.

Happy Huntin'

 

[Born2Dtect]

USTiger,
Patience is a virtue. Keep trying. You will find that either your machine is not working correctly or that you will learn it and get better. When it finally hits you right you will know it.

I purchased a Whites detector in 1983. I used it 6 times, about 6 hours total. I found 1 coin a dime, and a bunch of trash. Put it in a closet and left it there. After 10 years of reading WE&T the bug hit again, HARD! I got another detector 4 years ago. The funny thing is once I learned it I got out the old Whites and found a few things with it, down to 4 inches deep. The detector was still the same, I had changed.

Good Luck,

Ed Donovan

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

As everyone has said, get to know your machine. One way to do it is set yourself up a test garden. FInd a place where there are no signals and dig holes to various depths (usually 3 - 6 inches). Put various coins, pull tabs, etc in them and fill them back up. Dont forget to label the holes so you will know what is in them and what the depth is. Then run your 250 over them and see how they read.

 

[bomber]

i used 2 get false signals when diggin my plugs,couldn't find s*@!, figured out i was getting signals from my wedding ring(i'm such a dork)

 

[Born2Dtect]

Bomber,

I could not find the very first target I detected. The detector said it was there but I could not see anything, my pinpointer did not read either. I was really confused until I realized that my watch was setting it off.

Ed Donovan