Alan Applegate
New member
There has been several posts of recent, about the various quirks folks have noticed about their Garrett ACE detectors, primarily the 250. I'll pass this on as an observation, with the hope it might help someone else.
The instruction manual only briefly mentions about resetting the detector to initial factory settings by holding down the power button for 5 to 10 seconds. That's great, but when should you do so? I did when I first got mine, as part of the learning cycle. I didn't even think about doing so when I replace the 6x9 coil with the 9x12, until a strange occurrence happened. I was in the process of pinpointing a target, and apparently hit both the power and pinpoint button at the same time (I had gloves on). The pinpointer stopped working, the off button wouldn't work, nor any of the other controls. Call it a computer freeze if you like. I had to remove a battery to shut it off. As a manner of course, on power up, I held down the power button until I heard the beep. It appeared to work as it should. However...
I like the lager coil, as it does go about an inch or two deeper depending on the target material. It is also more susceptible to mineralization than the small coil, which requires that the sensitivity be turned down a notch or two. After I did a full reset, the detector acted like a different machine. Even set at full sensitivity, I had less false signals than I had before with the sensitivity set lower.
After I got back home I did switch back and forth between the two coils a few times, to see if I could duplicate the effects. I managed to lock the machine up a few times, but you have to hit the power and pinpoint in just the right sequence. Of more importance, it does appear, in my experience at least, that resetting the detector when changing coils does make a difference in its operation, especially with respect to mineralization response.
I haven't talked with anyone at Garrett about this (perhaps I should), but I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has had the same experience. In any case, it is food for thought, and it sure can't hurt anything resetting the box!
Alan Applegate
The instruction manual only briefly mentions about resetting the detector to initial factory settings by holding down the power button for 5 to 10 seconds. That's great, but when should you do so? I did when I first got mine, as part of the learning cycle. I didn't even think about doing so when I replace the 6x9 coil with the 9x12, until a strange occurrence happened. I was in the process of pinpointing a target, and apparently hit both the power and pinpoint button at the same time (I had gloves on). The pinpointer stopped working, the off button wouldn't work, nor any of the other controls. Call it a computer freeze if you like. I had to remove a battery to shut it off. As a manner of course, on power up, I held down the power button until I heard the beep. It appeared to work as it should. However...
I like the lager coil, as it does go about an inch or two deeper depending on the target material. It is also more susceptible to mineralization than the small coil, which requires that the sensitivity be turned down a notch or two. After I did a full reset, the detector acted like a different machine. Even set at full sensitivity, I had less false signals than I had before with the sensitivity set lower.
After I got back home I did switch back and forth between the two coils a few times, to see if I could duplicate the effects. I managed to lock the machine up a few times, but you have to hit the power and pinpoint in just the right sequence. Of more importance, it does appear, in my experience at least, that resetting the detector when changing coils does make a difference in its operation, especially with respect to mineralization response.
I haven't talked with anyone at Garrett about this (perhaps I should), but I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has had the same experience. In any case, it is food for thought, and it sure can't hurt anything resetting the box!
Alan Applegate