I'd like a bit of REAL advice on a 250...

[Woodstock]

OK here goes. I've been detecting for years and have owned some of the best out there and lately I really can get out as much as I like due to many different things. I've been thinking about downsizing from what I have now or selling it and picking up a cheaper but yet reliable detector that still goes deep. In the past I've had two Ace 250's as back ups I never got to use or get to know well. So I want some real world feedback about them from someone who's in my shoes. Someone who has had top of the line machines in the past and now uses a 250 as a main machine. I want to know everything you can tell me about these great cost effective units so I can be more confident and know that I have a great, reliable and deep coin shooter. Then maybe later when I have more time and more cash I can crawl slowly up the ladder again to a better machine.
I welcome ANY and ALL advise ! Happy Trails, Woodstock ~aka~ Jeff

 

[Hank68]

I've had the xlt in 95' and several others like yourself and getting older and understand what your saying, i have the 350 and my son has the 250 and they work great, I don't care about digging 15" for a dime and don't care about about air test to check for depth, saying that I would say get the 250 and enjoy it.

 

[Digger 45]

I don't think you can beat a Ace 250 for the price, i do recommend the larger coil. To start with i would run the coil wire straight up the shaft about a foot before winding to the control box then just make sure you get a bell tone sound when you cross the target both ways and 99% of the time it will be a coin, when you only get the bell tone one way or a scratchy sound it is most likely junk.

 

[slingshot]

TheRelics mode is the most awesome mode-next to a/m -on the detector. Just at iron nail reject. 4 bars sensitivity is as high as I can go here in East Texas because of the high iron content. Sometimes I get a good field hunting situation and go to 5 bars. It goes deeper at faster sweep speeds-just be practical as there is a such a thing as target masking. The sniper coil increased my finds 3-fold-mainly due to the fact I can get around objects unreachable by others. The batteries, with headphones, last forever (well, almost). It's not the best detector in the world, by far, but it paid for itself several times.

 

[BigCatDaddy]

The little 250 is a tried and true little machine. It delivers the goods at a really nice price. A depth maven?? Not really, but it will hold it's own and get some loot in your pouch.

 

[dabbie1]

I use the ace250 and have a whites coin master pro as my back-up!!! Last spring and summer I cashed $2700 in clad quarters and dimes useing ace250 with the 10 by 14 inch Excellsior coil.It really gets deep over 14 inches.Not to forget the silver barbra quarters and dimes and even gold jewelry.I think its the best and most relieable detector out there.HH Wayne in Delaware

 

[bigbubba]

What is the benefit to running the coil wire straight up the shaft for a foot before wrapping it around the shaft as posted by Digger45?

 

[Woodstock]

I don't really know for sure bigbubba cause I never tried it but I have seen it done. Your supposed to run the cable straight up the shaft then loop the remaining cord close to the control box. Again I never tried this but it supposed help your detector from false signaling (?) I'm still going to check it out cause he maybe onto something. Or it could be a coil wire placebo that provides relief to the operator or a fad like rolling up one pant leg. It fully worth checking it out just in case it does magic....some things are better left a mystery...That being said, I want to thank everyone for sharing there Ace knowledge. Happy Trails, Woodstock

 

[Orion42]

Once I set the angle of the coil to the shaft, I use electrical tape and secure the first wrap right above the coil, then wrap it normally. It's helped with false signals when hitting brush.

John

 

[dabbie1]

the reason for running the coil wire straight in stead of wrapping it around shaft for first 6 inches is that it will reduce falsing greatly. I do all my detectors this way. HH Wayne in Delaware

 

[Woodstock]

Well that makes perfect sense to me. That's why I always try to wrap my cord tightly around the shaft because that to helps reduce false signals....and I was just joking around when I called it a fad..
HH, Woodstock

 

[fongu]

I tried running the coil cable like that on my 2500 and it went nuts. So, I just do the wrap a round the shaft and have no problems. I had the sensitivity around 6, so it wasn't that.

 

[bigbubba]

I'm going to give that a try on my gtax 1250. It will make bigbubba very happy to have less false signals! If it doesn't help I'll just keep on digging pull tabs and bottle caps to add to my collection.

 

[Woodstock]

I always wrapped my cables tight since I had my old Minelab Sovy.. I actually tried those snap on EMI filters this past season and if you use two one at top of the box and one by the coil and they seem to work in areas where there are towers...I guess I guess what ever works, works and it's good to try everything you can. HH woodstock

 

[slingshot]

My problem turned out to be that I wrapped the wire so tight that it pulled on the connector when I swung the coil. Leave a little slack there.

 

[Woodstock]

I agree, tight but not that tight...snug would have been a better choice of words. HH, Woodstock

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I have three Ace 250's and all three coils. As a coin shooter its great! Listen for the bell in both directions and clean up the coins first and then go for the pull tabs in hopes of rings etc... Don't forget your Garrett Pro pin pointer!!! Regardless of your choice of detector a pin pointer is a vital asset for speeding up your digs and getting more finds faster. happy hunting!!