Problem?

[gmelton]

I've had my Ace 250 for a few years now and have pulled up lots o rusty nails and the like. Only coins Ive found were a few pennies. Did a air test on my wifes gold rings and unless she was holding them an inch or closer I didnt get a hit at all. I tried all metal and jewely mode and did the factory reset by holding the power button till it beeped twice. Whos got the problem me or the machine? Thanks for any help

 

[shawnrmartin]

Did you put the ring on the ground, and sweep the coil over it?
I have found that this is a better test of a detector. It sometimes is difficult to move the sample past the coil with sufficient velocity to register a solid hit. (Think about 2 ft per second.)

Another thing: at 6.5 khz, these new VLF detectors won't hit gold as hard as something running at 12-15 khz. Most dedicated gold detectors run in the higher frequency range.

That said, I have seen gold found with an Ace 250, so it is possible. (I don't own a 250, but have hunted with one a few times.)

Do you have a friend with a 250 that you can test with?

All else fails, I would send it back home for a tune up. I have heard that Garrett is very reasonable with their shop rates.

(It IS strange that the only coins you have found were pennies)

 

[Geo Unit]

Try the factory reset by holding the POWER button down until the unit beeps 2 times. Its worked for me with different issues. Good luck

 

[Tabcollector]

My Ace will air test 51/2" to 6" on small gold ring with sens @ 6 in any mode, have you tried the test outside away from any interference?

 

[BigCatDaddy]

OK, you've had it for several years and all you've found is a few pennies?? You must not hunt very often. I get 10-12 coins on my lunch break at the local soccer field in a short 30 min. hunt. Honing your recovery method will help too. The faster you recover the target, the faster you can move on to the next one.
Was she just holding the ring there in one place? Most metal detectors are "motion" machines meaning the coil or the target has to be moving for the target to be detected. I have found several gold rings with my 250, it's no slouch in that regard. If all you have found is a few pennies and a bunch of nails, sounds like you need to switch to the Coin mode and find some better places to hunt. In a school yard or park one should expect to pick up 40-50 coins in a 3 hr. hunt. There are more coins in the ground than there are in circulation, find a good spot and get your share. The more you hunt, the better you get at it.
Re-try your air test with the ring on the ground and swing over it at a rate of 1-2 feet per second, keeping the coil flat. You should easily pick up that ring at 6", probably even in the Coin mode with 4 bars of Sens.. If your wife had the ring on edge, I could see why it wouldn't pick it up, as your 250 is looking for round things. If you still can't get a response, send it to the Garrett Hospital for a check-up.

 

[gmelton]

Defiantly correct about needing different places to hunt. This area has, for the most part, only been populated 40 years or less. Everything around here is locked down tight. School yards are double locked. Ive posted on local boards for other people to hunt with and or to check my machine against, so far no replies. As far as her ring being on edge, that may have been the problem with that test, will try that one again tonight. The wife bought this machine for me after a lot of my work dried up, she told me that she wished she had got it when we lived on the coast. I agreed with her hah. Ah well...at least Im not worried about a flat tire in the yard.