What am I doing wrong? This newbie needs HELP!

[Fishrgal]

Took my Ace 250 out behind my house where there are a lot of woods. Hunters have been going through there for years. I set the sensitivity at 4 bars, put it on all metal. Every now and then I would get it registering iron/foil, sometimes with one ding, sometimes a double. I pinpointed with the Ace, found the best spot and started to dig. Well, I dug and dug, cut away little roots that were growing everywhere underground, kept checking and rechecking the spot. Didn't find a thing. When I was done I had dug 5 holes that before I filled them back in just kept getting bigger and bigger thinking that somewhere in that hole was something waiting for me to find it. But nothing!

Then I decided to walk around the new addition and see if we had missed any screws or nails. Now those I found with no problem. At least a dozen of them Including a bit for the electric screwdriver and a penny. But what was it trying to tell me out in the woods? Should I use discrimination and cancel out the iron/foil? But then I read that sometimes silver and some gold rings show up at foil. When I put it in the relics mode, or ANY other mode I got no signal there. Should I not hunt in the all metals mode?

 

[Eric]

maybe the ace 250 is too sensitive in all metal? Remember that in all metal mode you will pick up the smallest pieces of iron. I hunt for old stuff and new stuff but I don't want to miss small gold rings and very tiny silver coins. I find the relic mode the best. When hunting only for modern coins, I use coins mode.

I live i Holland so my settings might vary.

Just play around with the detector and you will learn it. Reducing the sensitivity was a smart move. Most Newbie's don't think of that.

Good luck...

Eric. The Netherlands.

 

[bcoop]

Maybe there were some small pieces of aluminum or aluminum foil in which you did not see, since you were in all metal the machine was sensitive enough to pick it up but mixed with the leaves/dirt you did not visually locate it, just a thought.


bcoop

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Some of us have a Pro-pointer or some other hand-held locator. So we are spoiled big time. Like they said, you probably just missed it. Keep at it..you'll be plucking coins before you know it. It may help to try it out at a park or beach or playground first. I found a 1927 Peace Dollar less than two weeks after I got my Ace 250. Best of luck.

 

[Fishrgal]

Thanks guys, you have all given me food for thought and it all makes sense. One of these days I am going to show pictures of my finds and it will all be thanks to you. You guys are great!

 

[GimmieThe Loot]

Yes for real... Once I detected with a friend's pro-pointer I could not go out without it. I can't imagine detecting without one. It saves you soooo much time sifting through your dug dirt.

 

[Fishrgal]

I should have taken mine out today and I wouldn't have had to dig such big holes for nothing! I won't make that mistake again. Thanks Gimmee The Loot! I appreciate any and all suggestions.

 

[oldranger]

i figured out after a LONG time ( im OLD rememebr )

that i was picking up bits of foil etc and digging
a neve ending hole


Keep at it and all of a sudden it will click

Ron

Rangers lead The Way

 

[gordygroover]

Could it have been a piece of bird -shot that was setting off your unit???
If hunters have been using the property for years (and they are bird hunters) a piece of no.9 shot is pretty small to see with the naked eye but the Ace will bang like a gong on it using all metal.
Just a thought from a fellow ace user.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

You are just picking up rubbish signals. If you are in the US, then put it in coins mode for now and leave it there for a while. Yes you will miss some jewellery but it's far better to do that for now than frustrate yourself chasing a large amount of pull tabs eta. Listen for solid repeatable signals that mostly lock into 1 notch.
Grab a bunch of targets that you want to look for, as well as some common rubbish ones that you find along the way and practice on them at home in a junk free area. This will give you confidence when you get out with your detector. The goal, is to reduce your frustration level while you are learning.
Good luck with the Ace. You will feel confident with it soon.
Mick Evans.

 

[GimmieThe Loot]

Also - with the propointer, you will discover mutiple objects in the same hole. In fields, people empty their pockets all the time before playing soccer or something and I find piles of change in a single hole. Sometimes a pile of coins are stacked on top of each other as if the person was going to come back for them but forgot or just couldn't find where they left it. I love those finds!

 

[Uncle Willy]

Stay away from tree roots as they absorb mineralization from the ground and your detector picks it up.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah and newbies should never start out in all metal. It's too frustrating for them. They should work in coin mode until they are familiar with the detector, what it's doing, why it's doing it, and what it's trying to relay to them.

Bill

 

[Old Katz]

I had the same problem before I bought a pin pointer. You need it believe me.
Now I find all my targets when I dig. No, your not doing anything wrong, except not getting yourself
a pin pointer. The Pro pointer is the best in my opinion. I've used other ones but this is the best and it gets
you more depth, at least two inches; the other pin pointers gives you about an inch if your lucky. AND
DON'T BUY junk. There is an inexpensive pin pointer called Centec. Its made in china and really was
intended as a stud finder. Its sold by Harbor Freight. I started with that one but what a difference when
I finally bought the Garrett Pro pointer. If money is a problem then I guess you could go with the Centec
but if you can, spend the extra money and get something good.

Best of luck.
Katz

 

[Uncle Willy]

The Centec ain't much more than a flimsy toy and Made In China says it all. The PP is a stud finder also and for detecting treasures hidden in walls and it's made in the USA and built like a tank. You could run over it with your car and not phase it.

Bill.

 

[fongu]

Thanks for that tip about the tree trunks Uncle Willy, I didn't know about that. Fishrgal, I found out the hard way that if I was in all metal and there was an underground water pipe, it would pick it up from several feet away and drive me crazy. When I use the all metal now and set it down to dig the hole, I just switch over to coins or another mode until I have found what I was looking for and that way, it doesn't pick up every little piece of metal or pipe and drive me crazy. Then switch back to all metal. I prefer zero mode myself, it's faster for me with the 2500.

 

[MagicMatt]

Maybe put in jewelry mode sens 4 or 5 that is what I like to use with the 250. Just remember that a lot of different alloy metals that show up in trash also show in good metals like coins or jewelry. You may have to adjust sens to the mineralization that is in the ground. When you pinpoint , find the center of target then let go of pinpoint , watch the screen and see what happens. If it does a double or triple beep when u slightly wiggle machine "like 1 8 inch and locks on an target. its usually a good target. No matter what you do you will always find junk when your findin the goods. due to same alloys. I hope this helps, throw some coins down and you will see what I mean. Good hunting , hope I didn't confuse yah kinda tricky but the 250 is a coin popper.

 

[RickIowa2009]

Just make sure your coil wire is not loose toward the coil, tape it up!

 

[fongu]

I tried taping up my coil wire about a foot above the coil and my detector went crazy. What's up with that?