Garrett Ace 250
Price: $250
Avg. Score: 
4.2
Based on 260 reviews
4.2Based on 260 reviews
Avg. Durability:
4.05
Avg. Ease of use:
4.50
The cheap and helpfull detector
March 05, 2006
Like many of us, IŽm new in the use of a detector. So when I read the
OwnerŽs manual, I could understang how to use it and I did (but only whith
practice), in my country (Panama) it isnŽt easy to do that. My avice is to
put some items (coins, jewerly, relics, etc), in the ground and try to
detect each one. Only when someone have enough practice, could get more
treasures whithout complains about "I canŽt"
Overall Rating
David Phillips from
Panama
775
Great, but user guide sucks!
February 25, 2006
I am brand new to the metal detecting hobby and searched diligently for
what looked like the best detector for the money I wanted to spend. I
found it! The Garrett ACE 250 is an absolutely fantastic metal detector.
On the very first hunt (in the dark after I received it in the
evening...flashlight in hand) I found a 45 calibler bullet in my back
yard...no telling how it got there (maybe I don't want to know, was my wife
practicing?) The next day I went to my farming property hoping to find
valuable metals, which I didn't! However, can you believe I dug for 10
minutes to discover that I had found a BB? Now that's getting down to the
miniscule! Being new, I know nothing about how to use and strategize the
use of the discriminator features. The user guides describe where to look
for the indicators, but even then, I have no idea what I'm looking at. Can
anyone recommend a good book that might help?Anyway...great machine. I can't wait to get it on the beach Lignano Italy when weather permits!
Overall Rating
Jerry from
Aviano AB, Italy (wyodude@libero.it)
1851
My experience so far
February 25, 2006
I'm new to metal detecting and bought the 250 as my first detector.
Overall, and after significant practice, I feel I am now at one with the
machine, and find it very sensitive, and superb for coinshooting. If it
helps anyone, I have found that if you get no signal on pinpoint it's not
worth digging!Also, you do need to keep the detector at a constant distance from the ground in pinpoint mode, which is quite difficult if the surface is not level.
The only query I have, which still baffles me, is when I dig for a target and get a strong pinpoint signal, there are times after digging, that the signal goes away. I pass the detector over the hole...nothing. I then pass it over the spoil..nothing. Then after passing it over the spoil a few times, the signal returns....anyone know what I'm doing wrong?
Overall Rating
Andy York from
Peterborough, Cambs, England
1353
The Ace 250 Excels
January 11, 2006
First impressions: 1. Solid. There's been some griping that the 250 was flimsy and felt cheap, like plastic junk. I have to disagree. It has a solid feel to it, a weightiness, that I didn't expect.
2. Lower rod "wobble". The lower rod is a slide fit into the S-handle. Every detector Ive ever owned that went together that way had the same "non-problem" - there is a little wobble at the connection. I'd like to see a locking collar. I wont cry for lack of one.
3. Functional. In testing on my slab floor, it does quite well, 4-5 inches on a zincer with SENS set at half level. That rivals my more expensive models. This slab is negatively mineralized, compared to the usual soils around here. Judging by previous experience, this will be more than enough.
4. Complete. Opening the colorful box is fun! 2 superb Garrett books, an instruction manual, a detector bag, a coin apron, 4 AA batteries AND a set of digiphones were in there. Only thing missing was a trowel!
I'm heading out the door to try the 250 within ten minutes, including my functional testing - I timed it.
After extensive use, here's what I'd add:
+ Light weight - easy to swing, all day.
+ Functional discrimination and ID.
+ Better than adequate target separation.
+ Uses only 4 AA batteries
+ Very nice tone ID, a real boon.
+ Very sensitive. VERY.
Just to be fair, here's some negative's:
- The headphone jack is oddly placed, on the offside rear.
- The pinpoint is sort of vague, not real sharp and the overall target response is very broad. You have to really focus on the response to get a "minds eye pinpoint". Simple enough to master, and very useful having done so, it could be a bit disconcerting for the newcomer.
- The display is peckish, ie, small. For less than 200$, whaddaya want?. But, it aint real big.
Enough warning should be given to newcomers about the sensitivity of this baby. I'd call it barely restrained, especially at high SENS settings and it WILL false plenty if you crank her too high while in the trash.
(It's best if you use the higher SENS settings to help define deep or 'iffy' targets, while sweep scanning in the midrange settings, 4-6).
So what do these things mean? Much of my observations are based on preference, not any lacking of the detector. The Ace 250 works and does what you need it to do, at a value price that is untouchable. It has a language all it's own, as do all detectors. It's up to you to learn it.
Overall Rating
David Hutton from
Aiken, SC
10869
Great ACE 250
January 04, 2006
I purchased my ACE 250 several weeks ago. I have used it for a total of 12
hours spread over 5 days. In those 12 hours I have found over $20.00
worth of change. The ACE 250 is a great coin detector. I find the display provide accurate information for coins and depths. I found dimes and pennies atleast 8 inches deep without any problems. The discrimination works great with the ability to notch out specific objects and/or coins. Pinpointing works great once you figure out its idiosyncrasies.
See this link for a very good explanation of the display.
http://gometaldetecting.com/forum/post2031.htm
Bottom line is the price/performance of this metal detector, you can't go wrong.
Overall Rating
Nick from
New Orleans, LA
3864
Swicthing brand to brand
December 28, 2005
what is it you dont get???? metal detector detects metal? they will never
be able to seperate trash 100% from good finds, but if you learn technique
you will keep finding wonderfull treasures.coins jewelery.gold. all this
talk about depth you make me laugh its so simple?conditions will change the
depth of your target that effects your metal detector ,did you know when
you walk on the ground the dirt below will shift your target? no you didn't
because you think you have the answers,and still you just keep switching
brand from brand and still you have nothing but errors?what you all should do is learn about electro magnetic force understand current because your body produces it every second thats the hint thats interfering with your coil. i keep finding wonderfull treasures coins rings&jewelery all the time and i only own a cheap basic ace250 and you own the nothing but the best and still cant find$$$$treasures again you dont need to spend $400and up to find great finds just learn experiment make sure your batteries are always fulland go to a 99cents store buy a light the size of a quarter with velcro attach it where it will light up your display so this way you can go out at night and detect the light is so light in you will not not its their? so now i answered your question when are they going to make a metal detector with a light well their it is cheap small and light. but i will say the new computer detector is the way to go and not the $400andup detectors just a $200-$300 range will give you more . good luck to you all.
Overall Rating
ROBBIT from
NEW JERSEY
5087
ACE 250
December 23, 2005
I have had my ACE since May and have grown quite comfortable with it. It is
a wonderful machine for coinshooting. I like the lightweight, ease of use
and easy on batteries. Together this summer we netted about $40.00 in coins
mainly from schools, parks, and playgrounds. The ACE has decent depth and
wonderful discrimination on targets. Very easy to use and only wished it
had a bit more depth, but for the price it can't be beat!!!!!
Overall Rating
Greg from
Upstate NY
2558
Big Pay Dirt and New Friends
December 14, 2005
Two month ago I purchased my Garrett Ace 250. On the first day out and not
knowing how to really use it, I hit pay dirt in a really big way. I mean
BIG pay dirt. One evening I was metal detecting in a soccer field just
around the corner from my home when my unit sounded off. After spending a
couple of minutes trying to pinpoint where the object was buried, I
unearthed a 5 carat diamond wedding ring. The diamond was in a beautiful
setting that was quite unique. Later in the week, I took it to friend of mine who is a very reputable jeweler and he appraised it at $40,000. After thinking about if for a day or so, I put an advertisement in the local newspaper lost and found want ads to see if I could find the ring's rightful owner. I knew there was some lady out there who was probably very sad about loosing her ring. After four days of being in the newspaper, a lady called and described the ring she lost two years ago perfectly including the initials inscribed on the inside. She even showed photos to prove it was hers.
Even though I haven't found much since that event which could justify buying the metal detector economically, it certainly paid off returning a ring to a very happy lady. To me, that has been reward enough. And my wife and I have two new wonderful friends.
Overall Rating
John from
West Texas
3866
Pinpointing with the Garrett ACE250.
December 10, 2005
Pinpointing with the Garrett ACE250I have noticed a number of posts lately from people expressing frustration with the pinpoint feature on the ACE250, so I decided to write this review based on my experience after having used the ACE250 since March of this year. Knowing where the hotspot on the coil is, how to properly begin pinpointing, and the reaction the pinpointer will have to targets of different size and composition, as well as at different depths, will help in deciding what targets to dig, and in recovering those targets much quicker and easier.
My ACE250 is equipped with the standard Garrett 6" x 9" concentric (oval shaped) open coil. The hotspot on the coil is the spot on the coil that the target will be directly under when the pinpoint display reads at maximum, and the pinpoint tone is loudest. It took me about a month, and quite a bit of digging wide holes to realize that the hotspot on my coil is not directly in the center of the coil, as it is on most round coils. The hotspot on my coil is located directly under the bottom of the top inner loop on the coil. When pinpointing coin sized items, the target will be in the ground directly under this point, however I have found that coins laying on the surface can throw that off, and sometimes be located a good inch or two away from the hotspot.
Once you have found a target that gives a good, repeatable bell tone, you will want to try to pinpoint the location of the target before digging to save time in recovering the target, as well as saving the soil by cutting the smallest possible plug needed. I have noticed that if you turn on the pinpointer directly over the target area, the pinpoint signal tends to fade to a very faint tone, or nulls out (disappears) altogether. Move the coil a few inches away from the target for a second or two, depress the pinpoint button, and slowly move the pinpointer over the target area. I have found that bringing the coil back to where my feet are, turning on the pinpointer, and slowly swinging the coil back and forth in 5" to 6" wide stretches, while slowly moving the coil forward towards the target area to be a very quick and effective way to accurately pinpoint targets at 6" or less. When pinpointing targets deeper than 6", I find the pinpointer to be less effective, often giving weak, inconsistent tones that don't hold for long.
Since the pinpoint feature on the ACE250 uses All-Metal mode, your pinpointer will react differently to certain targets, depending on size, composition, and depth. With most coin sized targets, as you begin scanning toward the target, the pinpointer will give a distinct, high pitch tone that gets louder as you come closer to the target, peak when you are directly over the target, and softer after as you pass away from the target. Knowing this, you can actually measure the size of the target as you pass over it. Small coin sized objects will give a pinpoint signal that quickly peaks and subsides as you pass the hotspot over the target. Larger items, such as cans, or deeply buried pipes will tend to give a steady, loud signal over a much larger area. For example, a crushed beer can at 8" deep may read on the Target ID as a dime, quarter or half dollar but the pinpointer gives a strong, loud pinpoint signal over a 6" area. Since the mint has never made 6" diameter dimes or quarters, your target is probably a beer can. Of course, since you are pinpointing in All-Metal mode, it could also be an iron strong box full of gold coins, so the decision to dig or not is yours to make! Other items that will tend to make pinpointing difficult are small, irregularly shaped scraps of aluminum (canslaw), galvanized roofing nails, certain jewelry items, and, especially in my experience, small lead fishing weights (I hate those!). Also note that since pinpointing is All-Metal mode, if you are running in coin, jewelry or a custom mode with discrimination, when you press pinpoint, other nearby targets that were previously notched out may suddenly appear, especially in heavy trash areas.
Knowing where the hotspot is, and moving the coil away from the target before pressing pinpoint will save a lot of frustration and time by accurately locating the target. Try by practicing in a sand box or a coin garden with some shallowly buried pennies, pull tabs and cans to learn the difference in pinpoint signals that different targets make, which will help you in deciding what you want to dig and what you don't.
This is my experience with the ACE250. Thanks for reading, and I hope it is of help to someone!! Feel free to add to this if I missed any points.
treasurekidd has attached this image:
Overall Rating
John McCoy (Trasurekidd) from
Warwick, RI
16076
Garrrett Ace 250 is a five star "Ace"
November 06, 2005
Purchased the Ace 250 three months ago and I made an excellent decision!
Fantastic detector for coins!! Man when that "Bell Tone" goes ding, ding,
ding You know thats the sound of "Money" being found! For the people saying
the Ace 250 is unstable, if they will use less sensitivity on the machine
it will do better. Most people think the more sensitivity, the deeper it
will go. Wrong! This machine is also great on a salt water beach. It will
not work in the salt water itself though because of the salt. This machine
is also a great relic machine in the woods and fields. I have learned a lot
about this detector in the last few months and highly praise it and highly
recommend it especially for a beginner.
Overall Rating
Jim from
NC
6180