Pinpointing tone with the Ace250

Something I have noticed lately with my Ace250, when pinpointing, the tone either drops off slowly or very abruptly when moving off the center of the target.

When the tone drops off abruptly, begin by looking right on top of the surface or just under the grass instead of digging a plug.

I have picked dozens of coins at the lake like that this year, scratch the surface and pick up the clad, saves on the digging time.

Aluminum screw tops also seem to produce this effect.

Pinpointing with Garrett Ace250

Amazing really, you can read reviews all over the internet and find all the information you want on how well the Ace250 works in the field, see the finds people are making, hear the old timers brag about how this machine is a coin magnet. You buy the Ace250, hit the field, hear those bell tones, pinpoint and start digging only to find nothing, re-pinpoint and end up digging a 6" hole and spend 15 minutes to find a penny. Frustrating ....................

Frustrating to the point of buying a pinpointer to help find that target.

The first thing you need to know about the Ace250 is that the SWEET SPOT on the stock coil for the Ace250 is probably NOT in the center of your coil.

How do you pinpoint with the Ace250 ?

1. Look at your stock coil. It has what appears to be a larger coil around a smaller "inner" coil.

2. The sweet spot on my coil is at the TOP of the inner coil, not in the center of the coil as I had assumed when I purchased the detector.

3. To pinpoint a target, hold your pinpoint button down and make an "X" pattern over your target and attempt to find the center. A quick note here about pinpointing: move your coil off the target and inch or two before hitting the pinpoint button.

4. Now while still holding the pinpoint button down and centered over your target, slowly begin to pull the coil across the ground and back towards you.

5. When your signal begins to fade, STOP, your target should be right at the top of the "inner" coil.

Give this technique a try with a coin on top of the ground and practice pinpointing before your next hunt. This pinpointing technique works very well for me.

One other thing I have found is if your target is below a couple of inches of dirt, your target may be under or just behind the top of the coil. If I don't locate a target within a minute or so of probing, I re-pinpoint and usually find I am off a bit left or right.