Looking for Garrett Ace 250 or 350

[smeigs]

Hey everyone I am looking for a 250/350 for my wife.. We really enjoy detecting together. She is using a little "whites coinmaster" at the moment but I am looking to get her something a bit better now that she is getting really into it! Let me know.. thanks. Smeigs

[coinnut]

If you can get the 350. I've heard it has some better options than the 250. She will probably outgrow the 250 too quickly. It's funny, you don't hear much about the 350 since the AT pro came out. I think most people thinking of the 350 just splurge and get the AT pro cause it's waterproof. Just my thoughts on it.

[smeigs]

Yea I agree. I use the garrett AT pro and I love it. But I also detect more frequently than her so I spent more money on my gear. I think the 350 is a good choice.

[scootergirl]

My husband bought the AT Pro and we were looking at a new detector for me, we looked at the 350. But since I'd most likely be going with him, in the same sorts of situations, he just up and surprised me with the AT Pro. I do think the 350 would have been a good choice for me as well, but I'm certainly not mad at getting the Pro ;) - I really like that it's waterproof and if DH is going to be in situations where the waterproof will be necessary, I'd likely be in that situation as well. Plus, I think the AT Pro is a titch lighter? I could be wrong about that. In any case - glad to see another husband/wife detector team! Looking forward to hearing what she gets.

[MangoAve]

You can find both on amazon a little cheaper. Looking at the specs from the garrett site its just a few extras for the 350. The money you save going with the 250 and getting the larger coil of the 350...pointless. Not economical. And the other point I know some people on here are not an advocate of the iron discrimination on any detector as it eliminates some potential finds, which it was one of the extra features of the 350.

I am however curious as to why some are advocates of one type of detector, only Garrett, only Whites, Only Minelab, ect... Granted that CTX 3030 listed by coinnut has a GPS. Some of the features are crazy, but will the finds exceed the $2500 price tag? Personally, the smartphone with GPS plus google maps and KindleFire/iPad with google maps is sufficient for me. No attack of judgment here.

[coinnut]

All and all Garrett detectors have some drawbacks, especially in the low end machines. Slow target response is one of them. Is the 350 worth the extra? Some say yes for the larger coverage, and added iron resolution albeit it minimal. Others say no way :lol:As for the 3030. I used quite a few machines over the years when I noticed the Minelabs beating me out. When I switched over my finds increased quite a bit. The 3030 for me has worked well...not perfect by any means, but worth the money. Will I stay with any one company? As long as I don't see another manufacturer producing a machine that works better in my soil and for my type of hunting, then I will stay with what works. But it is important that whatever machine you end up with, learn it well and give it some time. Even the cheapest machine out there can get some nice finds if you listen to what it is telling you.

[RobW]

I'm in complete agreement with George :cheesysmile:...and he was my deciding factor after hunting with him in changing from Garrett which I had owned 4 over 20 yrs and purchased an Minelab E-Trac and then a 3030 about 2 1/2 yrs later. I way over came the steep purchase prices of both machines with my finds. After changing over, the volume and the quality of my finds increased. My 3030 paid for itself in one afternoon hunt alone...theoretically....as I never have sold and do not plan to sell any finds, they are my trophies!:cheesysmile:

[RobW]

However...a lot has to be said about how one uses and knows their machine. I have seen people outperform other with FAR superior machines because "they are one with the machine.":detecting:

[MangoAve]

Thats what I was saying. Any machine will find you something (granted you know how to use it). A coin at a depth of 6" will only be found by one brand of detector? I figure each has some drawbacks. Was it the Etrac that has a picture of what is in the ground before you dig? I would like that one. To reiterate, it is knowing the machine. My MD I had just got a month ago. I tried it inside where it was warm. It doesnt like thin gold necklaces more than 3" away. Idr exactly, but using two different coins together it would yeild a completely different reading. Like a dime and a penny read as a nickle (or something to that effect). Yet content of individual coins made no difference. A silver quarter or new quarter both read as quarters. Too bad you can't try before you buy.

[coinnut]

Thats what I was saying. Any machine will find you something (granted you know how to use it). A coin at a depth of 6" will only be found by one brand of detector? I figure each has some drawbacks. Was it the Etrac that has a picture of what is in the ground before you dig? I would like that one. To reiterate, it is knowing the machine. My MD I had just got a month ago. I tried it inside where it was warm. It doesnt like thin gold necklaces more than 3" away. Idr exactly, but using two different coins together it would yeild a completely different reading. Like a dime and a penny read as a nickle (or something to that effect). Yet content of individual coins made no difference. A silver quarter or new quarter both read as quarters. Too bad you can't try before you buy.

Not all machines will find an object 6" under the ground. In nice, open, clean soil, most machines will find a coin at 6". But add some trash, high mineralization, iron nails or heavy EMI from power lines and a lot of machines will miss that target. There is a lot of physics that goes into getting the target signal out of the ground. There is no machine to the best of my knowledge that actually sees anything in the ground. They all usually compare the signal they get off of the target to some kind of samples that are stored n the machines memory of know targets. Kind of like comparing the signal to a library of signals that they have stored in the machine. Then they assign some numbers or a picture of a target (like a pull tab) or give you some sort of bar graph or other prompt, to tell you the "probable" ID of that target. If there is a machine out there that actually sees into the ground, I will mortgage my first born :lol: That would be an awesome detector.

[del]

guys:) , guys :).... oh guys :rolleyes:. poor Smeigs is just here on the classifieds looking for and ace 250 or 350 for his wife , there is plenty of areas on the forum to discuss detector theory mechanics and quantum physics realativity :rofl:

[RobW]

But Dan...George actually had someone agreeing with him for a change.....:lol:

It's all Mango's fault........:lol:...he started it....:lol:

[MangoAve]

Hey Rob, not quite. I did answer right away some info pertaining to what the OP asked. My tangent response was legit to ask why some stick with brands.

And George, I guess u took my comment too literal. I did mean picture in ground as in a bar graph that shows where signal was bounced back as in it creates a 2-D "image" of what's there. Maybe the picture of the display was misleading and it only shows a picture of a coin or pull tab from a memory of images. I didn't mean u can see it's specifically a $5 coin, just a cylindrical shape in a bar graph.

[smeigs]

Well, If I would have known I was going to start all this drama, I would have just kept to myself! Haha:hystericallaugh:

[jerr-man]

Hello smeigs, I am new to this forum. However I sell on Ebay under the same handle jerr-man. I have an ACE 250, with stock coil, and the 11 x 8 1/2 DD coil, IN THE BOX, with the dust cover. Still has (2) years of warranty on it. WORKS PERFECTLY but I WANT an AT-PRO. I would take $200.00 for it. Just let me know if you are interested. Jerry

[lee]

the garret 250 is going to give your wife no more than the coinmaster already is , i know, ive used both.
i sold my coinmaster in order to get a fisher f4 and all though i love the f4 i would loop off a limb to have it back , that thing found me so much stuff and is the only detector ive ever used that if it says its a gold ring on the monitor its a bloody gold ring in the ground.....i swear it was never wrong.
its been up against chrisinct and his v3i and paul flickner with his 3030 and done just as well if not better....stick with it,its a great detector.

[Moresound]

I have a 350 that I just might let go of seeing that I just purchased an XP Deus with extra coils, headphones and shafts.

PM me. ;)