Article in the October 2006 Australian Gold, Gem & Treasure magazine.
by CHRIS DURBRIDGE
( Note:- Incorrect last name was include with the article)
Garrett Ace 250 – Pocket Rocket.
The marketing team at Garrett should rename this little beauty to “Garrett Hoover 250”. It is a coin vacuum cleaner. I have had my Ace 250 since February 2005 after deciding to give coin and treasure hunting a go after 25 years of gold prospecting. When I received my machine, I found it well packed within an attractive box and with a set of batteries included. All I had to do was assemble it and away I went. I am one of those blokes that likes to put things together on a wing and a prayer (without instructions) and get out there and give it a go and read the manual later, much later. In fact I still haven’t read that manual !
So it was with a big surprise that I discovered the controls on the ace were so easy to understand and use without having read the manual. With great enthusiasm I headed down to my local park to test her out. After about 5 minutes of swinging, the very first reading I dug up was a 1951 Australian florin in good nick at around 7 inches. I was stoked. I still have that coin. The three tones that the machine has makes the decision making process a lot easier when detecting in trashy ground. When I am in trashy ground I also have 5 separate programs to rely on, All metal, Jewellery, Custom, Relics and Coins. I very quickly discovered that my preference is Jewellery mode as there is no risk of discriminating gold rings out. When it gets real bad I will use coins and notch out 5 cent pieces. I think I can afford to lose a few 5 cent bits.
I have spent a fair amount of time working around our parks here. I asked and got permission to work on some of the schools here and combined with the parks have managed almost $600 in change plus a number of silver rings, silver jewellery, pre decimal coins and other bits and pieces. I then started to branch out and look at playgrounds and schools in other towns in my district and they proved to be just as productive. I found my first 18 ct. gold ring in a playground just under the swings along with $28 in change. The ring was a surprise as it had the same tone as a 10 c bit. I was very surprised to see that gold band in the hole. You just never know when a 10 cent bit will turn into a gold ring.
I find the Ace very easy to use and light to swing. I can go all day and not get tired. The depth is very good with the best on a $2 coin at 8 inches measured with the sensitivity set at 4 bars out of 10. I have found bigger items at greater depths. Coke cans at 12 – 14 inches and largish copper plate at the same sort of depth. It does not like mineralised ground very much and I find I cannot run the sensitivity more than 4 – 5 before getting false signals. I usually run it at sensitivity level 3 which is more than enough for playgrounds. The pinpoint function on it is great when you don’t want to attract too much attention when digging readings. The 4 AA batteries that power this beast seem to last forever and it runs well on rechargeable batteries. If you use headphones you will need a set with inline volume control as the volume output is very loud and non adjustable from the machine.
Since Feb last year I have managed to pay back the cost of the machine 10 times. I have found a total of $3550 in 6832 coins, sold $440 in jewellery and still have about $800 in jewellery that I have found. I have also found 77 pre decimal coins some of which are worth a few dollars. So for my initial outlay of $475 I have returned around $5000 in finds. Not bad in any ones book. I have had a ball with this little machine and the fun is still going. Even my kids have discovered that if they find the coins they get to keep and spend them. It is a bit of a battle for them though trying to get the machine from me to have a go !
I have 8 gold rings, 2 white gold and one 24 ct gold. I have 8 silver rings. Silver charm bracelet, silver pendants, silver ear rings, gold bracelet, silver bracelets, 24 ct gold pendant, silver chains, stacks of foreign coins from all over the world. The list keeps going on. If you are looking for a cheap detector that has a heap of functions and power for the price, consider a Garrett Ace 250. I did for my first attempt at treasure hunting and I have not looked back.
