On our second trip to the woods, where there were fewer signals, he started to play with the sensitivity, turning it up until it squealed and then down just enough to stop it from making a constant noise. The Ace 200 is not waterproof so don’t drop it in a river or let the control box get drenched in a storm. I looked for days/weeks and without realising it I have come to the decision that the Garret 250 is the best machine for me. There’s just one on/off switch resulting in an item that is intuitive for children to use, and all of the plastic components are moulded to have smooth edges and be comfortable for children to hold.

I know the detector cost quite a bit of money and it’s not a toy, so I’ll look after it and keep it safe in my wardrobe.It’s easy-to-use, finds enough targets to keep kids entertained, and has enough tech to keep early teens engaged. The buttons are clearly labelled Power, Discrimination, Mode, Sensitivity, Pinpoint, and Elimination (elim). Metal detectors with target ID will often have an LCD display that can indicate which type of metal has been detected.

Metal detecting can be a great hobby for the ‘technology-obsessed’ younger-generations to get involved with. It also doesn’t have the iron filtering capabilities or pinpointing function of its big brothers and you may find yourself digging more trash that you’d hoped. I’d recommend the Garrett ACE 150 for kids and adults looking for a cheap starting out metal detector. A display which shows the modes you have selected, a depth of target indicator which shows you roughly how deep your item is, and a sensitivity bar to show you how sensitive you have set the machine.It’s a great choice for older children who are capable of using its simple technology and want a step up from toy detectors, but it’s not suitable for very young children. The Garrett range has a wide selection of specialised detectors, allowing you to move to a more advanced detector as your skills progress. It’s great to have choice over the machine and the sensitivity is an important feature, but I’d say it’s for when you’ve got more experience.

Smaller coils are better at detecting items closer to the surface and can better pinpoint finds in area with high concentrations of ‘trash’ metal.Most kids study history at school, and metal detecting is a great way to keep them engaged and interested – potentially leading to better grades! He created Metal Pursuits to share his knowledge and create the ultimate metal detecting resource on the web. Battery life on the Garrett Ace 150 is another great feature of the machine, I personally have had between 25 – 30 hours of metal detecting from it but some users have reported more, this will depend on the quality and age of the batteries you are using. The Garrett Ace 250 metal detector has been described regularly as a great beginners metal detector, durable, lightweight, very simple to use and very affordable. Iv had some good finds but mostly it does this which is a waste of time and annoying to say the least.

I was worried the control box might be a bit difficult for Max to navigate but he said ‘Don’t be stupid’ and just flicked through all the settings like it was his PlayStation menu. I picked up interesting metals on my first two trips and it can be tuned to filter out the rubbish with little faffing around. Keep off heavily mineralised ground and saltwater and use the sensitivity setting to help you out if it’s struggling.I was happy to head out using factory pre-set modes and because I am quite lazy with technology, I probably won’t use it too much in future – however, it’s good to know the machine is capable of more. All of the external components are made from plastic, including the handle which is chunky, ergonomic, and rounded off to make it comfortable for children to hold. The cool thing about the ACE 250 is that it uses the graphical identification system from earlier to create quick notches. Custom:- Set standard as the same as coin mode, but the user can programme custom settings using the elimination, and discrimination to selectindividual specifications. Put a coin, different types of jewellery and a drinks can on the floor and run your detector over them before heading out.