Garrett ace 300i or ace 400i

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Joined
Jul 13, 2018
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Location
Cairns, QLD
Hey guys, im planning on upgrading to a better detector and im doing some research.

Im currently using an unbranded detector (GC 1028) which served me well, but its time to upgrade.

Im mostly looking into garrett detectors because they seem to be well priced and I dont want to break the bank. From this point I guess everything is an upgrade but im looking mostly on the ace 300i and 400i. Im obviously not looking for the top detector but for value for money and what I can keep for a few years. As far as I see it the main differences is that the 400i got a DD coil, higher frequency and Iron audio.

As far as im concerned both are good detectors, im curious about the iron audio. A friend of mine got the 400i and he is not using the iron audio a lot and says its not a necessary feature. I suppose for coins, relics and jewellery that the higher frequency wont be much of an advantage too. So right now I see the most essential difference in the coil. I read that the dd coil will be more stable in mineralized soil and will deliver better target separation. While the concentric will deliver better target identification in low to normal mineralized soil. I even read that its possible to determine if its pull tab or a coin before digging with a concentric while its hard with a DD.

So besides reading up about it I have no experience. I hope you guys can help me out on that and post some opinions and experience in regard to coils and iron audio.

Thanks
 
I have had the 300 for the past 6 months and it has served me well.
A great machine for the parks and playgrounds it has paid for itself in finds.
Check out my thread on the 300 to see what it can do.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24774

As for the 400 the DD would be the big step up for me, i think mine is a little behind missing the bigger DD and would be better suited than the supplied mono
 
My buddy who got the 400i bought the 5x8 DD coil because he is not that happy with the target separation of the 8.5x11 DD. Im not too keen on getting an additional coil so my thought would be that i could go for the 300i and have a better target identification with the concentric coil instead of having the DD coil on the 400i and lose target identification without having the desired target separation.

@Lord great thread thank you for posting the link
 
Having not used the DD i can only comment on the 300's mono but yes it does have brilliant target ID.
I can tell what coin i will dig (5c or 10c or 1$ or 2$ even 1c and 2c) before i dig it with very high accuracy. Numbers are extremely stable on proper targets like coins rings ect.

As an example on my machine $2 is a TDI of 77 all day long, its only occasionally some junk will be 77 also, so say 14 out of 15 solid 77 TDI' will be a $2 coin.

I think you would be happy with either machine really, key is to get to know what machine you are using very well and you will dig less trash and more goodies.
 
Thanks, i guess thats right either way, it will be a big upgrade for me.
Was hoping to hear more opinions about the benefits of the different coils and the opinion on iron audio.
Thanks that you share the target identification accuracy for the 300i ill gonna have a chat to my buddy with the 400 to get some information how accurate the 400i is with identifying targets.
 
I think the main difference between the DD and the mono is the detection field, the DD has more like a blade, the mono is more like a cone.
For the same depth of area with the DD you dont need as much overlap in your sweep.
The same diameter mono will go deeper but to cover an area at maximum depth you need to overlap your sweep by as much as 66%.
Matt T
 
Yes when i get it right the dd coil will have a fairly narrow detection field which will be beneficial for the target separation, also they seem to work better in mineralized soil.
The concentric coils have a fairly wide detection field which narrows down as deeper they get, but i read that the target identification is better and numbers will be fairly stable. As LORD mentioned he can tell 14 out of 15 times what the target will be before digging, so minimizing trash you digg up will be reduced. I reaad that DD coild tend to not be as accurate, means you dig more trash.

im in alot spots where trash is and dirty landfill so im considering what coil will be better for me. I know it would be likely to miss more targets with the concentric coil, but it might be the go if i wont dig up so much trash.
 
Hey there, i have the 400I and iron audio works well when distinguishing between coins and rubbish on beaches but have problems with it on hard ground, which we are still trying to work out by trial and error with the settings. Target identification on coins is spot on, again this is on beaches... very close though on hard ground, going a couple of numbers either side, but again we are still working out the best settings for that.
 
The iron audio is probably not a huge need if just detecting for modern coins (other than what I've mentioned below), in fact it could actually end being annoying to listen to all the time. Difference being between other detectors with iron audio and the 400i is that you can turn down the volume of the iron so it is less annoying, yet still just audible in the background. The 400i is essentially replacing the previous EuroAce which was setup to suit European sites. Their sites typically have a lot of iron, hence the expanded iron range, higher frequency to suit the thin silver/copper/gold coins regularly found there, and larger DD coil for improved depth, handling in iron and also for greater ground coverage. DD coils on the Ace will improve target separation over similarly sized concentric coils, something to keep in mind if your sites are ridden with junk/iron.

The concentric on the Ace 300i should be fine for most detecting, though if after a bit more depth to search for deeper/older coins, then the large DD could be added at a later date. The other real handy coil is the 4.5" sniper coil, works real well around play equipment and very junky ground - was a favourite of mine for tot lots.

The 7x10" concentric coil on the Ace 300i is physically larger than the stock concentric coil on the outgoing Ace 250, so should offer some more depth ability whilst still retaining good ID on junk items like crown caps. That's where iron audio can be an advantage, it allows you to hear the iron report from the rusty crown caps when the coil is drawn back off the target, identifying larger iron objects that might offer an initial high tone, or for detecting non-ferrous targets sitting in close proximity to iron.

Also keep in mind that using any of the larger coils on the Ace detectors will make them quite nose heavy over the stock coil.
 
I guess the iron audio would be nice to have but i would pay more for the feature.
I just had a chat to my buddy who owns the 400i and he said that the numbers certainly jump around a bit. I mentioned what LORD said about the 300i accuracy
(14 out of 15 it is a $2 coin when the detector shows a 77) and he was quite impressed.

So i guess i got to decide if i prefer target separation to miss less targets or target identification to dig less trash.

Im not too keen on buying an additional coil.
 
Slightly off topic but on a recent episode of house demolishion they used a Garrett 300 by the looks of it
to find A lost gold coin in the large 2 story house.
Seemed to work a treat as they did find the coin before demolishing the house.
 
Hey mate,
thanks for the reply.
i suppose all detectors are able to find a gold coin the question will just be about the depth and the target separation.

I tried to make another post the other day but i couldnt reply somehow.

I ended up buying the ACE 400i, i got a great offer from an authorized dealer and couldnt resist.
I picked it up new for a bit under 500. Was yesterday out for 2 hours to give it a go and well thats a HUGE difference to my old detector.
Mostly played around with the settings so far, didnt really find anything but well gotta figure out how to work it.
With my old detector i was happy to find $2 total and after 3 month i usually had $12 to $15 a run.

My first thoughts:
Great quality for the price, depth is amazing and the target sepration is really good for the big coil.
I usually detect in quite trashy areas and with iron audio on, its just not possible for me to find anything at this stage.
I need to get figure out pinpointing a bit better, usually 2 or 3 cm off. With my old detector i was always spot on, but i guess thats a benefit of concentric coils.
I jutr have a GPpointer at this stage, was always fine so far but now it just harder to locate the targets, since the range is just about 3 cm.

But great machine for the price! Really impressed just need to take it out more often to lern how to set it up and read it properly.

I gonna be in germany all September and will take the detector wih be i hope to get a bit more used to it till then.

Thanks to everyone taking part and giving inbput to this topic, really helped me!
 

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