Ace Apex Setting For Gold Jewelry

[Newbe]

Just want to introduce myself as I am new to this site as well as metal detecting.  My brother and I just purchased Garrett ACE Apex Metal Detector with 6x11" DD Multi-Flex Viper Searchcoil and have yet to use it.  Can anyone tell me what mode I should set it to to locate gold?

[Chase Goldman]

4 hours ago, Newbe said:

Just want to introduce myself as I am new to this site as well as metal detecting.  My brother and I just purchased Garrett ACE Apex Metal Detector with 6x11" DD Multi-Flex Viper Searchcoil and have yet to use it.  Can anyone tell me what mode I should set it to to locate gold?

Welcome to the forum Newbe.  Your best bet is to post this question in the Garrett Metal Detectors subforum on this site.  In that subforum, detectorists who use Garrett detectors, and specifically the Apex, will be able to answer your questions specific to that detector.

But before you post this question over there, it would be helpful to include some additional information with your new post such as the region of the US you are located and approximately where you plan to look for gold and whether you are simply looking for gold jewelry in a park or on a beach or natural gold in the ground as the best settings and mode will be dependent on which of those scenarios apply to you.   Furthermore, experienced detectorists will be able to better weigh in on whether there is natural gold to be found in your area with your type of detector.  Natural gold is not something that is found just anywhere and certain ground conditions and places that have been hit hard by detectorists looking for gold may mean that your detector, which is a good general purpose detector that can find gold but is not optimized for gold detecting and may be limited in its ability to detect gold in difficult conditions even if it is set up optimally to find it. 

Reality Check: Natural gold is a difficult target to detect in the ground because it is typically comprised of very small fragments that are hard to differentiate from other non-desirable targets such as iron bits, lead, and tiny pieces of brass or aluminum.  It takes A LOT of patience and is best pursued after you have had some time to practice and getting used to how your machine responds to more commonplace targets such as coins, larger jewelry (rings, earrings, necklaces, etc), buttons, etc.  Detecting for even these more commonplace but desirable items is also not necessarily straightforward or easy, especially if you are dealing with a lot of iron, aluminum, or other junk targets such as nails, cans and pieces of cans (such as ring pulls), fired bullets and brass casings or shotgun shells, fishing tackle, aluminum siding pieces, etc.  There are ways to set up your detector to filter out some of these items, but not all and you also run the risk of filtering out a desirable target if you are not familiar with your detector's settings.

My suggestion is that you read through your detector's manual - the electronic version can be downloaded here.  Get some test targets like coins of various different denominations, jewelry, nails, pull tabs, aluminum cans, fishing sinkers, etc. and see how your detector responds to those targets in the various different modes by simply placing your test targets on the "clean" ground (ground that does not make noises when you pass over it after ground balancing - (see below)).  The modes and the optimal targets those modes are designed for are described in the manual (hint: gold is probably best detected in zero or jewelry mode or in single frequency set to 20 khz).  Just use the default settings for each mode, don't adjust anything, ground balance the detector per the instruction manual to cancel out the ground effects, and swing away at your test targets noting the audio and numerical response of the detector to each target.  After you get used to your detector's response to surface targets, then detect your yard to see if you can find anything in it, then branch out to other areas such as a local park, ball field, or beach provided your local laws permit you to do so or ask a neighbor if you can detect their property, and get some addition experience with your detector.

If you have not done so, obtaining some additional equipment is recommended.  A hand digger, such as a garden trowel, screwdriver, or dedicated metal detecting hand digger can help with target recovery from the ground and there are ways you can recover the target without damaging yard turf.  In less manicured areas, you might be able to use a shovel. If you are in a public area, there may be rules on what kind of digging implements are permitted to be used if metal detecting is allowed theres. A small handheld detector called a pinpointer also comes in handy for locating the target in dirt or in the hole that you have dug - items buried in the dirt can be deeper than expected, off center from the hole you dug, and are also not easily visible in the dirt if they have been buried for more than a few days.  The pinpointer sounds off loudest when its tip nearest the target to help you find it quicker.  Finally, it is handing to have some sort of pouch to hold your trash and treasure - it can be as simple as a tool apron or you can spend bucks on a dedicated metal detecting pouch where you can store finds, trash, your hand digger, and your pinpointer and anything else you carry along.

There are no dumb questions.  You are embarking on a new hobby and there is no way for you to know everything when first starting out.

Welcome to the hobby, Good luck and Happy Hunting.

 

 

[Newbe]

Many thanks.  I will take your advice.

[rvpopeye]

Welcome from uptah camp.

Good luck with your new apex ! 

[JCR]

Welcome from East Texas.

[kac]

Jewlery is marked on the Apex screen on top but also keep in mind chains and smaller jewelry will be in the foil range.

MF or 20khz should work fine for jewelry hunting. I would use no discrimination on it and if iron audio is too much you can turn the iron volume down.

I have found some pretty nice rings and chains with mine. Be sure to slow up your swing on it so you can follow the audio better.

Happy Hunting.

[Newbe]

17 hours ago, JCR said:

Welcome from East Texas.

👍