Garrett ACE 250 - PRC

[ivconic]

For fun, I took a Chinese copy of the Garrett ACE 250, to check to what degree the Chinese managed to clone it.
To my surprise, the copy is 99.99% the same as the original.
And it works 100% the same.
The only "flaw" is a very bad speaker that the Chinese put in their clone.
I have an original speaker from the "EuroAce" model and immediately put it in a Chinese clone.
From that moment it became impossible to recognize that it was a clone!
I had a dozen ACE detectors, I have a couple of "burnt" pcbs, there are some parts.
So I can compare. There is no difference.
The work quality of this clone is EXCELLENT!
The quality of workmanship and materials is about 95% at the level of the original.

[ivconic]

[ivconic]

So the only drawback was a very bad speaker, which gave a quieter and vague "dirty" tone.
Replacing the speaker changed everything, now it works 100% the same as the original.

[Skippy]

Quote:: "To my surprise, the copy is 99.99% the same as the original."

I never know how to interpret this. It always makes me think they could have tried harder, been innovative. Change things to make it better, or cheaper, or cosmetically different/prettier/distinctive. Surely a cheaper, better-performing, classier-looking ACE would sell well ?

[Carl-NC]

For the Chinese, the goal is to duplicate exactly so that if anyone looking to buy a $200 Garrett sees the exact same thing for $79, they'll buy the $79 one. The Chinese aren't interested in doing any design work, that requires effort, time, and money.

[ivconic]

I understand roughly what you write and agree with it. (Skippy)
The whole story surrounding Chinese cloning of Western technology is a story of short breath and has reached its stage of nonsense and mere denial.
It has become pointless to buy both originals and copies that have "served their time".
There are only rare madmen and fanatics, like me, who like to spend a few hundred euros from time to time on their hobbies and passions.
Especially when it comes to metal detectors. That's the end of the story.
It's hard to be innovative there.
Because the technology is based on limited and already exhausted possibilities.
It's not a problem that some silly Chinese cloners out there can't do anything better... it's a much bigger problem that once original and inventive creators are no longer able to step forward.
Technology based on a pair of coils of copper wire in order to overcome a medium such as soil... has exhausted all possibilities.
Today we can add AI to such a detector (I'm already slowly playing with those things but without ambitions, just to kill time) but we still won't take a step forward.
Because there is a bottleneck that puts an end to progress.
I am not overly smart or educated. But sometimes I accidentally guess in my predictions.
Just as 12-15 years ago I clearly "saw" that XP Deus was a tectonic earthquake in the MD world... so today I clearly "see" that the Minelab search head with 3 coils
(Manticore) is the last "cry" of that technology that hints the end of the whole story.
Some will disagree. Many do not understand my pessimism. But they will all come to mine... sooner or later.
MD technology will only move forward if one invariant is removed from that equation; a bunch of copper wire bundled together to serve as the main "sensor".
We need a new better "sensor". What? I have no idea! I'm not that smart.
And in the meantime... Chinese cloners... ha,ha,ha!
It is an industry of cheap candies with more and more sugar and less and less useful ingredients.

[ivconic]

For the Chinese, the goal is to duplicate exactly so that if anyone looking to buy a $200 Garrett sees the exact same thing for $79, they'll buy the $79 one. The Chinese aren't interested in doing any design work, that requires effort, time, and money.

Carl you are 100% correct when it comes to what we have seen coming out of China so far.
Not only do they not make identical clones, but because of the higher savings they make mostly bad clones that are not a real threat to the originals.
That is why it is a rare case to find such a clone that is so close to the original. But the final price of this clone is not a bit comforting.
When you factor in the price on Aliexpress, add postage, then domestic customs, and add 25-60 days of waiting to all of that... it's more worthwhile for me to buy the original ACE 250 here in Serbia.
The times we remember are behind us.
Sure, you can still buy a "detector" for $20-30 on Alixpress... but it's a totally useless bunch of plastic and bad copper...
Their clones are getting worse and worse. Because huge competition has grown in China itself, and today the Chinese cause each other big problems.
They compete to make it cheaper and sell more. This only results in poor quality.
...
I seem to be the only unlucky person in the history of the planet who ran into a single Chinese (among them 1.5 billion) who is totally different!
Since I met him; I advocated fast and agile production and getting to the market as quickly as possible, so that we could earn as much money as possible...
and that young promising Chinese engineer had learning and further advancement as his main motive... money was secondary to him.
He spent months procrastinating on me and that's why we broke up!
I asked for "shark" and got "dolphin"...
I wasn't lucky enough to find even one of the other 1.499999... billion Chinese whose only motive would be to make a quick profit!
Murphy played me again...

[ivconic]

Along with this ACE 250 clone, I also took this very interesting looking metal detector.
The price in China is $35 more or less.
But by the time it got to me; the price has increased 3 times!
First impressions:
1) The detector box is made of very flimsy and cheap plastic, although the design is pleasing.
2) The "machine" itself works, there are no false functions, everything is there, in place, everything works correctly (alas... read below)
3) Search head is unnaturally large, very ugly design, hollow, light and worst quality plastic... it wouldn't even last 5 hours on my fields.
4) The cable from the search head to the machine is of the worst possible quality, it's hard to find worse than this!
5) The connector on the cable is a "DIN" type, the last time I saw it was in the mid-80's on those outdated, ancient audio devices.
6) Although the detector works correctly and accurately as far as the audio and VDI scale is concerned... the "depths" in the air are so poor and miserable... funny!
7) Audio is good but too quiet even when "Volume" is at maximum. The reason: a desperately small and weak speaker is built into the machine.
... "eight" is giving funny smiley, so let's skip it!
9) After 5 minutes of testing... the processor started to "bug" and "glitch" and the detector "froze"!
10) PCB and LCD are very nice, tidy, no visible flaws.
Conclusion:
Typical Chinese business! They never finish the job.
It is obvious that the code developers for the processor did not test the code well enough.
I'm yet a professional "tester" and I always find bugs in an hour... give me an Android phone, give me an iPhone... write an app, I'll find you "1000" bugs in the first test.
So this so-called "detector" is not even worth the initial $35...

[ivconic]

Strangest of all, this detector has a USB-C connector on the side of the box.
There is no mention of that connector in the short Chinese "English" manual.
The detector is powered by two 9V batteries.
When I remove the batteries and connect the charger (from a smartphone) to USB-C... on the pins of the two connectors for 2x9V batteries, I measure about 6.6v!???
The detector then turns on, but it "flickers" non-stop and does not work stably at all.
The Chinese seem to be suffering from an excessive love for those USB-C connectors, putting them on all their devices even though it often makes no sense.
And my former co-worker from China first drew a horribly impractical and ugly pcb for my Euromag, then despite my displeasure he put USB-C on it all too.
A customer from the UK who hastily bought 5 sets, immediately had huge problems with that solution!
On another thread, there are posts testifying to the problems and the great anti-advertisement that such a solution brought to Euromag.
A strange phenomenon...

[jstcq.com]

Quote:: "To my surprise, the copy is 99.99% the same as the original."

I never know how to interpret this. It always makes me think they could have tried harder, been innovative. Change things to make it better, or cheaper, or cosmetically different/prettier/distinctive. Surely a cheaper, better-performing, classier-looking ACE would sell well ?

The metal detector industry in China has not received much attention because detecting metals underground in China is considered a violation of the law (damaging ancient cultural sites).
So many technology professionals have not entered the metal detector industry, and only a small number of people clone them. It is because of these clones that the world's detector enthusiasts can obtain cheaper detectors, which is also a good thing!

[Qiaozhi]

[QUOTE=ivconic;n438430]

So this so-called "detector" is not even worth the initial $35...

Technology and Province spelled incorrectly on the label!

[ivconic]

The metal detector industry in China has not received much attention because detecting metals underground in China is considered a violation of the law (damaging ancient cultural sites).
So many technology professionals have not entered the metal detector industry, and only a small number of people clone them. It is because of these clones that the world's detector enthusiasts can obtain cheaper detectors, which is also a good thing!

Majority of those detectors are not good enough.
However, the Garrett Ace 250 clone, from above posts ; is exact clone and works quite alright.
So... like anywhere else; you have good skilled producers who know how to do it and you have others...
...

"...detector enthusiasts can obtain cheaper detectors..."

Not related to metal detectors, generally speaking yes this is true.
Despite my willingness to always criticize anything and everything;
I always say to myself: "Thank God for the Chinese".
Because Chinese allowed me to "taste" some of the good technology that I could only dream of until recently.
Because of my subjective living conditions.
Certainly "western" technology is the "motor of development" (it was until recently) and certainly it is always better to work with such technology.
But when you are in the conditions I am in, oppressed by a bunch of compromises and limitations; cheap Chinese goods come as a blessing to me.

[ivconic]

Kinda touches my last post in some points:

[pustareka]

Nínhǎo Liu Shi (Ivconic at Chinese)

BeeRose in China

The biggest MD and electronic market in the world - Huaqiangbei Market....Shenzhen.

Inside The Worlds MOST Advanced City | Shenzhen China

Xiaomi YU7. A nightmare for all car brands

Shenzhen today - not AI picture.

[ivconic]

My post disappeared.
Well, this post would makes no sense, so I am correcting it now.
I wrote briefly that the girl from the first video is telling the 100% truth!
I have a girl friend (a friend, not girlfriend) who lives in China, she says the same thing.
2027 is the world EXPO here in Serbia, a planetary event!
A huge number of participating countries.
Who comes (I invite you and you are welcome, of course); he will have a chance to taste the future!
Works are in progress. The contractors of all works are Chinese companies. I am already very impressed!
You will have the opportunity to ride cheaply in flying taxis.
You will have the opportunity to be hosted by humanoid robots with the most advanced AI, you will not be sure of the differences.
And I'll be there all the time... in hologram form!




And now there is a logical continuation of the post, the one above disappeared a while ago...

"... I am already very impressed..."


But then I remember that this morning I paid taxes to this state, taxes on the purchase of land and real estate, which I recently bought.
They skinned me alive!
They took off my skin!
(That's why I've become a hologram now!)
I'm so mad I don't have the energy to be mad... I'm just laughing, like I just got out of a party with Snoop Dogg.
(And I have a crazy shine in my eyes, I'm afraid to look in the mirror!)
The gang in power is organizing an EXPO to remember, a truly historic planetary event!
But with whose money!?
This morning, I gave my contribution, without a cent of personal desire and agreement with it!






So... don't ask me for money... I'm a dead man, I continue to exist only as a hologram...