Garrett ACE Apex Jase Robertson Signature Edition Metal Detector with Raider Coil

The Garrett ACE Apex Jase Robertson Signature Edition is the camo ACE Apex with the 8.5 x 11 inch DD Raider coil and a Duck Commander duck call with lanyard, a Multi-Flex multi-frequency detector Garrett describes for hunting relics, coins and more. Garrett's Multi-Flex technology gives it four single frequencies, 5, 10, 15 and 20 kHz, plus Multi-Frequency and Multi-Salt, with 175-point ground balance, Iron Audio, built-in Z-Lynk wireless and a rechargeable battery that runs up to about 15 hours. Garrett rates the searchcoil and lower stem fully submersible, while the control box is rainproof.

What is in the box with the Garrett ACE Apex Jase Robertson Signature Edition

Garrett's standard contents for the ACE Apex Jase Robertson Signature Edition (Garrett part 1142363)

• Garrett ACE Apex Jase Robertson Signature Edition in camo pattern: control box on the S-shaped stem, with built-in Z-Lynk wireless transmitter and rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Armrest with armrest strap
• Upper and lower stem, connected, with push-pin locks and camlocks
• 8.5 x 11 inch DD Multi-Flex Raider searchcoil
• Garrett 8.5 x 11 inch DD coil cover
• Searchcoil mounting hardware: nut, bolt and mounting washers
• Micro-USB charging cable
• Quick-Start Guide
• Duck Commander branded duck call with lanyard

About the Garrett ACE Apex

The Garrett ACE Apex combines Garrett's Multi-Flex multi-frequency technology, rechargeable power and a relatively approachable interface. Multi-Flex gives it four selectable single frequencies, 5, 10, 15 and 20 kHz, plus two simultaneous multi-frequency options, Multi-Frequency and Multi-Salt, along with high-resolution ground balance, Iron Audio, adjustable iron volume and a 0 to 99 Digital Target ID. We like its mix of general-purpose versatility and familiar ACE-style operation.

About the Jase Robertson Signature Edition

Garrett describes the Jase Robertson Signature Edition as a camo ACE Apex, a multi-frequency metal detector for hunting relics, coins and more. Its features and specifications follow the standard ACE Apex, it uses the 8.5 x 11 inch DD Multi-Flex Raider searchcoil, and Garrett includes a Duck Commander duck call with lanyard. Garrett also calls it well balanced and ideal for all ages.

Multi-Frequency, Multi-Salt and single frequencies

Imagine someone who normally searches Michigan parks taking a vacation to Florida: we would use a suitable Multi-Frequency setting at home and switch to Multi-Salt on the wet ocean sand. Multi-Salt, labeled MS on the menu, uses a blend of frequencies to help overcome the negative effects of saltwater beaches, where sand saturated with conductive salt water produces signals that interfere with buried metal. Garrett notes that lower frequencies generally do better on larger, more conductive targets such as large silver coins, and higher frequencies on smaller, less conductive targets such as hammered silver coins and gold nuggets. Garrett notes that increasing levels of salt minerals can make the detector unstable, and in saltwater areas with highly mineralized black sand it suggests reducing sensitivity for maximum stability. Each single and multi-frequency setting also has eight channels, or independent frequency shifts.

Ground balance, Iron Audio and target ID

• Ground balance: automatic, with 175 points of ground balance resolution ranging from ferrous ground to saltwater, the same resolution Garrett gives the Garrett AT Max. Press and hold the GND BAL button while pumping the searchcoil over the ground, and the ground balance value appears where the Target ID normally shows. Moving from mild park soil to more mineralized ground, ground balancing helps compensate for the soil's own signals, but severe ground can still reduce detection performance.
• Iron Audio: lets you hear discriminated iron that is normally silenced, which Garrett says helps identify complex iron objects such as bottle caps.
• Iron Volume: eight adjustments lower the volume of iron targets while non-ferrous targets stay at normal volume.
• Discrimination and search modes: twenty pixels of notch discrimination, including eight pixels of iron, and six search modes: Zero, Coins, US Coins (with coin icons), Jewelry, Relics and Custom, plus Pinpoint. Custom keeps your changes when the detector is switched off. Garrett's iron masking tip is to use just enough discrimination to barely reject the iron trash, because a good target lying next to a nail can still register through their combined conductivity. Garrett also notes that the US Coins pattern may miss medium-sized jewelry.
• Target ID and audio: large 0 to 99 Target ID numbers on a backlit LCD, five audible tones, a target depth indicator and a hybrid audio system that adds subtle proportional audio for faint targets to the binary audio of earlier ACE detectors. Garrett notes that Target ID can vary widely with a target's size and thickness, and mineralized soil can make it less accurate, especially on small or deep targets.

The 8.5 x 11 inch DD Raider searchcoil

Garrett describes the 8.5 x 11 inch DD Multi-Flex Raider as the perfect size coil for open field searches, with great coverage area, easy target separation and excellent detection depth on coin-sized and larger targets, and smooth operation even in highly mineralized soils and on saltwater beaches. Its wider footprint searches a broader strip with each sweep. The entire coil can be submerged, its coil cover protects it from scratches, it weighs 1.2 lbs out of the box, and it works only with Garrett Apex detectors. See our metal detector search coils.

Z-Lynk wireless audio on the Garrett ACE Apex

Every ACE Apex has a built-in Z-Lynk wireless transmitter, which Garrett says is up to 6 times faster than Bluetooth. Garrett says any Garrett Z-Lynk wireless product is compatible with the ACE Apex, including Garrett Z-Lynk wireless headphones and the PRO-Pointer AT Z-Lynk pinpointer. Bluetooth headphones do not work with it, because Z-Lynk is Garrett's own technology, and Garrett's WR-1 Z-Lynk receiver module lets wired headphones work wirelessly. Wired headphones plug into the 1/8 inch jack, and a 1/4 inch plug needs a 1/8 to 1/4 inch adapter; the volume control covers both the built-in speaker and headphones. See our metal detector headphones.

Water and beach use with the Garrett ACE Apex

Garrett says the ACE Apex searchcoil and lower stem are fully submersible, but the control box should never be submerged. The control box is rainproof: Garrett builds it to keep rain and blowing rain out of the housing, provided the rubber covers are firmly seated in the USB and headphone openings. On wet sand, at the water's edge and in shallow creeks and swimming areas, keep the control box dry and above the waterline. For someone who needs a fully submersible detector, we recommend the Garrett Vortex VX7 or Garrett Vortex VX9, because the ACE Apex control housing is not designed for underwater use; see also our waterproof metal detectors.

Battery, weight and build

A built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery gives up to approximately 15 hours of use, depending on settings. Garrett lists a recharge time of 4 hours from any USB port with the detector off, longer if it is on, and recommends charging for 4 to 5 hours before first use; the rapid charging system needs 500 mA for the fastest charge. The ACE Apex can also run while plugged into an external 5V USB power pack. Charging uses the Micro-USB port under a weatherproof rubber flap on the back of the control box, and if the battery ever needs replacing, Garrett recommends its factory or a certified Garrett service center. The aluminum stem adjusts from 40 to 53 inches (1.016 to 1.35 m) with push-pin locks and camlocks. Garrett makes its metal detectors in America.

Coin and relic hunting with the Garrett ACE Apex

Numeric target ID, Iron Audio, adjustable discrimination, ground balance and electronic pinpointing are the ACE Apex tools for evaluating coin and relic signals, and Iron Volume lowers iron tones on iron-heavy sites. See our best metal detectors for coins and best metal detectors for relic hunting guides.

Pinpointing and recovery

Press and hold the Pinpoint button and slowly sweep the searchcoil over the target area; the display shows PP. A handheld pinpointer then finds the target in the open hole, and Garrett names its PRO-Pointer AT Z-Lynk as compatible with the ACE Apex, so with Garrett Z-Lynk wireless headphones you hear both the detector and the pinpointer. See our Garrett pinpointers.

Garrett ACE Apex searchcoils and compatibility

Garrett makes Multi-Flex searchcoils for the ACE Apex in four sizes: the 6 x 11 inch DD Viper, 1.3 lbs (0.59 kg) out of the box, the 8.5 x 11 inch DD Raider, 1.2 lbs (0.54 kg), the 5 x 8 inch DD Ripper, 0.75 lbs (0.34 kg), which Garrett calls the perfect size for tight spaces and iron-infested sites, and the 14 x 11 inch Reaper. Each works only with Garrett Apex detectors, and because of the Multi-Flex coil technology, prior ACE coils are not compatible with an ACE Apex. Our coil guide explains what coil size and shape change, and our Garrett parts and accessories list shows what fits each Garrett model.

Getting started with the Garrett ACE Apex

We would start with a suitable factory search mode, such as Coins in Multi-Frequency, then learn the settings that matter most on the ACE Apex: Multi-Frequency versus Multi-Salt, ground balance, Iron Audio and discrimination. The most common mistake we see is assuming that because the searchcoil is waterproof, the entire detector can be submerged. Garrett recommends lower sensitivity when the detector behaves erratically because of trash, mineralization, electrical interference or other detectors, and a different frequency channel to reduce electrical interference from sources such as power lines; higher sensitivity is for very small or very deep targets.

Who we would recommend the Garrett ACE Apex to

We recommend the ACE Apex to beginners and intermediate detectorists searching parks, fields, freshwater locations and saltwater beaches. We would choose it for approachable Garrett multi-frequency detecting, particularly when saltwater capability is useful but underwater submersion is not required. Our multi-frequency metal detectors collection has more choices.

Garrett ACE Apex Jase Robertson compared with the AT Max Jase Robertson

Garrett also makes an AT Max Jase Robertson Signature Edition. The AT Max version runs a single 13.6 kHz frequency on four AA batteries and is waterproof to 10 feet (3 meters). The ACE Apex version adds Multi-Flex multi-frequency, Multi-Salt and a built-in rechargeable battery, with a rainproof control box that should stay above the water. The differences below come from Garrett's published specifications.

Garrett ACE Apex Jase Robertson Signature Edition specifications

Garrett covers the ACE Apex with a 3-year limited warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship.

See all our Garrett metal detectors.

Every ACE Apex package and accessory we carry is in our Garrett ACE Apex collection, linked at the top of the page.