Is this a good thing or bad?

[Tom Slick]

Since getting my first Racer and the the Racer 2 I've sold a number of other detectors that just weren't getting used any longer After the original Racer I sold my M6 and MXT Pro. After the Racer 2 arrived I departed with a Silver Sabre µMax, Bandido II µMax, a Mr. Bill modified IDX Pro, and a Teknetics Omega 8000, and an 8500. My arsenal is shrinking fast , but for they type of hunting I do, I find the Racer 2 really performs. I'm just not sure if selling off detectors is a good thing or not. I always thought of detectors like I do about tools and guns. "there's no such thing as too many".

 

[RANDY CONNELL]

very interesting you got rid of that many,and yet the racer 2 dose what they did maybe better.now you have money for the next one.

 

[Frank in NH]

He will have plenty of money for the IMPACT!

 

[Tom Slick]

Now that's a thought!

 

[pasttom]

I had thought of my 'extra' detectors as money in the bank (under the mattress?), but the bottom seems to be dropping out of retained value, so... Selling seems pretty good if you can still get a price. Bank or buy some gold or silver and wait out the Impact or other future magic stick!

 

[Tom Slick]

For sure, used detectors sure don't bring what they used too. Well that's a good thing if you're buying!

 

[Monte]

Since getting my first Racer and the the Racer 2 I've sold a number of other detectors that just weren't getting used any longer..

Through the decades my 'brand switching' has occurred frequently as there seemed like a lot of new things coming along that bettered the other guys, and some had better balance or feel. I typically had at least two or three detectors in my regular-carry detector battery, and a number of others at home and ready to grab for any occasion. Usually I had specimens that I regularly used from three, four or five different detector makers.

In more recent years I have owned, used, and parted with many expensive detectors after discovering the mid-priced competitor's models would match or better them with the performance I needed for the types of sites we hunt. There have been some good detectors on the market in recent years that I have enjoyed, such as the MXT Pro, MX5, Omega 8000 [size=small](Version 4)[/size], Bandido II, Bandido II µMAX and Silver Sabre µMAX. Matter-of-fact, some of the most efficient detectors for working the very densely iron infested old sites I like to hunt 9like those we've worked on the first four WTHO's, have been my favorite Tesoro models.

I have relied on using proven Tesoro's to compare and evaluate all other makes and models for handling nasty iron nail plagued sites, and until I switched to the Nokta FORS CoRe, the closest models out there have been the Teknetics T2, White's MXT Pro and MX5, and a couple of others that fell a little short of their performance, but were still workable for maybe half of the sites. Then things changed dramatically in January of last year when I got a FORS CoRe in my hands, and I mean 'dramatically' within an hour to a day! It only took a matter of minutes to work the CoRe over my Nail Board Performance Test, and then several other field-test scenarios to get really excited.

I spent the night [size=small](and mind you this was in January and I wasn't living where it was warm and cozy in North Central Oregon along the Columbia River)[/size] doing comparisons with three Tesoro models and an MX5, MXT Pro, Teknetics T2 'Classic', Fisher F75 and Fisher F19. As soon as daylight arrived I loaded up and headed off to work some old ranch dwellings which included a falling apart barn/structure with ample nails scattered about.

On the drive back home with my then new #1 all-purpose detector, the Nokta FORS CoRe, I started the decision making of what I would want to unload most of the other detectors I had. I cleaned house and only planned to keep a couple of Tesoro's and the MXT pro, which then dropped to the #2 spot, but that didn't last long. In a couple of weeks I had a Makro Racer in-hand and after very little in-house and out-in-the-field testing, the MXT Pro was on the way out as the Racer was a very close #2 unit in my arsenal.

After the original Racer I sold my M6 and MXT Pro. After the Racer 2 arrived I departed with a Silver Sabre µMax, Bandido II µMax, a Mr. Bill modified IDX Pro, and a Teknetics Omega 8000, and an 8500. My arsenal is shrinking fast , but for they type of hunting I do, I find the Racer 2 really performs..

I know exactly what you mean, and for me, the progression of Makro and Nokta detectors has continued to please me and I have also cleaned out most everything I had. The specialty-use FORS Gold + and Gold Racer are solid, reliable units, and my CoRe still rides along as one of my three main-carry detectors. Those include my current #1 unit, the FORS Relic, and a very close 'tie' for a very close 2nd place are the Racer 2 and CoRe.

I'm just not sure if selling off detectors is a good thing or not. I always thought of detectors like I do about tools and guns. "there's no such thing as too many".

Again, I kind of agree with you in the general thought, but there is such a thing as having too many of what's not good enough. I acquired the Omega 8000 Ver. 5 from you last month on the Outing because I wanted to see if it was as good or better than the Version 4. It isn't. It's actually worse because they monkeyed with the Discrimination circuitry and it works more like the Euro-Tek and F19. So what was going to be a 'loaner unit' in my arsenal is now up for sale. I'll replace it with another Racer 2.

Other than one favorite Tesoro that I do tote along for some friends or family to use, my detector battery is all Nokta & Makro, so I guess I am a little biased when I say I think you made the right call to thin the herd.

Monte

 

[2 Much Trash]

What about keeping and using a detector long enough to understand its nuances. Its hard to understand, for me at least, why folks have so many detectors and switch from one to another in a heart beat.It takes years to bond with a unit. One month this detector is the best thing since sliced bread. The next month, it ain't with 2 cents. Explain this if you will.

 

[Tom Slick]

Some folks take longer to learn a detector than others. Some detectors take longer to learn than others. An inexperienced operator that only gets out occasionally will take much longer to learn a detector than an experienced user that goes out often. Some folks test and experiment with their detectors and some just turn them on and use them without trying different settings. Then we have different types of detecting sites and environments. I think that if it take "years to bond with a unit". It may be the wrong unit for that person. In my case, I used the Racer for a year. It took me about two weeks to realize that it was better IMO then any of my other detectors at some of my detecting sites. To that point, I hadn't been as excited about a new detector in over ten years. Even the White's V3i that I bought the first week they came available didn't excite me as much as the Racer did. Along comes the Racer 2 with all reports saying it performed like the Racer except it had added features that were important to me so the Racer 2 it was. I don't believe any one detector is the best all around. I also just like having different detectors to use, and I'm picky about what I like and what I don't. These are my current detectors and what I use them for.

Makro Racer 2 - I have two and they are my go to detectors for iron infested sites like ghost towns, railroad sidings, and old home lots. I also use the Racer 2 for dry beach sand, and trashy parks around the picnic tables.
White's DFX - I have three so my wife and son can hunt the planted competition hunts with me (the only hunting they do). we use the 9" HotFoot coils in the hunts, and the DFX with a BigFoot coil is my open area park, and soccer field detector.
Tesoro Tiger Shark - Fresh water lake detector
Minelab Sovereign - Saltwater wet sand detector
Makro Gold Racer - Micro jewelry / nugget hunting

Where's my old, deep coin detector? I don't have one any longer as I no longer live in an old/deep coin area. My Racer 2, DFX, and Sovereign all go plenty deep enough around here.

If a person doesn't bond with a detector after giving it a few weeks or months then I think it may not be a good match. To each their own but maybe I've tried many to find what I bond with quickly rather than keeping the same detector and living with it for years hoping to bond with it. Shoud a person keep a girlfriend for years trying to bond with her or is it better to find one you click with right off the bat? Just wondering.

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

I like to move on and I would always test an older detector in a test garden against a new unit. I think Keith holds on to a lot of detectors but for me it will be my racer my deus and the impact when it comes out. A lot of it for me is the coils and it's always fun going back to an area and seeing if you backup can pull a few targets out. Not every detector gets everything.

 

[Southwind]

I've looked many years for that one detector to do it all because I've always felt using the same detector all the time should make you much better on that detector than just using it once and awhile. Problem has been after trying pretty much every detector I felt was worth giving a try, I found there still is no one to do it all. I still have my E-Trac for those very deep coins in the park, my Deus for tot lots and general park/school/relic hunting, and my goof old DFX as my backup should the Deus fail. In my opinion the Deus is about as close as I've come to a single machine. The Racer 2 was also very close.

Just some I've gone through testing.

 

[Monte]

You know you are going to get Monte's opinions, but Tom really gave you the best answer as I see it. Tom & I have some things in common, and that is we both like the Coin & Jewelry Hunt but we also both like to Relic Hunt similar types of old sites which tend to be my main desire when I can get away.

We both have spent ample time involved in metal detecting, and that means we get out and use the detectors, learn the detectors, and based upon experience we can more quickly determine if a unit seems to be a good match for the types of hunting we like to do.

What about keeping and using a detector long enough to understand its nuances.

I do, and in some cases it takes a little longer to fully get to know all the little things about a good, quality detector. However, I built my first metal/mineral locator in the spring of '65 and have been a very active hobbyist who progressed to be a very avid detectorist, using many makes and models of detectors I personally acquired, borrowed, or have been provided by several manufacturers for evaluation [size=small](since 1974)[/size], or when working at a detector shop, having my own detector business or working for a manufacturer.

I can keep a detector long enough to know of it is a quality built or poorly designed detector both in physical packaging or in available adjustment functions and the features it offers. I put detectors to-the-test using sample targets, real-case test scenarios, on planted and other test comparisons, then I get out and hunt with them. I use the available search coils they have that might be a good fit for the hunting I do and types of sites I work. It doesn't take that long for an experienced detectorist to figure out if a detector is worthy of further consideration, and if not they get rid of it. If it is a maybe okay or probably very good unit, then field time continues until the detector proves itself to be what the user wants and needs.

Its hard to understand, for me at least, why folks have so many detectors and switch from one to another in a heart beat.

I started out owning only the one detector I built, and progressed to only keeping the next one I built if it was better, until the summer of '68 when I got a White's detector in my hands and then things changed. By 1971 I had more than one detector because, at that time, I had a use for a good quality built BFO as well as a conventional TR.

By '73 I had a BFO, two or three TR's and a TR-Discriminator so I had three or four detectors in my personal detector battery and could pick the one that I felt might work better at a site ... or sometimes just pick one that I enjoyed using anyway. In '75 I also had a VLF All-Metal detector in my arsenal, and in the next years to come there were VLF/TR-Disc. and three mode models with VLF (also referred to as GB, GEB, GC, GNC, All Metal and even Normal by different manufacturers) which we usually just call an All Metal mode, plus a motion-based Discriminate mode (early on called VLF-Disc) and a traditional TR-Disc. mode (not a Ground Balanced operation).

Since the summer of '83 I have mainly used slower-motion, silent-search motion-based Discriminating detectors that also had a Threshold-based All Metal mode, and from time-to-time a 4-filter unit from White's, the old Teknetics, or Compass. None of the 4-fiter types are made today like they once were, and if I really want to use a conventional TR I just grab my trusty Compass Coin Hustler TR. BFO's have been vacant from my personal arsenal for about 35 years except a Garrett Hunter I bought a couple of years ago to use in seminars to show folks what we used to have around. I have my Coin Hustler TR for fun hunting to recall the good ol' days or use in my seminars, and a couple of trusted favorite Tesoro units.

Aside from that, my primary-use detectors are either on the back seat of my truck [size=small](my Relic, CoRe and Racer 2)[/size], and inside the house and ready-to-go when I grab them are my special application units [size=small](a Gold + and Gold Racer)[/size]

It takes years to bond with a unit.

Nope, not if you are knowledgeable about detectors and detector operation and you get out and use them and learn them well. Now I agree you can 'bond' more with a detector you like as time goes by, but a detector's design, fit, finish, comfort and performance I associate more to selecting firearms, which I also own. A person who thinks only one metal detector can 'do-it-all' is only partially correct. That would be like only owning a 12 ga. shotgun.

Get a quality 12 gauge and make sure it is a comfortable 'fit', learn to know all the controls and functions, then buy slugs to hunt deer, bird shot for everything from squirrels and rabbits to quail, chucker, grouse and pheasant then steel shot where necessary to hunt ducks and geese. Get the right buck shot loads for home defense and it is a 'do-it-all' firearm. But, does it do it all very well? Does it handle different locations as the user might want or need? I don't think so.

I like to have a few detectors in my arsenal, and make sure I have the best coils for them to handle the places I like to hunt. The 'bonding' comes as time goes by and I continue to be impressed with the performance, but the initial like/don't like decision can come pretty early to any savvy detectorist.

One month this detector is the best thing since sliced bread. The next month, it ain't with 2 cents. Explain this if you will.

Some people just are not avidly into the metal detecting sport. It is more of a passing hobby or interest, but they never take the time to read their Owner's manual and ask questions to really make sure they know what a detector can and can't do. I get e-mails and phone calls all the time from people who buy and part with a detector and now they want to have some answers. The amusing thing to me is that in answering many questions, they come to realize that the detector they had and parted with was a more capable detector or provided useful functions that their newly acquired unit lacked.

I have known people who do the same thing with:

• Cars
• Pick-up trucks
• Handguns
• Rifles
• Shotguns
• Fishing rods and reels
• Camp stoves
• RUV's [size=small](to include all types of off-road Recreational Utility Vehicles)[/size]
• Camping/Travel trailers
• Boots and shoes

... and the list can go on because some folks are just that way about certain things.

With detectors it doesn't mean all the rest have to go. Just part with what isn't a useful fit in an arsenal and keep all of those that can do what you'd like them to do. Example, in January of last year I got a Nokta FORS CoRe, and it took very little time to know what it offered me by what it could do and the features/functions it had. It immediately became my #1 general-purpose detector and bumped my MXT Pro and MX5 to a #2 spot. I had no immediate need to get rid of the two White's detectors, at least for a few more weeks.

Then I got the Makro Racer, ran it through all the same test scenarios and took it afield and ... POOF! I didn't have an immediate need, or even a desire to keep the two White's models around because I now had another detector that was a just barely #2 position to my CoRe and both of them way out-performed what had been in those spots. I sold the MXT Pro and MX5 and it hasn't bothered me much since. Why? Because I know detectors pretty well, probably a bit better than the average hobbyist, and I use them enough to know and evaluate strengths and weaknesses.

The CoRe is still a solid performer for me and I have no desire to part with it. However, in January of this year I made a shift in my top-unit assignment and the Nokta FORS Relic is now my #1 general purpose detector and I can grab it for any detecting task I want. However, there are things I also like about the Racer 2, which is almost tied with the Relic, and it and my CoRe share the #2 spot in my regular-carry detector group. I have tried several other detectors on the market to see if they could come close to the simple yet functional performance of my Relic, Racer 2 and CoRe, but haven't found one yet that comes close. The relic does it all, but my Racer 2 also can, but is assigned for more of my urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting uses.

I do look forward to enhancing my detector arsenal, however, and from what I have read and heard, it is naturally going to be the Nokta Impact. Will I have to clean out all the rest of my detectors for this selectable 3 frequency model? No way. What I have works, works very well, and should continue to serve me well for many years to come. The Impact, however, should provide some options I do not have available with the detectors I currently own and use.

I guess between other responses, and especially that from Tom and this from me, you might find a good answer to your questions.

Monte

 

[stonewal]

Now that was a very well said answer Monty and others.
You packed a lot of info into a small space.
Always enjoy reading feedback from people like you all who are experienced detectorists.
Been at it over 50 years myself and still enjoy it. Just a bit slower though.

 

[Furious T]

TS, cant/don't want to comment on the girlfriend aspect....but having various detectors?

Well, I have traded some detectors on others, over the years, and in the last months (since I bought my Racer and Racer2) I have sold two detectors....however, I have kept many, for the simple reason I enjoy using them, and I get good value from them still, as far as my hobby is concerned. The two I sold were sold because I was just not using them anymore....I had various detectors which did what they did, and did it better for me.

I am not going to compare detectors or brands thereof, but one of the ones I did keep was my Omega 8000 which I have had since January 2010...and I still do as well with it now as I do with my Racer 2, which is now one of my favourites. I give them both about equal time with each other...i.e. If I use the Omega for 10 hours in a month, then I probably will have used the Racer 2 for 10 hours in the same month. That's the great thing about this hobby, we can each approach it as we want/can afford to. My limitations are not the detectors I own or don't own...my limitations come from my own mind and body...ie, how well I am and how I am feeling at any given time. By having various detectors, I can cater for my own contrariness. HH

 

[Cal_Cobra]

My F75 LTD2 has been collecting a lot of dust since using the Racer line, but it's still in my lineup, just moved to the B string

One of my hunting buddies is a hard core Minelab Explorer2 user, and does quite well at our ghost town/stage stop iron infested relicy type sites, and would usually have a higher period target and coin count then I would with my F75, BUT that has not been the case since I've been using the Racers

HH,
Brian

 

[Phillip_in_NM]

Anything that makes you part company with the M6 is a very bad thing.