Although
any choice of search coil is important to match the detector and coil to the task at hand, I feel it is even more important with a smaller to mid-sized search coil. Why? Because most often the smaller coils are selected due to a greater amount of trash at selected hunt sites. Because I plant myself in these types of locations most of the time for decades, I have become very fond of how some detectors perform, and coupled with that is how that performance is achieved sy proper search coil selection.
I use the standard 7X11 DD coil on my FORS Relic only periodically because I don't hunt wide-open/sparse-target places very often where they provide better coverage and depth. Instead, I rely on smaller coils, and occasionally mid-size coils in low-to-moderate trash, and keep smaller coils mounted on most of my detectors. For the Nokta FORS series and Makro Racer series models, it is either the 4.[size=small]
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'OOR' DD coil or the round 5½" DD coil. The Racer 2 has the ability to use either of these.
My CoRe Pro Pack included the
'OOR' coil and I found it to be an exceptional detector/coil combination, outperforming almost all the other detectors in my arsenal. The original Racer came out quickly and it, also, had the
'OOR' shaped DD coil in the Pro Package. A wonderful performing coil in any trashy environment. Next in my detector battery was the FORS Gold + and its smaller coil is the round-shaped 5½" DD. These models worked at different frequencies and they required their own set of coils so I couldn't interchange them.
I was, however, able to compare them as best I could by using very similar settings for some side-by-side comparisons. I also wanted to know if one of these coils had a pronounced edge over the other in a densely iron littered site. Detection 'depth' wasn't my main interest, but I would prefer not to sacrifice mush depth with a coil change. Being able to 'unmask' good targets in very trashy environments is what I look for from any detector and any search coil used with it.
Both of the Racer 2 smaller coils from Makro, the
'OOR' and 5½", provide almost matching in-the-field performance. I especially concentrate on hunting old railroad ghost towns and similar places that abound in iron nails and other discarded iron junk and rusty tin and I feel very comfortable mounting either of these coils on the Racer 2. I am sure that ample time spent doing some controlled comparisons
might show a very slight incremental difference in depth between the two coils, but not significant enough for me or most detectorists to realize when working the coils in most ground mineral environments that are debris fields from times past.
That said, I do keep an
'OOR' coil mounted on a separate rod and will switch between the
'OOR' and 5½" and my own Racer 2, but seem to keep the
'OOR' counted most of the time, maybe because I have used it the most since the original Racer came out, but I also think it is a little mental processing influence at work as well. Looking down from about six feet away, the
'OOR' shaped coil gives a mental impression that
it might work a little better at picking keepers out of trash. That's the same 'mental picture' we have when looking down at a small elliptical coil, such as the NEL Snake, compared to looking down at the round 5½" DD coil. Also, looking at them from several feet high, the round 5½" DD coil just mentally appears to be 'bigger' and like it might provide more side-to-side coverage on a sweep of the coil and, who knows, maybe even a little edge in the depth department?
So for me, like everyone else, we have a mental picture of what we 'think' might happen or how a coil and detector might perform, but in the end the best answer will come from actually using them, side-by-side, in some test scenarios as well as hunt with them for a while to get to know the strengths and weaknesses they might have. I think both Oregon Gregg and D&P-OR use the Snake coil on their Racer 2 and I am sure they will add their opinions about performance of these coils. As for me, I have tried the Snake coil and it works. It seems to be a quality constructed coil, at least the outside appearance, and I guess if it satisfies the user and also functions well for the task at hand, then it's an OK choice. It's just not
my choice.
As a rule I always prefer to use the detector maker's search coils. If they make a quality, top-performing detector I would expect that was achieved by also making top-quality, good performing search coils that are a welcome match for the detector circuitry. So, I only use the
'OOR' DD and 5½" DD coils from Nokta and Makro and have been very satisfied. Performance between these two coils is almost identical, so the choice really gets down to more of a metal decision of what 'looks' better to you.
RANDY CONNELL said:
Howdy folks new to this forum,been detecting since 1974.now i been watching the racer 2 vids,what is the differences in the small coils you have a Nel snake coil, a 5.5 black racer coil the oor coil.
I've been avidly detecting since early '65 and sure wish I would have had a Racer 2 back then! back in the glory days when older coins and silver coins were so plentiful, yet we struggled to get them with the BFO's and early TR's and had fun doing it. Not as much trash back then, and a Racer 2 would have likely help me triple or quadruple the amount of good targets I would have recovered.
I tried a Snake coil and have some friends who use it on their Racer 2, but I am perfectly satisfied with either the
'OOR' or 5½" DD coils.
RANDY CONNELL said:
any differences in depth with the different types of coil.
I think the 'depth' differences between all of these three smaller coils would be very marginal, if you could perceive it in all cases, but if pressed I would give a very little edge to the Makro 5½" DD coil from what I noted. It ios a very slight edge, and 'depth' is usually not a consideration when hunting in a trashy environment where smaller coils are called for because the trashy targets will mask deeper targets and impede us achieving any 'depth' in the debris.
RANDY CONNELL said:
i know they work great in trash. i currently use a AT PRO with big coil and small coil.i like the small one better.i hunt camps,old home sites lakes when water down,water hunt. live in TEXAS.
I also appreciate the smaller coil performance as long as the detector is also up to providing the processing and responsiveness we need to deal with a dense trash target environment. Both the Makro smaller coils work great and my opinion is pick the one you like better simply by appearance.
I used both the AT Pro and then AT Gold to do some evaluations compared with what I was using then, but that was before I switched to the Nokta and Makro detector lines. They worked, but they didn't match the performance I got from my two White's models, and I especially compared them with their smaller coils, which I liked better than the standard AT Pro size coil. I borrowed an AT Pro from a dealer friends of mine to compare it against the CoRe, Relic and Racer 2 using comparable size smaller coils, and all my Nokta and Makro detectors outperformed it in trashy sites as well as in depth and target responsiveness on located targets at a couple of hunt sites.
Again, I think you ought to settle on the smaller coil for a Racer 2 that appeals to you, and the
'OOR' and 5½" DD coils really do perform quite similarly in trashy sites.
RANDY CONNELL said:
need reviews on RACER 2. the DEUS i would love but big money.get what you pay for and what you can afford.
You are correct, you get what you pay for, and with some models on the market people pay a lot and get all sorts of extra adjustment functions that tend to mess them up. Many people get frustrated with an over-supply of things to select to try and accomplish getting a little better performance. Most readers of my posts thru the years know I have my three favorite word when evaluating any detector or other product, and that is 'Simple', 'Functional' and 'Performance.' The Racer 2 definitely provides ample 'Performance' to meet the wants and needs of most avid detectorists.
In addition, it is a very 'Functional' detector with enough adjustments to allow required necessary settings, yet 'Simple' enough to enjoy using and making quick and useful adjustments as needed. I had four friends who used the Deus. Two also now have either a CoRe or relic as well as a Racer 2 and one of those two got rid of the Deus, and the other is seldom used. The other two friends like their Deus and use it most of the time and find stuff. That's good. But I have done some comparisons with them and they had to do a lot of tweaking to make their Deus work almost work like my Relic or Racer 2. Both of them said they were surprised at the performance these detectors provide for the very reasonable retail price they sell for, and I have to agree with that.
It isn't just the particular smaller coil used on the Racer 2 that makes it perform so well, it is the Racer 2's engineered design that accomplishes that achievement. The smaller coil just helps things work better when hunting a trashier environment. So my preference are the two Makro coils, but I am sure D&P-OR or Oregon Gregg or someone else who uses the NEL Snake will add their 2¢ for you to consider.
Monte