which in this case is a simpler matter, I believe, but one that is more easily observed. It was noted from an early review by Gary in his UK review, that the hollow bolt could break. They are a different type bolt and nut design than what was used on the Nokta FORS Coin & Relic, and a little shorter in length as well. When Oregon Gregg was putting all his gear together, which included a couple of extra lower rods he had ordered for the extra coils, he tried mounting the small 'OOR' coil and noticed the bolt didn't fit all the way through to thread on the nut. It was the short, common-looking Makro bolt.
He used that bolt to mount his standard 7X11 DD coil, and had a longer, and much better designed, Nokta FORS bolt and nut to mount his other coils that have the thicker, sturdier ears. There have been a few people now who have experienced some operational issues with the standard 7X11 DD coil, and also some breakage of the two mounting ears on that same coil. That is due to the plastics used and the coil design with the thinner ears of different manufacture. There are no issues with the three Nokta FORS Coils I have, nor with the small 'OOR' coil or large 13.3X15.5 DD for the Racer, but those have the Nokta design and thickness.
So far I have not had any issues with the Nokta search coils or bolt & nut hardware, and the 2nd Racer I got came with the Nokta bolt & nut hardware. I did have two of the Makro standard-looking, hollow-type bolts break, and one was snugging it up when I first mounted my stock 7X11 DD and hadn't even put the rod on the detector to use it yet. I think I need to replace both my already broken bolt and the other with a Nokta type [size=small](with the more contoured nut shape and lever-type bolt)[/size] so I can use all the coils and not run into a break-down when afield.
As for the rest of the detector system, I haven't had any issues whatsoever when considering their rugged, durable design and quality of product other than the bolt breakage. So far, I haven't had a standard 7X11 Makro Racer coil break or fail to work properly, but it appears they do have that one issue to correct. The easy way would be to use the Nokta 7X11 DD coil.
tinusbum said:
that is cause for concern. others have said how well built they are but i thought my at pro was better built.i havent had any problems yet
i have my fingers crossed
I don't think you will have a problem with your Racer. Did yours come with a standard looking rod/coil mounting bolt [size=small](where the bolt head looks similar to the nut head)[/size], or did yours ship with the better Nokta bolt and nut [size=small](where the bolt is a little longer and has an excellent-designed level and the nut head is kind of contoured where you apply pressure)[/size]? If you have the Nokta bolt, then there shouldn't be a problem there.
The only thing to watch would be the stock 7X11 DD coil and any weakening or stress on the rod-mount ears. I properly work my search coils out-of-contact with the ground, I don't bang my coil into rocks, tress or hard objects, and I try not to lean on my detector and coil in such a way that it could stress the mounting ears from the side and cause breakage. Therefore, if I have any coil breakage it won't be from overly applied stress, it will just be from a too weak design.
If you didn't have any issues with your AT Pro, that is good. They didn't come without some problem of their own, either. The first one a dealer friend got in we unboxed to assemble for the display rack and to check it out and it didn't work. Faulty search coil, so we had to get another coil out of second AT Pro box. Some people had leakage problems with their waterproof AT Pro as well. Things can happen.
Compass used to have a lot of problems with their search coils with breaking dog ears on the coils, or failure from a capacitor in the inside electronics. Early Tesoro had coils that broke, cracking across the top of the coil from the mounting ears and had to change the whole design of the coil top and strengthen the ears.
I have never had a White's search coil break on me, physically, but I have had a number of them replaced or repaired that were out-of-spec, and one brand new 4" off the display room shelf at the factory, a new 950 out of the brand new Classic III box, and three brand new 10" D2 DD coils that were faulty, right from the start. In every case White's took care of the problem. Sometimes things happen, but as long as we deal with the dealer, distributor or manufacturer on a known issue, they should stand by their products be quick to satisfy their customers by repairing or replacing parts or equipment ass needed.
I see this quickly with the Nokta & Makro Detector folks, while still enjoying excellent detector and coil performance afield.
Monte
