Elton said:
There is definitely something to these Racers...........
Exceptional products from the Marko Detectors company, and they pleased me with performance somewhat comparable to their other labeled company and model, the Nokta FORS CoRe [size=small](Coin & Relic)[/size]. The Racer isn't just a detector to go use, it is a FUN detector that you WANT to grab and go put-to-work!
Elton said:
I know some are posting some faults about overload etc. but it must not be all of them having that problem.
Once learned and understood, and then put to use for the good that it provides, the Saturated or Overload Audio is a very useful and functional feature. Well designed into the Racer packaging. More Avid Detectorists are going to find it appealing without hesitation, while the more Novice or only periodic Traditional Coin Hunter might find it a bit alarming or not quite understand why it does what it does. It's a function they will need to learn and master using.
Elton said:
Some are saying lack of depth maybe.. Nope they have the depth. And they love coins... and silver religious medallions.....
Very functional with ample detection depth that most anyone would like to have.
Elton said:
Some say the tracking feature causes depth loss when it's on. If it does then I would hate to be digging the depth it may get when it is only fast tracked GB'd and start detecting..
The auto-tracking feature is suggested by the manufacturer to be used mainly in the Threshold-based All Metal search mode. All three motion-based Discriminating mode, it suggests, should be used with GB set for the area by using the automated Ground Balance or by manual Ground Balance. There are good reasons for
not using an auto-tracking function in the Discriminate modes, especially if searching in varied ground mineral conditions with some hot rocks, or if it is very trashy with iron-type trash that has had plenty of time to decompose and leave iron particulate matter in the area.
I only use Auto-Tracking when I opt for the All metal mode, and even then not all the time. The nice thing is the option is there, and we each get to form our own opinions and setting choices, so if somebody feels the Auto-Track feature works for them, have at it. Do what you feel works best for you and the sites you select.
Elton said:
The separation in trash is the best I have ever seen to be honest.. and I'm talking the stock coil. Not the little one.
Stock 7X11 DD or mid-sized 5.[size=small]5[/size]X10 enclosed DD or my favorite single coil, the 4.[size=small]7[/size]X5.[size=small]2[/size] '
OOR' coil. It doesn't matter, the Racer can provide us with some very impressive separation in really nasty, trash-infested sites. Of course that's easy for anyone to say, and often others who read what we say or even hear us spout about such performance might wonder just what we really mean.
I worked a few trashy sites and a ghost town with Oregon Gregg last Thursday and Friday. Places he has spent ample time hunting for almost two years now and he knows very well how nasty a few spots there are. Terribly littered and a bulk of it is ferrous junk from small to large. For most of that work he has used his White's M6 and MXT Pro, working a 6½" Concentric coil as well as aftermarket 5" DD, 6X8 SEF DD and other coils.
This time he used ONLY his new Makro Racer [size=small](I was really glad to see him hang in there and learn this detector)[/size] . He's worked the standard 7X11 coil, but this past week it has been mostly the mid-size solid elliptical and little '
OOR' that were put to the test. He can relate his results himself, but I can tell you he is finding out just how versatile this compact and very affordable detector package is.
Elton said:
They hit a little rusty colored what we call iron but not much with the right( Id Filter ) setting.. But who knows what those pieces are really .Maybe rusted metal or other content.. and not actual iron..
With a good automated GB held [size=small](Tracking Off)[/size] for an ID Filter setting of '10' I can hear almost all the ferrous targets present, but using the 3-Tone mode and working a slow and methodical sweep speed, I can easily pick out a lot of non-ferrous targets, some quite small.
I only increase the ID Filter to about '23' when I get into a lot of iron nails and other smaller iron trash to reject the bulk of it, and if the targets are not too dense in an area, I hunt in the 2-Tone mode. I really like the way I can set the Gain and ID Filter for each mode as I want, then quickly and easily shift from one mode to another without any other adjustments being necessary.
Elton said:
To say I am impressed would be an understatement..... and I'm hard to please with a detectors operation.. I want a detector to do what I want for my style..and the racer does it well...
That's me as well, ... a detector has to suit
ME and do what
I want it to do or need it to do, and at the same time be comfortable and not be complex.
Elton said:
OH, and no crack, pop ,crackle sounds while swinging it either ........... A nice quiet ride ( Get it Racer haha) till a target is detected.
Very little EMI issues.
Elton said:
I may put up some pictures of a few finds from a ponded park after while.. Not earth shattering finds. But from a park pounded for 20 years by me..and longer by others it's darn good I think.
I need to invest in a handy camera to have along with me to get some on-the-site pictures.
Elton said:
I usually am not a small coil lover, or user. Your guys posts have my curiosity about the Racer small coil. It was NOT earth shaking finds but still very impressive for a pounded over and over pounded park.
You will want to get it, and I am sure you're going to enjoy using it.
Elton said:
And just last week I took a detector to that very same area..and did not get the target hits on the area I gridded. I don't own stock so I have no reason to taut it ..and I didn't get it free.
Okay, so my first Racer was free. A few of us were fortunate to receive a pre-production Racer. But I have received free detectors before and they didn't hang around because they didn't work to my satisfaction. I have even purchased, on my own, some new-to-the-market detectors, like the Fisher F19's, but they also were sold or traded because they didn't so what I hoed they would.
I have two Racers now, and the 2nd one I bought because I wanted/needed two of them, and with my Nokta FORS CoRe I have a 3-detector set-up as my All-Purpose detector battery that rides in my vehicle ready to service. Free or purchased, it doesn't matter. It either works or doesn't and with the Racer ... it definitely does.
Elton said:
It was just a very pleasant experience with results I didn't expect ........... Actually it was just a "I wanted to take it, and hear the sounds " of the detector.. And bam it started hitting stuff I had missed with oh maybe a half dozen other machines........
Best of success with the Racer as the year progresses and I am sure you will continue to enjoy it.
Elton said:
I hate noisy detectors..so I did change the ID filter for more elimination..
With the Racer we have ample adjustment, but I like a bit of 'noise' so I know what is in the area and that it is not void of anything.
Elton said:
... and I did turn on ground track after 20 minutes or so ..Again just to see what it sounded like, and how it acted..
Auto-Tracking works well, at the right time and for the right needs. The 'Off' setting also works well.
Elton said:
Once when I was under power lines I got a little noise.. I went from 3 to 4 frequency and it went silent again instantly. So filter system does work well.
Yep, another useful feature, when needed.
Elton said:
One thing I want to mention ..First impression wasn't good ..It felt cheap to me..but I realized it isn't cheap built. It was just extremely light.that is what I was feeling. Lightness and not heavy .It's very sturdy..... compared to some others I have swung.. The cam locks are exceptional for tightness of the rods.. Machine is well made and it sits like one would expect it to, and does not turn over using the built in battery stand configuration..
I wondered from the initial photo with Santa how well built it might be. After handling the Nokta FORS I was hoping for similar ruggedness. Upon opening the Makro Racer box to assemble the unit, I set all wonderings aside as I could feel how well this detector was manufacturer and the quality of parts used.
Elton said:
One other thing.. Someone posted it didn't have a true sensitivity control.. Just a gain ( Return signal control) I think maybe it was a translation thing where it's built. The sensitivity certainly seems to be under control using what they call gain.. Up and down does affect the depth on this machine.. Either that or it's full output all the time and your harnessing what you need if it's just gain control.. Either way it works and works well.
There is a lot of confusion in names and terminology we use about detectors and behavior. Take the word 'saturation' for example. There is a difference between audio 'saturation' which we also call 'Overload' that produces that ray-gun audio with the Racer, and a 'saturated audio' response meaning a full-strength audio for the full acceptance range compared with a 'modulated' audio that trails off as the coil-to-target distance increases.
That word or term confuses people as do the words "Sensitivity" and "Gain." Want an easy example? White's has made the MXT 'series' for about fifteen + years now. From the original MXT they made the M6 as a 'budge' or 'simple' model more for the Coin Hunters as it only had a Coin Hunting type Target ID display and incorporated a 7-Tone ID for those who like it. The M6 uses the MXT circuitry with just a few things eliminated. One function not eliminated was a way to turn it On and Off and increase or reduce the performance.
What would YOU call that control? Would you label it a
Gain control or a
Sensitivity control? Certainly it has to have a name for what it does, and White's had the answer ... kind of. It is the correct answer, but it can also be a confusing answer based upon how a person interprets the term used. On the MXT, MXT Pro and MXT All-Pro it is called the Gain control, but on the M6 they labeled it a Sensitivity control.
On the newer MX5, based on the MXT 'platform,' they used the term Sensitivity. Using this detector, or the M6, or any of the MXT's and the single control with one name, either name, it does the same thing. The MX5 turns on with a default setting of 8-out-of-10 on the Sensitivity control and the MXT's and M6 have a default ▼ mark for the Sensitivity or Gain setting. You can reduce that control setting on any of these models and reduce depth of detection or increase it and enhance the depth the detector will 'see' a metal target.
From the MX5 Owner's manual let's look at what it says about this control function:
Normally, this determines how deep the detector will “see” a
target. In general, run the sensitivity as high as possible while
maintaining smooth operation. If the audio is chattery or the
ground is causing overload, reduce the sensitivity.
Obviously, it controls the depth of detection and that implies it has some control on the strength [size=small](size, shape and effective portion)[/size] of the EMF. That relates to how we have usually considered a "Sensitivity" control to work, right? Oh, but they also call it a Gain control. Hummm.
Well, some models we have had to have a Sensitivity control that varies the performance we get, such as some Tesoro models and, naturally, they call that control a Sensitivity function on most models. In the All Metal mode, the detector operates at its preset maximum Sensitivity and the control does nothing. In the motion-based Discriminate mode, the Sensitivity control functions as some folks perceive a Gain control to work, only dealing with the receive signal, but it does more than that.
With some models, there is a separate "Gain" control, often with a different name. A White's 5900 Di pro SL, 6000 Di pro SL or newer 6000 Pro XL or renamed XL pro, there is a control called "Signal Balance" that is tied in with the received signal to process. On their XLT and DFX they gave this same control a different name, that of Pre-Amp Gain. Again, it was used to increase the Received Gain before amplification. On the current VX3 and V3i series, that same control was again renamed and called Rx Gain, or Receive Gain.
Back to the M6 and MXT's. As you increase the Gain/Sensitivity control, you can hear a subtle electronic 'click' as it steps through a function. That function, or blend of functions, is increasing the Gain of the Receive signal. This enhances the detection depth, and it also adds some amount of 'saturation' [size=small](reducing the amount of modulation)[/size] and Target Volume to the received signal that is processed.
Using the FORS CoRe and Racer, I have found the Sensitivity or Gain controls to perform more as a complex function that ties in both functions as we have come to know them, and that adds to the overall versatility of these detectors.
Elton said:
Ok..just my not much valued two cents worth about a relatively new detector . No detector is perfect, or for everyone ..Some are darn close though if we give them a shot.
Your 2¢ has value as does everyone else's because it can help readers know more about how a detector works, how an individual likes or doesn't like it, and perhaps ask themselves more questions to learn more.
Monte
