about to pull trigger..need advice...

[anton]

hi guys..im about to pull the trigger and buy a racer,but now im starting to sweat..heres why....from what ive seen(and been told ),it has an extremely tight id resoulution,grouping lots of targets(ie read junk) into its target id range of coins etc..where I am, our 2 most common coins ($1 and $2 ) fall in the same target id no.. (in theory sounds great,but.... also lots of junk).. even tho its a relatively mid priced detector,its still a lot of coin to pay for a trash vacumm ...and another thing scaring me is the amount coming up for sale after the owners have only tried them for a day or so, that's scary..can I get some opinions from new owners how they feel on this? I know there is no 'perfect detector', but depth, even lightning recovery arnt the be all and end all of a good machine ( I have several machines with both these attributes and a 'looser' target id,allowing me to really separate the junk and a coin)..im till going to have to try it for myself,and maybe it may be a tool I will use say on a beach or somewhere with out a lot of modern trash...Anyway,looking forward to some owners true opinions on this thing cheers...

edit... must add, im primarilarly a park and beach coinshooter,so im not thinking from its ability as say, a relic machine.....

 

[JinFL]

Hi,

You picked the perfect day to ask this question on the forum. I say this because I took my Racer along with my new OTHER detector ($299-$400) to a park where can slaw is shredded all over this landfill park. It's a perfect location to test new detectors/coils, and find new coins only, but have a tough time finding them due to the trash.

In any case. The "Racer". Here is my very brief opinion:

1) It's very noisy due to the fact it does not have a sensitivity (transmit power) user control. It only has GAIN (receive) user flexibity control. In my opinion, if a manufacturer is only going to offer ONE type of user POWER adjustment, it should only be sensitivity, and not gain. Stability/smooth and silent operation is much easier to control through sensitivity.

2) The Racer is deep. All-metal or DISC, it is deep. It is better suited for locales where targets are few and far between where depth is a major concern. I say this fully aware of the reports on above the norm SEE-THRU abilities in nail/iron infested sites. The noise of the Racer doesn't justify using it in trashy sites. Professional die-hard metal detectorists will certainly disagree.

3) The target ID, it not very useful as you mentioned. Too tight on the upper end. On the otherhand, the OTHER detector was a joy to view/use as I proved to myself today. Depth was less, but not much less than the Racer in low mineralization (sandy) soil.

Here's the bottom line:

Unless you are obsessed with finding coins/targets surrounded by nails in trashy sites, OR, you really do need a DEEP detector, I would try to BORROW a Racer before you buy. See and hear for yourself.

There are many choices out there, and it helps to know what you want, for the detecting needs that you have. Never overlook the fun factor in your selection process.

Good luck,

J in FL

 

[anton]

Thank you j !..That's exactly what I needed to hear, an obviously unbiased,user opinion...it has already confirmed that this may not be the 'ideal' tool for my type of hunting in the areas I hunt...I really appreciate it ..I may now wait till I get one in a trade or can borrow one for a hunt and not base my decision soley on 'hype' ... Cheers

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

Well my two cents is did the above review use a small coil? It's really deep for a five inch..Trash for any detector is tough but put the deep five inch on the racer and it will hunt really well in trash..And trash does mask targets so does iron...So small coil and the racer make it a great detector and I love the small coil. Sure I like to hunt in iron and yes it can get noisey but you can add a bit more disc and not lose much depth when hunting parks for relic hunting we are a different breed but I was a park and school hunter before I moved to the Gold Country in Calif. I also use the deus and love that at both parks and for relic hunting. But if I were at a real trashy park I would take the racer and the small coil and work an area with it and I bet I would get coins and maybe a silver ring...

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

Maybe the racer is not for you since you are a school hunter and park hunter...for relic hunting its right up there with some of the top names and the deep small coil is one reason..Some are trying the 5x10 it is tighter and the next size up from the five inch. That is another reason this racer is so nice it has four coils...But you have to find what works for you and those that are selling them may not have given it enough time to learn it...It is almost a turn on go machine but may not be for some people. I really like it and have a place that the hobos lived at back in the day and it is full of trash almost every swing you get lots of hits..but took the five inch and turned down the gain a bit and it was fun and I found some nice finds..

 

[JinFL]

n/t

 

[anton]

it comes down to the right tool for the right job, obviously...I don't just hunt parks and schools,i do beaches, the odd field etc, and I can see in the cleaner type beaches it could be a good tool (judging from the youtube vids I have seen ...)..it just seems the target resolution (in my case anyway) seems to be its archiles heel to it being the ultimate coinshooter for me..however for you relic hunters it sounds near on brilliant!

 

[KyJoe]

IMO the Racer's small coil is the best I've used locating good targets co-located with iron trash. If you don't have sites where the small coil could be used then the Racer IMO is only slightly above average with the 11" coil. Considering the ergonomics it's my favorite machine, key pad, LCD screen etc, everything is just right. And it's easy to set up and get the most out of it, no fancy program menus or lengthy books to read.

 

[anton]

yep, those were some of the features that are drawing me in ....this isn't a thread about trying to prove/disprove how good the machine may or may not be, but to see if it may be best for my situation by hearing from guys who hunt in similar situations to myself, and their experiences,good or not so good..im definitely gonna give it a go,dont get me wrong,but like anything in life, it's always best to go in armed with as much research,others opinions/ experiences first

 

[squirrel1]

Well I have 2 Racers now. Can slaw can come in all shapes and sizes. Therefore it will also read all over the place when it comes to VDI. For clad hunting say where supreme depth is not an issue. You can pump the ID filter up on the machine and get rid of a lot of the smaller can slaw-hence a quieter machine. You can also run lower gain to quieten a bit too. In a real trashy loaded with shreds of can slaw, sure a detector with notch function will help, but you will miss some good finds. IMO the minelabs with their lower frequencies are the best to use in the horrid can slaw, because the low freq puts the lower conductors at the other end of the conductivity scale. But minelabs don't separate as well as a Racer. The small OOR 5" coil is a killer in those high trash sites, the 5x10" coil would be better IMO than the stock coil. The Racer with the small coil when operated in 3 tone is killer in trash/iron/iron bits. The Racer's audio definitely more telling when it comes to deciphering junk from the good stuff. Plus you won't be a hitting so many targets per sweep on average. The Racer is fast, and with stock coil being used in high trash areas, there is a lot of tones coming in. Small coil.....Small coil. Try it and you'll like it!!!!!

 

[draaiorgel]

[size=large]My wife and I have had our racers for 5 weeks now, and we're having a lot of fun with them.
The only thing I can say about folks selling them is they obviously don't have the patience to learn the machine.
We hunt only salt beaches (mostly dry) and tot lots.
The Makro racer is distinctly a clad killer and a great fun machine to use.
I think that it would be really good for $1 and $2 coins. Just like our £1 and £2 coins.
We use the stock 11" DD coils which perform well.
We do pick up some trash but not a lot.
Don't worry about the overload signal we automatically lift the coil a couple of inches to see if it's a close to surface find.
The racer is a very powerful machine using factory pre-sets.
We will not be selling our racers.[/size]