New to Detecting

[Andy Tomkins]

Hi everyone, what a great site this is. I am very new to metal detecting and only last week decided to give it a try. Over been out around 10 hours all together and loved every second of it. I decided that my first detector was going to be the Makro Racer 2 and I'm very happy with it (not that I've experienced any others).

Could anyone recommend how I should put my settings as I am completely clueless? Thank you all for your time.

 

[pasttom]

You have a great detector and a great attitude- that is more than half the battle! Settings are dependent on environment and target. No one can tell you what they should be without more information: Which coil are you using? What are you looking for- coins, jewelry or relics? What are the ground conditions? Learning takes time and experience combined with thinking! You can learn from others or do it all by yourself. Never stop learning. Never stop thinking. Never stop having fun. After tens (hundreds?) of thousands of targets I still get a kick that I can find anything and much more so when its something special.
Advice:
Read the manual until you know what and how everything works. Watch videos of people hunting with your detector. Put down various targets and see how they sound and score. Bury some and do it some more. Go hunt and when you hit a good target, before you dig, change settings and see what makes it sound better and worse. Stick with what works. Join a club or find friends who hunt. Live long and prosper.

 

[Tom Slick]

Hi, I have the below in an excel spreadsheet. I printed it out, folded it in half and laminated it so I could carry it in my pocket until I got to really know the Racer 2. Maybe it will work for you. The top half will make more sense after you read the manual. It's just a reminder of how to access the different settings. The bottom half has two different programs, one for ghost towns or old home sites where you want everything that's not iron like nails etc. and the second is a program for getting coins and jewelry at parks and schools.

Racer 2 Cheat Sheet
Notch: Select Notch use + or - to get to 1st ID
number to notch, pull trigger once, press + or -
for more numbers then pull trigger again.
Tone Break: Select in menu, pull trigger once,
use + or - buttons to move point, pull trigger
again to move cursor, + or - to move again.
iSAT: Higher is Faster
Use iSAT and Tracking in All Metal
Autio Tone: Select Pull trigger once to select
another group, + or - to change frequency
To Save: Select from menu and pull trigger
To Restore Select FD/Save press Left & Trigger
Flashlight: Pull back trigger and press UP button
Freq. Shift: Pull back trigger and press + or -

Three Tone Park Program (pretty much coins only)
Gain 50, ID Filter 27, Notch out 33-42, 46-63
Tone break 29 & 75
Low 10 hz, mid 40 hz, high 70 hz
Iron Volume 0

Three Tone Ghost Town Program
Gain 95, ID Filter 2, Notch: none
Tone break 10 & 65
Low 10 hz, mid 40 hz, high 70 hz
Iron Volume 1

Nickel 30 -31, Zinc Penny 65-66
CopperPenny / Dime 79, Quarter 85-86
Gold Rings Ladies/Kids VDI 14-22 Mens 29 - 44

 

[D&P-OR]

Hello Andy & welcome to the Forum.----Tom Slick gave you some great info.----All I can add is: read the manual---then read it some more!-----It will all come together for you with using that knowledge gained, tips you pick up on this Forum---and---putting it to use in the field with practice, practice, practice.------We are all in a never ending session of learning---that's (one of) the things that makes this hobby so great.----I've been at this in what seems "forever" and I learn something new ALL THE TIME!

 

[Andy Tomkins]

Hi all, firstly thank you 3 for writing back to me. You're all very kind and helpful. Thank you for the tips as well. I will most definitely take note of all of this and try the things you've said. I am very grateful for all of this info, thank you. I will write back soon and update you all on how I've gotten on. Sincerely, Andy Tomkins.

 

[volpe]

Hello from Ohio! I too am new to MDing, I wanted one for years but did not have the time till I retired. I have done considerable research on local history over quite a few years and down loaded manuals on the units I was interested in and read them, I chose the Makro Racer 2. Having never swung a detector before and only even seen one while in Myrtle Beach two years ago, I practiced in my back yard. It's very noisy, a power unit in the backyard that supplies underground power to us and neighbors, Ground mineralization at 79 in most areas, and lots of roofing and aluminum nails. Still, the racer would give a tone over any target, I dug a lot of nails, both kinds, and aluminum trimmings as well; I didn't know any better. Second day I got nice high tone and dug a ring, costume jewelry, over what appeared to be a burn pile the builders used to burn their trash, also found an ,aluminum, bracelet? I think. After contacting one of the land owners of a historic piece of property, I explained why I was interested, he readily gave permission for that piece of land and 4 other farms as well. Long story short, my fins so far are; 2 V nichols, 1896, and 1910, 3 indian head pennies, 1896, 1891, and 1896, and of course, a considerable amount of "junk", I use some of it to run my detector over so to get used to the signals.The nice surprise was finding that the racer is not nearly as noisy as my backyard in other locations.

 

[woody]

n/t

 

[Andy Tomkins]

I've really enjoyed reading your posts. Thank you! All the way to Ohio, Hi from Oxfordshire, England. Tom Slick I found my very first old coin it was at One Penny 1928. Thank you for the setting options thank you all so much for taking the time to write to me. Happy Detecting all!