Makro Racer 2 or the new Nokta Impact? I'll try to touch on my personal opinions for and against the Relic and CoRe as well as the other two models.
TNTGtoss said:
Hello all... I am new to metal detecting and this forum, but I have a question for you...
Ok, first off, I live in Florida and have a Bounty Hunter.
First, 'Welcome' to the greatest outdoor hobby, .... metal detecting. It has occupied a vast amount of my life as I just started my 53rd year of detecting earlier this month.
Second, you are fortunate to live in Florida where you don 't have to deal with a lot of highly mineralized and challenging dirt like many of us do in some parts of the USA or other countries.
Third, it looks like it is a good time to move up to a much better detector. I don't know the specific model you have, just the brand, but I can assure you that it's time to make a change for the better. You are aware that there are many trash targets out there to contend with and many of them can produce a very similar audio and visual Target ID as a good, desired object. Also, you can have a nice keeper, such as a high-conductive silver dime, but it might be positioned too close to an unwelcome piece of junk, such as an iron nail or bolt or other piece of trash. Thus, while the good target might respond with a good audio
sound, it might be a degraded response with a lower audio tone and a much lower visual TID that could look like an unwanted target.
It's all part of the game of metal detecting. That means we all have to learn how to 'play-the-game' which includes selecting the right detector and coil and settings, using a most efficient sweep speed and search coil presentation, and then patiently deal with having to recover a certain amount of unwanted stuff just to find the worthy targets that await us.
TNTGtoss said:
After a lot of research, I am pretty set on a Nokta. As I am a coin shooter to date, I was pretty set on the CoRe. What I have read and seen via video, it looked to be all that I am looking for in a detector.
The Nokta FORS CoRe is what got me hooked on the Nokta product, and also appreciating the consumer commitment offered up by the entire Nokta 'team.' Note that the 15 kHz
CoRe stands for
Coin Hunting and
Relic Hunting, and this detector continues to serve my needs well.
TNTGtoss said:
But then, I looked into the Relic. At first, I thought the Relic was just for that... Relic hunting. But I found out it came out after the CoRe and had a couple of extra features . Plus, seeing as it came out later, I was thinking they may have just made the CoRe better and called it the Relic. I don't know.
Well, Yes, they did start to make the CoRe concept better, but with the added search modes, Iron Audio Volume and Tone Break, combined with the fact that they went to 19 kHz rather than the CoRe's 15 kHz frequency, they wisely suggested a name change to 'Relic' and that got a thumbs-up from at least two very enthusiastic evaluators of the prototype [size=small]
(Keith S. and Monte)[/size] here in the US that the new unit name-change evolved into the Relic.
I am a devoted Relic Hunter who started out Coin Hunting in '65, and I still Coin & Jewelry Hunt as much as I can ...
but that's when I am not Relic Hunting! I do use my Relic for some of my Coin Hunting, but I prefer to use my CoRe or Impact or Racer 2, or one of my Tesoro models for different urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting tasks.
TNTGtoss said:
I think, for the most part, I will be coin hunting, but from what I have read and seen, the Relic is good at that too. I have also read that those who have both the CoRe and Relic, tend to let the CoRe go and keep the Relic. And who knows, I may like relic hunting more than coin shooting. As of yet, I have not tried it.
Yes, the Relic is a good Coin Hunting detector. I favor the CoRe over the Relic,
if I am just Coin Hunting around town, most of the time. If I want a model with Target ID / Tone ID for that mission, it will be the Impact and CoRe, then Racer 2, then the Relic, but those are my personal favorites in order ...
for typical urban Coin Hunting locations.
I started using Nokta Detectors' products with the CoRe in January of 2015. I added the original Makro Racer within a month and that had me eliminate all my White's models and Teknetics models then, and within the next 11 months I revisited a Teknetics T2, a pair of Fisher 19 kHz F19's and another model or two just to again compare their performance with my then favorite detector, the FORS CoRe, as well as the 19 kHz FORS Gold + and prototypes, a Nokta FORS Relic and Makro Racer 2. Once again, the competitor's brands were soon parted with.
My dedication to serious Relic Hunting surged in mid-'83 when a new detector model came to market with silent-search Discrimination that also gave consumers a quick-response / fast-recovery circuitry that provided then, and continues to offer us today, some of the best Relic Hunting performance available, and they also worked well for traditional Coin Hunting needs. That specific model was a Tesoro Inca, and from that time I have spent most of my detecting efforts Relic Hunting ... and I have done rather well working many different sites out here in the Western USA states.
I have also demanded that any detector worthy to be added to my personal detector arsenal had to pass several in-the-field performance tests to satisfy me, and one of those was to match some of the results I get from my favorite Tesoro models. The CoRe easily did that, and even more in the way it offers selectable search modes, Target ID and Tone ID. The Relic was easily up to the task, and so are the Racer 2 and Impact and a couple other models from Nokta and Makro.
TNTGtoss said:
So, if you had to choose between the CoRe and the Relic, what one would you take home?
If mostly Coin Hunting but also some Relic Hunting, I'd take the CoRe. If mostly Relic Hunting in a lot of dense iron debris, it would be the Relic then the CoRe. However, either way I would be quite comfortable if
either one was in my hand.
TNTGtoss said:
I know, the Impact is now "out" but I am looking at the CoRe and Relic. What say ye?
The Impact is a very versatile detector. I am so impressed with it that once the production units are out I am sure I will get another one to keep in my Regular-Use Detector Team, just as I have 2 Relics now, and keep a different coil on each Impact. I only have one CoRe, but if I find a good deal on a very clean specimen, I'll add a 2nd FORS CoRe just to keep another coil mounted to a CoRe full-time like I do with the Relic and plan to with the Impact. [size=small]
(Note that I do have a 3rd Relic with a 7X11 DD already mounted and it is loaded up when I know in advance I am likely to hunt some open areas with limited, well-spaced metal targets.)[/size]
The Impact has a lot of search modes that I know many '
average' Hobbyists will never use, learn or understand. Some settings that many part-timers won't figure out because they just are not into this great sport like the more Avid Detectorist is. But the Impact can provide the adjustments and performance found on the Racer 2 and CoRe [size=small]
(similar frequencies)[/size] as the Impact's 14 kHz function, as well as a higher 20 kHz frequency close to the Relic at 19 kHz. In addition you have a very low frequency option not available with the other mentioned models by opting for 5 kHz.
TNTGtoss said:
I was looking at the Impact, but read about a nail board test.
I am the Monte who is responsible for
'Monte's Nail Board Performance Test', and if you read the recent coil comparisons, you likely read it on my AHRPS website. Just keep in mind the following:
There is no such thing as a 'perfect' metal detector.
There is no such thing as a 'perfect' search coil.
There is no such thing as 'perfect performance' for all test scenarios or in-the-field encounters.
TNTGtoss said:
If I recall correctly, the Relic or CoRe got 8 out of 8 and the impact only got 4 out of 8 passes.
Out of the factory brand detectors using factory offered search coils, it was only the Nokta FORS CoRe with the small
'OOR' DD coil that provided 8-out-of-8 responses. The Makro Racer 2 could only match that with a non-factory brand, after-market search coil using Oregon Gregg's NEL Snake and later the NEL Sharp DD coils.
If you read that original
Nail Board Performance Test comparison, then it was on my
AHRPS General Discussion Forum on my website. I didn't post those results everywhere else, and you have to closely read that comparison test, mainly done to compare search coils, to note that it was not the traditional
NBPT requirement of using an Indian Head cent or modern US Zinc cent. It wasn't using a slightly smaller-size US dime, either. Every detector Oregon Gregg and I own and use regularly can pass that test and give a solid, reliable 8-out-of-8 hits with the smaller-size Nokta and Makro coils, and even produce 7 or 8-out-of-8 hits using their mid-sized 5½X10 Concentric coils, and get 6-out-of-8 or better with their standard 7X11 DD coils.
The test you refer to was really a tough challenge because I had the
Nail Board positioned over an unknown ferrous object that was an inch or more below the board in the top, right-hand side near the end of the #3 sweep route. An extra rejected ferrous target to have to deal with and recover from to give a hit on the one cent coin. But this personal challenge we put our detectors and coils to work on was using a coin that is half the weight of a dime. It is the smaller diameter and much thinner Capped Bust Half-Dime. A definite challenge.
The Nokta CoRe met that challenge with the small
'OOR' coil, yet the Makro Racer 2 with the same size '
OOR' DD coil couldn't match the CoRe's performance. So obviously, the coil size, shape and design wasn't the difference, but how the detector's circuitry design handled the challenges at-hand happened to favor the CoRe. Then we used other models and tried to match the settings, but used different search coils.
With the Impact,
and this particular dinky-sized coin test, the results were not as favorable when using the smaller supplied testing search coil for it which measures about 4" by 7¾" with a Double-D internal Tx and Rx configuration. I believe the results we got with the Impact and that coil were mainly due to the coil's size and shape and how those windings and the generated EMF were positioned over, and influenced by, by the four nails on the
NB. I didn't have a comparable-size small coil for the Impact as I had with the CoRe, Relic and Racer 2. That can explain the difference in the results.
TNTGtoss said:
I like what the impact has to offer, but the others have been out in the field for a bit and had most, if not all, the kinks worked out of them. (I hope) Figure its like a new model car, I'll let the other guys get it and find the kinks in it, let the manufacturer fix any issues they find, then take a closer look at it. By then, maybe they will have a marine grade detector. It is what made me look into Nokta in the first place. All the Impact buzz that is...
The Impact was not a completely new detector. Not in this modern era of digitally engineered circuitry design because it is greatly influenced by the already marketed FORS CoRe, FORS Relic and Makro Racer 2. Frequencies were selected to optimize using three selectable frequencies to work with a search coil, then the engineering to add additional search modes, change and enhance the All Metal GEN mode, enhance the Tone ID options and still provide all the Standard Settings and Expert Settings. They did develop a new physical packaging for the Impact, so Yes, it is NEW, but it is based on a solid foundation of already proven in-the-field performance, just enhanced a bit here and there.
They have had Impact 'test units' out in the hands of 30 people in several countries who have worked with the Impact in a variety of ground mineral environments and types of searches performed, used all the modes and functions, and tested the standard coil and the new 4X7¾ DD coil. From all the input received, over four months and more, they have worked hard to tweak the Impact with desired updates to produce a very thought-out, tested, and proven production design. I don't believe there will be 'fixes' for the Impact. I am also glad it sparked your interest to check out the Nokta Detectors products, too.
The ONLY Nokta or Makro product the Impact prompts me to consider thinning out of my entire detector 'herd' is the Racer 2. My FORS CoRe stays put and I mainly use the small
'OOR' coil on it. My FORS Relic models are also going nowhere, one with the small 5½" DD attached and another I bought just to keep the 5½X10 Concentric coil mounted. For all three of these models their standard 7X11 DD is at-the-ready and already mounted to a spare lower rod [size=small]
(CoRe)[/size] or on another unit I can take [size=small]
(Relic)[/size]. I really like my Racer 2 and I have enjoyed it mainly for urban Coin Hunting and occasional Relic Hunting, but the Impact has more to offer me for different Coin Hunting uses,
and balances better for me with the standard 7X11 DD than does the Racer 2 with the same size standard coil.
There's only so much available room on the back seat of my pickup to tote an assortment of detectors when I am off on my 4 to 14 day detecting jaunts, and since I primarily Relic Hunt, I load those favorite models first. I will also Coin Hunt while passing through cities and towns along the way, and that I can do / have done with any of my Nokta detectors. Now with the Impact I have the front-facing display of the Racer 2 with the same features and more, plus more modes, more Tone ID options, and the ability to quickly switch frequencies that might better fit different Coin Hunting conditions.
The past couple of months I'd have the Impact, two Relic's and my CoRe loaded with two Tesoro models and not have room left for the Racer 2 except now and then for short day-trips. The Racer 2 is a versatile detector and performs well, and I am sure there are some devoted detectorists out there who would prefer an Impact and Racer 2 if they were going to team up two or three Nokta / Makro models. All splendid performers, and that provides us an opportunity to establish a working detector battery of the two or three models that we feel fit our budget or hunting needs well.
Since BOTH the Relic and CoRe you asked about are models that have proven themselves quite well for me and the hunting I do most of the time, they are the two TID models that I plan to keep in my working detector battery for regular use. The Racer 2 will either be thinned out, especially if I get a 2nd Impact [size=small]
(quite likely)[/size], or get moved to my Back-Up & Specialty-Use Detector Team.
ANY of the four models I've discussed can serve you well, whether out Coin Hunting or Relic Hunting. Of the four it is only the FORS CoRe that doesn't have Tone Break or Iron Audio Volume control, but I'll be honest and tell you that if I were limited to only one detector, it would be a struggle for me to select one of the others over my CoRe simply because it is affordable, well balanced, and has served me well in dense trash or open areas where depth of detection might be achievable due to less target masking debris. Both the CoRe and Relic are my better balanced detectors with a standard 7X11 DD coil, but I just don't use that size coil all that often. I only mount those when beach hunting, working sports fields, or when hunting larger open areas like a plowed field or open rangeland that are sparse of any types of metal targets.
No help in your quest? Sorry, but it is just a very difficult question to answer, especially when BOTH the Relic and CoRe are up to any task you choose to hunt. Take your pick.
Monte
