Avid Detectorist, ..... and if you enjoy the thrill-of-the-hunt as a serious Relic Hunter, you sure qualify to be an 'Avis Detectorist,' and that means one thing for sure. You want to own and use some of the best detecting equipment you possibly can to work in and around building rubble, pioneer and military encampments, homesteads, stage stops, ghost towns and any early era activity site that might have desired finds.Just like the hobbyists who like the fun of Coin Hunting all the typical, well-hunted urban sites, many very worked Relic Hunting sites have been gleaned of a lot of the 'easy' stuff. Therefore the Avid Relic Hunters have to do their best to find any new detector offering that might have a few features we feel might help us. A move to some higher frequencies than normal, investigating any new adjustment functions that can help us work those trashier sites that have been ignored ... or just not huntable with the detectors we have had available before.
Keith Southern provided a very informative post on this thread earlier yesterday after Dilek made the 'Official Announcement' about the new FORS Relic. At the time Dilek posted it I was out-of-town with my FORS Relic and Makro Racer 2 and FORS Gold+ loaded up to go investigate one old mining town and access to two others. I can only hope the recent warming trend and coming rains the next several days get rid of the remaining snow and clear the access road to two of the towns.
Part of my journey was to finish any last minute notes I needed to post Product Evaluations on three models as I have been running behind. Now there are four of them to report on!. As I have followed Keith's posts the past year or two about many newer detectors that might work better than what we had, I noticed we share very similar thoughts. I had been using some of the better detectors out there for Relic Hunting, and the ±14 kHz White's MXT Pro and 13 kHz Teknetics T2, when both were equipped with their smaller coils, had been two of my favorites modern detectors that also feature visual and audio target response information.
The more I heard about the 15 kHz Nokta FORS CoRe, I gained a lot of interest and had to check one out. I got a FORS CoRe Pro Package January of last year to evaluate. This was after using the 19 kHz Teknetics G2 in 2012 and '13, and then acquiring two new Fisher F19s, also at 19 kHz, in the latter part of 2014. I could appreciate a potential for using a higher frequency detector of about 19 kHz, but try as I could in a number of different places in three states, I let the F19's go, also, because I didn't like the nose-heavy feel with the 5X10 DD, and really was let down by the performance ... or should I say lack of performance. I went back to using models that worked for the tough, iron plagued sites I hunt, ..... until I got the FORS CoRe in my hands.
The FORS CoRe set a new standard by which all other modern detectors had to compare for me, and the only detector last year that seemed to come close was the original Makro Racer. The Racer became a perfect compliment to the FORS CoRe a year ago, and the results I enjoyed at many places I have been hunting for decades was simply impressive. What I have been trying to convey to many detecting friends who have become too used to modern designs that use a lot of Tone ID, is to learn a 2-Tone Discriminate mode of operation
A very good approach to Relic Hunt most sites is to use a 2-Tone audio mode with a lower, bass-like tone for the lower-conductive ferrous range targets, and a higher-pitched tone with VCO enhancement for the more conductive non-ferrous targets. The FORS CoRe afforded me the opportunity to work those old-use locations, be able to hear the iron trash, and unmask potentially good targets. Most of the time I used the Di2, 2-Tone audio mode with a low Discrimination setting, and at times, when conditions were favorable for me, I'd make use of the more processed Di3, 3-Tone audio mode.
I didn't get my FORS Gold + until December 9th and was only able to work in a few brief excursions before the frozen ground was covered in white for the holiday season, and all of the Gold Nugget Hunting locations wouldn't be available until spring [size=small](which is coming soon!)[/size], but we have had access to a couple of CCW camps, and two POW camps plus one ghost town the past 2½ months so I have had a lot of opportunity to get to know several new units from Makro Detectors and Nokta Detectors ... almost all-at-once! It has been an interesting and rewarding challenge for me, and has set new standards of performance for me to enjoy today and in the future.
The first, just 3 months ago, was the FORS Gold + which was an answer to a wish I have had, that parallels that of Keith, and that is a detector that operates at 19 kHz, and better still, one that works exceptionally well! The other 19 kHz detectors I had lacked depth, didn't balance and feel as durable or as comfortable, and most certainly didn't provide the performance on my Nail Board Performance Test or display the ability to unmask targets in very iron littered sites like the FORS Gold +.
The Gold + was a model I wanted for two purposes, and that is for some Gold Nugget Hunting, logically, and for Relic Hunting, which is what I do most often. It moved my CoRe to a 2nd pick position in my personal arsenal due to the difference in operating frequency and how the 2-Tone Discriminate modes function gave it that 'edge' in performance. The CoRe was grabbed at times when I wanted to make use of the Di3, 3-Tone audio mode which the Gold + doesn't have.
Now it is time to pause, and give credit to two other people involved in the development and progress of Makro Detectors and Nokta Detectors, and that is Dilek, a name most often heard, and Alper, a name most folks haven't heard until Keith's post which also gives credit and praise to what it takes for a metal detector manufacturer to have a gleaming presence on the detector market. We left the analog detector designs behind in the dust of progress in this new age of digitally programmed software, and, as Keith noted, it is just remarkable how quickly and expertly we had suggestions addressed
Alper is the Software Team Leader for the FORS and Racer platforms and other developments, and I have never enjoyed the experience I have witnessed with original design, quick and analytical revision to functions as discussed with evaluators, and getting a finished product developed by any manufacturer as I have seen from the Nokta/Makro team. And note the word 'team' because it isn't just one person trying to tinker around to develop a very technical device such as these.
Honestly, you wouldn't believe how quickly Keith and I were able to communicate our experiences in rapid back-and-forth e-mails with Alper and Dilek, then have an answer to what revision adjustments were made, and the 'why' for those decisions and what to expect .. then have a final revised unit in-hand for further evaluation. I have worked with some manufacturers in the past, and was employed by a manufacturer, and never saw this type of savvy understanding, controlled feature adjustments, and test unit ready-to-go as what I experienced with the FORS Relic development.
And for those who have seen the name 'Dilek' in Forum posts and discussion, please don't be led to think she is simply a gal who answers the phone and passes messages along. She has to be one of the most involved, most concerned and most on-the-job Sales and Marketing Manager in the industry. Again, note the word 'Manager' as that implies more people and production involvement than just an order-taker. Any new product announcement needs to be met with complete answers for the consumers, too, who are going to have them, and you can compare Nokta Detectors and Makro Detectors against any other manufacturer who brings us, the valued consumers, new products.
Keith & I knew the 'Relic' was coming, but we didn't know for sure how soon. Look at other recent detectors to hit the market in the last several months to a year. Often they are mentioned, but no answers on a manufacturer's Forum. Sometimes they even leak a photo or nutty video clip, but there is no detailed information about specifications or even an MSRP. Quite often it takes a while before you see anything on the manufacturer's website. Not so with these folks!
In the last several months we have seen the Nokta Gold + introduced, then the Makro Gold Racer, on February 10th Dilek announced the Racer 2, and yesterday, Match 4th, the Nokta FORS Relic. These products were not just announced, but she provided a link to their website that is full of product information, specifications, accessories, videos, and the MSRP. This whole 'package' deal is obviously from a well Managed Team Effort.
[size=small]This concludes my 'pause' to credit two remarkable individuals who are behind brining me and every hobbyist and devoted detectorist products that are absolutely top-notch!
Now, back to my rambling ....[/size]As I mentioned, the 19 kHz Gold + moved to my #1 spot for most Relic Hunting tasks, except when I wanted to use a 3-Tone audio mode which it doesn't have. Then I would grab the CoRe. I was eager to get a Makro Gold Racer but things were happening over there with product development and my Gold Racer didn't arrive until the shipment with the Racer 2 for evaluation, and a project unit that had a name change with development to become the Relic.
That has had me side-tracked in getting my product reviews completed due to wintry weather for a spell after I got the Gold +, then the Gold Racer, and I was busy with the two units to not mention, until they were officially released, so it's been twenty-three days for the Racer 2. I get far more e-mails and PM's than I post on various Forums so I have been busy ... and now I have a Relic to do up a report on.
Well, I'll briefly cover some of that here. In short, most of my hunting is at old places and I have to use the best detectors for what I want to deal with and accomplish. I have been metal detecting since '65, but Relic Hunting since '69 and that means a lot of time spent when I need performance so I can get pretty selective and picky when I try to determine what works best for me and what doesn't. I also do put in some Coin & Jewelry Hunting time and, again, I can get selective as to where I hunt and what I am after.
The Gold Racer I wanted/needed because most of the Gold Nugget Hunting locations closer to me here in Oregon have smaller-size gold ... when you can find it .. and the 56 kHz Gold Racer delivers that kind of performance. But different from all the other LF nugget-hunting detectors, it isn't limited to a Threshold-base All Metal mode, but has two Discrimination modes to help deal with some bad ground or hot rock issues. I have found it to also work 'OK' for some selected Relic Hunting applications, or could be used for some urban Coin Hunting, but it isn't ideal for that.
Locating lower-conductive, small, thin type targets, like small gold rings, gold pendants or gold chains, the Gold Racer is a nice model to grab for that kind of hunting, so this primary-use Gold Nugget Hunting model can also work for me when after gold jewelry, or for some Relic Hunting needs, too.
Then the Racer 2 was released and it is now in a close 2nd in my Relic Hunting detector battery, tied in that spot with the Gold +. It is there to give me a little advantage when or where there might be some smaller but higher-conductive targets, plus it has the Iron Audio Volume and Tone Break controls not found on the Gold +, should it be a dense iron nail infested site. The Racer 2 or FORS Gold +, as I say, are essentially tied in my carry battery as both of them work quite well in any Relic Hunting environment, with each having an 'edge' due to frequency, Iron Audio Volume, or just the way they behave in their Discriminate modes.
The Gold + is still the better of the two for Gold Nugget Hunting, and the Racer 2, with the 3-Tone mode and Notch Filter discrimination and the Audio Tone Level adjustment, make it the better Coin & Jewelry Hunting model, especially of I want to concentrate on gold jewelry potential sites. But using the added search modes, Tone Break, and Iron Volume adjustment in a 19 kHz package, the new Racer is exactly the answer to what I wished for once I had the Gold + in hand at some old-target sites. Like I said in my product review on the Nokta website, and I really mean it ....
"Unmasking abilities like you wouldn't imagine! -- The Nokta FORS Relic."
The new FORS Relic has the GEN, Di2, Di3 and COG modes [size=small](All Metal, 2-Tone, 3-Tone, Beach)[/size] similar to the CoRe, and an additional two modes, DEP [size=small](Deep)[/size] and SWT [size=small](Swift)[/size], but the performance in these 2-Tone audio modes has its own characteristic behavior. With the higher Tone level in the four 2-Tone search modes, the fixed lower Tone for ferrous targets [size=small](and those below the Tone Break setting in the 2-Tone modes)[/size] , you have a very pronounced, easy to clearly hear favorable higher-tone response.
Iron Volume lets you leave it at full Volume level if you like, maybe for very sparse iron littered areas, or reduce the Iron Volume loudness, which I do most of the time, when places that have a lot of nails and other similar small iron debris to deal with. Based upon your ability to tolerate a lot of iron responses or to set it for your personal hearing ability, you can adjust it to calm that loud response from nails and the like. I sometimes have mine set at a level of '02' or maybe '03' and, when nails are too abundantly plentiful, I also have Di2 [size=small](2-Tone)[/size] mode with the Iron Volume set at '00' which is 'Off' or No audio response.
I do that also in really nasty environments with the Racer 2 in 2-Tone mode for a very good reason. I like to know when I have a good or 'iffy' response if there is any iron trash nearby. A good-reading targets will produce a very erratic visual TID if there is iron very close that is partially masking it. While I could increase my ID Mask [size=small](Discrimination)[/size] to just reject Iron Nails at maybe a setting of '10' or '11,' or even reject most ferrous trash with a setting of '20,' I wouldn't know iron junk was close by.
Rejected targets will not provide either an Audio response or a Visual display of a target once rejected. However, if I keep the rejection level set low so the detector DOES respond to and process the ferrous target response, I simply keep the Iron Volume set 'Off' with a '00' setting. I don't HEAR the nearby ferrous objects, but the visual TID Display will light-up and show me the Target ID number and alert me to the fact that there is a potentially favorable target mixed in close to iron junk.
In any of the 2-Tone search modes you will also have the ability to adjust the Low-Tone/High-Tone break-point from a setting using the Tone Break adjustment feature. And with the factory default setting of '20' for Iron/Non-Iron break-up rather than '40' on the CoRe and Gold + models. This lower-set break-point between iron and non-iron means there is a great spread for Target ID for all of the non-ferrous targets, and that should help eliminate 'bunching' like we have experienced on the racer, FORS CoRe and FORS Gold + around the '82' read-out.
It does mean all of the typical TID numbers you might associate with common US coins and other targets will be a bit different and you will have to learn each model, it is an advantage of the two newest models when it comes to trying to separate some desired targets, even for urban hunting for coins or selectively looking for gold jewelry for some people.
And for urban Coin Hunters, or the only occasional times for Relic Hunters, when a site is rather quiet and free of a lot of metal targets, the Boost mode can, and does, provide some improved detection depth, but is a slower processing mode and needs a little slower sweep speed to best handle the ground signal to gain depth.
I keep the 5½X10 Concentric coil mounted full-time on my Gold + for working modestly littered areas, and the Relic makes use of the standard 7X11 DD for those times when targets are sparse and I have more ground to cover and/or deeper targets anticipated. The standard coil is very well balanced on the Relic, just as it is on the CoRe.
But for most areas I search, debris is very challenging and there is a lot of ferrous mixed in and I like the smaller-size search coils. The round 5" DD coil [size=small](which has a physical measurement of 5½" across the bottom with the thin coil cover)[/size] is the coil I use most often on the Relic .. and it is part of the two-coil standard package at $799 MSRP, with the extra lower rod and hardware included!
You can go to the Nokta website and read all the info on the specifications and package contents to learn all of the features that await you with the Nokta FORS Relic. There is no one single 'perfect' detector, but there are a number of very versatile models available to fit anyone's search needs, and if you are interested in having one of the best Relic Hunting detectors in your detector battery, you will get a good selection of choices from several Makro and Nokta models, but, so far as I am concerned, the superior performing single unit is the new FORS Relic.
Warm rains are coming to clear the roads for us to get to old town sites, but for now it is almost 7AM, 46° F, and overcast. I think Monte Jr. and I are going to head off and take a look at some different things over in Idaho before rain arrives, and my Relic, Racer 2 and Gold + are all resting on the back seat and ready to go to work. The best 'team' are the people behind the scenes who are producing these top-performing detectors for us, and the second best 'team' is right behind me ... resting up on my back seat and eager to please.
Monte
No visible structures, either. This was the first time I ever hunted this town site, and any great Makro or Nokta model can deal with it the trash challenges there. If you found the Nokta FORS grip to be an issue, then I believe the Makro racer 2 will provide you with a different 'feel' and great balance, and it has the important adjustment functions to deal with the common ferrous junk we encounter.
not that I use them as a dig or not dig but they are there if I need them and a disc mode knock out nails etc.. very good, 
but they are going hell for leather and who knows what's coming next, they are just starting out in to US style detectors , seems they learn fast which is great.
I type with two fingers and often am tired and don't proof read them as well as I should. I wish Findmall had a longer 'Edit' option so I could fix bloopers when I find them. If you read something that is an error or that you don't quite understand what I was saying, just shoot me an e-mail.
... but we need it here in the drought stricken west. It will end by tonight and we'll have four or five days that are supposed to be dry and sunny. It will take at least two of them to get the muddy roads improved and dry out some of the surface at a few old town sites, but the Gold +, Racer 2 and Relic are loaded and ready to go. We got stormed out of one old mining town last week just as I was getting into a lot of rimfire cartridge cases, bullets and a Chinese Cash Coin and I hope to be back in there on Friday or Saturday.