Macro Gold Racer Coil Problem

[Steve Herschbach]

23 hours ago, kac said:

Seems like the coil has a short. I wouldn't risk putting it back on the machine or you may roast that too.

Something I might worry about with a PI, but pretty much impossible to hurt a VLF plugging in a bad coil or even wrong coil.

[kac]

Didn't know a bad coil won't hurt a vlf. I just sent my ATP back in to Garrett for repairs after breaking a coil. It was unable to calibrate to other coils after that but maybe the coil didn't mess it up or not. Garrett won't say but they did replace some parts and put in a new firmware. My repair job on the coil did work however but the coil is slightly out of tune.

[Tahoegold]

I just spoke with the Service Dept. in Georgia. Being as I am out of warranty, they cant help me. However, I did get to ask the tech a few questions.

   Since I had this happen, I was concerned about whether or not there has been issues with these coils as this brand is relatively new. I was considering another brand as a replacement. The tech said they sell 3rd party coils as well and have seen the same issue happen in every brand. It's just not very common. I asked him if he would recomend a 3rd party coil as a replacement. I specifically asked if there was another brand that was tougher or had a better track record. He said that the Makro coils are the best choice. And Makro coils are designed for the specific machine and are as well made as any other coil. He said he sees that manufacturers coils seem to work best on any detecter. 

    I'm sure third party coils are great as well. The Makro coils are his suggested choice so I'm going to get another. This time, I'm going to get to using it and keep using it for a few months to find out if it has any issues BEFORE the warranty runs out. 

   I guess this happens to any coil. And Paul, you had yours on as your go to coil, so it can happen at any time it seems no matter what brand. 

    I wonder what went on inside. My GR19 is epoxied so maybe its in the wire above the epoxy. I am thinking of opening up the cable to check. But, I think it best to have peace of mind and just leave it alone. If I try to repair it and it damages my unit, I would have been better off just getting another coil.

   Another question I asked is if there was something I did to cause this to happen. I have been careful so I don't know. He said most folks take good care of their equipment, and coils can take a lot of use. He seems to think I did nothing to cause this and sometims this happens for various reasons. I thought maybe I could have bent the cable at the connection or something. So, at least I am not worried about the Makro brand coils. It was just something that can happen to any coil, anytime and there's nothing I probably did to cause it.

    All my other coils are working well and Ive been using them frequently. At least, the Makro coils are not pricey. Plus, if you use them for prospecting, the Makro coils are flat on the top. Like most prospecters, I find tiny bits by putting dirt on top of the coil and moving it around with my finger to find the target. The other coils I was looking at had raised letters and so I will stick with the GR19. 

[vanursepaul]

I’m just gonna step him up to my Equinox 600...  It is better detector overall anyway.... 

I had loaned the Macro  detector to a friend that had this happen to him...

i have an 800 and a 600 so I sent him the 600 since I can’t swing two at once.

 The reason I had two was .... well it’s obvious.. one for OZ and one for USA 🤠

 AND this is the first guy Ive given a detector to who had kept in touch and shows me his finds. !!! ( I did tell him I was just loaning it to him) 😂

Neat stuff from Indian and Calvary battles in the Eastern Colorado area 

He in turn will let one of his detecting buddies use the macro with one of the other two coils he still has.

May send the defective coil back to Dilek so they can diagnose to correct future design flaws.

 Thx all..

 Except the Aussies.. they were no help🤠😂

can’t say ..nt in America!

 

[Tahoegold]

That's great, I was hoping you could send it in. Makro actually seems to fix issues quickly.

     Glad someone is having fun with yours! 

[Steve Herschbach]

Coils are the weak link with all detectors. When I was a dealer selling lots of detectors, I would get new machines with issues. The majority were bad coils. And if the coil is good when you get it, consider how banging it on rocks for hours every day might affect things. It’s the working end of the detector. Unless a coil is epoxy filled internals can shift and mess the coil up. Cables flex and break. Long story short is coils wear out and go bad with use.

I will say Makro/Nokta suffered from poor plastics used in coil construction in models up until a couple years ago, and buying used units more than a couple years old could see you with a coil that has ears that break easily. Since then they seem to have got that issue under control and there coils are as good as any.

[Tahoegold]

Thanks Steve,

   I believe what you are saying.

    Mine was epoxy filled and used only 15 times. I probably had a bad coil from the beginning and I finally used it enough to find out. I suspect when I get the next one, that it will be fine. I'll use it often to try to discover if it has an issue while under warranty!

   Update:   Today, I was testing my 10" DD coil on my floor with some bird shot. I briefly pushed down, not very much, And got a quick overload signal. I was about to try again and I thought I had better not. That is how it started with the 4x6" coil. Gently pushing down. I'm not even talking about leaning on it. So, maybe there is some design issue? Or does pushing down on a coil damage any coil? I'm not an expert. But, from now on, I'll never lean on a coil again, as it just happened again. This time, the coil still works.

[Steve Herschbach]

If you have the sensitivity at a fine edge pushing down could put the coil in closer contact with the ground and cause an overload. Sounds like you are a little gun shy at this point.

[Tahoegold]

I had it on my hardwood floor. I had a piece of bird shot in a plastic bag and was just pushing down to make sure the shot was on the coil. I wasnt pushing very hard and I wasnt moving it, I just pressed down gently to flatten the bag. I hear of guys using their detector as a walking stick. I wasn't pushing nearly that hard. I guess I should treat coils with extreme caution. I'll be gentle and not push on them is all. I hope this coil isn't going to go next... 

[Steve Herschbach]

If you are pushing down hard enough to deform the coil and shift the windings that’s could do it.