Gold Racer Purchasing Decision

[goldbrick]

I was on fire to buy a Makro Gold Racer when it was announced they were finally going to be released. I mean who doesn't like having the latest and greatest? Since that time a little common sense has maybe crept into my purchasing decisions. 

I already own a Makro racer. When I first got the Racer I experienced many frustrating hours learning how to run it. 

He-hee - I already donned a Nomex suit before I typed that statement! I can already hear the flamers attacking me......"you dummy, the Racer you just turn it on, ground balance and go" or some variation of that. And they would be correct 90% of the time.

Never have I owned a VLF detector that is so easy to operate. The Racer locks onto non-ferrous targets like my super magnet locks onto square nails. My frustration stemmed from  my attempts to try recovering the final 10%. Those targets that are so compromised by ferrous masking that they are not obvious. With the Racer as with any VLF you get many high tone targets that could be non-ferrous targets but also could be iron falsing or wrap-around. In the beginning I felt I did good identify good targets versus iron in beds of nails. Targets were obvious and the Racer did not false too much as long as I kept the sensitivity under control. It was in areas where there were many disintegrated cans (flat iron) that I felt like bending the Racer around the nearest oak tree. These flat pieces of iron just sounded so good to my untrained ears and the VDI often lumped the numbers into the dreaded 82-83 range so it was no help. More than once I put the Racer away and used my Deus instead. Finally I got mad and determined I would never understand the Racer unless I kept after it regardless of the conditions. Now, I am happy to report after many hours of swinging the Racer the light bulb finally came on and I sort of understand the Racers language in cans. Oh, I still dig a lot of flat iron with it but I do so knowing that is what the target will likely be. I just keep hoping one of those targets will be a big nugget or a gold coin compromised by iron.

For my VLF gold detector I want a machine that has kick a$$ discrimination so I can take it places I fear to tread with my Pulse Induction, namely old habitations around gold workings and/or trashy hard rock mines. 

You can keep your GB II with crummy iron discrimination and lack of GB options. Yes it is the king of fly-poop and that is great for some people but not for me. (flamers please be gentle) I like gold I can hear in the bottle. So maybe the Gold Racers 56 khz is not as important to me as some other features may be. The iSAT/iMASK might tip me over the edge in favor of the Gold Racer if it handles bad ground much better than regular Racer.

I apologize for the lengthy preamble. The meat of this post are the questions  "will the Gold Racer at 56 khz be worse at identifying flat iron than the original Racer at 14khz?" and " does the Gold Racer  with iSAT/iMASK handle bad ground better than a typical VLF ergo regular Racer to justify the expense of switching machines?"

Recently a well respected relic hunter(Keith) posted this on another forum in reference to Gold Racer. "Thanks for the tip.. Another one I might add is Stay out of Tin loaded 1880s type sites...LOL!! 

Ouch, those are my favorite type of spots. So Steve, Keith, or any one else that has ran both these machines, have you done any head to head testing or do you have any opinions/answers to my questions?

Thanks in advance,

Merton

 

[LuckyLundy]

Merton,

You back on the boat in this bad weather or hiding out in your RV? I will never sell my GB2, the best discrimination VLF in the right conditions...all about the tones, lol. I just remembered, I have two new sites for you to detect once the snow melts at the 5000' level...I've never seen a dig hole at either site and one of the spots has an old outhouse for you to climb down into!

Rick

[vanursepaul]

Quit whining...

Take a chill pill....all you have to do is watch and see if I start hitting gold with it....

Then you will know you can handle it and it is dummy proof...

Try not to overthink it

Now get back to work!!!!

[Sourdough Scott]

I've never used a gb2. Was planning on one one day. But now I plan on getting the gold racer. I feel it is going to be a dandy lil vlf. And will be a great companion to the 7000.

I'm sitting here in the mountains, depressed as all can be.Because I can't get out detecting. I need therapy! On the bright side. The days are getting longer after today.

[Steve Herschbach]

In my opinion the Gold Racer is first and foremost a gold machine. Gold nuggets and gold jewelry. Focusing on low conductors is what it is all about. One reason I want a turn down from top disc control is to eliminate steel that wraps high, and the silver coins can go right out the door with it if need be.

Merton, basically the Gold Racer is not all that different than a Racer, just hotter on tiny stuff. My guess is also hotter on flat tinny steel. Personally I am just not seeing it as the relic hunting solution for anyone but hard core guys like Keith, at least until somebody like him can prove otherwise.

Guys, first adopters are taking a risk. If you have any doubts, just sit back and let others sort it out! If I seem cautious it is because even though I am one of the guys reporting on the Makro Gold Racer I just don't put a lot of store personally in reports from one or two people. For a machine to really prove itself it has to get out in the hands of a lot of people under widely varying conditions over time for that final thumbs up to happen. So while I am convinced that this is a very good detector for me personally it is just too soon to say how it will play out overall. Compared to the GMT and Gold Bug 2 this is a machine with a multitude of features that have never been attempted in a high frequency detector and for that reason alone I find the machine intriguing.

The Gold Racer is best used in its very stable and easy operating all metal mode. There should be no problem mastering this mode as it is a very well behaved machine in all metal, all while having the benefit of on screen target id. Most ferrous locks on hard at 20 or 21, and I mean locks on hard. Unreliable target id numbers should always be dug until you get more familiar with the machine. A real beauty of having target id is that unlike the GMT or Gold Bug 2 certain pesky items like 22 shell casings or many hot rocks can be identified and ignored if so desired.

Where the machine can be more challenging to operate is the discrimination modes due to its extremely hot high gain, high frequency design. In some areas it runs clean and smooth, but in most locations the disc modes can be rather chatty with transient blips, not unlike a Gold Bug 2 in iron disc mode cranked to the max in a trashy location. The trick is to learn the clipped sounds should be ignored while the fuller good signals should be investigated. There are however a multitude of setting combinations that interact in disc mode and I would be a liar if I said I have mastered the Gold Racer in disc mode.

This really is a great detector in my opinion but it is a very high performance machine pushing to the limits, and so not exactly a beginners machine in that regard. All metal mode is easy to master, but the disc modes are more challenging than what one will encounter on lower frequency detectors. It is worth the effort for me however as this machine will do things that simply can't be done with a GMT or Gold Bug 2. I am using it now around town as a jewelry machine and it is a tot lot killer if there ever was one.

Same old story everyone. It is just a metal detector, not a magic wand, and getting hopes too high just leads to inevitable let down.

 

[goldbrick]

Rick, you are 0-3, none of your guesses are correct. LOL  I left the RV  in Oregon because I did not want to tow over the Siskiyou Summit in the snow. I am holed up in a motel in Redding bored to tears. I thought the weather might break and I could get some detecting in  but that is looking unlikely. I swing my bags over the bulwarks on the 23rd in Frisco bay. You just keep on lovin that gold bug buddy, I sold mine.

Paul, thanks for all the up-beat advice. With friends like you...........

Scott, I am glad you are an early adopter. Since you trashed the Deus as being unworthy of prospecting efforts in the northern counties I will know if you keep the Gold Racer I better save my pennies.

Steve, thanks for the synopsis of the machine and its discrimination capabilities. I have pretty much decided to wait and see but hey! We need something to talk about when the weather sucks.

[vanursepaul]

OH yeah..... love you man~! Merry Christmas---- you old salt!

[deathray]

Hey buddy, if you already have a Deus, whats the point? Wait for the new coil, with the higher frequencys, and your set!

[vanursepaul]

Good point Ray

[mn90403]

Go get'em Merton!  Leave no prisoners.  Burned earth policy is best ... before you look for GOLD!

 

Watch that Paul tho ... he is special forces ... he may convince you to buy the Gold Racer.  (It's only money!)