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Gold Racer Vs Whites 24k And Others


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The 24k was relatively short lived by comparison of other US made detectors that seem to hang about on the market for 10 to 25 years, being a US detector it was a bit difficult for me to ever get my hands on one and I guess I was just too slow at making the move on one.  So I'm considering an alternative.  I like my Gold Monster but it is a bit simplified and I prefer more options so I just use it as a pinpointer, at the moment my primary prospecting VLF is the Equinox, I rarely use anything else.  I have a Gold Bug 2 but find it a bit primitive especially with features and I'd prefer a detector with Target ID's and the tiny gold improvement over the Nox I find is very minimal, the Nox has a great range of features and does a pretty good job but I'm wondering If I'd get a bit more out of a dedicated prospecting VLF with a higher frequency.  Am I losing much not using a 24k and sticking with my Equinox?

The Nokta Gold Kruzer seems a viable choice, it's extremely cheap and sitting in stock at my local dealer, it has Nel coil support which I absolutely think is a major bonus, the Nel snake coil is made for it, and to me this seems the ultimate prospecting coil. I have it for my Fisher Gold Bug Pro but that detector just doesn't cut it for depth on small gold for me as I live in a place with a majority of the gold being very small.   I need a the best VLF for hot rocks possible.

Why is it that Nokta detectors just aren't as popular, they seem to make a great range.  The Gold Kruzer and Gold Racer are what people have wanted in VLF prospecting detectors, aftermarket coil support, features dripping off them, quality builds and water proof and so on yet you don't see them as detectors people are using.  Why is this?  Steve H had a Gold Kruzer, Gold Monster etc, etc.... yet ended up settling on the 24k instead.  Is the 24k that much better than the Nokta?  What made the 24k the keeper and the Nokta the one to go.

Would I be better off waiting to see what Garrett come out with, with any luck Nel will make coils for Garrett's version of a 24k.

I've never owned a Notka, I am a bit puzzled why they make such feature packed and on paper great looking detectors yet people aren't using them. 

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l am a big fan of Nokta Makro detectors.......I have owned the Gold Racer, Racer 2, Gold Kruzer, Kruzer 14 kHz, and still own the Simplex. Like you noted, these are feature rich detectors. They are rugged and when Nokta Makro says they are waterproof, I believe them and have never found out otherwise.

However, for some reason which I can't explain, all of them except for the Simplex, have overloaded on medium gain settings where I normally detect, in my backyard and especially where I gold prospect. The same happened with the Whites GM24K on even lower gain settings. I have not been able to run any of my gold prospecting detectors super hot or maxed out, but the Equinox can handle all of these places as far as mineralization with zero problems even at sensitivity set in the low 20s.

So, that is one big issue. The second issue is actually the lack of features compared to the Equinox 800 in its Gold modes. Gen mode on the Gold Racer and Gold Kruzer are very basic threshold based all metal modes which do have target IDs and threshold volume controls. That is about it aside from a couple of other minor settings. I won't list all of the numerous features which really enhance the adjustability and flexibility of the Equinox 800's Gold modes. Then there is Multi IQ.......... and selectable single frequencies when needed. 

Sensitivity to small gold is a moving target in my case since all of these detectors will overload so easily that air test results mean nothing in the real world where I often gold prospect. The Equinox, since it won't overload gets more depth in real life even though it gets beaten by at least an inch in air tests by the Nokta Makro Gold Racer, Gold Kruzer, Gold Monster 1000 and especially the GM24K. All of that extra depth is wasted by their hyper sensitivity to mineralization however.

I am not a big fan of the VCO audio on the Gold Racer and the Gold Kruzer's Gen mode. I am also not a big fan of the somewhat anemic depth of the Gen modes compared to the Gold Racer and Gold Kruzer discrimination modes which brings me to the biggie which is there is no notching on the Gold Racer or Gold Kruzer in any mode compared to the Equinox which has all 50 individual segments available for notching if needed to handle hot rocks, etc.

Last, as far as I know, the only coils that work on the Gold Racer are Gold Racer coils. The same is true of the Gold Kruzer. Nel does not make aftermarket coils for them as far as I know, or at least they are not available here in the USA. 

This does not sound very positive. I could say very similar things about the GM24K and Gold Monster compared to the Equinox 800......so I am not bashing these excellent detectors. I do hope that the soon to be produced Nokta Makro SMF detector will be capable of gold prospecting, that it will have more features in its prospecting mode and that it also will not easily overload on high mineralization dirt.

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Thanks for the detailed reply Jeff, that's exactly what I was wanting to know. 

This is the Snake for the Gold Racer, Nel make the full range for it.

http://nel-coils.com/index.php/en/production/nel-snake-9-5x3-5?id=2123

At the moment I can pick up a Gold Racer Pro Pack for cheaper than the standard pack sells for in the USA, for NZ that's rare.

I really appreciate your advice, it seems it's tough for anything to beat the Equinox and I'm pretty happy with the 6" and 10x5" Coiltek combination for the Nox on gold, but always chasing something better 🙂

Maybe I should just hang out and see what Nokta does with the Multi Frequency machine, they've already said it will have a prospecting mode.

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I did not realize Nel had produced the Snake for the Gold Racer. That is a good thing at least from my experience since all three of the Gold Racer coils I owned were very knock sensitive. I had one of the earlier versions and maybe that was improved in the later ones or maybe it goes hand in hand with the higher mineralization here.

I really like both the Gold Racer and Gold Kruzer. If there was no Equinox I would certainly still own one of them. They are definitely as good as any higher single frequency gold prospecting VLF detector available today.

Some people cringe when I state stuff like that about the Equinox and just think I am biased, paid by Minelab or just have a huge Minelab love affair going. For me it is all about performance at the places I detect. It may be totally different for someone else at their locations.

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Like Jeff, I am also a big fan of Nokta/Makro detectors. Where I hunt nuggets, the Gold Racer is what seems to be my best choice along with the GM1000. The ground is terrible and littered with hot and cold rocks. Most VLF detectors are so noisy they drive me nuts. Pulse works great but most of the gold is so small pulse can't see them. Large nuggets are few and far between.

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i own a makro gold kruzer & find it a very good machine

coil selection is good

it will find small gold & doubles as a good coin & jewelry machine  & is waterproof to 15 feet

makros service is second to none

but i still find myself grabbing my gold monster 

both have found small nuggets there just different ducks

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The Gold Racer can use Nel coils and Gold Kruzer can't. 

I have had 2 Gold Kruzer's and used them in the lakes jewelry hunting. It comes with a 4x7.5 coil and 5.5x10 concentric. The 4x7.5 and the 5x9.5 dd coils both worked great in the water.

It is a hyper detector in the deep modes but it ran well with sensitivity turned to 80 for me. My ground is mild.

I wish I still had a Gold Kruzer.

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On 6/15/2021 at 10:47 PM, phrunt said:

Steve H had a Gold Kruzer, Gold Monster etc, etc.... yet ended up settling on the 24k instead.  Is the 24k that much better than the Nokta?

No.

What made the 24k the keeper and the Nokta the one to go” NM coils are a tad knocky, and that knob sticking out the back irritates me. :laugh: I’ve still got a Gold Kruzer and decided the Gold Racer was redundant, but I think I still like the Racer more than the Kruzer. Whatever. Most of these machines lean in corners.

In the over 30 kHz category nothing much has changed since the Gold Bug 2 as far as I am concerned. I can find gold with any of them. Coil selection, coil knock, and general ergo make the day for me. To some extent I just like playing with the latest. Since I am a PI hunter, these are second tier machines for niche or backup use, and do not make any substantial contribution to my gold take. In other words, it’s just not that big a deal to me. There are none of them I would refuse to use. Truth is if I have to pick just one VLF to pack with my GPX 6000 it will be my mini Equinox.

I am headed to Alaska to as remote a place as can be found for six weeks. Going by Super Cub, every item matters. So this is a real world choice I consider very carefully. If I can only take one, it has to be the GPX 6000. There is no other choice that would be better in my opinion. The only other machine I really need is my mini Equinox, for backup and discrimination / pinpointer. But I’ll also be taking a Garrett 24K, as I’m helping Garrett out a bit with that on some final tweaking and tuning. I’m also doing a little detector training while I’m there, and need to train people on the Equinox and 24K. But from a practical perspective, and time spent, using anything but the GPX 6000 will be more about learning and playing around.

The 6K comes very close to making these machines obsolete from a gold getting perspective, as it punches deeper on most of the tiny bits than any of them. GPZ with small x coil type performance out of box. If all I had was gold 1 grain (not gram) and under, I’d use one of the hot VLFs because even the 6K, as a PI, will drop out at some point, and tiny coils are needed in the extremes. Still, even with the 11” mono, I hit a half grain nugget deeper with the 6K than I’d expect of most of these machines. I can only imagine what a smaller coil would do. The 11” however is the better coil than a smaller coil, as a balance of ground coverage and depth on small gold, and great depth on larger gold. It and the 17” mono will be my payday coils.

It really does have me down to the VLF just being for discrimination, or cleanup of shallow microscopic bits. Chasing microscopic gold does not add weight to my pouch unless that is all there is. If I could only bring a VLF, the trip would not be worth it to me. It's mainly that I have a 6K that made me decide to give it another go at a place that has been pounded with everything for decades, including me and a GPZ 7000 a few years ago. The GPX 6000 will light the place up again.

So that’s a look at what a real gold prospector who has been making money off gold for decades thinks about a genuine situation, where a great deal of time and money is being invested, and where I do want to maximize my gold take. People have no idea how critical this stuff is for me, which is probably why I get a bit testy now and then. :smile:

2 lb 10.7 oz and 22” long

minelab-equinox-custom-telescoping-carbon-rod-herschbach.jpg

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Have a safe good trip Steve.

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  • The title was changed to Gold Racer Vs Whites 24k And Others

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