[align=justify]MAKRO RACER Metal Detector– “THE FIRST 48 HOURS

 
New metal detector, fresh out of the box, always brings a wave of excitement and anticipation with it. I had no plans to buy a new detector, but slick salesmanship from George Streeter tipped the scales and I walked out of his Marlborough, New Hampshire store with a Makro Racer complete with the Pro Pack. George had planned on taking the Makro out for a test spin himself, but just could not find an opportunity to do so. His second choice, still part of clever salesmanship, was to ask me to “volunteer” to document my first impressions.
Only too glad to help, I set about to begin what I call the “First 48”. In the first 48 hours, if you are not convinced that a new detector is not equal to or better than one that is already in your arsenal, chances are it is going to gather dust in a far corner of a man cave. So, as soon as I arrived home the 48 hours clock began.
Out of the Box Impression
The Makro Racer packaging rates at the top of the list in terms of keeping the product secure and being visually attractive. The Pro Pack contains both a manual and a CD to introduce the products features to the new owner. All parts were accounted for and ready for assembly. In spite of assembling many detectors over the years, I followed the instructions step by step using both the manual and the CD. I found the instruction accurate and easily followed. The CD was equally informative and obviously the result of excellent production quality, but the use of English language dubbed over the Turkish language presenter was a bit distracting. One additional positive comment on the CD is that it included a person providing sign language for those speech or hearing challenged.The unit itself is characterized by a vivid color scheme supported by a balanced and solid feel. Coming in at mere 3 lbs., it supports a low fatigue level if you are intending to put in a full day in the field.
Air Testing
Although I am not a proponent of bench testing or what is commonly referred to as “air testing” I often use it as a starting point in evaluating a new detector. For this test, I have a yard stick glued to my work bench and a fixture that holds the detector while moving the test object toward the coil. (Very much the same principle as shown on the CD)  Starting with a clad quarter I was able to detect its presence at nearly 9 inches. Switching to a silver quarter produced relatively the same value.
Test Garden
I have a test garden set up in my back yard consisting of several one inch pvc pipes capped at both ends, filled with soil, and each containing a coin of either clad or silver. Several of the pipes contain highly mineralized beach sand. The test pipes vary in length from 3 inches to 10 inches. I did not vary from the suggested factory settings at the time looking to judge out of the box performance.The Racer detected everyone of the coins regardless of depth or soil composition.
Field Test
For my first trip to the field with the Makro Racer, I attended a Granite State Treasure Hunter's outing at a Southern New Hampshire Ski area. It was hot and humid day with the temperatures near 90F and the relative humidity in the 70s. I only detected for about an hour due to the brutal heat, but did register a 1941 Silver Quarter at approximately 7 inches. I dug a few other clad coins before the heat and humidity drove me to the comfort of an air conditioned car. First real test drive was positive in that the unit was quiet, accurate, display very intuitive/easy to step through, and provided a balanced effortless swing. The only negative was that the headphones that come with the Pro Pack do not have a long enough cord, requiring the headset to be taken off while digging. I prefer headsets with a longer spiral cord or wireless headphones.
The second test trial was a the Stratham County Fairgrounds, two days after the closing. Assuming that the main fairground were already hunted, I chose to detect a remote parking lot. After an hour and a half, I had accumulated 51 coins and a men's Pulsar watch. The coins we all clad with the exception of a 1954 Nickle and a 1961 Roosevelt dime. The watch was intack, but not working. For this test, I used the 5 inch DD coil that comes in the Pro Pack. The ability to differentiate between bottle caps, pull tabs and other ferrous junk was impressive. The readout values per type of coin were right on the specifications found in the manual. The only downside was that the depth readings were not accurate, a coin on the surface read as a 5. This turned out to be operator error. The unit comes from the factory in metric depth. By turning the unit off and pressing both the + and - keys simultaneously and then turn the unit back on while having both keys depressed switches the unit to US mode. Pin pointing does require some practice, but is only a matter of a learning curve. By the time I dug or retrieved all of the coins, pinpointing became second nature.
The goal for the third hunt was to determine how the Racer reacted to wet salt sand.  I chose Hampton Beach, NH as the test site, entering the beach at the State Park to the south. No silver or gold to report on the days haul, but two handfulls of clad, a pocket knife, and a toe ring made it a worthwhile experience. I was impressed with how quiet the detector operated while searching in beach mode through the wet sand area and how crisp and clear the tones were. Searching back and forth from dry to wet sand had no negative effects on performance or audible noise levels.(no falsing) Initial ground balance is easily accomplished merely moving the trigger forward and pumping the coil until an audible beep is heard. To quantify wet sand performance, I buried several coins at depths of 6 - 10 inches. The Makro produced solid signals for each coin.
 
 
 
                                                SUMMARY
LIKES                                                                           DISLIKES
+ Build Quality                                                     - Turkish language background on CD
+ Instructions are easily followed                        - Short cord on the headphone
+ Target Identification is consistent/accurate  - Pin Pointing requires getting use to
+ Display/Settings are intuitive                          - No assembly instruction for charger
+ Balance swing weight                                      
+ Quite and stable in beach mode                   
+ Impressive depth performance
+ Ground Balance is easily done
+ 5 inch DD coil produces excellent target seperation
                                                CONCLUSION
Build quality, intuitive display, swing balance, and depth of detection make it a worthwhile investment.
TD Bunce - Pick up a copy of Tom's new book FINDERS - Stories of Success on Amazon Books.

Thank you Tom for your help.