Dfx or Makro racer

[Quake]

Trying to make my mind up on either one, I've used a xlt for a few years and loved it.
So im sure i wouldn't have any problem's using a Dfx, Curious if any one owns these 2 machines and has a favorite out of them.
Wich machine would get better depth.
Thanks

 

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[SouthFLdigger]

Trying to make my mind up on either one, I've used a xlt for a few years and loved it.
So im sure i wouldn't have any problem's using a Dfx, Curious if any one owns these 2 machines and has a favorite out of them.
Wich machine would get better depth.
Thanks

The Racer is a new untested product on the market i would wait a bit, although it looks like the Racer outclasses the DFX. Would love to see how the Racer handles high salinity and mineralized sand as compared to multi-frequency machines like the DFX.

 

[gregg5150]

If Monte was here to answer your question I'm sure he would say steer clear of the DFX........was ok but not the best performer. He would get better results with a properly set up XLT. However, the new Makro Racer or for that matter the Nokta Fors CoRe are pretty amazing machines. The Nokta/Makro Company sent Monte each machine to test and evaluate. I was lucky and Monte invited me to come visit him and try out each machine. I don't say this lightly but each machine was pretty close to amazing. It is also amazing at handling highly mineralized ground and salt beaches. Later on I learned that depth is very good with each machine using the standard 11 x 7 coil that comes with each. Here is a post I did on findmall awhile back after using each machine. We tested each on the Nail Board Performance Test. In case you don't know what that is here is a link that shows what the test is and how it came about.

http://www.ahrps.org/_tipsAndTechniques/Nail_Board_Performance_Test.pdf

Here is a copy of my response after using the Makro Racer and Nokta Fors CoRe machine. is kinda long, sorry. Also I do have my pre-order in for the Racer Pro Pack. I think you would be pleased with the Racer over the DFX.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Friday morning Monte called me and said Gregg drive over here to Arlington.....in fact ya might wanna Race on over here. I'm like damn !!! did you get a Racer So really early Sat morning I loaded up the dogs, MXT Pro, M6 and drove thru the night to get to the other side of the State. Met Monte at the Pheasant Grill in Arlington at 6am sharp. If ya ever get there have the Ultimate omelette ( that alone was worth the drive

So over breakfast I told Monte that I brought both my machines ( M6 and MXT Pro) Also said that over the last month or so, it seems that everyone is getting caught up in this Nokta/Makro hype and is turning into a frenzy of sorts. And when you told me you was replacing the MXT Pro with the Fors CoRe machine as your #1 all around machine, well I knew for sure ya must have fell down and hit your head on something........

After breakfast we started out with the good ol' Nail Board Performance Test. And to make the test interesting we did it on an asphalt parking lot ( highly mineralized conditions) To make the test as fair as possible I used my 5" round detect DD coil that is about the same size as the small coil that comes with the Fors CoRe and Racer machines. We would take a machine, ground balance to the asphalt parking lot and then attempt the test. For those not familiar with the Nail Board Test, here is a link that explains how the NBPT came to be and a pic/template of the test :

http://www.ahrps.org/_tipsAndTechniques/Nail_Board_Performance_Test.pdf

I started with the M6 and 5" round DD coil. I quickly ground balanced to the asphalt set the disc to just knock out the nails and did the test. I got 7 of 8 possible hits. 6 were clean hits with the 7th being more of a "iffy" signal/hit. I as well as Monte love hunting old iron infested ghost towns, old homestead sites, stage stops etc. The NBPT is a nice quick simple test to see how well a machine might perform in those iron infested sites. As a rule , passing would be at least 6 of 8 hits on the coin. You will be surprised at how many " fast recovery" machines with a small coil will fail this test. The only machines that I have seen that will get a clean 8 of 8 hits is some Tesoro Models and the Whites Classic models, they being a 2 filter fast recovery slowww sweep machines.

After a quick tutorial on the CoRe and Racer machines, Monte handed me the Fors CoRe machine with the small coil. I attempted the test in Di2 with the factory default settings. I quickly ground balanced to the asphalt and did the test. I got a clean 8 of 8 possible hits on the coin. I looked up at Monte with this dumb look on my face and he was just grinning. I said something must be wrong and tried again, and again getting the same results. Needless to say I was a bit dumb founded. He then took the Racer and did the test and it to easily got a clean 8 of 8 possible hits on the coin. To make matters worse ( for me) he then took the Fors CoRe machine, put the standard coil ( 11 x 7 ) back on it and did the test. He got 8 of 8 hits on the coin with 7 of them being good and one being an "iffy". I didn't go any further with test using the MXT Pro. I already know what the M6 and MXT Pro are capable of. They are and will always be great machines. However, on the NBPT, the CoRe and Racer did the job a little better.

I soon realized that maybe Monte didn't fall down and hit his head on something. I will say I was amazed at the performance that the Nokta Fors CoRe and Mackro Racer machines did using the NBPT.

I'll give some of my initial thoughts about the Fors Core and Racer machines. Please bear in mind that this was my first exposure to each machine and it was brief at that. So the real evaluations will come from the big guys, Monte, Steve and Keith.

As far as performance I think for those that are wondering if the Racer is as good as the CoRe machine will not be disappointed. As far as depth, I cannot comment on depth for either machine. I usually hunt iron infested sites and "depth" is not a priority for me, what is , is a machine that can handle those types of sites. The NBPT is a nice tool to quickly evaluate a machine to gauge how well it might handle dense iron situations. So I look for machines that can pass that test and depth isn't a consideration. So as far as performance and passing the NBPT, the Fors CoRe and Racer did an excellent job....beyond my expectations.

So if I have a gripe about either machine, it will not be about performance. Using each machine with the small coil, I actually liked the feel and ergonomics of the Fors Core over the Racer. This is based on personal preference, but I wish the s type handle on the Racer machine where you grip it was a bit more relaxed, ie: i feel it stands too vertical. Build quality on each machine is top notch. Coil construction is also top notch.
Where you attach the coil cable to the Racer, on the back of the TID display was very easy unlike trying to attach the cable to say the AT Pro or MX5 that requires a bit of cussing. Also on the Racer a nice touch is that they put the headphone jack on the back of the machine under the arm cup and not out the back of the TID display. So I guess what I am getting at in deciding what machine do I want to get, the performance is there for each machine, so for me deciding, will be based on the physical package of the machine. The CoRe machine will retain memory as the Racer doesn't. The Racer displays information in a TID that is "in your face" whereas the CoRe machine is on the side and that goes for making machine adjustments as well. The CoRe does display VDI info in the hand grip though. I still haven't decided which one I like best. I will be meeting up with Monte again next weekend and will get a chance to use each machine again and get in a bit more time with each. I will say however, that I feel you can't go wrong with either selection. As I said I feel that the performance is there for each machine and it boils down for me to what physical package I like best.

Will the MXT Pro or M6 be headed to Ebay Nope, not at all. They still are and always will be great performing machines. But I will be adding either a CoRe or Racer machine to the arsenal, just gotta decide which one it will be.....decisions decisions .........but for a totally illogical reason, I kinda want the Racer machine because its red and has a "cool" factor lol

Anyhow, this is just my two cents worth based on briefly getting to use each machine.

 

[gregg5150]

Also here is a link to Monte's evaluation of the Makro Racer:

Evaluating the Makro Racer ... A Compact & Functional Performer.

 

[Quake]

Thanks for your input and info gregg, i also see the nokta impact looks the same as the racer.
Like you said decisions decisions is hard.

 

[Escape]

Thin line between information and manipulation. I'm lovin it!

 

[bowwinkles]

B3

 

[Fletch88]

Have you considered the MXT-Pro? Or even MX-5. I own and love both but find the MX-5 more enjoyable to hunt with and so close to same depth as the MXT it's a tossup.

 

[SouthFLdigger]

As far as absolute depth goes in plain soil not salt water sand. The Nokta/Makro takes the trophy without hesitation as compared to the DFX, by about 3". I have a test garden here in my mild soil with an 9" penny, 8" dime, 10" nickel, 13" quarter. The Fors Core which has same performance as the Makro, can hit every one of them up to the 10" nickel with the sens at 50, DI2, mask 10, gb=60 " (default) settings. Push the sens up to 97-99 on the Core and it hits the quarter as though it was 8 inches down, very solid relic and coin machine. Only thing i don't like about the Core is its extremely busy nature, it picks up every tiny(size of a pen tip) non ferrous objects in areas where all other detectors remain quiet. One learns to rule out these small non ferrous objects based on the brevity of the signal but can be annoying. As for the beach salt water, the Makro/Nokta works just fine down to 10" inches in the heavy salt. However the DFX goes deeper and its a better performer in the salty sand without a doubt.I'm a big fan of the whites quality, and their customer service is great. Nokta/Makro is the new guy on the block and the jury is still out on their service, their products are very good and well designed.