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  • #31
    Records

    Yesterday I achieved 2 fantastic records:

    * For the very first time finding 2 cannonballs within 1 day!

    * After just 3 months of 2015 more cannonballs found as in complete 2010
    (in that year I found so far the most of them) when the whole searchregion was virgin!


    Thanx and respect to the Racer and Makro for such records! And I've found also my smallest lead-bullet yesterday.
    Seen from the volume or weight it's just the half of the earlier one - really amazing.

    Everything found just with the vibration and super lightweight 40cm coil.
    By listening to all the weak audio-signals the detector would
    be even the double sensitive for trained ears!


    And I made also a very interesting high mineralized soil test with the Racer,
    so now everyone can have the info how it works best at such special areas:

    The standard switch on and go GEB Level is set to 90.

    This is good for the best depth for valuable coins at very low mineralized ground.
    But for relics and for medium mineralized areas it should be changed directly
    after switching the detector on to Level 60!

    For high mineralized soil to 30 and for extrem high min. to 10.

    If set to zero the mineralization distortions will vanish completly but also the signals
    of small iron or gold objects. I have tested this yesterday with a 3cm iron shard
    below 10cm thick loam.

    There still was some ground distortion with the GEB at 10 but there also still was
    the find-signal loud and clear, while it was vanished with GEB 0.
    If it would have been a silver coin it would have been no problem but
    iron or small gold objects don't have much difference to high mineralized ground -
    when compared with large and noble metal objects which are very good detectable.

    The best of course is to bury some test object 15cm below loam or hot-rocks etc.!
    That way the exact GEB value can be found where the ground remains as good as
    quiet while the wanted finds are still giving good signals.

    Reducing the sensitivity or sweeping the coil 10cm over the ground also reduces
    GEB noises but also depth.

    And there is another important info:
    If the GEB is set between 0 and ca. 30 the Racer signalizes very good meteorites and other
    extreme high mineralic rocks - which are completly invisible to almost all other detectors!!!
    But of course only if not the whole ground is super high mineralic.
    This means if someone looks for such special finds he should set the GEB to such values
    even if the ground is just very low mineralized.
    And if someone wants to avoid such objects he should have the GEB at 60 or higher.



    Anyway:
    If there are still lucrative areas at Australia etc. where gold-nuggets with a size of at least 5x5mm
    and larger are directly near or just 5-10cm under the surface, the Racer with 40cm coil will find them and
    will have no problem to discriminate all the hotrocks and other stuff there!

    Click image for larger version

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    • #32
      Racer X-Large Modification

      2 days ago I have moded the Racers alu-stem; its now 25cm longer and yesterday I've testing it.

      The result was fantastic - now its possible to sweep the 40cm coil at a 1,5 meter radius and
      with just one sweep over 2 squaremeters can be cecked! High efficient and still lightweight.

      I shot a short videoclip with the Racer X-Large in action -
      it can be downloaded from multiple filehosts over here:

      http://www.mirrorcreator.com/files/0...coil.avi_links


      btw. of course the coil-cable ist big enough for a ca. 25cm larger alu-pole.
      I also found a very small luck bringing coin and again a tiny bullet -
      but also over 150 empty rounds from WW2 - absolutly a new record!

      And with duct-tape the entrance hole where the stem goes into the electronic-unit
      also was made water-proofed. This is important and should be a standard for better
      water-protection.


      Anyway:
      The XL Racer really works fantastic and now with the 25cm longer stem the
      race for treasures will be even alot faster !!!
      This is no wonder, because the shorter the stem is, the smaller is the sweep-area!
      And it takes much longer until some amount of 1000 squaremeters was searched
      if a tiny 30cm coil sweeps just 30cm infront of the feet compared with a 40cm coil
      that covers with one step and 1 footstep already 2 squaremeters.


      The Racer X-Large really is for adults! For treasure-hunters who wanna get results!
      Attached Files

      Comment


      • #33
        I don't like the sound of a big coil on an extended shaft. Because of this thread on a UK forum:
        http://www.metaldetectingforum.co.uk...?f=259&t=78400

        Comment


        • #34
          Hi skippy,


          please reload this page so you can see the above added Racer_X-Large.jpg

          Well, it will be always a question of how carefully someone sweeps the coil,
          how stable and thick is the metal of the stem (we also could use
          alu-titanium-alloy or other hightec-materials like carbon fibers-
          just a question of weight and/vs money...) and how large are the bored holes.

          Your link describes one stem-break out of hundreds good and
          stable working Racers so it's not really representative.
          Those alu-poles also can break at other detectors if
          the applied or created wear and tear forces are too heavy.
          Even really stable steel shovels can break after some time -
          mine broke after 3 years directly in the middle of the blade!
          There's never 100% safety.


          As a perfectionist of course I'm focused to the best quality and
          I'm shure that Makro will remove all kind of discovered and
          potentially weak-points in the future.


          Attached a picture of the Racer's HQ PCB and how I have attached
          the extension-stem. I shoved some really exactly fiting alu-pole
          ca. 4cm deep into the other stems and secured both with a screw.

          It is really very important that the stem sits extremly tight!
          And the hole where the cables come out is just ca 3mm small,
          therefore I have cutted them before and recombined after the mod.

          And I also have made the stem thicker by strong tape around the region where it
          comes out from the plastic-hole so already there alot of the weight-forces
          gets absorbed.

          This mod really works fantastic and 25cm are not that extremly much -
          seen from the additional weight-, gravitation- etc. forces.
          Especially not if someone uses the super lightweight 30cm coil.



          Some adjustable 1,2 to 1,5m sweeping radius with large coil simply is great and highly efficient!
          I have used that already 5 years ago and I know the difference to the usual 25-30cm coils.

          Perhaps I'll post some modified map of my search region incl. find-locations and
          with some marked 30x30 meter area which MD-users usually are able to search in one day !!!
          So the extreme difference will be clear.

          Click image for larger version

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          • #35
            Here is the map incl. tiny little 30x30 meter search-area square...

            Such region is alot work with a 25-30cm coil but it's like a little model-car
            compared with a real one or better: With the huge world!

            Little abandoned villages can have already a size of 200 x 200 meters.
            Sunken cities in the arabic desert can reach 5x5 kilometers!
            And battlefields can be even much larger.


            For luck we have meanwhile very lightweight 40cm coils that even find 1cm small stuff
            so such huge regions are beatable !!! I did it! Not to forget the much better depth.
            Attached Files

            Comment


            • #36
              What there is microprocessor?

              Comment


              • #37
                On the first look you only can read some M logo and MICROCHIP (see pix).
                Either the rest of the writing was printed badly or it was removed.

                Anyway - I could made it readable:

                PIC24F64 (= PIC24FU64, I don't know for what the U stands for)
                http://www.microchip.com/ParamChartS...?branchID=8181

                Also pix of the vibration-unit and where the coil-cable is connected to the PCB.


                After I've opened the LCD-display-box I added some more tape windings
                for making the alu-stem sitting even more tight and stable.
                And for yet more water-protection I have covered the thin gap between
                black and red plastic with some glue and tape, also the opening for the
                bluetooth-stick was covered with tape. I really can recommend to do this,
                with or without additonal protection-cover.

                The coil connector and the LED seems to be already good water-protected,
                it is dirctly attached and / or glued to the red plastic-cover.
                Attached Files

                Comment


                • #38
                  Any chance of a close-up of the ADC, part no. U13 ? small 10-lead Analog Devices part.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Thanks

                    This is the PIC24 : PIC24FJGA308

                    http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts...PIC24FJ64GA308

                    TAKTYK

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Thx for the correction and link, Taktyk.
                      My eyes are too big for such small letters.
                      The datasheet pdf on this page is for the PIC24FJ128GA310
                      Main difference: Flash memory 64 vs 128 Kb

                      @ Skippy
                      You're lucky - before I've "sealed" the box I took a high resolution pic of the PCB
                      where almost everything is very good visible and readable.
                      Attached Files

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Yesterday I've tested how the 2in1 audio over earphone works.

                        It works with the Racer, but not if you wanna listen to real good and loud music!

                        Shure - the loud music works well, but the Racer's signals are to silent for it -
                        even if the Racer was turned fully up. Needs some pre-amp so the signals are really loud.

                        But listening to the detection signals and relative quiet ambient background music is no problem.

                        And to make the Racer completly silent a 6,3mm to 3,5mm audio adapter
                        should be pluged into the Racer's audio-jack (without headphone connected).

                        Btw. such a 2in1 audio-plug-connection will work with every detector but I guess
                        the headphone-jack-audio-output of most of them will be not powerful
                        enough to "mix" it still audible with real loud and turning on HiFi-music.


                        Next: The Racer wastes some energy because there is all the time
                        shining a little PCB-mounted blue LED inside if the Racer is on.
                        Perhaps just a few mA but if you wanna avoid it you may remove this LED.
                        Another option: drilling a hole on the LCD-box's lower side to get a second lamp for walking.

                        Meanwhile I also made some pix of the PCB where the LCD is mounted.
                        The 4 press-buttons are good (not such a cheap metal-foil-stuff).

                        I've also found out an undocumented feature:
                        If those 4 buttons are pressed simultanously while switching the Racer
                        to on you will either see US or IS (it changes every time).
                        This concerns the displayed depth:
                        either inch for US (United States) or cm for IS (probably means: International States)
                        Attached Files

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          "IS" will be International System, more correctly known as SI, Système International.
                          Thanks for posting the pic of the 10-lead IC. I think I made an error in thinking U13 was the ADC. It appeared very similar to that used in the Tek T2 (same package, C4Q marking), but I have decided that "D4Q" is probably a digital pot IC.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Thx for the info and if I were Makro I wouldn't have used the code "IS" at all
                            because for alot people meanwhile it has already its special known meaning.

                            btw. what really is simple and should be done first is the pole rain-protection
                            directly where it goes into the LCD-box. A few windings of tape and its done.

                            Click image for larger version

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                            • #44
                              The Makro customer service is fantastic!


                              Yesterday I received some parcel when I was going out for treasure-hunting.
                              Didn't open it cause I wanted to keep the joy and surprise for later.
                              The package was so lightweight that I thought perhaps it's some coil inside.


                              Besides some other interesting things, first time ever I found 3 horse-shoes
                              within one day !! Of course with the Makro Racer X-Large and 40cm coil !!!
                              New record! And hopefully brings (brought already!) alot of luck.
                              because...


                              After I came home I opened the parcel and ... I found the complete
                              Makro Racer just without coil in it! But I haven't ordered it at all!

                              The only thing I did was informing the resaler that he may tell Makro
                              that the stem should be improved because of the info from Skippy etc.
                              The more perfect and stable the detector is, the better it is, of course.

                              For me the main problem was that the stem was a little bit too short,
                              but I have moded and stabilized it, so now I can make huge sweeps.
                              btw. This also is one big reason that I find so many stuff all the time.

                              Also yet another 'new' cannonball at night while it was heavily raining!
                              My complete waterprotection-program for the Racer works really perfect.


                              Of course I'm very happy about this present because now I even have
                              some additional Racer as a backup in need!


                              I could donate it as a gift to kt315 ...
                              Just joking!
                              I'm shure he will not like it anyway and I can't throw away such a great present.


                              But what I wanna make clear and shure is the reliability of the Makro company!
                              They absolutly care about their customers and help them as fast as they can.

                              Even if there was no problem at all like in my case!


                              Makro meanwhile really has built up an absolute professional customer-service
                              incl. some international network of dealers all over the world who all want
                              to provide just the best and also take care as fast and good as possible.
                              Treasure-hunters absolutly can count on them because this is also the
                              turkish honour, pride and professionality to be the best and to show that.

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                              Comment


                              • #45
                                high-voltage-lines electro-smog test

                                Today I was hunting at some steep mountain-hill where some 380kv line was only 10meters
                                away - almost horizontally!
                                The Racer still worked really OK there at sensitivity (gain) Level 60 with the 40cm coil.

                                While listening to the audio-signals - the vibration circuit so far only can handle such
                                extreme conditions at reduced sensitivity level.

                                And I found some 10cm roman hook 30cm sunken in loamy soil - just 60 meters
                                away from the high-voltage line and directly below a second, smaller one.
                                Sensitivity was at 74 and the background noise was still ok - in all metal mode.


                                btw. with alot luck and the Racer with 40cm coil after just 4 months I have
                                now so many cannon-balls that I can built really cool pyramids from them!
                                Many were found 3 kilometers away from the usual searchregion, spreaded
                                over a half square km. Searching per day an area of ca. 150 x 150 meters!

                                I wonder already what I will find within the next 4 months with the Racer.

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