Anyone here ever used an RD5000? Radiodetection's metrotech 810 killer.

[FailedSafetyAudit]

Anyone here ever used an RD5000? Radiodetection's metrotech 810 killer. It's the only Radiodetection product as far as I know that has fully automatic gain control, and it is also the only product that has the guidance mode that actually has a moving needle just like the metrotech 810. It also has audible guidance with 2 different tones of audio depending on which side the utility is compared to where the receiver is.

The rd5000 is exactly the same price as the metrotech 810 brand new: about $2,500

It looks just like an rd7000/8000 except it has a sexier black color to it and less buttons. The transmitter is completely different, it looks like a little box, much much smaller than the transmitter for the rd7000/8000 and it maxes out at 1 watt of power and only does 83khz.

No passive modes on it. Radiodetection made it to directly compete with the metrotech 810. Yes people are still buying the metrotech 810 brand new, in fact I talked to the new york metrotech distributor in person and she said that she sells more metrotech 810's than the 9800 and i5000 put together. She says she sells 810's as fast as she can get them from Metrotech. Although it should be noted that she isn't the distributor for the Metrotech/Vivax VLocPro though.

[Doctor Locator]

I have used the RD5000 and it does have automatic gain control. It has one key to switch the unit on or off and switch between 2 modes of operation.
In the main operating mode you get a compass to line up the locator with the utility, left and right arrows with proportional tails to guide you to the target line, an indicator along the top of the screen that tells you which side of the locator the utility is positioned to guide you to the target line, continuous depth and current readings and signal strength value.
Yes it does look exactly the same as the RD7K/8K but a different colour. It is really light and is very well balanced.
As with the locator the transmitter has a single key to switch the unit on or off with a couple of led's for battery status.

Hope this helps.

[ifinditunderground]

Nothing will ever kill the 810. It's been a proven tool for nearly 25 years. Not gonna happen.

[Doctor Locator]

Radiodetection seem to have brought out the RD5000 to compete with the 810 so they think that they have a product that is as good or better than the 810. Anybody have any thoughts or experience on the RD5000 compared to the 810.

Why do you think the 810 is so good and what is it that has made it a proven tool for 25 years.

[GPGrasshopper]

Seen it, but never used it. The 810 is both the best thing and the worst thing to happen to locating. Easy to learn to use it, easy to train someone on and a great tool for certian situations, but it's a one trick pony. For me, it's run lower frequency and bleed off less.

[Doctor Locator]

What is it with this frequency that locator companies seem to all be using. i was always under the impression that this high frequency would jump onto other conductors and much of the signal would be lost from the conductor at this frequency. Why not use 66kHz ?

[ifinditunderground]

Why do you think the 810 is so good and what is it that has made it a proven tool for 25 years.

Because I said so.........

[FailedSafetyAudit]

Actually I heard AULUpstate procalim once that, as a private utility locator, you WANT bleed off to increase your awareness of everything that is underground. And I completely agree with that statement.

The only thing the RD5000 offers beyond the metrotech 810 is the current measurement capability. I forgot to mention this in my first post. It automatically displays the current flow reading in maV which helps the user determine if the instrument is bleeding off onto another conductor. The metrotech 810 doesn't have this ability, it only has signal strength and depth. The rd5000 has signal strength, depth, and the current measurement.

I used an RD5000 for an hour or so and the current measurement ability was quite nice, but I did notice that the digital response of the needle wasn't as sharp or as fast as the metrotech 810's needle was. Apparently there is some digital signal processing delay or internal noise filtering algorithm that takes just a fraction of a second longer to have the needle cross over the utility than compared to the analogue needle of the 810. If you walk very quickly over a line, the needle will cross almost a foot of difference than if you had gone over it very slowly.

The RD5000 also has a compass too that you guys already knew about. I don't use it much, I pay more attention to the actual needle readings than the compass.

Right now I'm on the fence about getting one to replace my 810. I obviously still want passives modes so I'll have to stick with the C.A.T3 from RD as well which means I'll be carrying around 2 seperate receivers. If RD could have just put passive modes on the rd5000 and keep the price under $3000 I probably would have been sold long ago.

Or, if they could just put fully automatic gain control on thier flagship unit the rd8000, that would very nice too. But they just won't. Not even vivax has fully automatic gain control either. Seriously, you think they could just include the OPTION to switch over to fully automatic just in case the user prefers to locate that way.

[Codify]

The RD5000 looks like a redesigned RD400. The old 400 is a junk machine IMHO. Because its so dang clunky! BUT, I like the 5000 becasue of the simplicity. I run a 7000 and enjoy it. The 8000 has too many doodads that aren't truly necessary. Keep it simple stupid, just my 2 cents

btw never used an 810, and I don't plan on it

[Doctor Locator]

I really like the current measurement because it does make you feel confident that you are locating on your own line. I do find that the higher frequencies do find their way onto other utilities and agree that this can be good especially if you are purely trying to avoid hitting any utility in a particular area. If trying to identify and trace a particular utility the current measurement works very well and this to me is a big plus point for the RD5000 over the 810.

[Mke]

I tend to agree with Ifindit. Nothings going to "kill" the 810. I have not used the 5k, but have used another "810 killer" by another company. the Digital needle does not react as quick as the old analog needle the 810 has. You can work through this, but you will definately have to slow down the process of locating easy quick lines.

As for bleed off, measuring voltage, passive sweeps, there is a time and place for all of these, and you should have equipment at your disposal to do all of these. I know most companies running contracts usually don't stock more than one piece of equipment per locator, so it is up to them to pick a piece of equipment that will get what they need with the price tag they like. Most companies don't like the idea of bleed off, or a machine that kicks arse at induction. Two things that noobs are told to be very weary of, so the company will go with an RD or the like.

Its kinda like comparing real cheese to proccessed cheese food. Both serve the same purpose, but they do it in two different ways. One comes out of jar, and the other you have to grate and sprinkle. Its all what you are used to, and trained on.

Mke

[Doctor Locator]

I just wonder if Radiodetection set out to 'kill' the 810 and this thread does refer to the RD5000 as the 810 killer. I am not sure what competition the 810 had or has at the moment so I guess Radiodetection deciced to bring out a locator that could compete with the 810 and take some market share.

[headcipher]

Our crew is testing out the RD5000 now. Seems to be a really good machine. It's much better than the other 810 clone the Ditch Witch 830 R/T(to be fair they only gave us a preproduction model).

So far we've had one guy with a tweaked out 810 say his 810 was better and another who said he liked it better for it's increased power, which allowed him to push signal further than the 810(untweaked) that he had.

One big irritant is that the new 810's are now being slapped into 850 housings and coming tuned very low from the factory.

As for the worries about the high frequency 83khz, well I can say from experience that the 810 is one of the most versatile machines in the business. When trained and competent from due experience the 810 will locate at least 95% of all utilities. If you know how to use it you know when it's bleeding off and how to keep from bleeding off on other utilities.

Once I've had my turn with the RD5000 I'll post what I thought as well.

[daman1]

I have used the RD5000 and it does have automatic gain control. It has one key to switch the unit on or off and switch between 2 modes of operation.
In the main operating mode you get a compass to line up the locator with the utility, left and right arrows with proportional tails to guide you to the target line, an indicator along the top of the screen that tells you which side of the locator the utility is positioned to guide you to the target line, continuous depth and current readings and signal strength value.
Yes it does look exactly the same as the RD7K/8K but a different colour. It is really light and is very well balanced.
As with the locator the transmitter has a single key to switch the unit on or off with a couple of led's for battery status.

Hope this helps.

5000's are great. They don't run distance as well as an 810 but they're a good workhorse. They're light weight and the batteries last a good 50+ hour work week as long as you remember to shut it off between locates. They're a little slower to react than 810's so you can't go as fast but they're just as accurate.

[orangeboots]

I never used the 810 but had to use the 810Dx when my 4000 broke down and hated it any comparison between the 810 and the Dx?