R.I.P. Metrotech 810DX Transmitter and i500 set - No longer manufactured as of Friday October 14 2011.

[FailedSafetyAudit]

R.I.P. Metrotech 810DX Transmitter and i500 set - No longer manufactured as of Friday October 14 2011.

Talked to one of the metrotech distributors yesterday about getting an 810dx transmitter, and he started making phone calls on my behalf to see how long it would take to get one. However, after talking to a metrotech employee, he discovers the 810dx transmitter and the entire i5000 set are no longer being manufactured. 810dx receiver still will be, and somehow the 9800 series isn't on the chopping block either, but I think they still make that one due to it's fault finding capabilities, despite being a terrible locator.

Also what's more, there is some sort of major new product revelation comming from metrotech in january 2012 - not even the distributors know anything about it yet.

So yeah that really sucks. I loved the 810dx transmitter due to it's 1 watt power and not having the wires exposed directly when opening to change the batteries. I was looking to buy a few in the future and now I can't. And yes, the 810dx transmitter does remember it's settings when turned on and off in terms of power output.

[Doctor Locator]

Why not use the Radiodetection 5000WLT transmitter. It transmits on 83kHz, operates with a single button and outputs up to 1W.

[rgregg]

You might try the Ditch Witch 830 which is 83Khz also with 1 watt transmitter. It will work mixmatched with metrotech receivers and transmitters.

[headcipher]

Well, I think Amprobe now sells and manufactures the i5000, and I recently talked to the metrotech/vivax support/developers and they said they are working on a new vivax locator. I can't wait to see if they can come up with something good.
http://www.amprobe.com/amprobe/usen/....htm?PID=73171

[Doctor Locator]

Yes Amprobe do sell the product but I would be very surprised to hear that they manufacture the product. More than likely they purchase it and put their own label on it.

Any ideas which country manufactures the i5000 ?

[Mke]

I believe that Metrotech pushed all their manufacturing over to china. I think they may have limited manufacturing here, I.E.. putting together the parts that are pre assembled in china.

Mke

[HWYRIPR]

I talked with my Vivax/Metrotech rep and he was telling me how 810 DX has essentially been revamped. In fact he had a demo in hand. It is not called the DX but it is a digital version of the Metrotech 810/850, so really its the DX but they addressed the issue with the response of the digital display and tone. He did not mention the i5000 being discontinued, surprising since I have one, but I will look into that. DitchWitch has a very nice product with that 830, but as always, it's a personal preference.

[FailedSafetyAudit]

Very nice replies so far, thanks to all for thier information.

I have heard about the ditch witch and the RD5000, I just love the classic 810 reciever because of the instant analogue needle response and light weight and long battery life. True it doesn't have a current measurement mode, though.

Personally, I would buy a classic 810 reciever and low end version of the vivax transmitter with the small profile and have it programmed for 83khz compatibility with the classic 810 reciever. This is also a good choice because the vivax transmitter has a newer 5" clamp that seems to have an advanced build quality with possibly better materials than the older metroclamp pure black style one used with the 810.

[FreedMan]

Personally, I would buy a classic 810 reciever and low end version of the vivax transmitter with the small profile and have it programmed for 83khz compatibility with the classic 810 reciever. This is also a good choice because the vivax transmitter has a newer 5" clamp that seems to have an advanced build quality with possibly better materials than the older metroclamp pure black style one used with the 810.

I would have to agree. I love the feel and response of the classic 810, it's like an extension of my arm at this point. I may have to look into snagging a vivax TX to go with it at some point. Now, if what they have in mind is a classic 810/850 RX and a dual freq transmitter to get the best of both worlds with the feel and balance we 810 heads love, that would truly be a thing of beauty.

[ProfessionalLocator]

MetroTech has been trying to cease production of it's 810 for a long time, too labor intensive to manufacture. They are going for cheaper production.

They acquired the ViVax and have it manufactured in China. Perhaps it is the manufacturing specifications or the notorious reputation for the communist manufacturers to substitute cheaper specs, but the ViVax is falling apart almost as fast as you put them into the field. The ring clamp for example is made of hollow plastic and where the extension pole screws in readily breaks off and there is no way to repair the break. Breakdowns of the transmitters and receivers is common after a year of service.


I have heard to two incidents where, perhaps due to start-up surges, where the D cell batteries in the transmitter rupture and all their fluid runs out. Careful opening a failed one, chemical burns.

The loss of the 810 opens the market to someone to build and market a similar replacement.
This is very possible, that thing has not been in production for decades without a good reason, it is what their customers want.

As for their ViVax I would have to say buy something else.

[FailedSafetyAudit]

FreedMan - Love the metaphor of the 810 being an extention of your arm, I feel the exact same way literally all of the time. So light, So fast, it's like a part of the body.

ProfessionalLocator - Very interesting comments about the build quality of the vivax equipment, I trust your opinion enough to put off buying anything until I see what comes out, in January from Metrotech. Thanks for your post.

[headcipher]

MetroTech has been trying to cease production of it's 810 for a long time, too labor intensive to manufacture. They are going for cheaper production.

They acquired the ViVax and have it manufactured in China. Perhaps it is the manufacturing specifications or the notorious reputation for the communist manufacturers to substitute cheaper specs, but the ViVax is falling apart almost as fast as you put them into the field. The ring clamp for example is made of hollow plastic and where the extension pole screws in readily breaks off and there is no way to repair the break. Breakdowns of the transmitters and receivers is common after a year of service.


I have heard to two incidents where, perhaps due to start-up surges, where the D cell batteries in the transmitter rupture and all their fluid runs out. Careful opening a failed one, chemical burns.

The loss of the 810 opens the market to someone to build and market a similar replacement.
This is very possible, that thing has not been in production for decades without a good reason, it is what their customers want.

As for their ViVax I would have to say buy something else.

Man, I would love to know who this has happened to, because I've never heard of it.

Our locating crew has used the 810 ever since they were first introduced and I've never heard of this, not even from the 20 + year guys. In fact, it seems like the longer one of our guys have been on the job the more they love the 810. I've been using it only for 11 years, so maybe it's still to come. Probably just bad batteries.

The 810 is not being discontinued(per Vivax/Metrotech themselves) only the 810dx.

Metrotech/vivax discontinued the 810dx to redesign it and add the 850 capabilities to it. No telling if it will suck like the 9890 did. I'll wait and see.

I run the vivax daily along side my 810, in my opinion an excellent machine that proved superior to the RD4000 I had previously in nearly every way. When I tested the RD8000 side by side with the vlocpro I found them to be comparable in capability. The Vivax had an EMS system, but the RD8000 was much lighter and easier to carry. I need the EMS so the Vivax it is.

There will be a new vLocPro2 coming out very soon. They've sent me the sales brochure on the newer lighter machines, I'll have to see if I can find a way to post the .pdf.

By the way, almost everything electronic is manufactured in China or overseas. Even Apple is manufactured over there, good luck holding a grudge against electronics and tech that's from overseas, I haven't found much else.

[FailedSafetyAudit]

I believe that ProfessionalLocator was referring to the d cell batteries rupturing in the Vivax Vlocpro transmitter, not the 810 transmitter.

Personally I would love to see a metrotech 810 with a 65 khz version. The 83 khz bleeds off famously, and is really meant for doing pipes with changes in material or rubber gaskets like gas or water. When doing the pole utilities like Electric, Telephone and Cable Television the high 83 khz isn't necessary in my opinion.

65 khz would be awesome for an 810. Just a little less bleed off, and traveling a little farther down the line. Would be really interesting. Haven't seen much of the 40-50 khz range for locating on any instruments from any manufacturer, usually it just goes from 65khz down to 30 something. Isn't 45 khz the legal breakpoint for allowing the use of greater than 1 watt power output?

Yes if you have the .pdf file of the new vlocpro2 that was be absolutely fantastic if you could upload it for everyone to read. Use a free filesharing website like hotfile.com or megaupload.com to upload it and paste the link in a new topic to get everyone's attention.

I seriously hope that the vlocpro2 has some automatic gain control options. That's one of the reasons I am currently staying with the 810.

[headcipher]

Aaaand the link is up on the metrotech site http://www.metrotech.com/index.asp
http://www.metrotech.com/downloadsav...20110817%2Epdf

Check it out. I can't wait to test drive this stuff.

[Doctor Locator]

Thanks for the link. have had a look at the data and appears that the locators are lighter than that of the previous locators but still not as light as that of the RD7000/RD8000 locator. also cannot see any real difference in terms of new features over old VlocPro locators.
There was talk of a revelation to come out in January 2012, is this still going to happen or is this latest release the revelation because if it is then I am disappointed.