BarnacleBill
New member
I have always been curious about a series of detectors built in the UK by Vic Fiveash. Their intended purpose was to be able to hunt in coke & iron which is what has drawn my attention. But I have been able to find precious little information on the Internet including any reviews. When I saw a used Red Heat Tornado for sale I jumped at the chance to try one.
Because of the weather I have not been able to get out, but thought I would post some info on this this machine since there is so little at least for those in the U.S. known about it. The operating frequency is supposed to be around 13kHz on this model, and a new XD17 model is to operate around 17kHz. It runs on 8 AA batteries located in the main control housing.
[attachment 48367 overall.jpg]
The coil on this model is a DD and my understanding is that other types are available, though I'm not sure on what the particulars are. The coil pictured has a diameter of 8.5 inches, and is per Vic OK to use for wading, though some other coils in the line may not be without further sealing. The coil connector is 4 pin microphone screw on type.
[attachment 48368 CoilA.jpg]
The coil rod is an interesting design. It uses two lever locked cam points that very much remind me of a camera tripod leg. There is virtual infinite adjustment with no graduated hole points like on many designs. The rod is a six-sided affair that is very strong. My only possible negative comment is that in hunting heavy brush, a twig might get under one of the arms and un-lock the cam, but this is probably a very remote possibility. The photo below shows the cam closed & open.
[attachment 48372 camms.jpg]
The Tornado does not have a speaker so headphones are the only audio available. There is no volume control so there is a warning in the manual about how loud the battery check tone is when turning the machine on. So either don't put the headphones on or make sure the headphones you use have a volume control and that it is turned down.
Also in the photo below is what looks like a pinpoint switch mounted under a pod attached to the top of the handle. That is NOT a pinpoint switch, it IS a reverse discrimination switch. The Tornado does not have a pinpoint switch, which I find a little odd as it is supposed to be a good machine in iron. I will reserve judgement until I actually use the machine in the field to see how it gets by without one.
[attachment 48369 Hsw.jpg]
This top view shows the color coded controls. The yellow knob at the top is an audio tone control.
[attachment 48370 top1.jpg]
The decal shows the obvious purpose of each control. There is a toggle switch labeled Hi/Lo power. Low for hunting in trashy sites and high for deeper hunting in less trashy sites. What exactly this switch does electronically I am not sure, that is whether it increases transmit voltage or receive gain, I don't know.
There are several recommended pre-sets on the machine which I have to give a try to see how they work in my soil. The Tornado does not have an All Metal Mode per se, so to do a manual GB you set the Discrimination control to zero(0) and bobb the coil while adjusting the GB POT for least ground response.
[attachment 48371 Controls1a.jpg]
HH
BarnacleBill
Because of the weather I have not been able to get out, but thought I would post some info on this this machine since there is so little at least for those in the U.S. known about it. The operating frequency is supposed to be around 13kHz on this model, and a new XD17 model is to operate around 17kHz. It runs on 8 AA batteries located in the main control housing.
[attachment 48367 overall.jpg]
The coil on this model is a DD and my understanding is that other types are available, though I'm not sure on what the particulars are. The coil pictured has a diameter of 8.5 inches, and is per Vic OK to use for wading, though some other coils in the line may not be without further sealing. The coil connector is 4 pin microphone screw on type.
[attachment 48368 CoilA.jpg]
The coil rod is an interesting design. It uses two lever locked cam points that very much remind me of a camera tripod leg. There is virtual infinite adjustment with no graduated hole points like on many designs. The rod is a six-sided affair that is very strong. My only possible negative comment is that in hunting heavy brush, a twig might get under one of the arms and un-lock the cam, but this is probably a very remote possibility. The photo below shows the cam closed & open.
[attachment 48372 camms.jpg]
The Tornado does not have a speaker so headphones are the only audio available. There is no volume control so there is a warning in the manual about how loud the battery check tone is when turning the machine on. So either don't put the headphones on or make sure the headphones you use have a volume control and that it is turned down.
Also in the photo below is what looks like a pinpoint switch mounted under a pod attached to the top of the handle. That is NOT a pinpoint switch, it IS a reverse discrimination switch. The Tornado does not have a pinpoint switch, which I find a little odd as it is supposed to be a good machine in iron. I will reserve judgement until I actually use the machine in the field to see how it gets by without one.
[attachment 48369 Hsw.jpg]
This top view shows the color coded controls. The yellow knob at the top is an audio tone control.
[attachment 48370 top1.jpg]
The decal shows the obvious purpose of each control. There is a toggle switch labeled Hi/Lo power. Low for hunting in trashy sites and high for deeper hunting in less trashy sites. What exactly this switch does electronically I am not sure, that is whether it increases transmit voltage or receive gain, I don't know.
There are several recommended pre-sets on the machine which I have to give a try to see how they work in my soil. The Tornado does not have an All Metal Mode per se, so to do a manual GB you set the Discrimination control to zero(0) and bobb the coil while adjusting the GB POT for least ground response.
[attachment 48371 Controls1a.jpg]
HH
BarnacleBill