Why Did I Buy A RED Heat MK 2 In 2024?

What if I said I didn't buy it for the supposed performance, we live in a mass-produced world and because of this vast amounts of society have a 'mass-produced' state of mind. People rush in to buying the next best thing and if it doesn't live up to their expectations, because the marketing hype is so over the top, then it's sold off to help fund buying the new next best thing. I've written about the lack of individuality and character in the age that we live in and nothing displays this more than all the machines being manufactured by the leading companies, they're soulless pieces of plastic that are designed for maximum profit over performance. 

When I look for metal detectors to purchase I'm not looking at the mainstream, I'm looking elsewhere for individual machines that have something unique about them. These detectors don't have to be the best, in my mind, there is no best, "the best" is what you enjoy swinging the most, for me personally, performance is secondary. If I love swinging a certain machine then I really don't care if it's not that great in certain areas of operation. All my machines have a different vibe about them and I'll swing what takes my fancy on any given day. All my different detectors have their quirks, strengths and weaknesses but that's what keeps it interesting for me.

A Mass-Produced State Of Mind

Why Do I Gravitate Towards Hand Built Metal Detectors?

If someone has had both the vision and the guts to try and build a metal detector then I'm interested in using it. We live in a world of pack mentality, people would rather join the crowd than be an individual, so many people are "all talk and no action". If someone has an idea that they can see in their mind and they manage to bring that vision into the material world then that person deserves respect. This is the reason I decided to purchase the Red Heat MK2 metal detector when one came up. Does it have lots of cool features with loads of pointless gimmicks? no it doesn't, everything included on the machine is there for a reason. 

When I looked deeper into the history of the Red Heat brand, it was invented by a guy called Vic Fiveash and he built detectors with the River Thames foreshore in mind because he use to hunt it on a regular basis. Obviously I also hunt the River Thames foreshore on a regular basis so the machine was a perfect match for me. I only managed to get one with a 8.5' inch coil so it's not really ideal but I figured that I'd just make do the best that I can. As I've explained before, the Red Heat MK2 will be used on the foreshore exclusively, I have no intention of taking it into the fields. 

Red Heat MK2 With Tesoro Shaft Fitted

Because these machines were made a really long time ago the original shaft had seen far better days and the locking nuts didn't really secure the two sections very well. I decided to swap it out for a Tesoro shaft, this made the machine feel a lot better because there was no wobble. From an ergonomic point of view, with the larger coil on the end, it does feel a little nose heavy, this is contributed to because the control box positioned on the back of the shaft literally weighs nothing at all. None of this really bothers me, I'm far more interested in a machines performance as opposed to how comfortable they are to swing.

Red Heat MK2 Control Box

The control box is located on the back end the shaft, it's super light weight and very simple in its design, the controls are facing upwards apart from a boost switch located on the front side. The unit is powered by two 9 volt batteries which are slotted into two little compartments that are also located on the front side. There is no built in speaker so you have to use headphones, those that have watched my videos will know that I purchased a little powered speaker that plugs into the headphone socket and it works great. I also use this on my Tesoro Lobo Supertraq because it helps to amplify the audio which allows me to hear the nuances better. 

Left Hand Panel

In regards to the settings you have a switch on the front of the box that appears to be some sort of gain, on the right hand side of the box you then have a "high power" option, a "boost" and a "disc" setting. On the left hand side you have your "power on/off" "sensitivity" and "ground balance", it's all pretty standard. In regards to most of these controls I'm running everything at zero except the discrimination so I can't comment on how each individual control enhances performance. Due to the terrain on the river you gain nothing by setting your machine up "hot". 

Right Hand Panel

I've hunted with the Red Heat MK2 on the foreshore a number of times now and it performs well, the audio is crisp and smooth and, considering the size of the coil, it does a great job at unmasking small non-ferrous targets in the iron. I personally think it would be a real killer machine with a small 5' inch coil. I find it operates best with a slower swing speed, this enables the machine to hit on tiny targets situated close to iron but you have to be concentrating hard on the audio and understand its language. Second time out I found a lovely piece of silver which gave and really positive signal response and it smacks hard on both coins and buttons, I've even found a tiny cog from a pocket watch that gave a really strong response. 

Tiny Pocket Watch Cog

Regarding the discrimination on the MK2, you really don't have to have it up very high for it to knock out iron. Taking into account the sheer amount you have on the river you might have to bump it up when you enter a section that has large flat pieces of ferrous crap. When large iron breaks through it's pretty obvious because when you pull the coil away from the target the audio will break up as it comes to the edge. Large iron can also be identified by lifting the coil high from the ground, it you're still getting a banging signal a few feet up it's pretty obvious that you've got large deep iron. 

Silver With The Red Heat

Over the years the Red Heat metal detectors seemed to of built up this mythical reputation, especially when it comes to hunting in iron. I can only come to my conclusion from swinging one with a larger coil, I personally feel that my Tesoro and Golden Mask machines perform more efficiently on the river foreshore. They just seem to hit on certain sized targets better with a more defined response, let's take into account that the coils I use on my Tesoro detectors are 7' DD and Concentric. On my Red Heat the coil is an inch or so bigger it's DD and I assume because of its size it's probably running at a lower frequency. I  understand that the small coils Vic made ran at higher frequencies meaning they would perform so much better than the coil I own. 

To conclude, the Red Heat MK2 is an old-skool cult machine made by an individual with the courage to make his vision a reality. That alone will keep me swinging it for years to come, it might not be the most stylish unit and, with the 8.5' inch coil, it might not feel the most comfortable to swing. But it performs really well on the terrain that I want to use it on and I have no doubt it's going to find me some lovely little treasures in the future. Lets take a moment to give a little nod to Vic Fiveash - "Rest In Peace My Man, Your Metal Detectors Fucking Kick Ass"