inches. Peak means the opposite, that the signal is loudest over the cable. You may
select which mode suits you best. In general, the closer you are to the cable, the louder
the signal should be except for directly over the cable in the Null mode.
Begin the wire trace by sweeping the area approximately 5 feet from the transmitter.
Begin by searching for the null response. Until the null is acquired, you may receive
audible responses of varying degrees. Follow the signal response until the signal is lost
while marking the path as you trace.
NOTE – When connecting directly to a cable, place the transmitter and receiver in
the NORMAL mode. The receiver and transmitter must always be in the same
mode to operate correctly.
The on/off control on the front of the receiver regulates the volume level of the receiver,
both headphones and external speaker. Additionally, the analog meter on the front of
the receiver will indicate the reception power level visually. After connecting and turning
on the transmitter and the receiver, point the receiver toward the ground in the direction
of the cable and listen for the beeping signal.
Additionally, the feedback of your locate is given in 3 manners; audible external speaker,
headset, or analog meter. Any of these three options indicate signal strength that is
being received by the Pro800.
Finding Faults – Breaks or severe wire damage can be found with the Pro800. The
setup of the unit is the same as when tracing wire. The difference comes in the
reception. Whereas the traced wire continues to emit a signal along the path of the
cable, a break will cause the signal to stop at the point of the break. A nick or damage
will cause the signal drop to a lower level but not necessarily end. Either the speaker or
the analog meter on the receiver will indicate this drop.
Be sure the cable or wire you are tracking is grounded. To trace a cable, it must be
grounded, either mechanically or capacitively. Mechanical means a direct physical
ground. Capacitively generally means non-ducted cable. The signal needs a path to
return to the ground stake and without it, you will not get a good locate. A bad ground is
indicated on the transmitter analog meter when the needle cannot achieve a 4 or better
even at full power. In many cases, a direct buried cable fault will provide this grounding
and allow for a cable to be located.
Do not let the receiver level go above 10. You are looking for a drop in signal and you
may not see it if the analog meter is pegged to the right.
A general rule is the greater the damage to a cable, the greater the drop off in signal at
the point of damage. Conversely, minimal damage or weak grounding will show little
change. This is an art and small faults are sometimes difficult to locate. Practice and
experience will help immensely in this task.
Finding Solenoids and Valves – There are generally 2 accepted methods to find a
lost solenoid/valve.
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