I tried the Leica. Lousy range. It might do 10’ deep but you have to be very close to pick up the signal. Not like you start picking it up 100’ away from the beacon. I have tried several brands of beacons and they all have the same problem. HDD drill sondes work so much better because they have a much larger transmitting coil, physically. Beacons have this tiny coil that is maybe the diameter of a sharpie and perhaps 1cm long. A HDD sond has a coil that is maybe 1” in diameter and 6-8” long. More powerful transmitters too. I was building beacons for a time but did not find any improvements. The cheapest beacons are the ones that get flushed down a toilet. I took that circuit and made it small enough to fit into a duct. One of many projects left incomplete.
From: Carl Peterson Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2022 4:23 PM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Underground Locating units Last question... (tonight)... How close does the Sonde have to be to what the receiver is? I have an existing Ditch Witch 150R receiver which says it works with 30kHz sondes. I am thinking about buying the Metrotech vScan which says it works with 32.768kHz sondes. Would those most likely work with the Lecia Mini Sonde 33 which is 33kHz? https://shop.leica-geosystems.com/buy/accessories/mini-sonde-33 On Wed, Dec 28, 2022 at 3:53 PM Carl Peterson <cpeter...@portnetworks.com> wrote: Speaking of Sondes... I am looking for something I can put on the end of my conduit rodder. Its a 5/16th Condux with 3/8 UNC male threads. Assuming I source a sonde / beacon first and then find an adapter? On Wed, Dec 28, 2022 at 3:34 PM Chuck McCown via AF <af@af.afmug.com> wrote: Most boring uses a sonde transmitter. From: Josh Luthman Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2022 1:44 PM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Cc: Chuck McCown Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Underground Locating units The ViperMag is an underground cable locator. I used it for our bore attachment on the SPX25. Metal is metal is metal. On Wed, Dec 28, 2022 at 3:38 PM Chuck McCown via AF <af@af.afmug.com> wrote: Drilling locators are a total different beast than underground cable locators. From: Josh Luthman Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2022 12:31 PM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Underground Locating units Carl, Our favorite locator is the ViperMag. I think it was ~3000 retail. As to its accuracy, based on my one time usage last week I spotted the drill sticks 100% and got the distance within inches. My locator tech says it's 100x better than the old one when there's noise (nearby other utilities). On Tue, Dec 27, 2022 at 6:21 PM Carl Peterson <cpeter...@portnetworks.com> wrote: How about this one? Not sure what the new price would be. https://www.ebay.com/itm/225308461851?hash=item34756e4b1b:g:1Q4AAOSwsQpityvJ&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoGDhdpMkHwHcr%2BvCGwtdhgoKuhWkl29e3dky%2FBRCjSbcavCSO%2FxS%2FOj3ur8IMQrLU9nTSS5jxh1tGbzExnZkLl0ByukyENiu4m%2BjhsDyyBTYdqpHctfm3wplh6OljUR5p2r52f0ADK56LGN4R3c3XaKY8Jiv9Z0pQI4qClIVyOcGYD3Us3yHVvj3gtrWqqaeKNhiHdquQ9vLEuuTiiRWQvY%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-TFtduqYQ On Tue, Dec 27, 2022 at 5:18 PM Chuck McCown via AF <af@af.afmug.com> wrote: https://www.ebay.com/itm/295441271797?hash=item44c9ac0bf5:g:FygAAOSwHUFjq0Fi&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA8EoM%2BACrrWy8doADxOvuYO6McooUnEQT32vIgmMCHxSNW7AFx45Ldlayxo1UF19OgeMhNeiXhx6aeua%2FVkOuaMh276DpXIFBRYOW6ZIHNDHI28906bMAomYZI8WsZJ%2Bze0pJtR1BsN7p7rVxkOUgvBwHQnbPRMW2etIqpj%2FAebmujtKv6pJsoyFexvukHQPKXGZDJB0OxJBapGnHc89pM7aeZtYBRxXE87946w1wr1Dl%2BoKiZI4mbQaCcAV%2FnOr8eRwqRkoApcPdjSO%2B%2FwYN%2FIqi%2BZnoXwN6jDfU420OM07xHxOsQBd0U4rkjQanZcsb0Q%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMovD-3aph From: Carl Peterson Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2022 4:14 PM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Underground Locating units Thanks Chuck, That helps, I think. I'm at the point where I just need to make a decision but 4K isn't enough to make the decision I want to make. On Tue, Dec 27, 2022 at 5:07 PM Chuck McCown via AF <af@af.afmug.com> wrote: Most if not all of them locate the signal based on current flowing on a conductor. So you put a signal on a trace wire or cable shield. Ground the far end. The transmitter is connected to the cable and a ground rod. That flow of signal sets up the magnetic field and that is what the locator works off of. If you have trace current then all of them will do a good job. The type of soil doesn’t make much difference. The super cheap ones will find it as easy and the super expensive units. Finding a reliable depth is more difficult. The only brand I have every used where I could trust the depth was a Metrotel. But even the cheapest unit can find depth by locating a null, orienting the pick up coil at 45 degrees and then finding the null off to the side of the of the cable. Distance from the center null to the side null is the depth. The higher the power the farther you can locate. But that just means you don’t have to move the transmitter so much. In my experience I am generally within a quarter mile of the transmitter or less and all of them will do that distance. Some of them will also passively locate 60 cycle power. Some of them locate based on radio signals picked up by wires and pipes and re-radiated. I have had limited success with that on high pressure gas. Many of them have an RF mode where you connect to some object to track but the far end is not grounded. So you just have a capacitive coupling between the thing you want to locate and the earth. Not much current flows so you do not get much distance. For example a fish tape down a plastic duct is located this way. But you will only get dozens or perhaps hundreds of feed if you are lucky. Multiple frequencies have their uses. Older units were down in the audible range like 800 Hz. You can go a very long way with those frequecies. But they also bleed off to other cables and pipes. Higher frequencies are better to get finer resolution but they do not transmit as far. 82 or 84KHz is a popular frequency. Some brands put a coded signal out so only their receiver can pick up the signal. Rycom is one of those. From: Carl Peterson Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2022 3:30 PM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Underground Locating units Thoughts on a used R7200 off of ebay vs something like a new Ridgid SR-24? Trying to do this with a 4K budget. Is a locator either good or bad or is there a middle ground where they don't work well. On Thu, Dec 8, 2022 at 3:30 PM Steve Jones <thatoneguyst...@gmail.com> wrote: there is also the vermeer lin of locators. massive option set, LM42 is pretty efficient and can find most things in the ISP domain. SPX25 is good for locating shallower thing. stuff like the 10x15 or 20x22 utility locator are surprisingly accurate for it having to be pretty pinpoint. But if you really want to be certain about finding the utilities on a smaller ISP budget, youd want to look at Bobcat brand locators, those will find everything. On Thu, Dec 8, 2022 at 3:17 PM Carl Peterson <cpeter...@portnetworks.com> wrote: Any consensus on locators? We need to buy a new one too. The only one I really know is the T5. We don't do a ton of locates so it doesn't need to be too high end. On Fri, Dec 2, 2022 at 2:34 PM Jason McKemie <j.mcke...@veloxinetbroadband.com> wrote: I'm looking at getting one of these: https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/sr-24-line-locator-with-bluetooth-and-gps On Fri, Dec 2, 2022 at 8:59 AM Nate Burke <n...@blastcomm.com> wrote: I'm looking to pickup a 2nd locating unit. Without visiting a bunch of websites and wading through tech docs, does anyone have recommendations? USIC around here uses a blue unit, but they're always so covered with spray paint I can't see the name/model. We have an Amprobe AT-3500 today. Looks like Amprobe has a newer model out, that's cheaper than the AT-3500 Mainly need to locate either a tracer wire (alligator clips) or traceable fiber (Clamp) -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- Carl Peterson PORT NETWORKS 401 E Pratt St, Ste 2553 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 637-3707 -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- Carl Peterson PORT NETWORKS 401 E Pratt St, Ste 2553 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 637-3707 -------------------------------------------------------------------- -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- Carl Peterson PORT NETWORKS 401 E Pratt St, Ste 2553 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 637-3707 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- Carl Peterson PORT NETWORKS 401 E Pratt St, Ste 2553 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 637-3707 -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- Carl Peterson PORT NETWORKS 401 E Pratt St, Ste 2553 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 637-3707 -- Carl Peterson PORT NETWORKS 401 E Pratt St, Ste 2553 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 637-3707 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
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