Thanks for the tip, I'm sorry I didn't show that in more detail. The transmitter unit has a pair of leads coming out of it, like a typical voltmeter, and those leads have alligator clips or you could slide those off and just use straight probes. Typically you clip the black lead, ground, to a ground source and then attach the red lead (the signal) to whatever wire you wish to trace. When I traced the AC lines in the house I simply removed the alligator clips leaving two straight probes and carefully inserted those probes into the 2 flat blades of the electrical outlet. Alternatively I could have connected the black lead to the ground rather than the neutral. The transmitter module includes a voltmeter function, so if you are connecting to a hot line, it will display the voltage on the line and that is a useful feature for knowing that you have made a good connection.
Hi Barry. Great video! I need to locate some irrigation valves. I attached the black alligator clip to the grounding spike. I then sent a tone through the wire for the sprinkler zone that I need to locate. I am no expert but I envisioned that the wire controlling each valve would be terminated at each respective valve. It does not appear to be. each wire gives a signal through the entire system until it reaches the very end of the system. Maybe that is the normal way to wire a sprinkler system, I do not know. Anyway, can this device be used to track down an individual valve if the wire is not terminated at the valve?
Thanks, I don't claim to be an experienced expert at cable locating, and I haven't seen your setup of course. That unit is pushing a radio frequency signal into the cable and that signal can bleed into the other nearby wires easily making everything ring with signal. I would suggest once you detect signal then turning the transmitter drive level down to the lowest setting that you can use and still detect signal, that may help you identify the wire you're trying to trace, without blasting so much trace signal that the other wires nearby pick it up and ring too much with it. Sometimes tracing is little fuzzy, and you need to watch the meter to see which wire really has a strong signal, and see that the other wires are just picking up some weaker spurious signal energy. Good luck!!
Can you use this as a cable/wire locator in cement wall? As you would a normal tone generator to locate cable run/direction and position. I’m keen to getting a device to help me locate cable from time to time - would be handy if it also did buried cable
I'm sure it could, it's quite sensitive and can find buried cable in a few feet of dirt. So as long as the cement wasn't ridiculously thick, I'm sure you'd sense the cable within
@@Barry-Watson that’s wonderful news. Theoretically - you could also locate rebar, or copper pipe I’d imagine… anything that can carry a signal. Possibly water too (filled PVC pipe that has water inside)
I think you'd have some success. Something like rebar might be challenging because the conductor that you're putting a signal into is also touching the dirt and getting grounded. A typical wire you can put a signal through the wire and there is an insulator between that and the ground, so it doesn't just short out the trace signal so easily. Overall, I find that tool to work pretty effectively. Sometimes it can spray a fair amount of trace signal around so you may have to work with the signal drive, and the sensitivity to get closer to pinpoint accuracy.
That would be a challenge, because you need to be able to inject a trace signal for this tool to detect the cable. If the wire is owned by a utility service, the utility companies are usually cooperative with helping you locate their underground cabling.
I think I'd use a ground spike with one probe and energize the pipe with the other. But if it's a metal pipe going directly through the earth, that's going to ground itself which will likely make it harder to detect. If there's an insulated ground wire running along with the pipe, I would energize that instead.
Thanks, but it's really quite simple. You just push the ground probe spike into the dirt, and clip the negative lead from the trace transmitter unit to it with an alligator clip. Then connect the red lead from the transmitter onto a wire in your cable you are trying to trace and locate.
Great job explaining this tool! And it's a heck of a lot easier using this than it is digging a million holes in my yard.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks man! Really appreciate the video. Very helpfully.
You bet!
Great video, thanks for taking the time
Thanks!
wow great job explaining everything
Glad you liked it
Great video!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it
It would be helpful to see how you connected your cable to the transmitter/launcher
Thanks for the tip, I'm sorry I didn't show that in more detail.
The transmitter unit has a pair of leads coming out of it, like a typical voltmeter, and those leads have alligator clips or you could slide those off and just use straight probes. Typically you clip the black lead, ground, to a ground source and then attach the red lead (the signal) to whatever wire you wish to trace. When I traced the AC lines in the house I simply removed the alligator clips leaving two straight probes and carefully inserted those probes into the 2 flat blades of the electrical outlet. Alternatively I could have connected the black lead to the ground rather than the neutral. The transmitter module includes a voltmeter function, so if you are connecting to a hot line, it will display the voltage on the line and that is a useful feature for knowing that you have made a good connection.
Hi Barry. Great video! I need to locate some irrigation valves. I attached the black alligator clip to the grounding spike. I then sent a tone through the wire for the sprinkler zone that I need to locate. I am no expert but I envisioned that the wire controlling each valve would be terminated at each respective valve. It does not appear to be. each wire gives a signal through the entire system until it reaches the very end of the system. Maybe that is the normal way to wire a sprinkler system, I do not know. Anyway, can this device be used to track down an individual valve if the wire is not terminated at the valve?
Thanks, I don't claim to be an experienced expert at cable locating, and I haven't seen your setup of course. That unit is pushing a radio frequency signal into the cable and that signal can bleed into the other nearby wires easily making everything ring with signal. I would suggest once you detect signal then turning the transmitter drive level down to the lowest setting that you can use and still detect signal, that may help you identify the wire you're trying to trace, without blasting so much trace signal that the other wires nearby pick it up and ring too much with it.
Sometimes tracing is little fuzzy, and you need to watch the meter to see which wire really has a strong signal, and see that the other wires are just picking up some weaker spurious signal energy. Good luck!!
Can you use this as a cable/wire locator in cement wall? As you would a normal tone generator to locate cable run/direction and position.
I’m keen to getting a device to help me locate cable from time to time - would be handy if it also did buried cable
I'm sure it could, it's quite sensitive and can find buried cable in a few feet of dirt. So as long as the cement wasn't ridiculously thick, I'm sure you'd sense the cable within
@@Barry-Watson that’s wonderful news.
Theoretically - you could also locate rebar, or copper pipe I’d imagine… anything that can carry a signal. Possibly water too (filled PVC pipe that has water inside)
I think you'd have some success. Something like rebar might be challenging because the conductor that you're putting a signal into is also touching the dirt and getting grounded.
A typical wire you can put a signal through the wire and there is an insulator between that and the ground, so it doesn't just short out the trace signal so easily.
Overall, I find that tool to work pretty effectively. Sometimes it can spray a fair amount of trace signal around so you may have to work with the signal drive, and the sensitivity to get closer to pinpoint accuracy.
How does the MS6818 compare to the Nofaya NF-826?
Looks similar, but I have not tried the MS6818.
i am looking for a wire under ground but i dont have a end to hook anything to
That would be a challenge, because you need to be able to inject a trace signal for this tool to detect the cable.
If the wire is owned by a utility service, the utility companies are usually cooperative with helping you locate their underground cabling.
How would I set this up to trace the path of an underground galvanized water main?
I think I'd use a ground spike with one probe and energize the pipe with the other. But if it's a metal pipe going directly through the earth, that's going to ground itself which will likely make it harder to detect. If there's an insulated ground wire running along with the pipe, I would energize that instead.
@Barry-Watson Thanks. That's what I was thinking. No tracer wire-- I might try to ground to a big piece of metal instead.
you didnt really show how you use ground stud and alagator clips
Thanks, but it's really quite simple. You just push the ground probe spike into the dirt, and clip the negative lead from the trace transmitter unit to it with an alligator clip. Then connect the red lead from the transmitter onto a wire in your cable you are trying to trace and locate.