There are many problems that come up with modern cabling since utility lines have been conjoined with telecommunications cables in the underground environment. They could potentially sustain damage underground because of one factor or another and to repair them a repairman would need to first find the cable and its route. Luckily there is a way to uncover a cable's location with a non-destructive method, by employing the use of underground service locator equipment or cable locator.
Any time an area needs to be dug out for some sort of construct or new line the area must first be mapped out with any potential cabling that might be running through it. This is done to avoid ruining existing power lines and communication wires, and by locating them with a cable locator the process is made much safer than digging by assumption or a cable map of the area.
When trying to locate a cable you should ensure that the underground service locator equipment has a high number of frequencies, which depend on the type of cable. Cable locators should have frequency choices that can range form less than 1 kilohertz to about 200kHz which covers most of the wire diameters that it will be used to locate. It locates cables by having a transmitter set to a cable's connecting point and to the ground, it then sends a signal that the locator's receiver will then measure the specific frequency that the cable sent out from the transmitter allowing you to create a clear map of the cable's route. This however is only the direct method which is the most accurate in terms of measurement but also the least likely.
There is also the less accurate but readily available induction mode which is used when there is no direct connection to the underground cable, so instead of sending the signal directly through the cable you're using an electromagnetic field to find it from above. A receiver detects the electromagnetic field created by the transmitter signal around the cable, while this method is not as accurate as a direct connection it still gives results for where the cable's route goes.
Through both these methods you can get a pretty accurate estimate for where the cable is located before you start digging to find where its faults lie. Or if you're aiming to start constructing in that area then the accurate map is an invaluable to the pre-planning phase in constructing a new building or object.
When trying to locate a cable you should ensure that the underground service locator equipment has a high number of frequencies, which depend on the type of cable. Cable locators should have frequency choices that can range form less than 1 kilohertz to about 200kHz which covers most of the wire diameters that it will be used to locate. It locates cables by having a transmitter set to a cable's connecting point and to the ground, it then sends a signal that the locator's receiver will then measure the specific frequency that the cable sent out from the transmitter allowing you to create a clear map of the cable's route. This however is only the direct method which is the most accurate in terms of measurement but also the least likely.
There is also the less accurate but readily available induction mode which is used when there is no direct connection to the underground cable, so instead of sending the signal directly through the cable you're using an electromagnetic field to find it from above. A receiver detects the electromagnetic field created by the transmitter signal around the cable, while this method is not as accurate as a direct connection it still gives results for where the cable's route goes.
Through both these methods you can get a pretty accurate estimate for where the cable is located before you start digging to find where its faults lie. Or if you're aiming to start constructing in that area then the accurate map is an invaluable to the pre-planning phase in constructing a new building or object.
