Cable Location Equipment: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know and More

There is a long list of construction tools and safety gear that every building site needs in order to assure the job is done properly and with as little risk as possible. One of these items is called a cable finder. It is a frequently used tool the purpose of which is to scan under the ground and detect any cables or pipes that might cause problems during the construction if they go unnoticed.

There are two parts that make up any cable location equipment, namely a transmitter and a receiver. The function of the transmitter is to send an electrical signal that will go through the pipe or the cable that you are trying to trace. After that, the same signal is picked up by the locator so that its operator can easily follow the signal’s path down the length of the cable and mark its exact position.

There are three different methods for getting the signal onto the cable – direct connect, general induction and inductive coupling. Unsurprisingly, the first method is performed by connecting the transmitter directly to the pipe or cable you are trying to locate and sending the signal through it. The induction method, on the other hand, is the more ideal choice if a physical connection is not possible, as you can simply place it on the ground over the cable and any nearby conductor will simply pick up the signal. And finally, inductive coupling sends the signal by way of a circle shaped coupling device that surrounds the cable.

As with any other type of tools, the cable location equipment can come in a wide range of prices. Of course, this has an effect on the range of the locators since the cheaper ones can’t hope to be able to discover the cables and pipes that are buried lower, or be as accurate as the more expensive models. However, if you do need to find some much more deeply embedded cables and the common cable locator just can’t cut it, then you always have the option of renting one that would be more fit for the task at hand.

The cable locator is admittedly a very specialized and sometimes costly piece of equipment, so many would probably consider the rental strategy first. But, if you find you frequently need to have such a tool at your disposal, then in the long run the initial expense will vastly outweigh the cumulative rental fees.