ARMADA Pro881 Wire and Valve Locator Instructions

: June 16, 2024
: ARMADA

Table of Contents

ARMADA Pro881 Wire and Valve Locator
Description
Specifications
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

ARMADA Pro881 Wire and Valve Locator

Description

The Armada Technologies Pro881™ wire and valve locator is designed to easily find lost valves and broken or severely damaged wires and trace their paths. The complete Pro881 kit consists of:

(1) Pro881R Receiving Wand
(1) Pro881T Transmitter, Carrying Case, and Leads
(1) ProGS1 Ground Stake
(1) Pro-H3 Stereo Headset
(1) Set of Black/Red Connecting Leads
(1) Operating Manual
Please be sure that all items are included before operating the Pro881.

General Arrangement

Introduction: Theory of Locating – Cable locators consist of a transmitter and receiver. In the case of the Pro881™ model, the transmitter is in the long gray box and the receiver is a yellow and black wand. In operation, a transmitter places a specific tracing signal onto the metallic conductor you are trying to locate. This placing of an AC signal onto a cable produces an electrical current and an electromagnetic field around that cable. If the wand is close enough, this signal is received and amplified by the wand.

It is very important to understand that the circuit you are creating follows the laws of physics and electricity. A cable transmitter creates an electrical current (AC) that travels down the cable, through grounding to the earth, and then back to the transmitter through the ground stake. The tracing signal will always travel on the path of least resistance. If there is too much resistance or no circuit path, no current will flow and no locating will be possible. So, keep in mind that when a signal is heard, it is because the signal has a complete path that is creating an electrically friendly way for the signal to travel back to the transmitter. The signal doesn’t just randomly wander through the dirt. It follows a path provided for it, whether it is a pipe, wire, reinforcing bar, etc.

It is also important to note that in tracing circuits, a return path needs to be present. Basically, the return path completes the circuit. In most cases, this will be the earth ground as the signal transmits down the cable and returns to the ground stake. However, any return is possible, so a common wire could work. Or if you have a looped wire, like a dog fence, the loop itself returns to the start and therefore provides a ‘ground’ instead of the ground stake. You don’t have to use a ground stake, but you do have to give the signal a way to return to the transmitter.
Power – The Pro881™ transmitter uses 8 “D” (LR20) alkaline batteries that are installed inside the transmitter battery compartment. Remove the battery compartment cover and install the batteries, paying particular attention to the positive and negative poles.

A 9-volt square (6LR61) alkaline or lithium battery is needed for the Pro881™ receiver. It is important that the 9V battery is either alkaline or lithium. Do not use a zinc carbon 9V battery. To install this battery, remove the battery compartment cover located on the back top portion of the Pro881™ receiver with a blade screwdriver. Install the 9V battery by connecting it to the battery snap boot inside the battery compartment. Don’t yank or pull hard on the battery boot. Finally, replace the battery cover. To test that the batteries have been correctly installed, turn each unit on. The control panel LEDs will come on if the batteries have been connected correctly. If not, repeat the installation procedures. The transmitter battery compartment is designed to hold the batteries tightly so if the unit doesn’t turn with the power button, try adjusting the batteries by rolling them or moving them forward and backward until the power does come on.

Battery Condition Indicators – The transmitter control panel has an LED light above the power button that indicates battery condition. When the light is on, battery power is low. When the light is off, the battery condition is good. As for the wand, the battery condition is also indicated by an LED light. This light is above the volume control on the wand. Once again, when the light is off, the battery is in good condition, and when it is on, the battery is low. Always be sure to check your battery conditions in both the transmitter and the wand if you are having any trouble using the locator. This is a common problem users run in to.

Transmitter Display Operation – The Pro881™ is designed to be the most user friendly of any locator on the market which is why its control panel differs from others’. Turn the transmitter ON by pressing the power button. A good ground connection can be indicated by the LED light in the top right corner of the panel underneath the active-signal graphic. The brighter the light, the better the ground connection. If the light does not turn on or is very dim you may consider turning off the machine and moving your grounding stake to a more suitable place for good ground connection. This tends to be a moister surface rather than dry. You can also try getting the ground wet and placing your stake into the ground again to try and improve your connection. Select INDUCT, 33kHz, or 2 kHz mode. The transmitter defaults to a 2 kHz signal which is a good general wire locating choice. When tracking wires that are difficult to clip on to or have hazardous voltages on them the INDUCT mode with the clamp or internal broadcast antennas may be best. The 33 kHz signals are a good alternative when the tracked wire is short or there are many interfering wires in an area. Make sure your receiver is selected to the same mode as the transmitter. If not, the locator will not work correctly.
WARNING – Do not touch the metal portion of the red or black alligator clips on the transmitter cords when the power is on. There is danger of injury or death should this occur.

Receiver Operation – Turn on your receiver by turning the volume control clockwise. Once again, battery condition is indicated by the light directly above the power dial (light off = good battery, light on = low battery).

Tracing Wire – After the transmitter has been properly connected and verified to have a good ground and power set, turn on the receiving wand. The receiver defaults to the most recently used mode with null antenna reception at every start-up. Place the receiver near the operating transmitter. A beeping sound should be heard indicating that the receiver is working properly. A fading or scratchy signal may indicate a low battery. There are two receiver wand modes for tracing a path: Null or Peak. The receiver defaults to Null every time it is turned on. Null means an absence of signal when pointed directly at the cable in question and louder to the left and/or right of it a few 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 Null mode. The modes can also be flipped while tracing to give a better indication of path trace quality.
NOTE – The receiver and transmitter must always be in the same mode to operate correctly.

The knob on the receiver control panel regulates the volume level of the receiver for both headphones and external speaker. Additionally, the signal LED group on the receiver display will indicate the signal 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. The feedback of your locate is given in two manners: audible external speaker and headset. These options audibly indicate signal strength that is being received by the Pro881™.

Finding Faults – Breaks or severe wire damage can be found the with Pro881™. 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 to drop to a lower level but not necessarily end. Either the speaker or the LED signal indicators on the receiver will indicate this drop.

Be sure the cable or wire you are tracking is associated with a ground return path, usually by being insulated, but buried in the earth – this completes a ‘loop’ for tracing current signal. Ground ‘return’ paths can be mechanical meaning a direct physical ground at one end while capacitive grounding generally applies to cable buried in the earth. The signal needs a path to return to the ground stake and without it, you will not get a good locate. A poor ground is indicated when transmitter signal LED doesn’t come on at full power. In most cases, a direct buried cable fault will provide this grounding and allow for a cable to be located.

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.

If the damage is too small to locate and has a path to ground, consider using a ground fault locator like the GFL3000. Small damage to cables, like shovel nicks or gopher chews, can be difficult to locate with a locator. Ground fault locators are designed to find exactly that kind of fault. More information on ground fault locating and the GFL3000 can be found on our website.

www.armadatech.com

Finding Irrigation Solenoids and Valves – There are generally two accepted methods to find a lost solenoid/valve. The first method is to connect the red lead of the transmitter to the station wire leading to that valve and the black to ground as described above. We refer to this as the ‘unbalanced’ method. Operate the Pro881™ as above and begin your locate. When you reach the valve/solenoid location the signal will expand into a large (approx. 2-4 ft.) diameter area of signal. Many times, this signal volume will get louder. This is your indication that you are over a valve or solenoid.

The second method starts by tracing the wire path as previously described. Once the wire path has been traced you must power the transmitter off, remove the black lead from earth ground and connect it to the common wire. We call this the ‘balanced’ method. In the case of multiple common wires, it is suggested that you isolate and connect to the common wire that services the target valve. Connecting multiple commons will work, however it weakens the signal response. Power the transmitter on and adjust the output signal to suit the situation. High power output is not usually necessary and will lessen battery life. It is advised that you once again point the receiver at the transmitter to assure that both units are on and functioning properly.

Slowly follow the pre-marked wire path. There will be an absence of signal response due to cancelling of the closely parallel wires until you near the valve. As you move closer to the valve the receiver will begin making a chattering sound which will intensify and distort, turn the volume down and take your time. Even with the volume at its lowest setting the response of the valve solenoid will be very loud. Pinpointing the exact location of the solenoid is possible by decreasing the volume and taking your time. The lower the volume is, the more accurate you can be.

Slowly start moving the receiver in an X pattern above the high-pitched area, continue reducing the volume while moving the tip of the receiver closer to the ground. Between proximity of the receiver tip to the ground and the reduction in volume you can tell exactly where the valve solenoid is. Use a pointed probe to find the outline of the valve box before excavating. This will ensure that unwanted damage isn’t a result of your locate. Once the valve is located, verify that it is indeed your target either manually, with the Pro48, or from the controller. There may be more than one valve on the cable being traced. You may wish to continue past the first valve located to determine if other valves are also located on this wire.

Inductive Clamp Mode – To use the IC4 clamp, plug the clamp into the clamp receptacle on the Pro881™ transmitter and place the transmitter in “INDUCT” mode. Clamp the IC4 around the cable or metal pipe to be traced. For best performance, orient the clamp so that the side with the wired handle is closest to the cable. You can also increase the effectiveness of the clamp by wrapping the wire around the clamp jaw as many times as possible. Like a transformer, the more wraps, the more power. Please note, the clamp must be placed between grounding points on each end of the cable and the cable must be grounded on both ends for the clamp to work. The clamp induces current onto the cable and the current will not flow if the cable isn’t grounded on both ends.
Note : INDUCT Mode operates using Null reception only.

Inductive Broadcast Operation – If the inductive clamp is not plugged in in the IDUCT setting the internal Broadcast antenna is activated, saturating the area around the Pro881™ transmitter case with a high frequency field. This field couples to nearby cables and pipes allowing tracking of even unseen targets. This Broadcast mode can be used to check open areas for unknown cables, track cables from a visible valve box to a controller or follow the path of a buried cable that is not accessible.

How to Determine Depth – Find the null over the wire path and mark it. Then place the tip of the receiver on the ground at the mark. Without lifting the receiver tip from the ground, lower the top of the receiver to approximately a 45-degree angle. Now slowly drag the receiver away from the wire path until you re-acquire the null. The distance between the wire path and the newly established null is the approximate depth of the target. This is the equilateral triangle method.

Determining Target Accuracy – This is a very easy to perform method of determining target accuracy. Place the tip of the receiver on the ground directly over your suspected target location, switch from null to peak by pressing the mode selection pad. The peak and null responses will agree if the locate is accurate. If the peak and null are off by more than a few inches the location is not accurate. Toggling between the null and peak modes often when locating the wire path will assure you of accuracy and help build your confidence.

Helpful Hints – Increases in signal strength and/or the size of the area it is occurring from usually indicates some type of anomaly in the cabling. Things that could cause this are valves (as described above), nicks, cuts, bad splices, or cut wires. Cable in good condition does not normally change the tone or strength, other than a very gradual loss of reception over distance, but it is possible. Slack loops of extra wire left in the ground at installation are an example of a condition that would cause an increase of signal and yet have no problem. Also, soil condition makes a huge difference in the performance of cable locators. Basically, a circuit is being created from the transmitter, through the cable, out through the ground and back to the ground stake. Any discontinuity in any of these links will cause the locator to not work. Be sure your ground stake is secure and, in the dirt, and that the transmitter is connected to the cable you want to track.

The soil serves as the return path for the circuit. When using direct connection methods, you may have to condition dry or sandy soils to increase the conductivity of the soil by adding a little water at the ground stake. The best way to really learn the Pro881™ is to use it. Set up a test site at your home or office and get used to how it works. There is no substitute for experience in the art of locating. In addition, our website has many training videos under the training lab which can be accessed 24/7. We also have available technical support with live human beings Monday through Friday from 8am to 4:30pm EST.

Specifications

Tracking Range
- Depth: 8 feet (2.4 m) 2kHz
- Wire length: 5,000 feet (1.5 km) with direct connection
- Wire length: unlimited with broadcast mode and leapfrogging
Tracking Signals
- Frequency One: 2 kHz direct connect
- Frequency Two: 33 kHz direct connect
- Frequency Three (INDUCT): 175 kHz via clamp or internal Broadcast antenna
Wand Antennas
- Receive Peak – 2 and 33 kHz
- Receive Null – 2 and 33 kHz
- Receive Peak – 175 kHz
- Transmit Internal – 175 kHz
Clamp Interior Diameter
- 3.5 inches (85 mm)
Direct Connect Signal Output
- 900 V peak with no load, 1 W maximum
Wand Signal Indication
- Audible – speaker or headset
- Visible – 5-LED bar
Power Source
- Transmitter: Eight (8) ‘D’ cells (LR20) alkaline or lithium
- Receiver: One (1) 9 V (6LR61)

Warranty – Armada Technologies warranties all products for 12 months from manufacturing defects from the date of retail purchase. Armada Technologies will repair or replace any component that is returned to Armada Technologies within 12 months of purchase and does not exhibit signs of abuse or misuse. It is Armada Technologies’ sole discretion to determine this condition. Armada Technologies also reserves the right to require a proof of purchase in order to determine date and validity of purchase. Batteries are not covered by warranty.