How To Find The Best Underground Utility Locator Equipment?

Alongside best underground utility locator equipment before beginning an outdoor excavation or construction project, is essential that you contract a professional surveyor to identify and mark underground utilities and boundaries. For the effectiveness and safety of your crew, it is crucial that you invest in a reliable.

For more information, please visit Buried Cable Detection Systems.

Being such an important investment, you do not want to make wild guesses when buying this equipment. To save you some time and money, we have prepared this utility locator shopping guide. To learn everything you need in order to purchase the best underground utility locator, read on.

How to Locate Underground Utilities

the best utility locator equipment – Leica-DD100-Series

When executing a construction or excavation site, you will need to be extra careful to avoid damaging utility lines buried underneath the property. From gas to cable to sewer, to water, damaging a utility line can be an expensive mistake, not to mention time-consuming.

Before commencing your construction project, take time to contact a seasoned surveyor to mark out every utility line crossing through the property. However, there is some bad news – even after a professional has marked out the utility lines, there is no sure way to ascertain the accuracy.

If there happens to be any form of interference, the reading will be impacted, and the state surveyors often overlook private utility lines. To enhance accuracy and promote safety, it is advisable that you invest in good underground utility locator equipment. This technology will help you double-check your readings and markings. This, in turn, minimizes the chances of making potentially costly and hazardous errors.

How a Utility Line Locator Works

the best utility locator equipment – Leica-DD200-Series

This equipment can use either of the two possible techniques – passive or active locating. An active utility line locator works by searching for the specific utility line through a direct connection or inductive method. The equipment is attached to the utility line directly, and when that is not possible, it induces frequencies into the ground, and those frequencies are reradiated by the utility lines.

On the other hand, passive locators are used to finding unknown utility lines. The surveyor uses a frequency received to sweep through your site, checking for underground pipes radiating frequencies.

The only downside to the passive line locator is that the equipment does not distinguish between the various types of pipes. With such equipment, you will not be able to tell the type of pipe buried beneath your construction site – whether it’s cable, water, gas, or sewer.

With that said, you can now tell why it is important to choose the most appropriate utility line detection technology for your project. There are typically two types of underground pipe locator technologies – multiple frequency and single frequency. Both technologies apply ground-penetrating radar to detect objects underground.

The single frequency locator is the traditional option and consists of a single transmitter that produces one high-frequency signal. Multiple frequency locators produce more frequencies, and this enables you to make clear distinctions between different utility lines in your site.

When is a Utility Locator Needed?

the best utility locator equipment – Leica Trace Rod

Underground pipe detection equipment is necessary when preparing to execute a construction site. The state’s contractor will do you quite well but having your own underground pipe locator allows you to double-check the markings. The equipment will save you the expense and trouble of having to call the state contractor again in case anything went south.

With your own equipment, you can easily detect private utility lines. The state contractor is likely to only mark well-known lines, overlooking private ones. Locating all power, gas, water, or cable lines crossing through your property is important before starting your construction or excavation project.

Detectable Objects
Utility line detecting equipment is generally grouped by use-case. There are magnetic locators, for instance, which are used to detect ferromagnetic underground pipes. The magnetic locator will also detect gas valves, septic tanks, and steel property pins.

A magnetic detector is, however, not ideal for locating underground utility lines such as water, power, and gas lines. A Pipe and cable detector is the most appropriate equipment for locating these lines. It will not only detect the lines but will also distinguish between the various types of lines.

Pipe and cable locators have two major parts – the receiver and the transmitter. The latter induces a signal into the ground, targeting any utility line beneath, and the former is used to trace the signal.

You can use an underground line locator to find buried utility lines of metallic construction. The equipment can also locate non-metallic utility lines as long as there is a tracer wire alongside them.

How to Pick Best Underground Utility Locator Equipment

When it comes to locating utility lines, a piece of reliable equipment will make all the difference. You will need to pay attention to the intended use when shopping for a pipe detector for one that is ideal for one application may not be ideal for all other applications.

Below are some of the factors you should consider when buying cable and pipe locators:
1. Durability
Whatever equipment you buy should be capable of withstanding the nature of your site and handling rough operations.
2. Technology
Utility pipe locators use different ground penetration technologies, and it is, therefore, necessary that you decide whether you need a multi-frequency or single frequency or a magnetic pipe locator.
3. Warranty
If you intend to buy this equipment, make sure you purchase one that is protected by a genuine warranty. You should go through the warrant to familiarize yourself with what is covered.
4. Ease of Operation
The equipment should be easy to operate without too many instructions. The display should be easy-to-read.
5. Accessories
Great equipment will come with relevant accessories such as rechargeable batteries, connector cables, and clamps.
6. Price
High-quality locators are available at an affordable price. However, there is a reason why I have listed price as the last factor; you should not shop based on price alone.

Take Action Today
The secret to doing a great job is having the right tools for the job. With a high-quality cable locator, you have the power of ground penetration radar in your hands. Contact us for affordable prices and quality equipment. Quinn Equipment is an excellent provider of rotary laser levels.

Our Underground Utility Locator Equipment!

Comparison Underground Perimeter Intrusion Detection System Tech

by admin

in Uncategorized

In the last couple of years, the use of buried sensor for perimeter intrusion detection system, becomes very popular due to the advantage of been a discreet or even an invisible detection system and avoiding the need to build an above-the-ground fence to protect the perimeter due to costs or environmental reasons.

 

Buried Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems are used to protect (among others)

 

• Borders
• Oil & gas pipelines and facilities
• Military bases and other land facilities
• Airports and seaports
• Prisons
• Farms
• Airports

 

Underground Intrusion Detection Systems Advantages

 

• Invisible system, the intruders can’t see the underground intrusion detection system
• No need to build anything above ground level
• No need for line of sight as required by some security products such as radars, Microwave, IR and video systems.
• Quick and easy installation (in some cases especially SensoGuard’s Invisifence)
• Easy maintenance (in some cases especially SensoGuard’s Invisifence )

 

Three types of Buried Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems

 

There are several systems based on different technologies for creating buried intrusion detection system.

 

• Seismic sensors system– seismic sensors are buried underground and by recognizing vibrations in ground, they detect and locate intrusions. In this article we focused on invisiFence by SensoGuard as the ultimate seismic sensors system.
• Leaky coax system –the buried leaky coax cable creates an electromagnetic volumetric detection field. The controllers monitor this field to detect and locate variation caused by intrusion.
• Fiber Optic system– central controller transmits pulses of signal and analyzes the reflections and disturbances to detect and locate intrusions.

 

We will focus on the following subjects when comparing the three: performance, installation requirements, limitations and costs.

 

Systems Topology Description

 

• SensoGuard Seismic Buried Perimeter System (InvisiFence) composed of seismic sensors strings connected to a local processing unit every 50m and a central hub unit every 1000m.
• Fiber optic systems- composed of a central controller which can analyze a very long fiber optic cable (up to 80km).
• Leaky coax system- composed of leaky coax cables connected to a local controller every 400m (for single cable).

 

Buried Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems Installation Considerations and Limitations

 

All buried systems require digging a trench for placing sensors/cable. However, limitations regarding installation environment and installation depth are different from one system to another.

 

1. Seismic Buried Perimeter System (SensoGuard’s InvisiFence)
   The trench depth is 30-50cm (precise depth is not an issue, can be anywhere between 30cm and 3m)
2. Fiber Optic system
   Installation depth accuracy is a critical (no more than 20cm)
   If installed deeper (30cm for example) the system performance will be greatly reduced.
   Shallow installation increases the possibility that cable will be exposed over time (due to environmental elements such as wind) or the detection performance will be poorer overtime if additional soil or vegetation will be added or grown above ca
3. Leaky Coax cable
   • Installation depth accuracy is critical. The system’s performance will be compromised if the cable is placed deeper than recommended (23cm for example). Shallow installation increases the possibility that cable will be exposed over time.
   • System cannot be placed near metal objects – such as metal fences or metal pipes.
   • Water / snow above the system will cause false alarms. The RF signal cannot bypass water/snow, resulting in poor system performance and false alarms in case of puddles or snow on the ground.

 

Maintenance after Installation

 

Among the 3 technologies, the fiber optic system is the most complex system to repair in case of fault. Fiber optic cable replacement is a very sensitive process and there is always the chance of additional mechanical damage during the repair.

Leaky coax systems are easier to repair than optic fiber systems but harder to repair compared to SensoGuard’s InvisiFence. Not always easy to find the faulty point and required to keep the installation requirement and drainage.

All of SensoGuard invisiFence components are replaceable easily and quickly.

Leaky coax systems require periodical calibration due to changing condition of soil above the system. The changing conditions will affect the system sensitivity and false alarm rate. In contrast, SensoGuard buried perimeter system doesn’t require periodic calibration after installation.

 

System Costs

 

For projects of several km – SensoGuard buried perimeter system and leaky coax are cheaper than fiber optic system.

For projects above dozens of km – fiber optic system is the cheapest option.

InvisiFence is cheaper for projects of less than 2km.

 

Performance & False Alarms

 

All three perimeter security systems: SensoGaurd’s Invisifence, the leaky coax system and fiber optic cable system are buried systems that detect above the ground movement. However, Invisifence does stand out as the most reliable one for three reasons. The first, the actual depth of Invisifence can be anywhere between 30cm-3m without any decrease in the system’s performance. That means that you can bury the system deeper or in case soil will be added (in desert, or after a storm), the system will continue to function without any problems.

In contrast, Leaky coax and fiber optics systems are very much affected by depth. If you bury them too close to the ground or deeper than advised, their performance will be greatly compromised. Secondly, InvisiFence is less affected by environmental changes. While Leaky Coax and fiber optic systems may set off false alarms in case of puddles or growing vegetation, InvisiFence seismic system will by far more reliable and will not set off false alarms in such cases.

Lastly, InvisiFence has smart adaptive deep-learning algorithm. By using the algorithm, the system constantly learns and adjusts to its environment. The system constantly sets a new signature of what is the “normal” state of things in order to detect intrusions and avoid false alarms. Based on environmental changes such as new road or vegetation, the normal state signature is always revised. InvisiFence is the only system which makes the needed adjustments to detect threats without the need of making any external changes.

 

 

Perimeter Intrusion Detection: Comparison between 3 Systems Seismic, Fiber Optic and Leaky Coax

 

 

 

Summary: Which Underground Perimeter Intrusion Detection System is preferred?

 

In one sentence, SensoGuard seismic InvisiFence Plus system is the best choice of the three technologies.

Let’s look at it with more details. Fiber optic systems are more expansive and less reliable than Leaky Coax or seismic systems. So the choice is really between Leaky Coax systems and InvisiFence Plus seismic system.

InvisiFence Plus is far more reliable in terms of threat detection and avoiding false alarms. It is also easier to install which makes it superior to Leaky Coax systems.

As for costs, for securing perimeter of several km, InvisiFence Plus is cheaper than both Leaky Coax systems and fiber optic systems. However, in perimeters of above 10km, Fiber optics systems are cheaper.

SensoGuard’s  InvisiFence Plus is the best cost effective underground perimeter intrusion detection system in the market today.

 

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