please explain these measurements

[1idejim]

since the other thread was too hard to read i will format it differently;

i took some measurements on one of my locators, these were voltage and current measurements. i entered these measurements in a calculator

level.................vlts...............mA....... .............ohms....................watts

1.....................13.9.............38.97...... ...........356.684.................0.5416

2.....................24.9.............39.38...... ...........632.300.................0.9805

3.....................61.5.............11.98...... .........5133.555.................0.7367

4...................126.3...............9.82...... ........12861.50..................1.2402

5...................254.3.............18.40....... ........13820.65.................4.6791

http://www.onlineconversion.com/ohms_law.htm

i normally use level 1 with solid success, high signal strength and reasonable distance with little bleed. signal distortion is rare with the exception of direction changes and that is to be expected. i know that life is a classroom and i'm here to learn. next most used is level 3.

thanks

[Goldenboy]

I'm a little confused. How were you measuring the voltage and current? What type of equiptment do you use? Normally with locators you don't increase the voltage you actually increase the wattage to try to push longer and through insulators.

[1idejim]

this is why i'm asking, i'm connecting the voltage in parallel, with the current i connect both leads and use a clamp meter, the transmitter is a pro-600 valve and wire locator by pro tech/armada, the meter is a pro 92 leakage clamp meter. one freq. 1748hz

thanks for your help

[RD_Wrangler]

since the other thread was too hard to read i will format it differently;

i took some measurements on one of my locators, these were voltage and current measurements. i entered these measurements in a calculator

level.................vlts...............mA....... .............ohms....................watts

1.....................13.9.............38.97...... ...........356.684.................0.5416

2.....................24.9.............39.38...... ...........632.300.................0.9805

3.....................61.5.............11.98...... .........5133.555.................0.7367

4...................126.3...............9.82...... ........12861.50..................1.2402

5...................254.3.............18.40....... ........13820.65.................4.6791

http://www.onlineconversion.com/ohms_law.htm

i normally use level 1 with solid success, high signal strength and reasonable distance with little bleed. signal distortion is rare with the exception of direction changes and that is to be expected. i know that life is a classroom and i'm here to learn. next most used is level 3.

thanks

Well, from my experience it looks like in this particular instance your strength setting for maximum distance would be level 2. The mA vs. resistance would be the indicator to me. Higher mA readings with lower resistance levels mean your 1.75kHz signal will travel the farthest while capacitating the least.

This actually varies depending on material, soil conditions (return path continuity), etc. Each hook-up can yield different result. One reason I love the RD8000 is you can actually see this real time and adjust frequency, wattage, voltage, etc. as needed on trouble shoots.

[1idejim]

i was just sitting here with the dmm and my locator, checking the math.

my curiosity was piqued when someone asked me why i got killer signals at low power (i know it's the way i ground this transmitter) and they're always at level 4 or 5 to get a decent signal.

thanks, this helped a bunch.

[RD_Wrangler]

Just remember, this is only ideal in a situation of moderately to heavily congested easement where the target facility is at a relatively standard depth. If the target line were to take a sudden dive (below 4 ft), you aren't gonna find it without bumping the hell out the wattage and voltage both. Sometime MORE capacitance is the desired effect.

[1idejim]

thanks again, when locating irrigation issues, wire paths and valves we don't have conductors buried deeper than -3' as a rule. you as a utility locator normally have issues coupling to the irrigation system when locating phone, catv and ocassionally power due to the shallow burial. i haven't had many of the reverse issues that the other irrigation locators have because of the amount of ongoing education and practice that i do.

i thank you for your input, helps me to push further on my quest to be better