SeekTech SR-60
be able to make the correct decision rapidly and accurately.
A Better Way of Locating
The SR-60 gives the operator a picture of the situation as the receiver moves along the target area and makes it easier to understand where a target line’s electromagnetic field is. With more complete information, an operator can understand how things stand underground and resolve complex situations, avoid inaccurate mark-ups, and find the right line or cable more rapidly.
What the SR-60 Does
The SR-60 is used above ground to sense and trace electromagnetic fields emitted from underground or hidden lines (electrical conductors like metal cables and pipes) or Sondes (actively transmitting beacons).
When the fields are undistorted, the information from the sensed fields gives an accurate picture of the buried object. When the situation is made complex by interference from more than one line, or other factors, the SR-60 provides a display of information that shows multiple measurements of the detected field. This data can make it easier to understand where the problem is, by providing clues as to whether a locate is good or bad, questionable or reliable. Instead of just laying paint in the wrong place, the operator can see clearly when a difficult locate needs re- evaluation.
The SR-60 provides more of the critical information the operator needs to understand the situation underground.
What It Does Not Do
The SR-60 locates by sensing electromagnetic fields surrounding conductive objects; it does not sense the underground objects directly. It provides more information about the shape, orientation, and direction of fields than other locators but it does not magically interpret that information or provide an x- ray image of underground objects.
A distorted, complex field in a noisy environment requires intelligent human thought to analyze correctly. The SR-60 cannot change the results of a difficult locate, even though it shows all the information about those results. Using what the SR- 60 shows, a good operator can improve locating results by “making the circuit better”, changing frequency, grounding or the transmitter’s location on the target line.
Advantages of the Omnidirectional Antenna
Unlike the coils used in many simple locator devices, the Omnidirectional antenna detects fields on three separate axes, and can combine these signals into a “picture” of the apparent strength, orientation, and direction of the complete field. Omnidirectional antennas offer definite advantages:
The Mapping Display
The mapping display enabled by the Omnidirectional antennas provides a graphic view of a signal’s characteristics and a bird’s eye view of the signal from underground. It is used as a guide for tracing underground cables and pipes, and can be used to better pinpoint Sondes. It can also be used to provide more information for complex locates.
Figure 69: Mapping Display
The use of lines (representing the signals sensed by upper and lower antennas) and guidance arrows (pointing toward the center of the detected field) combine to give the locator a graphic picture of the receiver’s location, and where the target utility or Sonde is. At the same time the operating screen provides all the information needed to understand what is happening with the field being located – its Signal Strength, continuous distance, Signal Angle, and proximity to the target. The information available at one moment on the SR-60 would take multiple sample readings with some conventional locators. A distorted or compound field will be easier to interpret when all the information is in a single display as it is with the SR-60.
