Armada Technologies Pro300 Manual de usuario
Armada Technologies
Pro300™
Residential Wire and Valve Locator
Operating Instructions
WARNING –Read and understand the instructions before
operating this unit. Failure to do so could lead to injury or death.
English –Page 2
Español –Página 9
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Description
The Armada Technologies Pro300™ wire and valve locator is
designed to find lost valves and broken or severely damaged wires,
and trace their paths. The complete Pro300™ kit consists of:
(1) Pro300R Receiving Wand and Antenna
(1) Pro300T Transmitter, Carrying Case, and Leads
(1) ProGS1 Ground Stake
(1) Operating Manual
Please be sure that all items are included before operating the
Pro300™.
Figure 1
Battery Installation
The Pro300™ transmitter requires 8 “C” cell batteries. The Pro300™
receiver requires one 9v battery. To install the batteries in the
Pro300™ transmitter, open the transmitter case and remove the 5
holding screws on the battery compartment located at the upper
center of the unit. Place the batteries in the holder, orienting them
in accordance with positive and negative poles. Turn on the
Pro300T using the red on/off rocker switch. The red LED on the
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transmitter will now blink dimly indicating the batteries and unit
are ready for operation. If no response is seen, try adjusting the
batteries to insure good connection. If still no response, be sure
the batteries are good and fresh.
The Pro300™ receiver battery compartment is located on the
backside of the Pro300R unit. Remove the battery compartment
cover and install the 9 volt battery. Replace the cover.
Setup for Tracking Irrigation Wires
Disconnect the common wire and the station wire to the valve that
you want to trace. With the transmitter off, connect the red lead
to the wire you want to trace (common or station) and the black
lead to the included ground stake (See Figure 2 on the next page).
Do not connect to the clock as signal may cause damage if the clock
is not voltage protected. Insert the ground stake into the soil. Do
not use common grounds such as pipes or electrical grounds. It is
important that the ground stake be in the soil and independent for
the Pro300™ to work properly.
Turn the Pro300™ transmitter on. The LED located on the Pro300™
transmitter should now blink brightly. This LED is an indicator of
how good the grounded connection is. The better the ground
connection, the brighter the light. It is important to note that the
better the ground connection and LED, the easier it will be to track
the wire. A good ground is crucial for optimum operation. Soil
conditions can also affect this and you may wish to moisten the
grounding area.
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Figure 2
Tracing the Wire
After the Pro300™ transmitter has been properly connected and
verified to have a good ground and power, turn on the yellow
Pro300™ receiver by turning the volume knob on the side. Then
plug the black antenna into the port on the bottom of the Pro300™
receiver. Hold the yellow receiver in one hand, and use your other
hand to hover the antenna about a foot above the transmitter. A
beeping sound should be heard indicating that the receiver is
working properly. A high pitched or squelching tone could indicate
that you are too close to the receiver or that your batteries are low.
A faint or fading signal indicates low battery.
The volume control on the side of the receiver regulates the
loudness of the receiver. After setup is complete, dangle the
antenna close to the ground and sweep the area around the
transmitter, listening for a beeping signal. The closer you are to the
wire, the louder the signal should be, except for directly over the
wire. Directly over the wire, the Pro300™ works on the NULL
principle. This means that the signal nulls or stops when the
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receiver is DIRECTLY over the cable. If you are a little to the left or
right, the signal will be loud, but DIRECTLY pointing the receiver at
the wire produces virtually no signal. See Figure 3 below for an
illustration of the Null principle. In this way, the user will know the
exact location of the wire or cable being traced. Once the null signal
is acquired, continue to follow the path of the wire by waving the
receiver back and forth across the wire path.
Note: If the volume control is too high, this will overpower the null
signal. If you are not getting a null directly over the wire, try turning
the volume control down.
Figure 3
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Finding Faults
Breaks or severe wire damage can be found with the Pro300™. 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 break. Severe damage will cause the signal to
drop to a lower level, but not necessarily end. Minor damage
cannot be located with the Pro300™ as not enough signal is
dropped to notice a difference in response. This is an art and small
faults are sometimes difficult to locate. Practice and experience will
help immensely in this task.
Be sure the cable or wire you are tracking is grounded. THIS IS A
MUST. The signal needs a path to return to the ground stake and
without it, you will not get a good locate. A bad ground is indicated
on the transmitter by observing a weak or no light on the LED. In
many cases, a direct buried cable fault will provide this grounding
and allow a locate.
Finding Solenoids and Valves
Finding solenoids and the attached valves is easy to do. There are
two methods for locating valves. For the first method, you would
setup your locator just like you did for tracing the wire path. For
example, if you want to find the valve associated with zone 2 of
your irrigation system, you would connect the red lead to the zone
2 wire, and the black lead to the ground stake. Then track the wire
by listening for the null signal. When you reach the point where a
solenoid/valve is located, the signal will get louder and expand into
a large diameter (Approximately 2-4 feet). This is your indication
that you are over a valve or solenoid. Additionally, the signal should
not continue past this point unless the station wire leads to further
valves. You may wish to continue past the first valve located to
determine if other valves are also located on this wire.
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The second way to locate a valve is to use the loop method. The
loop method will only give a signal over a valve/solenoid. It will not
track the wire path. So for this method to work, it is best if you have
already tracked the wire and marked where it goes. To setup the
loop method, you will connect the red lead to the station wire
associated with the valve you want to locate. But you will connect
the black lead to the common wire instead of the ground stake.
Then you will walk along the path you have already marked. There
will be no sound until you get to where the valve is located. At the
valve, you will hear loud beeping in a 2-4 foot diameter.
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. Good condition cable
does not normally change the tone or strength, other than a very
gradual loss of reception over distance. Slack loops (extra wire
coiled and buried) 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, ground condition makes a huge difference in the performance
of cable locators. Basically, a path is being created from the
transmitter, through the cable, out through the ground and back to
the ground stake. Any mistake in any of these links will cause the
locator to not work properly. Be sure your ground stake is secure
and in the dirt and that the transmitter is connected to the cable
you want to track.
In addition, the more conductive the soil, the better. Dry sandy
desert soil is not a good transmitter of signal and you will
experience better results in moist soil. If you are in the desert, a
little water at the ground stake may help.
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The best way to really learn the Pro300™ 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. Good luck!
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.
Armada Technologies, LLC
3596 76th St SE
Caledonia, MI 49316
USA
Phone: 616-803-1080
www.armadatech.com
© Armada Technologies 2020
Rev 12/20
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Armada Technologies
Pro300™
Localizador de Cables y Válvulas
Residenciales
Manual de Instrucciones
ADVERTENCIA -- Lea y entienda las instrucciones antes de operar
esta herramienta. Utilizarla sin comprender cómo manejarla
podría ocasionar un accidente o la muerte.
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Descripción
El localizador de cables y válvulas Pro300™ de Armada
Technologies está diseñada para localizar las válvulas perdidas y los
cables rotos o severamente dañados, y localizar su trayectoria. El
equipo completo del Pro300™ consiste de:
(1) Pro300R Varilla Receptora y Antena
(1) Pro300T Transmisor con Estuche Portátil y Conductores
(1) ProGS Punta de Tierra
(1) Manual de Operación
Por favor, asegúrese de que todos los equipos están incluidos antes
de operar el Pro300™.
Instalación de las Baterías
El Transmisor Pro300™ utiliza 8 baterías “C”. El Receptor Pro300™
utiliza 1 batería de 9 volts. Para instalar las baterías en el transmisor
Pro300™, abra el estuche del transmisor y quite los 5 tornillos de
sujeción del compartimiento de las baterías que está en el área
Tabla de contenidos
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