(Creating the Circuit) Path of Least Resistance
There are four things that we can do with the transmitter that can change the results of a locate. And really, when we say the results of a locate, oftentimes we’re talking about the path of least resistance. There are four ways in which we can go about trying to change the path of least resistance (Figure 5). One way is changing from conductive to inductive. Another is changing the grounding of the transmitter on conductive, or changing the grounding of the utility. Or finally, change the frequency, and that’s what we saw on the plastic service attached to the steel main. 83 kHz located the tracer wire on the service, while 512 kHz did not (Figure 6).
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There are four things that we can do with the transmitter that can change the results of a locate. And really, when we say the results of a locate, oftentimes we’re talking about the path of least resistance. There are four ways in which we can go about trying to change the path of least resistance (Figure 5). One way is changing from conductive to inductive. Another is changing the grounding of the transmitter on conductive, or changing the grounding of the utility. Or finally, change the frequency, and that’s what we saw on the plastic service attached to the steel main. 83 kHz located the tracer wire on the service, while 512 kHz did not (Figure 6).
