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Original thread:
Post 7 made on Friday June 26, 2009 at 03:05
Ernie Bornn-Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
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December 2001
30,104
The alligator clip of your normal toner will stick nicely into the ground jack of a power outlet. If there's no outlet near where you need to connect, carry around an extension cord. Betcha wish you had three wire cords now, huh?

The problem, of course...if there's metal mesh in that stucco and the wire runs near it for any length, you'll get tone all over the wall. If the stucco is wet, same thing. If the wire is behind insulation with a metal moisture barrier, same thing.

TECHNIQUE
When you ground one side, the other side puts out a signal that can often be traced a couple hundred feet.

Adjacent wires will pick up the tone. If they are connected to something that grounds them, even through a largish resistance, they won't pick up tone. So... connect everything you can to the system before you go looking for that one wire.

Let's say you're in a spot where you've got five wires that have run parallel for sixty feet and you want to know which one the toner is on. Splay the wires across your hand, hold them at an even distance, and touch your skin to the insulation as equally as possible on all wires. With the other hand, take the wand and touch the insulation of each wire. Be sure you don't touch hands at some point in the process as it will change the volume of the tone. The tone on one wire will be anywhere from a bit to a lot louder than the rest; you'll also hear buzz on the other wires.

With the stucco, if you're comparing places, either touch the wand to the wall every time, or don't touch it at all. Don't shift your feet. In other words, maintain ONE VARIABLE: the place at which the wand touches. Touch the wall and lift one foot, the tone might go up or down, confusing your search.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw


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