Versatrax 100™
Document: UMDT013103.docm
Revision: A10
Created by: KJB
Date: 26 Sep 2019
3070984-A10
Source Location: C:\ePDM\ISLEng\products\dt-versatrax100mkii\manuals\UMDT013103.docm
Page 36 of 41
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Maintenance
Tether Handling
The tether should be considered the most important part of the vehicle system.
It feeds power and
control signals to the vehicle and returns video and sensor data. If the tether becomes damaged from
improper use, poor handling or an accident, the vehicle may become crippled or inoperable. This may
result in repairs, down time, and loss of production. Recovery of a disabled vehicle while in pipe can be
costly and time consuming.
For maximum tether life and reliability, we offer the following tether handling tips:
•
Never step on the tether. Trampling the tether may crush conductors, leading to premature
failure. Trampling is also abrasive to the tether jacket. Trampling fosters the wrong attitude toward
the tether. Remember, this is an expensive multi-conductor tether, not a common electrical
extension cord.
•
Never allow vehicles, trucks, cars, etc. to drive over the tether. This will do concentrated,
immediate and permanent damage. Set up cones or blockades to keep vehicles away.
•
Do not bend the tether beyond its minimum bend diameter. If the tether has difficulty bending, you
have bent it too far. If the tether is bent beyond its minimum diameter on pulleys or around
corners, wire fatigue will be accelerated. It is important that any pulleys or tackle support the
tether at or beyond its minimum bend diameter. For an extended fatigue life, the minimum bend
diameter should be considered larger.
•
Never kink the tether. A kink will permanently deform a cable and may create a weak point in the
cable jacket or the internal conductors. Take precautions to never allow the tether to kink. Kink
situations may occur when there is slack tether with closing loops, or if coils slip off the side of the
tether reel drum.
•
Do not snap load the tether. Loads may peak at a very high value when the tether snaps taut.
Snap loading may easily occur when a slack tether is reeled onto a motorized spool, or when the
vehicle is suspended from a swinging deployment crane.
•
Avoid loading the tether unnecessarily. Unnecessary large loads will only shorten the fatigue life
of the tether.
•
Always ensure the strain relief lanyards are properly installed when connecting the tether to the
vehicle.
•
Never fully un-spool the tether from the reel. The surface end of the tether is anchored to the
spool drum. If the spool is turned past the anchor point, the tether may be kinked or broken and
require re-termination. To help prevent this, a band of tape is typically wrapped around the last
few coils to act as a visible and audible warning that the tether is fully payed out.