Ridge Tool Company
18
Passive Line Tracing
In passive mode the NaviTrack II senses fields gener-
ated by wires carrying alternating current (AC), without
a transmitter being attached. Buried power lines typically
do not emit any traceable signal unless power is flowing
in the wires. For example streetlights that are turned off
can be hard to trace passively. Due to coupling (either
through induction or through capacitance), all metallic
lines in an area can be energized passively. Because of
this, it is possible to locate lines passively but it can be
difficult to identify which line the operator is tracing.
1. Select a Passive AC Trace Frequency with the pas-
sive line trace icon.
Figure 29 – 60 Hz Passive Trace Frequency
2. The NaviTrack II has two passive AC tracing fre-
quency settings. They are 50 Hz, and 60Hz. The
50Hz and 60Hz frequencies are set to respond to
the 9th harmonic of the commonly used AC frequen-
cies. U.S. installations are typically 60 Hz, while
European installations are typically 50 Hz.
NaviTrack
®
II
Figure 28 – Screen Display in Different Locations (Active Line Tracing)
Trace Line
(Solid)
Distortion
Line
(Dashed)
