DPN 402197 Issue 7.1
© Teledyne Limited
C- 1
C Cables and Tones
The target cable must carry a suitable tone signal before the 350 system can detect it. This tone signal
should have the following characteristics:
❐
It should be easy for the 350 system to identify it among other signals that the target cable or
other cables in the survey area might be carrying.
❐
It should have a frequency within a ‘quiet’ part of the pass band of the 350 system.
❐
The tone current should be of sufficient amplitude to provide a signal that is above the back-
ground noise level.
The 350 system can survey cables of any length. You may improve the effectiveness of the system if
you select a suitable tone frequency and current for the specific cable. This appendix offers some basic
advice on a method for injecting a tone onto a target cable so that you may use the 350 system to
perform the survey.
A tone generator can be supplied for use with the 350 system. Contact Teledyne Limited for advice if
necessary.
C.1 Tone Injection
To perform a survey on a cable, the 350 system can use any tone frequency up to a maximum of
200Hz. In theory therefore, the system could be used to survey a live power cable because of the
mains frequency ‘tone’ that it carries. In practice however this may not be possible or desirable for the
following reasons:
❐
The tone must be single-phase.
❐
There may be many local sources of interference at the same frequency.
By injecting a tone onto a cable, you may select a frequency in the range 10Hz to 200Hz that is
relatively free from interference.
C.1.1 Frequency Selection
Selection of a suitable tone frequency and current will depend upon specific circumstances. Note the
following guidelines:
Generally, a low frequency is better for long cable runs and a high frequency is better for short cable
runs.
To avoid strong interference affecting the survey, the 350 system provides some advanced signal
monitoring facilities. These allow you to examine the spectrum and to set a tone frequency in a region
of relatively low background noise.
Table C-1: Effects of tone frequency choice
Advantage
Disadvantage
Increased
tone fre-
quency
Increased detection ranges available from the
350 system.
Decreased transmission distance for the tone
along the cable length.
Increased
tone current
Increased detection ranges available from the
350 system.
Increased noise generation in repeaters of
fibre-optic cables.