Rapid urbanization, fast growth of the IT industry, advances in the network technology, and the subsequent increase in demand for high-bandwidth, have all led to a tremendous increase in demand for cable placement and installation, both above ground and underground. A good cable system forms the backbone of all telecommunications systems worldwide. However, faults/breaks do occur frequently in these cable systems. Cable Fault Locators therefore are used extensively for identifying faults in telecom cables.
A fault at any section of the cable system significantly reduces the functionality and integrity of the whole system. Today most of the telecommunication cables and electrical cables are installed side by side underground, so locating them, distinguishing them from one another, and finding the fault is a more complex process now than it was in the past. Excavating and examining each and every cable can be dangerous, expensive, and time consuming, and can have a serious impact on the companies’ reputations. Hence, finding cable faults quickly and accurately is essential to reduce minor outages or complete loss of connectivity, restore the network, maintain a high level of customer satisfaction, system performance, and profitability. Therefore, Cable Fault Locators are of extreme importance to the telecom industry as they help in quickly and precisely locating the breaks in a cable system.
What Do Cable Fault Locators Do?
Cable faults occur frequently due to improper laying of the cable underground, poor workmanship of cable jointing, presence of chemicals in soil, excessive moisture in soil, or overloading of cable. Hence, cable faults are difficult to detect and costly to repair. How quickly are such faults identified depends on the quality and features of the equipment, the methodologies used, and the skill of the operator. A Cable Fault Locator is an easy to use precision instrument which displays the location of break in pair wires and cables. It can measure faults such as broken line, cross faults, earthing, insulation faults (bare, blasted, buried wires) and break on wires (partial or total break). It is an effective tool to reduce troubleshooting time, improve work efficiency and reduce labor intensity of line maintenance staff.
How Do They Work?
The most widely used method for locating faults on cables is the Time Domain Reflection method. A cable fault locator with Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) and pulse reflection testing can quickly locate hidden, underground, and out of reach cables with ease. It can calculate the fault distance. TDR measurement sends suitable pulses into the cable to locate faults. The pulses pass through the line and are reflected off the cable fault locations and the type of cable fault can be determined from the size and shape of the pulse via the TDR locator. The LCD display delivers this information to the users.
Cables are the most cost-effective solution for long-distance telecommunications. An extensive cable network delivers bandwidth across the globe. Billions are invested every year by the global telecommunications industry to build new cable networks as well as to maintain the existing network. Cable Fault Locators help to rapidly determine the precise location of the fault and quickly restore suitable performance. Hence, they are indispensable to the telecom industry.
GAOTek offers a range of Cable Fault Locators. They are made with cutting edge technology, are user-friendly, and can rapidly locate the faulty cable from among plenty of network cables. Our devices help technicians by decreasing investigation time, enhancing work efficiency, and lessening workload of line installation or maintenance of cables systems of the telecommunication industry.