Tilted Sondes; Floating Sonde - RIDGID SeekTech SR-20 Operator's Manual

SeekTech SR-20
• Notice that the poles and the point of highest Signal
Strength lie on a straight line.
IMPORTANT! Remember that being on the Equator
does not mean one is over the
Sonde. Seeing two Poles aligned on
the display is not a substitute for
centering over each Pole separately
and marking their locations as de-
scribed above.
If the Poles are not visible, extend the search.
For best accuracy the SR-20 should be held with the
mast oriented vertically. The antenna mast must be
vertical when marking the Poles and Equator, or their lo-
cations will be less accurate.

Tilted Sondes

If the Sonde is tilted, one Pole will move closer to the
Sonde and the other farther away so that the Sonde lo-
cation no longer lies midway between the two Poles.
The Signal Strength of the nearer Pole becomes much
higher than that of the more distant Pole.
Maximum Signal Strength
20
Normal
Tilted
Figure 31 – Tilted Sonde, Poles and Equator
Note the right-hand Pole is closer to the Equator, due to tilt.
Ridge Tool Company
If the Sonde is vertical only a single Pole at the point of
maximum Signal Strength will be seen on the screen.
It is important to realize that a severely tilted Sonde
can cause the Pole locations and the Equator to appear
offset because of the angle of the Sonde; but maximizing
the Signal Strength will still guide to the best location for
the Sonde.
Floating Sondes
Some Sondes are designed to be flushed or to drift
down a pipe pushed by water flow. Because these
Sondes swing much more freely than a torpedoshaped
Sonde in a pipe, they can be oriented any which way.
This means the Equator may be distorted by tilting, and
the location of the Poles may vary. Locate a floating
Sonde by maximizing the Signal Strength and double-
checking that the signal falls away on every side of the
maximum signal location.