I used this to locate the solenoid valve on my sprinkler. I had to play around with this thing for a while to figure it out. I wouldn't use headphones, the sound can suddenly become loud. The sound isn't exactly black and white. There is some gray between nothing and the last tone. Do you really want to hear a specific sound before you start digging and I turned the gain to the max - WITHOUT headphones. My experience with this device is that its effective range is 2 to 2.5 feet underground. I had an idea where the sprinkler controls were. I had to scan and scan for about 15 minutes because I couldn't hear a specific sound, more of a static sound. Eventually I placed a large pot near the house and just off the ground I didn't get great but good sound, enough to start digging. At about 2 feet down I started wondering if this was going to lead me on a wild goose chase, but as I lowered the antennas into the hole I got a DEFINITE tone. It looked a little ridiculous but I decided to go downstairs just to be sure. Well, the next shovel hit the plastic sprinkler pipe that the wires were wrapped around. Then I found that I had to follow this wire/pipe to figure out where it went. It was difficult because the path seemed to lead to a very densely planted liriope, so I didn't scan it to begin with. I had to dig a few meters of trench leading to this densely planted area. I pulled out 3 large chunks of Lyriope and dug up a few and there was a junction box/solenoid; I was very surprised. So it works, but if your cables are buried 1.5 to 2 feet deep, you'll need to position the antennas directly above to get decent sound. As I mentioned earlier, the sprinkler wires are wrapped around the pipe. You must be careful when digging to avoid hitting the wire or you will end up digging a MUCH larger hole than you intended. I also naively assumed that only the junction box would sound. You can also make sure to follow the tone of what you think the junction box will be, like a corner, before you start digging. So the device isn't very good, but you're not paying for a great device. For that money he does his job.
π Klein Tools VDV501-852 Tester for Accurate Locating Abilities
3 Review
Enhanced Fluke T6 1000 with FieldSense Technology for Electrical Applications
5 Review
π BOOGIIO Cable Tracker+Wire Tester
3 Review
NOYAFA Underground Portable Detection Electrical: Unearthing Efficient Electrical Solutions
6 Review