LiveWare Arc Chaser LW-AC120 User manual

USER MANUAL
LiveWireInnovation.com
Arc ChaserTM
The 21st Century Dual Mode TDR for Testing and
Monitoring Energized and Unenergized Cables
LW-AC120
LW-AC120AV
TM
Revison 08/19/13

2
User Manual
Table of Contents
Touch-Screen Dual Mode Cable Testing for
Arc Faults, Shorts, and Opens
About the Arc Chaser..................................................................................3
Features & Benets.................................................................................4
Kit Contents .............................................................................................5
Optional Accessories...............................................................................5
Safety Information...................................................................................6
Arc Chaser Description............................................................................7
General Operations..................................................................................9
On/Off..........................................................................................5
Automatic Power Down............................................................................9
System Settings........................................................................................10
First System Settings Screen .................................................................10
Second System Settings Screen.............................................................11
Third System Settings Screen................................................................12
Fourth System Settings Screen..............................................................13
Fifth System Settings Screen.................................................................15
Fault Location Mode.................................................................................16
Types of Faults........................................................................................16
Test Setup...............................................................................................17
Fault Location Options............................................................................18
Fault Location Testing.............................................................................19
Saving test as a PDF................................................................................19
Live/Intermittent Fault Detection (Live IFD) Mode...................................20
Test Setup...............................................................................................20
Live IFD Options......................................................................................22
Live IFD Testing.......................................................................................23
Saving test as a PDF...............................................................................24
Saving test as a CSV................................................................................24
Tone............................................................................................25
File Manager.............................................................................................25
Saving Results to Your Computer...............................................................26
Maintenance.............................................................................................27
Batteries...........................................................................................27
Cleaning..............................................................................................27
Storage........................................................................................27
Customer Service......................................................................................28
Specications......................................................................................29
Patents/Intellectual Property....................................................................30
Warranty Information...............................................................................31
Contact Us.................................................................................................32
Arc ChaserTM

3
ABOUT THE ARC CHASER
The Arc Chaser’s patented Spread Spectrum Time Domain Reectometry
(SSTDR) technology is a revolutionary way to locate a fault on cables.
It can test energized or unenergized cables, in real time, for shorts and
opens and determines the fault location and length. The Arc Chaser can
conduct a Fault Location (static) test or Live IFD Intermittent Fault Location
(dynamic) tests, monitoring for intermittent faults (shorts, open, arcs).
Feature Function
Works on both energized
and unenergized cables
Discover cable events which can
only be shown under load
Monitors cable for intermittent faults Records intermittent faults such
as those caused by vibration or
exing of the cable
Shows results in graphical or text
format
Clear and simple view of faults
Saves reports, transferrable to PCs for
storage and printing
Maintain test result history in
PDF or CSV
Cable fault nding Easily verify quality of entire cable
length
Tone generation Signal tracing of cables
Cable test setup Walks users through cable test
setup
No calibration needed No metrology calibration required
English or metric measurements International applications
600V Category II Designed to meet international
requirements for working on energized cables
Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery pack 8–10 hours of battery power
Sleep Mode Extends battery life

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Arc Chaser has a combination of soft keys and touch screen icons for easy
navigation across screens. It is designed with both an SD card and USB
connection to save results on your computer.
Physical Features Benets
Color touch-screen display Easy to navigate in all lighting
environments
Compact form factor Usable in tight spaces and
weighs less than 2 lbs
3rd generation rechargeable Lithium-
ion batteries
8–10 hours of continuous use
Bench-top, handheld, or hung up Easy to use for eld ight line and
production work
Modular connector interface Banana style connector and
modular
Waterproof/shock resistant transport
case
Keeps equipment protected in
harsh conditions
SD card and USB connection for data
le transfer of cable tests
Easy-to-maintain report les, save
for later viewing
Upgradeable rmware Stay up-to-date with cable
settings, features, and enhanced
software upgrades
Features & Benets

5
Arc Chaser
The Arc Chaser is available in two kits that will cover all your needs.
LW-AC120AV includes multi-pin adapters.
Part Number Description
LW-AC120
▪Arc Chaser main unit
▪LiveWire leader cable 5ft 600V CAT III
▪Flanged Crocodile Clips: red and black 600V
CAT III UL/CSA
▪Dual banana to BNC female
▪Adapter: BNC male to F female
▪Power Supply
▪SD card
▪Micro USB cable
▪Caribiner Strap
▪Protective Arc Chaser case (Serpac)
LW-AC120AV
▪Arc Chaser main unit
▪LiveWire leader cable 5ft 600V CAT III
▪Multi-pin adapters
▪Flanged Crocodile Clips: red and black 600V
CAT III UL/CSA
▪Dual banana to BNC female
▪Adapter: BNC male to F female
▪Power Supply
▪SD card
▪Micro USB cable
▪Caribiner Strap
▪Protective Arc Chaser case (Pelican)
Optional Accessories
Part Number Description
LW-AD006 Multi-pin Adapters 1000V Cat III
LW-CA009 Cable Assembly, Power cord to 3 banana plugs 300V

6
Safety Information
To ensure safe operations of the Arc Chaser, follow instructions carefully
and observe warning and caution messages in this manual. Failure to
observe warnings can result in severe injury or death and can damage
the equipment.
Noti cation De nition
Warning/caution: potential for personal injury or damage
to equipment
Voltage! Warning: hazards could cause harm or death
Conformité Européenne. Conforms to European Economic
Area directives.
Disposal information
▪Do not use the Arc Chaser or Arc Chaser accessories if they appear
damaged or if the Arc Chaser is not working properly.
▪Do not use with voltages higher than the Arc Chaser’s rated voltage
(600V).
▪Use with caution with voltages greater than 30 V AC RMS, 42 V AC
peak, or 60 V DC.
▪Do not use around explosive or  ammable gas.
▪Use only test leads approved by a safety agency and that have at
least the same voltage and category as the Arc Chaser.
▪Before opening the battery door, remove leader cables or BNC to dual
banana connector.
▪Always wear personal protective equipment when working with the
Arc Chaser.
▪Use caution when handling the probes and cable connections on the
Power Prowler when the Voltage! icon is present.

7
Arc Chaser Description
Arc Chaser
Module
Banana Jacks
Removable
SD Card
Micro
USB
Port
Power Cable Port
Touch Screen
QVGA Display
Easy to navigate in all
lighting environments.

8
Arc Chaser Description
Power
Tone
USB Mode
Fault Location Test
Battery life indicator
System Settings
Live IFD
(Intermittent Fault Detection)
Test
File Manager
Test/Enter
Settings
Home page
Back
Soft keys for operation shown in display
NOTE: Soft keys may have different functions depending on the
screen displayed.

9
General Operations
On/Off
▪Turn Arc Chaser on by pressing the red Power button.
▪Press the red power button to put the Arc Chaser in sleep mode.
▪Press and hold the red power button until the screen turns off and
release.
Automatic Power Down
▪The Arc Chaser automatically enters sleep mode to conserve battery
power if no input or activity is performed on the device. See System
Settings to adjust the length of time before the automatic power
down occurs.

10
The Arc Chaser Setup consists of ve screens to congure the unit to the
user’s preference. Use the settings button to navigate through the
settings screens.
System Settings
First System Settings Screen
▪Turn the Arc Chaser on by pressing the red Power button.
▪Select System Settings on the home screen .
▪Length settings:
▪Under Display Units, select either Feet or Meters.
▪Under Leader Setting, select either Leader Cable or
No Leader.
▪Leader should be selected unless the dual banana to BNC (F)
is used.
▪LCD screen brightness:
▪To the right of Brightness, select Set.
▪Enter a number between 5 and 100 then select OK. To cancel,
press the Back button .
▪To continue, select More Settings by pressing the Settings button .

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Second System Settings Screen
▪To set time/clock/date:
▪Under Time Format, select either 12-hour or 24-hour format.
▪To the right of Hours (1–12), select Set Hour. Enter the hour you wish to
display then select OK. To cancel, press the Back button .
▪To the right of Minutes (0-59), select Set Minute. Enter the num-
bers of the minutes you wish to display then select OK. To cancel,
press the Back button .
▪Under AM/PM, select AM or PM on the screen.
▪Under Date, set the month, day, and year:
▪Select Set Month. Enter the number of the month, and then
select OK. To cancel, press the Back button .
▪Select Set Day. Enter the number of the day, and then select
OK. To cancel, press the Back button .
▪Select Set Year. Enter the year (all four digits), then select OK.
To cancel, press the Back button .
▪To continue, select More Settings by pressing the Settings button .

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Third System Settings Screen
▪To get Standby power down:
▪Select 10 min. Set to the right of Stand-by.
▪Enter a whole number from 1-10 for the number of minutes then
select OK. To cancel, press the Back button .
NOTE: If a Live IFD test is in progress, the timeout will put the screen
to sleep mode.
▪To set Loop Test Stand-by:
▪Select 30 min. Set to the right of Loop Test Stand-by.
▪Enter a number between 5 and 60 for the number of minutes then
select OK. To cancel, press the Back button .
▪To set Tone Stand-by:
▪Select 30 min. Set to the right of Tone Stand-by.
▪Select the number between 5 and 60 for the time of the tone then
select OK. To cancel, press the Back button .
▪To set System Shutdown Time:
▪Select 4 hr. Set to the right of System Shutdown.
▪Select the number between 1 and 8 for the hours before system
shutdown then select OK. To cancel, press the Back button .
▪To continue, select More Settings by pressing the Settings button .

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Fourth System Settings Screen (Firmware)
You can have more than one version of rmware on the SD card – all
rmware les on the SD Card will be displayed on this screen.
▪The factory installed rmware revision (default rmware) is displayed
above the rmware le table.
▪The current rmware revision that is being used is displayed above
the rmware le table Current x.xx.
How to update the Arc Chaser Firmware:
Warning! Do not update the rmware if the battery charge is less
than 50%, unless the Arc Chaser is plugged in to A/C power.
▪Go to www.livewireinnovation.com/arcchaser to download the latest
software revision.
▪To save the rmware update to your Arc Chaser:
▪Remove the SD Card (located on the left side of Arc Chaser) and
insert it into your computer. Your computer will recognize the SD
Card as a removable drive. Open the removable drive folder and
copy the rmware le from your computer to the removable drive
window. Re-insert the SD Card into the Arc Chaser. Proceed to
the instructions below for updating the rmware.

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Note: When installing SD Card with rmware update refresh the
rmware table by exiting and then reentering the rmware
screen.
▪Update by selecting the rmware le in the rmware table then
select Update Firmware on the screen. A new screen will appear,
conrming that you are updating rmware. Select OK to continue or
Cancel. Another window will appear: Updating rmware.
System will reboot after update. Please make sure battery is not low.
Press OK to continue or Cancel.
▪To reset to the factory rmware, select the Restore Firmware
icon. A new screen will appear, conrming that you are deleting
the rmware update and restoring to factory default. You will be
prompted to select OK to continue or Cancel to cancel. Arc Chaser
will then restart.
▪To reset to the factory VOP list, select the Restore VOP List icon.
A new screen will appear, conrming that you are restoring factory
VOP list. You will be prompted to select OK to continue or Cancel
to cancel.

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Firmware
▪Boot (initializes hardware, loads, and executes operating system)
▪GUI (graphical user interface)
▪Test
Hardware
▪Serial Number (for your Arc Chaser)
▪Module revision (number of your updated module)
▪Battery (type of battery)
▪Battery Date (provides date of battery manufacture)
▪Wi- MAC (Media Access Control network address)
▪NAND size (ash memory in megabytes)
You’re done!
Press the More Settings soft key to return to the rst System
Settings screen or press the Home button to save the system settings
and return to the Home Screen.
This screen will display which versions of rmware and hardware are in
your Arc Chaser.
Fifth System Settings Screen

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Fault Location Mode
The Arc Chaser is designed to conduct tests for fault location and
intermittent faults.
This test mode identi es a cable fault as Short or Open and will provide
a length measurement to the fault. The Fault Location mode is also
useful for determining cable characteristics, such as VOP (velocity of
propagation) and test frequency. A characteristic frequency for the length
of the cable is displayed on the upper right of the screen.
Cable Fault Description
Open Wire connection is not continuous throughout cable length
Short Two or more wires in a cable are connected (short circuit)
No Fault No fault found
Frequency
Chosen
Select Test Setup to
con gure a cable.
Select Custom VOP to
create a cable name
with a known VOP
Select a cable type
from the cable list
Save VOP of the
selected cable type
Use “Prev” / “Next”
to charge selected
cable type
Select to
view test
results in
full screen
Select to
view test
graph
Save test results
as PDF
Cable type and
corresponding
VOP currently
being used
Fault Detected
Length to Fault

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Test Setup
▪Turn Arc Chaser on by pressing the red Power button.
▪On the Home Screen, select the Fault Location icon .
▪Connect the leader cable or dual banana to BNC adapter to the Arc
Chaser.
▪Connect a cable to the leader cable or dual banana/BNC adapter.
▪Select Test Setup from the Fault Location screen.
▪Select Leader or No Leader (use Leader unless you are using
the dual banana plug to female BNC adapter).
▪Under Cable Type, select Twisted Pair/Coax or Other.
▪Twisted Pair/Coax should only be used on those cables with
low-loss.
▪Other should only be used with high-loss cable
(e.g. Romex).
▪Use ONE of three velocity of propagation (VOP) options below to
select your test VOP
▪Select Custom VOP.
▪Enter your VOP value and select OK.
▪To cancel, press the Back button .
▪Select Cable Type, and a preset list of common cable types
will appear.
▪Press Up or Down to view cable type options on the screen.
▪Highlight the desired cable type with a nger touch.
▪Select the Select icon.
▪Edit the cable type by selecting the Edit icon.
▪Enter the revised name of the cable type and select OK.
Congure Cable Characteristics

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Fault Location Options
In the Fault Location screen there are three VOP options:
1. Select Prev VOP or Next VOP to scroll through the preset cable
types of VOP. If the cable type is not listed with the desired VOP,
follow the instructions below to edit the VOP.
2. From the Fault Location screen select Cable Type; a preset list of
common cable types will appear.
▪Press Up or Down to view cable type options on the screen.
▪Highlight the desired cable type with a nger touch.
▪Select the Select icon.
▪Edit the cable type by selecting the Edit icon.
▪Enter the revised name of the cable type and select OK.
▪To cancel, press the Back button .
▪To delete a cable, select Delete.
3. To create a new cable type with a known VOP, select Custom VOP
to enter a VOP of the test cable.
▪Enter the VOP and select OK.
▪To cancel, press the Back button .
▪Select Save VOP and enter a cable type.
▪Select the OK to save.
▪To cancel, press the Back button .
▪To delete a cable type, select Delete.
▪Select Discover VOP to nd the VOP of your test cable.
▪Enter the length of the cable
▪Select OK.
▪Select Save to return to the Fault Location screen.

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Fault Location Testing
In the Fault Location screen there are three VOP options:
▪Press the green test button to perform a test.
▪The default view of the test result appears in the Text View showing
the length of the cable, Open or Short, cable name, and VOP, the
cables characteristic frequency, and feet or meters.
▪Select Full Screen to expand your view to the full screen. Press the
Back button to exit full screen.
▪Select Graph View or Text View on the screen to toggle between a
graphical view of your test or a text display.
▪In Graph View and Full Screen selected, Zoom + and Zoom – allows
for the expansion or contraction of the scale. The graph can also be
moved by dragging with a nger.
Saving Test as a PDF
In the Fault Location screen there are three VOP options:
▪Press PDF on the Fault Location screen.
▪Enter the desired le name for your test and select OK to save the
le name.
▪A new screen will appear with space to enter optional comments.
Enter comments and select OK.
▪Arc Chaser will save the PDF under your new le name.
▪A Saving PDF Dialog Box will appear.
** DO NOT REMOVE SD CARD UNTIL DIALOG BOX DISAPPEARS**
Note: Maximum PDF that will show in the File Manager screen is
510. The tests will continue to save; but, they will not be
visible on the screen.
GraphText

20
Live/Intermittent Fault Detection (Live IFD) Mode
Live IFD Test Frequency Details
LiveWire Innovation’s SSTDR technology allows for live measurements
taken in real time on energized or unenergized cable. The Arc Chaser can
monitor intermittent faults such as arcs, shorts, or vibration faults.
Test
Frequency
Minimum Test
Distance
Maximum Test
Distance
(at 70.0 VOP)
Accuracy
48 MHZ 0 feet
(0 meters)
125 feet
(40 meters)
+/- 2.5 feet
(.75 meters)
24 MHZ 0 feet
(0 meters)
250 feet
(80 meters)
+/- 5 feet
(1.5 meters)
12 MHZ 25 feet
(7.5 meters)
500 feet
(160 meters)
+/- 10 feet
(3 meters)
6 MHZ 50 feet
(15 meters)
1000 feet
(320 meters)
+/- 20 feet
(6 meters)
3 MHZ 125 feet
(40 meters)
2000 feet
(640 meters)
+/- 40 feet
(12 meters)
1.5 MHZ 250 feet
(75 meters)
4000 feet
(1280 meters)
+/- 80 feet
(24 meters)
Test Setup
▪Turn Arc Chaser on by pressing the red Power button.
▪On the Home Screen, select the Live IFD icon .
▪Connect the leader cable or dual banana to BNC adapter to the
Arc Chaser.
▪Connect a cable to the leader cable or dual banana/BNC adapter.
▪Congure the System for Live Intermittent Fault Detection by
selecting Test Setup.
A. Select Leader or No Leader (use Leader Cable unless
you are using the dual banana plug to female BNC
adapter).
B. Use ONE of two Test Frequency options below to select
your Test Frequency:
Note: Maximum test length will vary depending on cable VOP
and attenuation/loss.