Triplett hotwire fox User manual

TRIPLETT
HotWire Fox & Hound
Live Wire Circuit
Tracing Kit
Instruction Manual
84-877
7-10

Page 1
Features ..................................................................
Introduction ............................................................
Warnings and Cautions ...........................................
Specications for HotWire Fox ................................
Specications for HotWire Hound ...........................
General Characteristics ...........................................
Control Location for HotWire Hound .......................
Control Location for HotWire Fox ............................
Getting Started ........................................................
Detailed Operation ..................................................
Internal Settings .....................................................
Included Items .......................................................
Maintenance ...........................................................
Warranty ................................................................
Table of Contents
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* Trace Live 120VAC and 220VAC Power Lines
* Locates Wires Through Drywall, Plaster, Wood, Cement, etc.
* Locate wires up to 3ft away (in open air)
* Locate buried wires up to 6”
* Trace wires up to 1000ft in length
* Uses Common 9V Batteries
* Carrying Case included
* Warranty: 1 year
1: Overall Features
Page 2
* FET and IC Front End
* Adjustable Sensitivity
* Powerful Loudspeaker
* LED Signal Strength Indicator
* Noise Filter
* White LED Headlights
* Auto-Muting Earphone Jack
* Easy Battery Replacement
HotWire Hound Features
* Generates Warble or Pulsed Tracing Tones with User Selectable Pitch
* LED and Beeper ‘Voltage Present’ Indicators
* Audible Continuity Test with 120/220 VAC Line Cross Protection
* TrueTrace positively identies wires (when usable)
* Transmitter Pilot Tone (Selectable On or Off)
* Transmitter Level Adjustment
* Battery Powered or AC Line Powered
* Modular Test Leads, Alligator Clips, Pointed and Flat Probes Included
* Battery Test LED
* Also Generates AF Tracing Tones for use with Inductive Probes (like the Hound 3)
* Magnetic Back
* Power Latch on Function Switch
* Rubber Grips
* Easy Battery Replacement
HotWire Fox Features

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The Triplett HotWire is a wire tracer for 120VAC and 220VAC circuits. It consists of the HotWire Fox
Transmitter and the HotWire Hound Receiver. The HotWire Fox applies a Radio Frequency (RF) tracing
signal to the wire to be traced, and this RF signal propagates down the wire radiating the signal along the
length of the wire. The HotWire Hound senses the location and strength of this RF signal, and in doing so,
identies the path of the wire to the user.
The HotWire can also trace other common wires, whether powered or unpowered. For example, it can
trace telephone and cable TV wires, LAN cables, security system wires, and many others. The HotWire
Fox, in addition to generating RF signals, also generates Audio Frequency (AF) signals which can be
sensed with the Triplett Hound, Hound 2, Hound 3, or Hound Jr. In some cases, tracing a wire using the
AF signal is advantageous.
The HotWire Fox also includes a very useful feature called TrueTrace. In situations where it can be used,
it provides positive identication of the wire being traced. This is especially useful in instances where
‘crosstalk’ makes identifying the wire being traced, called the ‘target’ wire, difcult.
The HotWire‘s RF signal can be sensed through most building materials (wood, plaster, drywall,
concrete, brick, etc) and can often be sensed through metal conduit (because the conduit is often poorly
grounded, as far as RF is concerned). The HotWire can even trace shallowly buried underground wires,
like those commonly used for ‘Invisible Fences’, cable television, telephone, or low voltage landscape light-
ing.
The HotWire also includes many other useful features that make it a valuable test tool for many wire
tracing applications.
2: Introduction

Page 4
* The HotWire is designed for use on 120VAC and 220VAC circuits. It is intended to be used on fused
circuits that are not considered ‘High Energy’. This generally means that the circuits are appropriately
fused to prevent explosive ‘follow on’ currents that can develop in response to an accidental arc. This
usually means that the circuit is fused at 40A or less.
* Never connect the HotWire to circuits exceeding 250VAC or 250VDC.
* The modular test leads are designed to insure safety when properly used. Always follow the instructions
for using these leads.
* Whenever possible, connect the HotWire Fox to the wire to be traced with the AC power turned off.
Turn on the HotWire Fox and set it appropriately, lay the HotWire Fox down and move away from it,
then apply AC power to the circuit.
* If connecting to a live circuit, always wear eye protection, insulating gloves, and non-ammable clothing.
Connect one lead of the HotWire Fox to the Neutral wire rst, and then connect the other lead to the
HotWire.
* When connecting the HotWire Fox to a live AC circuit, do not touch the exposed metal on the alligator
clips or probes. When one clip or probe is connected to a live circuit, dangerous voltages can appear
on the other clip or probe. Do not touch!
* When searching for the tracer signal with the HotWire Hound, do not accidentally make body contact
with any exposed live circuits.
* In some situations, unconnected wires can “oat up” to potentially dangerous voltages and cause
user injury. Treat any unknown wires as having dangerous voltage present, and take the appropriate
precautions.
* Do not use the HotWire Fox with the battery cover removed. Dangerous voltages can appear on the
battery during use.
3: Warnings and Cautions

Page 5
* Operating Frequency (RF): 400KHz to 500KHz
* Operating Frequency (AF): 800Hz to 2400Hz
* Output Voltage (RF): adjustable from approx. 5Vpp to 30Vpp (open circuit)
* Output Voltage (AF): xed, approx 10Vpp (open circuit)
* Tracer Tone: Warble or Pulsed, High or Low Pitch
* TrueTrace: Tracer Tone changes Cadence (from approx 2Hz to approx 7Hz) when leads are ‘shorted’ by
less than 1,000 Ohms
* Continuity Test: Detects Continuity up to 5,000 Ohms, sounds beeper
* Voltage Test: Sounds beeper, Flashes LED
AC: Detects voltage from approx. 30VAC to 250VAC (50/60Hz)
DC: Detects Positive applied to Red Test Lead from 40VDC to 250VDC
* Acceptable AC (50/60Hz) or DC voltage on wire to be traced: 0 to 250V
* Safety: Designed to tolerate 250V AC/DC CAT II without damage
* Test Leads and Accessories: 2’ and 5’ red and black test lead sets. 1 set of red and black pointed probes.
1 set of red and black at probes. 1 set of red and black alligator clips. 1 set of red and black screw-on
alligator clips.
* Battery: 9 volt alkaline
* Battery Test: Flashes green LED to indicate good battery
* Battery Life: Approx 200 Hours in Trace Mode (Alkaline Battery)
* Self Powered Voltage Range: approx 30VAC to 250VAC, 60Hz
* Fuses: Two 0.5A / 250VAC, 5 x 20mm
* Size: 3 1/2” x 4 1/2” x 1 1/2”
* Weight: Less than 7 ounces (including battery, not including test leads)
4: Specications for HotWire Fox

Page 6
* Operating Frequency (RF): 400KHz to 500KHz
* Signal Indicators: Speaker outputs Tracer Signal and LED indicates signal strength
* Earphone Jack: Accepts 1/8” mono or stereo earphone plug, 8 Ohms to 50 Ohms. Automatically mutes
speaker.
* Headlights: 2 High Brightness White LEDs
* Speaker: Rugged 1.5” Mylar Cone with Alnico Magnet
* Thumbwheel RF Sensitivity adjustment
* Power Switch: Pushbutton turns on HotWire Hound as long as the button is held in
* Battery: 9 volt alkaline
* Battery Life: Approx 5 Hours continuous in Trace Mode when receiving signal, 25 Hours continuous
when not receiving signal
* Size: 1-7/8” dia at speaker, 1-3/8” dia at body, 7-1/2” long
* Weight: Less than 9 ounces including battery
5: Specications for HotWire Hound

Page 7
There are many different types of wire tracers using different technologies to trace wires. While a single
technology can be used to trace wires in many different scenarios, there is often a specic technology that
works best for a specic scenario.
While this instruction manual provides information on how to use the Triplett HotWire to perform various
wire tracing tasks, the user should be aware that in some cases, other testing devices may work better
than the HotWire. The principle use for which the HotWire is designed is, as its name implies, to locate
or trace a specic ‘hot’ or ‘live’ electrical wire. For this purpose, the HotWire works as well as, and often
better than, other products that use a similar technology.
Other Triplett Products
The HotWire can be used to identify Circuit Breakers attached to a particular wall outlet. However, the
Triplett Breaker Sniff-It usually works better for this application than the HotWire. The HotWire often
has difculty identifying a specic circuit breaker, because the tracer signal used by the HotWire is often
distorted by the metal in the breaker panel, and the tracer signal crosstalks (more on this later) into other
breakers in the panel. The Breaker Sniff-It uses a different technology that usually positively identies
the correct circuit breaker. The drawback to the Breaker Sniff-It is that it only works on ‘live’ circuits.
Additionally, the Breaker Sniff-It will not trace the path of the wire between the wall outlet and the circuit
breaker. The HotWire will work on ‘dead’ circuits (depending on why they’re dead) as well as ‘live’ circuits,
and it will trace the path of the wire.
The HotWire does not work well for identifying a specic wire in a bundle of wires. This is due to crosstalk
(more on this later). The standard Triplett Fox and Hound products (Fox, Fox 2, Fox Jr, Hound, Hound
2, Hound 3, and Hound Jr) use a different technology (AF) than the HotWire (RF). AF works better for
identifying specic wires in a group of wires. The HotWire Fox does have an AF feature built into it, but
the HotWire Hound does not work with AF. Most of the HotWire’s circuits are used to support its RF fea-
tures. AF was included in the HotWire Fox because is was easy to implement, and added some additional
exibility to the product….. but AF does not work on live circuits. To use the HotWire Fox’s AF feature, a
standard Hound, Hound 2, Hound 3, or Hound Jr must be used.
The HotWire can be used to trace the path of a live AC power wire. In cases where there are numerous
hidden wires, the HotWire is a good choice for this task. However, when there are only a few AC power
wires in the vicinity, a possible alternative to the HotWire is the Triplett Sniff-It 2. The Sniff-It 2 can trace
live wires through walls and ceilings. It cannot identify a specic live wire. It just detects any live wire. In
some cases, this is enough to satisfy a particular user’s needs.
6: General Characteristics

Page 8
The HotWire can be used to identify, for example, the end of a specic Cable TV wire among a group of
Cable TV wires. However , if the wires are bundled together, crosstalk between the wires can make iden-
tifying a specic wire problematic. The Triplett WireMaster Coax or the Triplett WireMaster Mapper are
better suited to this task, allowing up to 8 wires to be easily identied.
The HotWire can be used to identify LAN cables…. and again crosstalk is a problem if the cables are
bundled together. The Triplett WireMaster Mapper, WireMaster XR-2, XR-5 or the Triplett PairMaster
can used to provide positive identication of LAN cables.
HotWire Technology
The Triplett HotWire is a Radio Frequency (RF) Wire Tracer. RF tracers like the Triplett HotWire share
certain characteristics that can be perplexing to an inexperienced user. While the RF signal provides the
HotWire with the ability to trace AC power wires that are ‘live’, a disadvantage to using the RF signal is its
increased tendency to produce ‘crosstalk’ in adjacent wires and conductors.
Crosstalk is the bleeding of the tracer signal from the ‘target’ wire onto adjacent wires and electrical
conductors. Because the signal is a radio signal… its wants to radiate out of the target wire into the space
around it…. in the same way that a radio signal radiates off of an antenna. Consequently, it’s easy for the
RF signal to crosstalk from the target wire to adjacent wires and conductors. The HotWire works best
when the target wire is ‘in the clear’…. that is, not bundled with other wires or run adjacent to metal pipes
or other metal structures.
If the RF signal is applied to a wire that goes through a conduit with numerous other wires, the signal can
crosstalk onto the other wires, making identication of the target wire difcult (because all of the wires will
have some RF signal on them).
If the target wire is in a metal conduit, the RF signal can crosstalk onto the conduit itself. If this occurs, the
HotWire Hound will trace the path of the conduit, not the wire inside. This is OK if the wire and the conduit
go to the same place. But in some instances, the target wire make take a different path if the conduit has
junction boxes with other wires in it.
Sometimes, a metal conduit may contact a metal structural element (like an I-Beam or metal furnace duct).
In some instances, the RF signal can appear on these other metal structures.

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Throughout this instruction manual, the user will be reminded of instances in which a ‘false trace’ can
occur. After the user has some experience with using the HotWire, and sees rsthand how it behaves in
various test scenarios, he will become more procient at using the product, and recognize cases in which
the HotWire will or will not produce reliable results.
Distance, Length, and Depth
The Distance, Length, or Depth at which the Hotwire Hound can detect the signal from the HotWire Fox
varies depending on the application. The greatest sensing distance from the target wire, and the longest
length of wire that can be traced, occurs when the wire is in ‘free space’ and connected to one wire from
the HotWire Fox (this is the Single Wire Method). The other wire from the HotWire Fox connects through
a short wire to an actual earth ground. This means the target wire is out in the open. Its not in a conduit
or inside of a wall, oor, ceiling, or buried in the earth, and its not connected to anything. The ground wire
from the HotWire Fox is connected to a metal rod driven into the earth (not a ‘ground’ in a wall outlet, or
other electrical ground). As each of these variables change, the distance, length, or depth is reduced.
A key variable is whether the HotWire is connected using the Single Wire or Double Wire Method. These
methods exhibit very different operating characteristics, and performance varies greatly. In general, the
Single Wire Method works best to trace a hidden wire through a wall or ceiling, and the Double Wire
Method works best to identify a wire at the end opposite the HotWire Fox transmitter. However, this is
not a ‘rule’ to be followed, and it often benets the user to try both methods (if possible) to nd out which
works better in the given situation.
When the Single Wire Method is used, so much crosstalk can occur that tracing the wire is difcult,
because it seems to be everywhere. The settings of the Output Level Control on the HotWire Fox and the
Sensitivity control on the HotWire Hound can have signicant effect on the ability to trace the wire.
When the Double Wire Method is used, the type of wire being traced has a signicant effect on the length
of wire that can be traced. In general, small diameter wires are harder to trace than large diameter wires.
Wires in which the conductors are twisted around each other are harder to trace than wires with parallel
conductors. For example, ‘Romex’ electrical wire (a large wire with parallel conductors) is easier to trace
than LAN cable (a small wire with twisted conductors).