User's Manual
Table Of Contents
- Safety Precautions and Warnings
- Dear Customer:
- Introduction
- Receiver
- General Description
- Toggle and Trigger Switches
- Audible Tones
- Installing and Removing the Battery Pack
- Power On
- Power Off
- Main Menu
- Locate Mode
- Calibration Menu
- Height-Above-Ground (HAG) Menu
- Settings Menu
- Transmitter Selection Menu
- Drill DataLog Menu
- Pressure-Tension DataLog Menu
- Using the Keypad
- Display Screens
- Standard Receiver Display Screen Symbols
- Transmitter
- Remote Display
- Battery Charger
- System Setup
- Locating
- The Target Steering Function
- Appendix A: System Specifications and Maintenance Requirements
- Appendix B: Projected Depth Versus Actual Depth and the Fore/Aft Offset
- Appendix C: Calculating Depth Based on Distance Between FLP and RLP
- Appendix D: Reference Tables
- LIMITED WARRANTY
DIGITAL CONTROL INCORPORATED
DigiTrak
®
F5™ Operator’s Manual 7
Safety Precautions
and Warnings (Continued)
BATTERY DISPOSAL: This symbol on equipment indicates that the equipment must not
be disposed of with your other household waste. Instead, it is your responsibility to
dispose of such equipment by handing it over to a designated collection point for the
recycling of batteries or electrical and electronic equipment. If the equipment contains a
banned substance, the label will show the pollutant (Cd = Cadmium; Hg = Mercury;
Pb = Lead) near this symbol. The separate collection and recycling of your waste equipment at the time of
disposal will help to conserve natural resources and ensure that it is recycled in a manner that protects
human health and the environment. For more information about where you can drop off your waste
equipment for recycling, please contact your local city office, your household waste disposal service, or
the shop where you purchased the equipment.
The battery charger provided with the DigiTrak F5 system is designed with adequate safeguards to
protect you from shock and other hazards when used as specified within this document. If you use
the battery charger in a manner not specified by this document, the protection provided may be
impaired. Do not attempt to disassemble the battery charger. It contains no user-serviceable parts.
The battery charger is not to be installed into caravans, recreational vehicles, or similar vehicles.
Remove the batteries from all system components during shipping and prolonged storage; damage
caused by leakage may occur.
Before each drilling run, test the DigiTrak F5 system with the transmitter inside the drill head to con-
firm that it is operating properly and is providing accurate drill head location and heading information.
During drilling, the depth will not be accurate unless:
• The receiver has been properly calibrated and the calibration has been checked for accuracy so
that the receiver shows the correct depth.
• The transmitter has been located correctly and accurately and the receiver is directly above the
transmitter in the drill head underground or at the front locate point.
• The receiver is held at the height-above-ground distance, which has been set correctly, or placed
on the ground for depth measurements.
Always test calibration after you have stopped drilling for any length of time.
Interference can cause inaccuracies in the measurement of depth and loss of the transmitter’s pitch,
roll, or heading. You should always perform a background noise check prior to drilling.
• Sources of interference include but are not limited to traffic signal loops, invisible dog fences,
cable TV, power lines, fiber-trace lines, metal structures, cathodic protection, telephone lines, cell
phones, transmission towers, conductive earth, salt, salt water, rebar, radio frequencies, and
other unknown sources of interference.
• Interference with the operation of the remote display may also occur from other sources operating
nearby on the same frequency, such as car rental agencies using their remote check-in modules,
other directional drilling locating equipment, etc.
• Background noise must be minimal and signal strength must be at least 150 points above the
background noise during all locating operations.
Carefully review this manual and be sure you always operate the DigiTrak F5 system properly to
obtain accurate depth, pitch, roll, and locate points. If you have any questions about the operation of
the system, please call DCI’s Customer Service Department at any of the phone numbers provided
on the cover, and we will do our best to assist you.