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Recently I went into my garage to find the invisible dog fence transmitter beeping. After calling the company I was informed that this alarm meant there was a break in the fence, and that I should have them come out as soon as possible - because my dog would surely figure this out in a few days. And hey, for only $100 an hour, they would be happy to help! Long story short, they tried for an hour then told me the yard was too overgrown (half the yard is wooded) and they would have to come back in the fall when everything died back (2 months away). This made me swear that I would do it myself - but after digging up over 100 feet of wire and driving myself crazy for a few days, I had not found the break. Then I found this strategy on the internet (link) that cost me under $20 and worked like a charm. Hopefully this makes it clear for everyone else and saves you some money and frustration. Good luck!
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Signing UpStep 1Verify the break
First thing to do is make sure that you do indeed have a break. There are a few ways to do this. On my unit, two wires run from the transmitter to the perimeter fence. Disconnect these wires from the transmitter and put the ends of a paper clip or small piece of wire into the jacks where the wires had been connected. If the alarm is silenced, the transmitter is working properly and you have a break. Another way to verify that there is a break is to use an ohmmeter and check the resistance on the disconnected wires. If there is no resistance the wires are continuous and there is not a break, meaning you may have a problem with the transmitter itself.
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I am trying to shorten the range (now about 10-12 ft) from my wire . I'm using the ICT700
Yes you will have to add about $25 shipping ( 4 days for mine to arrive), but that's still about 50% of the price DFNA is asking!
I have purchased thru this resource (Alibaba) and received xcellent service and quick delivery.
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/102979920.html
Total time, including the Radio Shack run? Less than an hour!
Thanks again for the easy to follow instructions.
Thanks
http://dogfencediy.com/store/accessories/petsafe-boundary-wire-locator.html
The correct website is www.invincibleservices.com not invisible
The locator in the video is exactly the same. You may only be seeing the antenna in the video but believe me they are exactly the same. If you watch at the end of the video you will see a demonstration of how to put it in the case and it is the exact same locator. Hope this clears it up.
Any other suggestions? Thanks
This kind of wire and system will carry a low voltage ( 3-5 volts ) with a 10 khz frequency.
If this kind of wire breaks with this system it will not increase the load but it will sound an alarm at the transmitter telling you that the loop is broken and that the system is not functioning.
I would use a propane powered soldering iron and solder the broken ends together and then put 2 layers of heat-shrink over it.
Or you could do it like electricians used to do in california 20 years ago.
Make your splice then use plumbers dough around the splice and then use electrical tape and tape wire and plumbers dough. This will give you a water tide splice for many years to come with just a few pennies worth of material invested.
Unplugged my fence for a while - no dog. Just got a new puppy, plugged it back up and got the beeping. Took the collar and checked the whole fence to set up new flags for a new puppy. Collar worked the whole yard???? Is there a reset, or is it possible the fence still works with a break?
I've tried to change the settings on the Stimulation Level, Field Size, and Field Width. All settings produce the same pulsing tones with no change.
Recommendations? Am I doing something wrong?
One note with the RFA-50. You MUST have a good ground to get the two tones from the system. I tried the ground spike for my house without success, so I tried hooking it up to the Negative Ground in our truck - - BINGO!! Success!
Once you assemble the RF choke according to the directions do you turn the unit back on with the two lights on and no beeping sound before you walk the fence boundary with the radio?
BINGO! This saved me several days of waiting on a break detector and at least $50. It worked great. I hooked my headphones to my radio so it was easier to hear. The pulsing got noticably more faint when I got within 5 feet of the the break and was pretty much inaudible almost a foot either side of the break. Thanks for tip.
I have the choke and am ready to go. Problem is the connector on the transmitter with the two plastic flips. I pulled the wires out and now the flips loosly move up and down but the wire entry slots are blocked. Touching the wire against the metal blockage gets a reaction but to hold the choke and/or reconnect the wires I need to be able to open the slots. how? Also when the choke is connected what should the alarm be doing-- chirping? solid red? Thanks much!
The big problem is even after you locate the break and repair using these so-called water proof wire nuts is a mistake. They will fail on you most every time. I used these on three different breaks and every time they eventually fail and that makes it very difficult to find them if you don't remember exactly where they were. After paying to have a professional come out to find the bad splices. (The transmitter alarm was not signaling a broken wire but the collar would not activate at the boundary until it was just inches from the wire even when turn up all the way.) I happened to get an honest and informative repairman that came out. The service call and repairs cost me a little over $100. The man had be walk along as he located with his locator, which he said cost upward of $600, he called it a RF null locator. It had a transmitter which he hooked to ground in the outlet and one of the fence wires. He then had the receiver that he would pass or swing back and forth over the wire area. It would create a tone on both sides of the wire but it would "null" out directly over the wire. Basically it made no tone at all when held directly over the wire allowing him to follow the exact path within a couple inches. When he approached a break the tone would become one sided or fade out quickly thus identifying the break in the line within a couple feet distance. When he approached a splice that had gone bad the tone would become one sided or become sharp directly over the wire with no "null". (later he told me that the so called waterproof wire nuts allowed deterioration of the copper wire even though they claimed to be waterproof.) He showed me the splices he used and swore by as the only thing to use. They were a grease tube with a snap lock cap. I later noticed that they were the same type of splcie that now comes with the Innotek brand systems. He further explained the need for using the best wire available to avoid these types of problems in the first place. I'd always used the factory wire that came with the systems and have had to replace the entire run three time in the 16 years. When I ask if he new where I could get a locator like the one he used he told me what they cost and I told him that was out of the question he then told me he knew of a locator that was available to the consumer at between $125 to $150. He said one of the other installers had one and it worked great for him but it just wan't as durable as his but would probably be fine for owner use. He said he would call me back with information about it. It took me three phone calls and 4 weeks to finally get the information from him but it was worth it. Here is the financial breakdown of my experiences repairing this fence over its lifetime.
Hours and hours of digging up and burying wire-- no charge ( $1000)
So-called good splices-- about $40
Dog at large tickets-- $240
Choke and radio to locate-- $35
Petsafe locator-- $75
Three professional service calls $265
So you see I was spending quit a bit of money to keep this system working.
I finally purchased the locator mentioned by the professional. It cost me a total of $129.95 with shipping. It works great I've now located one bad splice and one mole chew break with it. Both took me less than 15 minutes and I dug less than 24 inches of wire up. I couldn't find either one with the choke and radio. I've already paid for the locator in what the professional repair calls would have cost me. The same company that sold the locator also sold splice repair kits with the tube splices and professional grade wire. In the spring I am going to replace all my wire with professional grade stuff. Anyway I wanted to share that I, over 16 years of learning the hard way, have finally figured out a cost effective way to make these self installed systems "professional" in application and maintenance for the DIY'er. Here is what I figured it would cost me if I started only with the knowledge I now have this is what I would buy:
System-- $180
Upgraded professional wire for 4 acres 2000' -- $130
10 splices-- $15.00
Rf null locator $129.95
Install tool-- $45.00
I could buy it all from the place where I found the locator at www.invincibleservices.com but being the cheapskate that I am I shopped around and would buy the system on ebay : Innotek SD-2100
the rest I would get at the place mentioned above. They will even help figure out what system will work best for your situation. So by shopping around I would spend about $500 to cover 4 acres with one dog. This would give me not only a professional level system and installation but the tools to maintain it for a very long time. Hope my 16 years experience with this will help you.