Hipotronics CF Series test systems for fault locating of primary cables consist of a dc proof tester,a burner and a capacitive discharge fault locator (thumper). These self-contained, portable units are rugged, reliable and compact making them ideal for field use. The CF30-8 has a continuously adjustable impulse rate from three to thirty seconds. Test ratings are a 30 kV dc proof test voltage, a 50 mA burn current and a 0-15 kV dc capacitive discharge (thumper) voltage.

The units can be used with a high voltage coupler (4100 Series) and a time domain reflectometer (TDR) to quickly provide a specific distance to the fault in feet or meters. This combination of equipment can greatly reduce the amount of high voltage (number of thumps) the cable resulting in reduced damage or degradation to the cable under test.

For additional pinpointing the HSDAD acoustical detector can be used in conjunction with the CF30-8 to pinpoint the exact underground location. While the CF “thumps” the cable the user “listens” to the thumping using HSDAD and can pinpoint where to start digging to repair the fault.