MastechMS6818 Portable Instruments Wire Cable Tracker Metal Pipe Locator Detector Tester Meter AC/DC 12~400V

Usually disappointed with the tracers that I've used in the past. This meter was a pleasant surprise. I gave this item a five star rating because it worked as described. I used it to trace an un-energized 12 gauge wire approximately 70 feet from the start at the main panel to the end which was a receptacle at the other end of my home. I was able to follow the proper cable by pinpointing the cable at various points along its path using the manual power receiving settings and medium power transmit at the panel. I have not used the meter enough at this point in time to properly evaluate all its functions but I also have no reason to think that it won't perform as described if used properly. Very easy to use and very accurate if the settings are manipulated correctly. Good manual. Also, as this meter is new to me I haven't put it through the rough conditions that I sometimes encounter on a job site. Seems to be well built, but I won't know how long it will last until I've put it through a few tough jobs.

Worked fine out of the box. I was able to locate an underground 12 gauge insulated stranded copper tracer wire for about 100 or 150 feet, buried about 3 feet deep in clay soil. It only gets 4 out of 5 stars because of the horribly written user manual - one of the worst I've ever seen, even for made-in-China electronics. If you don't already know the basics of signal tracing, or are willing to spend lots of time looking through the various YouTube videos, some of which are worse than the user manual, you might struggle to figure out how to use this locator. But after you figure it out, it will probably pay for itself if you are faced with having to hire an undergroud locate service even once.

When our neighborhood water lines were installed 40 years ago, they used PVC with no tracer wire. Finding 4-6 inch mains is easy, but the 3/4 inch homeowner taps were impossible to find without potentially trenching all the way from the meter pit to the main, including across our roads.I was able to feed a fish tape through from the meter out to the main, hook this sensor on, and find the tip within a 2 foot radius, a smaller footprint than any hole we dig can be. The location given from the sensor matched the distance of the fish tape almost exactly.I was even able to trace the line walking normally, so a penetration of 5ft of air + 6ft of dirt.We were able to zero in by putting the transmitter on auto power level 2, and the receiver on manual mode until we would just barely get a signal. Then we set the receiver on the ground, let it settle, then moved the receiver and compared readings.We know this line crossed buried electric and phone, and signal never jumped to those.Overall *super* impressed with this tool, hope i can find reasons to use the other features. Now we can do horizontal line splitting for repairs, saving us a ton of $ and time, and not having to trench across the road.

Sorry...I was really hoping this would work out. I even read the reviews and watched the video of the guy using it. Pretty neat! I am doing a house renovation right now and bought this to trace out a couple mystery romex lines. First, I got the pieces out and installed some batteries of various brands that I had into both pieces. Excitedly, I tried out the transmitter and receiver, and for some reason, once the romex went behind drywall, the receiver stopped picking it up. I noticed the battery indicator was flashing, so I changed the batteries out - the others tested just fine, but I replaced them with ones of the same brand. Fortunately, that worked (no clue why, as the others were just fine). I then tried it out again. Sure enough, it traced my mystery romex up the wall and into the attic.I chased it along and sure enough, it went into a bundle where I couldn't figure out which piece of romex it was (there's quite a bit of incident signal that goes into other lines, so you really have to be careful to ensure you find the right line). Since I had located the other end of the line, I needed to test the line with the continuity tester to identify which piece of romex it was. I disconnected the tracker and used the continuity tester.Following that, I then wanted to try out the tracker again, as I had some unanswered questions. I hooked it back up again and...it didn't work. I could get signal on the receiver down by the lead clips, but where the romex went behind drywall, all signal totally dropped off. I tried the batteries (though no indication was apparent on either the transmitter or receiver) and still...nothing. I tried everything else I could think of...changing the leads around, powering them on and off, changing sensitivity...and still, nothing.Sadly, this has been a complete waste of money for me. Don't buy it!

The media could not be loaded. Needed to find old buried PVC drain. Bought this device after digging unsuccessfully in various locations where I thought pipe was located. Ran steel drain snake up plastic pipe from outlet, hooked up MS6818 red wire to snake and black wire to well-grounded steel groundspike provided. First found pipe about 25 feet from outlet that was about 18" down. Used auto mode on receiver to find general area. Then, as shown in video, switched to manual level to find smallest circle that would register a signal which enabled me to pinpoint the line of the pipe. Bingo! Reinserted snake here and continued tracing up pipe using auto level, and in area where ping was strongest about 30 feet farther up I was able to locate path of same pipe that was now 3 feet deep. Retested after digging down a few feet at this location and was able to pinpoint exact line of pipe. I was so amazed I took a picture to show how far down it was and how small a hole I needed to dig to uncover it. Good connection to solid steel snake and VERY good ground in damp clay probably contributed to strength of signal.