- Communications 501 Tracker II Underground Wire Locator, Buried Wire Locator, Underground Wire Tracer, Locate Wires 7 Ft Deep (2026 Model)

Works very well. Super lightweight and cheaply made. I was hoping I could also use this to chip dry dirt off of our excavator and hit bad guys with but it's not that durable. It does work well, though.

Excellent wire finder. I have been using this system for 25 years. It's simple and effective. It will trace anything metal.

I'm a geek with many acres of property and lots of buried power and data cables. This works so well in tracing both live and disconnected cables of many types. You can direct-clip the transmitter onto a disconnected cable, or use the clamp around live cables (including the conduit they are in). I traced a buried cat6 cable 1000' through a field with no issue, and a buried live powerline about 400'. I tried a bunch of other cheaper options previously and none even came close to this. It's pricey, but worth it if you need to make sure you don't mess up and accidentally dig a trench through a cable -- which could be far more costly to repair than this unit.

The 551 could barely locate a 220 volt line from my garage that I already knew where it was at . Tried testing it and the locator was all over the place sent it back for a full refund will never buy from tempo again . For 1500 dollars after tax this thing was junk. Sent it back the next day.

I was a bit nervous spending this much money on a tracker since I'm just an individual property owner; I don't need this thing all the time. I have been very happy with this and I think it was worth the money. I was working on a property where I needed to run water and electric lines which I knew would intersect existing electric lines (five times!). I had previously used an Armada 300, and I found this to be easier to use, especially for electric lines, because of the inductive connection it can make (clamp included in this kit). Also, the rigid handle/pickup foot on this unit is easier to use than the corded receiver of the Armada. It's easier to be precise about where the line is (no waiting for the receiver to quit swinging on the cable) and easier to use in tall grass or brush. It took me a little time to get used to how the unit works and then to find my wires, but after a little practice I had no problems. It's been mentioned in another review (or the manual, I forget where I read this) to not turn the transmitter's power to maximum. I chose 6-7 on the knob. Then I turned the receiver on and placed the pickup foot near the wire I was going to locate with the receiver knob set as very low, just enough to tone that I was near the wire. I did this, adjusting the receiver power up as necessary, to track the wire about 10 feet from the transmitter. Then I placed the receiver's pickup foot above the wire (where I had the strongest signal) until it reached a level of 10 on the meter on the receiver. At that point it was very easy to sweep the receiver's foot left and right to trace the wire, adjusting the receiver level so that, when over the wire, the meter read 10, as I moved away from the transmitter. This unit can also be used to find the depth of the buried wire. I found it to be fairly accurate and easy to do. Anyway, I hope the instructions there help first-time users. I'm happy with the device. I now put tracer wire in all the trenches I run (water, electric, gas) on my properties (I have for the last year). Now that I own a tracker, I won't be at the mercy of borrowing one in the future.

This device was very helpful with locating an underground pipe in my backyard. The provided manual summarized how to use it and provided useful diagrams. I was pleased to find out it can determine the depth of a pipe as well. I believe the money spent was worthwhile as it saved me time and energy with respect to this project.

While this is a nice basic kit, I tried this but ultimately purchased Ridgid's Navitrack 2 locator, a SeeSnake CS6 Pak, Ridgid Brick transmitter and 4-in Seek Tech inductive coil for my professional locating needs. Sure it's a lot more expensive, but it multi-tasks and does it VERY well. So while this is not to disparage this Greenlee locator, it's nowhere near as useful even though much much less expensive. It seems to work for some users/reviewers with specific, basic tasks, it doesn't work for my outfit as I need accurate, precise depth measured in feet and inches. So while I think this work ok for generic locating (existence and direction), it's not going to give you accurate depths unless whatever you're locating is already basically known/consistent depth. For complicated, varying locations (gas, power, sewer, etc.), I'd recommend something more expensive, expansive and sophisticated that also detects general AC current (i.e., live buried cable) but can also be used to locate sondes for say sewer pipes. Anyway, this is what I did after purchasing (and returning) this Greenlee locator. If it's just basic cable/pipe locating you're after, this might just do the trick.

Looks cheap, feels cheap, works great. Seemed a little cheapish for the money. Electrician said I needed to buy some $3k machine to find a knicked wire 4’ down and somewhere in a 600’ run under 7 other bundles. I did some research and this one had better specs than the 3k one. After a 20 minute crash course I had to disconnect the wires from my breaker. Had some weird back feed going on. After they were disconnected I found my knicked wire on the first pass. 10 minutes with the back hoe, came right down on the split. Had it located and dug up in a half hour. Saved me a whole lot of time and money. Only thing I noticed is the transducer box will eat batteries in 30 minutes if turned up all the way and they were Amazon batteries.

So nice y need more

The product works but it feels cheap. Like it might break if someone looks at it the wrong way. Part of the build quality that disappoints is that it can’t be used in the rain. It’s seems odd that I can buy a cheap waterproof Bluetooth speaker but I have to worry about getting a $1,000+ outdoor tool wet. Note that it takes 8 AA batteries which seems strange to me given how many battery operated tools come with rechargeable batteries. Putting the AA batteries in makes it feel like more of toy too. That said, it does work.