Trace Ground Connections

Undetectable Trace Wires

For a ground trace line to function effectively, a complete circuit must be established. The more robust the trace line, the better the locating equipment will perform. However, water, dirt, and debris can create false grounding paths, potentially interfering with the accuracy of the tracing equipment.

Solution: Universal Isolation Terminal

The Universal Isolation Terminal (UIT) was designed to provide an insulated, watertight connection to the external grounding lug on a variety of splice enclosures. This feature is essential for cable locating applications, especially in challenging environments.

When a splice enclosure is left at the bottom of a manhole or cable vault, water—or a mix of water and mud—often accumulates. In such cases, cable locating personnel must enter the vault and retrieve the splice enclosure from the water or mud to ensure the locating signal continues along the cable instead of shorting out within the vault.

This issue becomes even more critical during natural disasters such as flooding, hurricanes, or heavy rain, which increase the likelihood of vaults or manholes filling with water and debris. If the grounding lugs are compromised by moisture, they may short out, severely hampering cable locating efforts—especially when time is of the essence.

Excessive Ground Cable During Installation

Typical splice enclosure installations require 60 feet of extra fiber cable to be coiled in the vault for maintenance purposes. As a result, the #6 AWG grounding cables must also be extended to match this length, leading to increased installation costs.

Solution: Quick Disconnect

The Quick Disconnect was designed to reduce the amount of #6 copper wire required for properly locating each fiber optic cable spliced in a vault or manhole. Instead of running the wire the full length of each fiber cable from the splice enclosure to the locate terminal post, only a short length is needed—from the locate terminal post into the vault or manhole—just enough to allow the splice enclosure to be lifted and disconnected.

Once the wire is disconnected, the splice enclosure and fiber cable can be freely moved to a work area, such as a splicing trailer or van, without requiring 60 feet or more of #6 copper wire for each fiber cable. This results in substantial material savings at every splice point.

How to Choose your UIT

Use the decision tree below to help determine the best UIT for your application.