!#8# Repairing an Invisible Dog Fence Or Other Underground Dog Fence (DIY)

!±8± Repairing an Invisible Dog Fence Or Other Underground Dog Fence (DIY)

Fixing a break in your Invisible Dog Fence or Underground Dog Fence is cheap and easy. You will periodically get breaks in the boundary line of your dog fence. You will know that the line is broken because the dog fence transmitter unit attached to your house will signal an error by either a flashing red light or a beeping noise. You will also notice that your dog's receiver collars no longer work and will not beep when you take them over the boundary line.

The boundary wire for your underground dog fence needs to make a complete loop, beginning and ending at the transmitter unit. When you get a break in the loop the signals cannot get through and the unit stops working. Our job is to find the break in the boundary wire and fix it. Before you start you need to remove the receiver collars from your dogs.

Here are the tools you will need for this DIY voyage:

One 100 µH RF Choke (available from Radioshack (catalog number 273-102)) - .39 One waterproof wire nut (available from most home improvement or hardware stores) - Body.39 One AM radio - any portable AM radio will do, tuned to 600. One pair of scissors One Shovel or anything else you can dig with

Time: 30 minutes

There are two ways to find the break, we start with the easiest way:

Finding a Break by Visual Inspection

Most breaks are caused by someone running an edger, aerator or otherwise digging through the boundary wire. These breaks can usually be found by walking along where the boundary wire runs and looking for spots where there has been recent digging. Unearth the wire in these spots and check for damage. The most likely spots are where the boundary wire crosses your driveway or pathways. Also check that the boundary wire is properly connected to the transmitter box.

If you found the break, proceed to the section on fixing the break. If not, proceed to the following section where we will show you how to use an RF Choke to make the boundary wire 'sing' and reveal the location of the break to you.

RF Choke Method

The RF Choke will make your boundary wire 'sing.' We will be able to listen to this sound with the AM radio you have tuned to 600 and will be able to find the break by looking for the part of the wire that is not singing.

First switch off the transmitter box. Now, disconnect the two boundary wire leads that connect to the box. In their place, connect the two legs of the RF choke. Now turn the transmitter box back on. The transmitter box should no longer be signalling that there is an error.

Now turn the transmitter box back off. Take the two boundary wires and wrap an insulated section of each wire around different legs of the RF choke. Now turn the transmitter box back on. The transmitter should still signal that there is no error. Rotate the knob labeled "field width" on the transmitter box clockwise till it is at full power.

Now turn on the radio tuned to AM 600, and walk along the boundary wire. When you hold the radio near the boundary wire it should make a deep pulsing/throbbing noise, like Ugh-Ugh-Ugh-Ugh-Ugh ... As you move the radio closer and further away from the boundary wire you will notice that there are some distances where the sound is louder and some distances where it gets quieter. As you walk around the boundary you will find a spot where there is no sound coming from the AM radio irrespective of whether you move the radio closer or further from the boundary wire. This is where you should dig up the wire and look for the break. It will be within three yards of the quiet spot

Now that you have done the hard part let's fix the break

Fixing the Break

Use the scissors to strip the wire on each side of the break in the boundary wire. Now insert the two stripped sections into the wire nut and gently twist until you start to get a bit of resistance from the wire nut. Now we will test to see if you have fixed the problem.

Return to the transmitter unit and turn off the power. Disconnect the RF choke legs and reconnect the boundary wire. Power back on the transmitter and there should be no error signal. If there is an error signal, look for another break, it is possible that there was more than one. If there was no error signal, bury the boundary wire you dug up. Reset the "field width" knob on the transmitter box to it's original setting and you are done. Congratulations you just saved yourself a house call from the local Underground Dog Fence company and a large bill!