Styled like a ray gun from a 70s Sci-fi, the V-Loc3 Cam Sonde locator is genuinely packed with futuristic technology. 

We’re delighted to announce that we are now dealers for Vivax Metrotech, a company that is at the forefront of innovation in utility detection and investigation. When we first saw their robust inspection cameras that are packed with industry-leading features, we knew our customers would love them, so it’s great that we can announce this collaboration.

Who is Vivax Metrotech?

Located in Santa Clara, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Vivax-Metrotech Corporation designs and manufactures buried utility locating instruments and video inspection equipment. Beginning in 1976, Metrotech advanced as a leader in locating technology through design innovations that increased productivity for the user of our instruments. In 2007 Vivax Corporation, an East Coast manufacturer of video inspection camera systems was acquired. Now known as Vivax-Metrotech Corporation the new company’s goal today is to use the most advanced technology to aid their customers to be more productive.

What Products Do They Manufacture?

Vivax-Metrotech has a vast range of products to accurately locate buried cables and pipes and inspect the interior condition of metallic and non-metallic sewer pipes. They also offer a range of specialized products for locating faults on cathodic protected pipelines, telecom and power cables, tracing and identifying long-distance fibre optic cables using the Fiber Locate System (FLS) or using the SPAR 300 with RTK accuracy to map underground pipes and cables. From the industry’s first high-frequency radio line tracer to today’s wide range of high performance, easy-to-use locating products and video inspection cameras, Vivax-Metrotech is acknowledged as a technology and customer service innovator.

Will their surveying equipment be available for hire as well as a sale?

Initially, we will be stocking the vCam-6 HD inspection camera, which is really the gold standard of pipe cameras - it has a 60m reel, a large HD screen and a sonde with three different frequencies - 512Hz, 640Hz and 33kHz. We will also have the v-Loc3-Cam to pair with it. It’s the easiest to use a sonde locator on the market because it has an Omni-directional antenna ray, allowing you to see where the sonde is, from any position. We can’t wait to see how it transforms the working practices of utility surveyors, communications workers and groundworkers across London and the southeast.

What Industries are Vivax Metrotech products relevant for?

• Sewers - Products for the plumber, municipality, or anyone needing to inspect the inside of pipes and ducts. We offer systems to inspect lines from 2 inches/50mm up to 12 inches/304mm.
• Power - Advanced features make locating buried transmission or distribution power lines easy and accurate. Detect if a line has a sheath fault and pinpoint its position within inches.
• Water - Products that will locate the path of water mains and services, give depth of cover measurements, monitor the coating on cathodic protected pipes, and located buried valve box covers.
• Gas - Products to locate buried gas services, main lines, tracer wire for plastic pipes. On the transmission, end monitor the coatings on catholic protected pipes and find ground to sheath faults.
• Telecoms - Products specific for the Telcoms industry including long-line fibre optic locating and local distribution lines. Line monitoring provides alarms if a line is struck or if a sheath to earth fault develops.
• Survey/Mapping - Locate and map utilities with GPS coordinates, depth of cover, and current measurements. Add specific notes for each locate and downloads all this information into a satellite view map.
• Municipal - Products to help the municipalities keep their lateral and main sewer lines open, to keep the street lighting on, and to avoid striking buried utilities while excavating.
• Transmission - Locate and monitor long line gas, power, or telecom utilities with by a remote rack mounted transmitter. Remotely change direction of the transmitters signal and transmit up to 16 directions.
• Contract - Products for the contract locator to locate and map buried utilities. Fleet management is made easy with configuration tools to set features in the locator to comply with specific company practices.

Interested in finding out for yourself? View our weekly hire rates here.