If you walk through a real HDD yard, you rarely see a clean, single generation of locating gear. You see history. A DigiTrak SE system that has been on more bores than anyone can count. One or two DigiTrak F2 locators that crews fight over on busy weeks. Maybe a newer high end rig reserved for the most complex projects.
The challenge is not that you have a mix of generations. The challenge is turning that mix into a strategy so guidance feels predictable instead of chaotic. In practice, that often means letting SE carry a lot of the everyday load while F2 gradually becomes the standard for more demanding work.
This guest post is about how to make that transition on purpose, not by accident.
Why DigiTrak SE is still a very useful tool
It is easy to get hypnotised by spec sheets and forget how money is actually made. Most HDD companies do not live on epic river crossings. They live on:
- Short and medium service lines into homes and small businesses
- Fiber and telecom runs through neighborhoods
- Water and gas lines under local roads
- Utility relocations in light commercial areas
On that kind of project, an older but reliable DigiTrak SE system is not “outdated hardware”. It is a familiar, paid off tool that still does the job very well when the bore is modest in length and depth and the interference is manageable.
Crews who grew up on SE know the menus, know how the signal behaves in local soils and can often diagnose small problems by feel. That experience is worth a lot. For many contractors, the most profitable projects in the schedule are still drilled with a dependable DigiTrak SE locator guiding the head.
Where DigiTrak F2 changes the game
As projects get harder, the limits of older systems start to show. You see this when:
- Bores stretch longer than the comfortable range of SE
- Depths increase under roads, car parks or shallow rivers
- Interference from power, loops or nearby utilities becomes more unpredictable
- Clients expect tighter documentation and fewer “we lost the signal” stories
This is where DigiTrak F2 starts to earn its place. It is designed as a practical step up without the complexity of the very highest end systems. With DigiTrak F2 you get:
- More performance headroom for depth and data range
- Better tools for dealing with moderate interference
- A user interface that still feels familiar to SE operators, but with more capability
In other words, DigiTrak F2 is a natural evolution path. It does not force you to relearn everything from scratch, but it gives you space to take on harder work with more confidence.
One fleet, two clear roles instead of one big mess
Guidance chaos usually comes from the same problem, every rig grabs whatever locator and beacon happen to be available that morning. No one is quite sure which system is best for which job, and when something goes wrong, everyone blames “the signal” instead of the plan.
A better approach is to draw a hard line on paper:
- SE rigs
- Assigned to short and medium length bores with moderate depth
- Used on jobs where there is room to correct if needed
- Paired with a small, tested set of sondes that crews know and trust
- F2 rigs
- Assigned to deeper or longer shots, or anywhere interference is regularly a problem
- Used on projects where downtime and re drilling would be expensive
- Outfitted with a better selection of transmitters and your more experienced locator hands
Once these roles are written down and shared, decisions get easier. The calm, predictable work continues to run on SE. The jobs that make you nervous when you first see the drawings automatically trigger a DigiTrak F2 locator in the plan.
Training and growth without stopping production
Another big advantage of running both SE and F2 is how it shapes training. New hires can learn on SE first, where the bores are simpler and the risk is lower. They build good habits, learn to read the numbers and handle basic troubleshooting.
As they gain experience, they can start shadowing the locator on F2 jobs, then gradually take the handle on more complex projects. You are not forcing a brand new crew member straight onto your most expensive system on day one, but you are giving them a clear path forward.
Meanwhile, the company keeps earning money with the tools it already owns. There is no dramatic “we must replace everything this year” deadline. You simply let more and more work migrate to F2 as the team, the market and the projects justify it.
Making transmitters part of the plan, not an afterthought
None of this works if the beacons in the drill head are treated like random consumables. Both DigiTrak SE and DigiTrak F2 systems live or die on transmitter quality. A strong locator with a weak or unknown sonde will always feel unreliable.
It is worth building one common transmitter pool that covers both systems, then tagging each unit by:
- Which locators it is compatible with
- Whether it is a primary, a backup or a training piece
- When it was last tested and how it behaved
From there you can decide which sondes are reserved for harder DigiTrak F2 jobs and which can safely run on SE projects. The SE rig stops being the place where all the leftovers go. Instead, it gets a defined set of healthy transmitters matched to its role.
A simple call to action when you are ready to move
If you are at the stage where SE is still working hard but you feel the limits more often, the next step is not to push it past what it was built for. The next step is to introduce a dedicated F2 package that can carry more weight when it matters.
When you are ready to look at what that upgrade path might actually cost and how it fits into your fleet, just click for digitrak f2 and treat it as a strategic tool, not just another gadget.
Bringing it all together
A mixed DigiTrak fleet does not have to be messy. A well maintained DigiTrak SE locator still has years of value in everyday service and distribution work. A thoughtfully deployed DigiTrak F2 locator lets you take on deeper, longer and more demanding projects without gambling on the signal.
If you give each system a clear role, manage transmitters as a shared asset and build your training path around that structure, guidance stops being a daily argument. It becomes something much better, a quiet, reliable backbone that supports the growth of your HDD business instead of limiting it.
