What does a walkover locator like the DigiTrak Falcon F5 do on a drilling job?

By the Underground Architects team · Updated October 28, 2026

Quick answer

A walkover locator tracks the drill head during a directional bore. A transmitter behind the drill head sends readings such as pitch, roll and direction up through the ground, and a crew member walking above it reads them on a handheld receiver so the operator can steer and hold depth. Locators like the DigiTrak Falcon F5 can also log each rod, and that log becomes the bore report and as-built record after the job.

When a directional drill goes into the ground, the operator can’t see the drill head. A walkover locator is how the crew follows it. It tells the operator where the head is, how deep it is and which way it is pointing, so the bore stays on the planned path.

The DigiTrak Falcon F5, made by Digital Control Inc. (DCI), is one family of walkover locators used in utility boring, and it is the locator on UGA’s drills.

The parts of a walkover system

Part Where it is What it does
Transmitter (sonde) In a housing just behind the drill head Sends readings up through the ground
Receiver (locator) Carried by a crew member on the surface Reads the signal and shows the head’s position and depth
Remote display At the drill rig Shows the operator the readings so they can steer
Bore log Stored as the bore goes Keeps a record of each rod for the report afterward

What the locator tells the crew

The transmitter reports data such as the drill head’s angle, rotation and direction, along with temperature. From that signal, the crew can tell:

  • Depth. How far below the surface the drill head is.
  • Pitch. Whether the head is pointing up, down or level.
  • Roll (clock position). Which way the angled face of the drill head is turned, which is how the operator steers.
  • Location. Where the head is under the ground, so the crew can stay on line.

How a crew uses it during a bore

  1. Before drilling, the crew picks a frequency that works well on that site and pairs the transmitter with the receiver.
  2. During the pilot bore, a locator operator walks ahead of the drill, finds the signal and reads depth and position.
  3. The drill operator steers using the readings on the remote display, turning the drill head to the right clock position to correct course.
  4. Rod by rod, readings are logged, building a record of the bore’s path.
  5. At the exit point, the pilot bore surfaces where it was planned, ready for reaming and pullback.

Features on current models

DCI’s current product page for the Falcon F5+ lists features aimed at harder jobs, including:

  • A deeper depth and data range, listed by DCI as 180/220 ft (55/67 m).
  • A wide set of frequencies (DCI says over 1,000) so the crew can find a clear signal on a noisy site.
  • A rebar transmitter designed for drilling under reinforced concrete.
  • Downhole fluid pressure monitoring, which DCI says helps reduce the risk of inadvertent returns, when drilling fluid escapes to the surface.

Specific features depend on the model, the transmitter and how the system is set up.

Why the bore log matters after the job

The locator is not just a steering tool. Locators that support log-while-drilling store a reading for each rod. After the job, that log is moved to a phone, tablet or computer, where DCI’s LWD app builds it into a report. DCI describes the app as a way to replace handwritten bore logs with as-built reports, give clients easy-to-read documentation, and keep historical records that help a contractor manage liability.

That record is the backbone of the as-built: the document that shows where the line actually went.

What a locator does not do

A walkover locator tracks the drill’s own transmitter. It does not find other buried utilities. Existing lines still have to be located and marked through 811 before work starts. Read do you have to call 811 before digging in Texas?

How UGA uses it

UGA’s drills use a DigiTrak Falcon F5 locator. Drillbert, UGA’s AI operations agent, is getting ready to take those bore records after the work and turn them into clean maps and reports, with a person on our team checking them. See the technology behind UGA, our horizontal directional drilling service, or request a bid.

This article is general information. Features and specifications are as published by the manufacturer and vary by model and setup.

Sources

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Answers

More questions

A sonde is the transmitter that rides in a housing just behind the drill head. It reports data such as its angle, rotation, direction and temperature, and the locator at the surface reads that signal.

Because a crew member walks along the surface above the drill head, holding the receiver over it to read the signal. Other tracking methods, such as wire-line and gyro systems, are used on some longer or deeper bores.

No. A walkover locator tracks the drill's own transmitter. Existing utilities still have to be located and marked through 811 before the bore starts, and the crew uses those marks to plan the path.

Log-while-drilling means the locator stores a reading as each rod is drilled. After the job, the log can be moved to a phone, tablet or computer and turned into a bore report, replacing handwritten bore logs.

Electrical noise on the jobsite and steel such as rebar in concrete can make the signal harder to read. Locator makers address this with multiple frequency bands and special transmitters; DCI, for example, makes a transmitter designed for drilling under reinforced concrete.

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