Patent ID: 8897635

Claim:
A method for detecting intermittent electrical faults in a network comprising: conducting a first signal from a first transmitter onto an electrical network via a first magnetic coupling, the electrical network including a plurality of segments of a transmission medium; conducting a second signal from a second transmitter onto the electrical network via a second magnetic coupling; transmitting the first signal and the second signal across the electrical network; receiving selected ones of the first signal and the second signal at one or more receiver modules via one or more third magnetic couplings; and at the one or more receiver modules, analyzing the received and unreflected first signal from the first transmitter and the received and unreflected second signal from the second transmitter, and determining from the analyzing of the received and unreflected first signal and the received and unreflected second signal whether an intermittent fault has occurred in one of the plurality of segments of the transmission medium of the electrical network, the plurality of segments being disposed physically between the first transmitter and the one or more receiver modules, and the second transmitter and the one or more receiver modules so as to spatially and physically separate the first transmitter and the second transmitter from the one or more receiver modules, the one or more receiver modules further determining from the analyzing of the received signal a location for the intermittent fault in one of the plurality of segments, wherein the location is determined by comparing information in the received and unreflected first signal to an expected first information pattern and the received and unreflected second signal to an expected second information pattern, wherein the location of the intermittent fault identifies a selected one of the plurality of segments of the transmission medium, and wherein transmissions of the first signal from the first transmitter and transmissions of the second signal from the second transmitter, and receptions and analyzing of the received and unreflected first signal and received and unreflected second signal at the one or more receiver modules do not require control from each other.