Patent ID: 7225885

Claim:
In a drilling system for performing underground boring including a drill rig and a boring tool which is configured for moving through the ground under control of the drill rig to form an underground bore and including a drill string that extends from said drill rig to said boring tool for carrying a drilling mud to the boring tool and for applying a push force to the boring tool to advance the boring tool through the ground, a monitoring arrangement comprising: a detection arrangement at said drill rig for electronically monitoring at least one operational parameter to produce a data signal relating to at least one of a utility to be installed in the underground bore, the drill rig and the boring tool; a rig monitor section at said drill rig for providing said operational parameter selected as at least one of a drilling mud status and said push force; a portable device configured for electronically receiving the data signal relating to the operational parameter for use by the portable device; and a communication arrangement for electronically receiving the data signal from said detection arrangement and for transferring the data signal from the drill rig to the portable device.