Home

Spectrum

1. customer error or negligence or if there has been an unauthorized modification Returning Products to Spectrum Before returning a failed unit you must obtain a Returned Goods Authorization RGA number from Spectrum You must ship the product s properly packaged against further damage back to Spectrum at your expense with the RGA number marked clearly on the outside of the package Spectrum is not responsible for any package that is returned without a valid RGA number or for the loss of the package by any shipping company 18 19 WARRANTY The Field Scout TDR Soil Moisture Meter is warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 1 year from the date of original purchase During the warranty period Spectrum will at its option either repair or replace products that prove to be defective This warranty is void if the product has been damaged by customer error or negligence or if there has been an unauthorized modification Returning Products to Spectrum Before returning a failed unit you must obtain a Returned Goods Authorization RGA number from Spectrum You must ship the product s properly packaged against further damage back to Spectrum at your expense with the RGA number marked clearly on the outside of the package Spectrum is not responsible for any package that is returned without a valid RGA number or for the loss of the package by any shipping company Spectrum Techno
2. followed by the extraction of a known volume of soil Ideally this would be an undis turbed soil core The wet weight of this soil must be de termined If the soil cannot be weighed immediately it should be stored in a plastic bag to reduce evaporation The soil is then oven dried 105 C for 48 hours is a com mon requirement and weighed again The volumetric water content is calculated as follows APPENDIX 2 SOIL SPECIFIC CALIBRATION VWC 100 M wet 7 Mary Pw V Where Mwet Mary mass g of wet and dry soil respectively Vio total soil volume ml pw density of water 1g ml An alternate but equivalent calculation can be obtained from the gravimetric water content and soil bulk density VWC GWC pypy Where GWC is the gravimetric water content and py is the bulk density GWC 100 Mwet Mar Mary Pb Mary Viot The final step is to plot the calculated the measured period values with the readings obtained from Field Scout TDR meter Regression analysis can then be performed on this data to develop an equation to convert from period to VWC 17 WARRANTY The Field Scout TDR Soil Moisture Meter is warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 1 year from the date of original purchase During the warranty period Spectrum will at its option either repair or replace products that prove to be defective This warranty is void if the product has been damaged by
3. to deflect or bend Stndrd VWC 25 5 PL L N 06 A 23 4 The TDR meter can be set to one of two VWC modes Standard or High Clay The Standard mode will be appro priate for most mineral soils The High Clay mode will be more accurate for soils with higher clay contents 22740 In VWC mode the top line of the display shows the VWC mode and the water content The bottom line has the fol lowing information PL Probe Length Short Medium or Long rods N Number of readings included in the Average A Average of all readings taken since meter was turned on or DELETE CLR AVG button was pressed 13 RELATIVE WATER CONTENT MODE RWC 25 5 D 3 17in A 23 4 N 06 Asnte In addition to displaying volumetric water content VWC the meter can also display the relative water content RWC and Water Deficit see MODE button p 9 RWC is an index value calculated with respect to upper wet and lower dry VWC set points The set points are configured with the software refer to Meter Settings p 10 An RWC of 0 indicates the soil is at the dry set point while an RWC of 100 indicates the soil has reached the wet set point Example Assume the dry set point is VWC 25 and the wet set point is VWC 40 If the meter measured a VWC of 35 this would translate to a RWC of 67 because 35 is 2 3 between 25 and 40 If the soil s volumetric water content is out side the range of the set points it is possible to get a negative RWC o
4. 7in HIT DEL To Chnge Rod Length Options Screen In order to get accurate volumetric or relative water content VWC or RWC readings the rod length set ting must be correct In the VWC modes the currently selected rod length appears in the lower left corner of the LCD screen The options are Short 3 07 Medium 4 7 and Long 7 9 rods Press the MODE button until the LCD displays the rod length options screen Pressing the DELETE CLR AVG button will allow you to toggle between the three choices METER SETTINGS Meter Settings r Meter Info Serial it 925 Model TDR 100 Firmware Version 5 0 Meter Name Kasaala Field Max Length 32 Characters Units r Relative Water Content Set Points 31 M Inches Made 1 Mode 2 Dl mn Enable Display I 7 Type Name willy 5 Chr Mas Dry Set Point 20 38 Wet Set Point 45 e7 Use Calibration Standard High Clay S The Meter Settings screen in the Field Scout TDR soft ware is used to configure the meter and data logger for your specific application The fields are described be low Meter Name The name given the meter will be the title on the first line of the downloaded text file Units When operating the meter in Relative Water Content mode the LCD can display the rod length op tions in English or metric units The meter will calcu late and display the water deficit see Relative W
5. USER S MANUAL CATALOG 6435FS 6440FS TT Sx It i a Z ELD SC i TDR 100 200 Soil Moisture Meter Spectrum Technologies Inc CONTENTS General Overview Specifications Identifying the Correct Com Port Connecting to a Computer Changing Batteries Main Toolbar Meter Operation Meter Settings Volumetric Water Content Measurements Relative Water Content Appendix 1 Time Zone Corrections Appendix 2 Soil Specific Calibration Warranty tl This manual will familiarize you with the features and operation of your new Field Scout TDR Soil Moisture Meter Please read this manual thoroughly before using your instrument For customer support or to place an order call Spectrum Technologies Inc at 800 248 8873 or 815 436 4440 between 7 30 am and 5 30 p m CST FAX 815 436 4460 e mail info specmeters com www specmeters com Spectrum Technologies Inc 12360 S Industrial Dr East Plainfield IL 60585 GENERAL OVERVIEW Thank you for purchasing the Field Scout TDR Soil Moisture Meter This manual describes the features and operation of the meter Soil moisture is a critical and potentially highly vari able component of the soil environment Time domain reflectometry is a proven technology for quickly and accurately determining volumetric water content VWC in soil The Field Scout probe allows the user to easily and rapidly take many measurements The user can quickly transitio
6. anila Singapore Taipei Hanoi Jakarta Vientiane Calcutta New Delhi Kabul Islamabad Tehran Abu Dhabi Dubai Moscow Nairobi Kampala Riyadh Ankara Athens Helsinki Istanbul Cairo Johannesburg Harare Amsterdam Barcelona Berlin Geneva Paris Prague Rome Brussels Madrid Stockholm Warsaw Lagos 15 APPENDIX 2 SOIL SPECIFIC CALIBRATION For maximum accuracy you may choose to perform a NO015 soil specific calibration rather than use either of the internal Standard or High Clay soil calibrations coded into the TDR meter s firm ware In these cases an independent soil moisture content measurement is required A relation can then be devel oped that relates the meter s period reading see MODE button p 9 to actual volumetric water content VWC This is most easily accomplished by doing a regression of one set of data against another VWC data can be obtained with a device such as a neutron probe by measuring the weight of a saturated soil column of known volume as it is gradually dried or by gradually wetting a known volume soil with the addition of known increments of water In most cases however the calibra tion will be done with gravimetric sampling This proce dure is briefly described below In the field establish a number of sites to sample Each site should be wetted to a different soil moisture content by adding varying amounts of water At each site a Field Scout TDR reading is taken
7. ater Content p 14 in the same unit system 10 METER SETTINGS CONT Relative Water Content Set Points Up to 2 Relative Water Content see p 14 modes can be programmed into the meter by entering the wet and dry set points into the appropriate boxes From the dropdown menus near the bottom of the screen select which VWC cali bration Standard or High Clay should be used for each RWC mode Each of these modes can be given a descriptive name of 5 characters These names can be used to identify a certain field or soil type Finally for an RWC mode to be available it must be enabled by checking the Enable Display box If this box is not checked that RWC mode will not appear on the LCD during meter operation 11 VOLUMETRIC WATER CONTENT MEASUREMENTS The volumetric water content VWC is the ratio of the volume of water in a given volume of soil to the total soil volume At saturation the volumetric water content expressed as a percentage will equal the percent pore space of the soil The underlying principal of TDR involves measuring the travel time of an electromagnetic wave along a waveguide The speed of the wave in soil is dependent on the bulk dielectric permittivity e of the soil matrix The fact that water e 80 has a much greater dielectric con stant than air e 1 or soil solids 3 7 is exploited to determine the VWC of the soil The VWC measured by TDR is an average over the length of the wave
8. guide Electronics in the TDR 300 generate and sense the return of a high energy signal that travels down and back through the soil along the waveguide composed of the two replaceable stainless steel rods The sampling vol ume is an elliptical cylinder that extends approximately 3 cm out from the rods The high frequency signal informa tion is then converted to volumetric water content How ever high amounts of clay and high electrical conductivity EC22 dS m will attenuate the high frequency signal and affect the reading displayed by the meter Very high or ganic matter content will similarly affect the VWC read ing When taking a measurement it is important that the rods be fully inserted into the soil If not part of the sampling volume will be composed of air and the reading will be 12 inaccurately low For the same reason the probe should be inserted with a steady downward pressure If the rods are wiggled into the soil air pockets can be created adja cent to the rods that will result in low readings The probe should not be struck with a hammer or other blunt instru ment as this can cause damage to the internal electronics Also care should be taken to ensure the rods are inserted as parallel to one another as possible This will not have a large affect on the reading but will decrease the chances the rods will be bent or broken Likewise it is best to avoid areas with rocks or other material that can cause the rods
9. logies Inc 12360 S Industrial Dr East Plainfield IL 60585 800 248 8873 or 815 436 4440 FAX 815 436 4460 E Mail info specmeters com WWW specmeters com
10. n between taking VWC readings in standard and high clay mode Through the software the user can program relative water content modes for multiple sites SPECIFICATIONS Measurement Units Resolution Accuracy Range Power Display Weight Probe Head Dimensions Rod Dimensions Percent volumetric water content 0 1 3 0 volumetric water content with electrical conductivity lt 2 dS m 0 to saturation Saturation is typically around 50 volumetric water 4 AAA alkaline batteries Approximately 12 month life 16 character 2 line LCD Model 100 1 5 Ibs 0 68 kg Model 200 3 0 Ibs 1 36 kg 3 1 x 3 x 1 7 8cm x 7 5cm x 2 5cm Length 3 7 6cm 4 7 12cm or 7 9 20cm Diameter 0 2 0 5cm Spacing 1 3 3 3cm The meter s LCD screen will display the data in one of three modes see Meter Operation p 9 1 Volumetric water content in Standard or High Clay mode 2 Relative water content up to 2 RWC modes can be established 3 Measurement period in microseconds IDENTIFYING THE CORRECT COM PORT Port Selection The computer Default Port p frnected canbe aaa E E DU Communications Port Coni on the Test Port button If the message oum pomen coim to which the PC 3 5 ne rial cable 2 E O Com God p saree musei teer serial cable is O Cons ee Cons M connected can be pii e MN identified by using a pape
11. r an RWC greater than 100 If the volumetric water contents for field capacity and permanent wilting point are the wet and dry set points respec tively the RWC value will be equivalent to Plant Available Water PAW A general rule of thumb is to recommend irri gation when the soil has reached 50 of the PAW Also included on the first line is the Water Deficit The Water Deficit is the amount of rain or irrigation water necessary to raise the soil water content to the wet set point This calculation applies to a soil depth equal to the probe rod length The water deficit can be extrapolated further into the profile if the porosity and water holding characteristics are similar to the volume of soil sampled by the probe The second line of the LCD gives the Average A of all readings taken the Number N of readings taken and the 5 symbol name given to this soil type in the Meter Settings screen see p 10 14 APPENDIX 1 TIME ZONE CORRECTIONS Time Zone Correction 0 3 4 5 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 City Dublin Lisbon London Rio de Janeiro Montevideo Asuncion Atlanta Indianapolis New York Ottawa Bogota Montreal Toronto Guatemala City Houston New Orleans Chicago Mexico City Winnipeg Phoenix Denver Edmonton San Francisco Los Angeles Vancouver Anchorage Honolulu Wellington Adelaide Melbourne Sydney Vladivostok Brisbane Seoul Tokyo Beijing Hong Kong M
12. r clip Test Port Now Cancel 1 Disconnect the serial cable from the meter 2 To bring up the Port Selection screen click on the Com Port Button select the com port to be tested and click the Port Test button Click the Test Port Now button If the message Connection OK is displayed another device such as a modem is probably connected to that port If the message No Connection is displayed this port may be the one connected to your serial cable and you can proceed to the next step 3 Place a paperclip on the end of the serial pin so that it touches both the tip of the pin and the metal area between the two black rings Again click on the Test Port Now button If the message Connection OK now appears this is the com port connected to your serial cable paper clip or Wire gt il NOTE The meter does not short circuit the serial pin Therefore when the Test Port Now button is clicked while the meter is connected the No Connection message will be displayed CONNECTING TO A COMPUTER CHANGING THE BATTERIES The data port is accessed by removing the face plate of the digital display It is through this port that the meter 1s connected to a PC Connecting to a PC The TDR meter software comes with a gray PC interface cable This cable connects to the 9 pin serial port of your computer and to the meter s computer port The meter s configuration can be modified b
13. the Battery at 8596 Stndrd VWC956 27 1 Firmware V5 0 PL M N008 A 26 5 Sample meter power up Period 0950 uS and data screens N015 most recently used MODE screen Volumetric or Relative water content or measurement period The data screens for the Water Content Modes are ex plained on pages 12 and 14 The Period mode is used for doing soil specific calibrations and is explained on page 16 Press the READ button to read the probe and update the screen values The data READ point can be cleared from memory with the DELETE CLR AVG button below When the DELETE CLR AVG but ton is pressed and immediately re leased the last data point will be re moved from the running average Pressing and holding this button will reset the running average METER OPERATION CONT Pressing the MODE button allows the user to determine the type of measure MODE ment that will be taken or select the length of rods connected to the probe Data Measurement Modes Available measurement options are volumetric water content VWC using the standard or high clay mode see p 12 up to two relative water content modes see p 14 or measurement period in microseconds Relative water content options will only appear if they are configured in the software see Meter Settings p 10 The period measurement is available for users in terested in performing soil specific calibrations see Appendix 2 Changing Rod Length ROD MED 4
14. y clicking on the Meter Settings button see Meter Settings p 10 The Com Port Meter Type and Clear Meter Settings buttons are explained in the Main Toolbar section p 7 Spectrum Technologies C Lx File Logger Help f 2 Meter Type Down Load Clear Memory Meter Settings Changing the batteries The battery compartment is accessed by removing the me ter s face plate MAIN TOOLBAR Spectrum Technologies L 5 x File Logger Help a yi Po E Meter Type Down Load Clear Memory Meter Settings M MM S FIELDSG Com Port The gray software cable connects p Default Pot the meter to the computer data com port Select the Com Port that is Com2 Port Test assigned to the computer data Cem port See Identifying the Correct nae Cancel Com Port p 5 for instructions 6 cong on how to determine which port com to select O Come Meter Type Select the TDR option from the list of available Field Scout meters TCM 500 RGB Type yi es Meter Settings nibii Click this button to configure the pH 100 Meter meter and data logger Refer to HEUTE Meter Settings p 10 for more details Download and Clear Memory These functions are not active with models 100 and 200 METER OPERATION The ON switch turns the meter on and off When the meter is turned on it will display the battery status for 3 sec onds The screen will then display

Spectrum

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents