English - AgroStrat
Contents
1. Field Equipment for Measuring Electrical Conductivity Humidity and pH of Soil User Manual All T NN x FORTH BY crit ie institute for Mediterranean Studies M pee This instrument is designed for measuring the soil s electrical conductivity humidity temperature and pH It provides a fast simple and accurate way for measuring those most critical soil characteristics The electrical conductivity of the soil depends on the salinity temperature and humidity values In case where the soil is completely dry the instrument shows no electrical conductivity The measurement values are stored in an SD card These values are stored along with the coordinates of the point where the measurements took place taken by the instrument s integrated GPS Description The instrument is consisted of the sensor parts 1 to 8 which the user should dig into the soil external sensors for electrical conductivity a and pH b the data logging system 10 and the handle bars 9 Figure 1 Figure 1 Field equipment parts Methodology The measurement of electrical conductivity and pH is achieved through soil sampling using conductivity a and pH b sensors For accurate measurements the soil sample needs to be placed in two different containers Conductivity sensor needs to be submerged in the one container and pH sensor in the other The measurement of the soil humidity is achieved by calculating the dielectric co2. each measurement is stated below Connect the conductivity and pH sensors at the corresponding sockets located at front part of the device Turn the power switch ON Figure 2 14 The indicating lamp POWER ON should lighten Figure 3 amp e Wait until the lamp GPS FIX is lightened This 7 lamp indicates that the GPS is in full functional ee p l mode and is tracking the appropriate number i of satellites which are locked in order to e receive the location s coordinates If GPS FIX eus lamp does not lighten up you cannot continue to the next steps Every time you need to take measurements in a new region field you should press once the button New Site Figure 3 Push vertically the instrument holding it from http ec europa eu life the handlebars until all the metallic parts are submerged into the soil Figure 3 Instrument s control panel Place a soil sample from a depth of 20cm into the two containers Place deionized water into both containers of a ratio 5 1 e g 50ml of water and 10g of soil and stir until the soil completely dissolves 8 Remove the cap from the end of the pH sensor place the conductivity sensor in one of the containers and the pH sensor to the other After removing the cap from the pH probe clean the end of the sensor with a piece of paper 9 Wait about 30 seconds and then press the button 20cm The light indicato
3. gure 5b and insert it into the corresponding reader slot of the computer Figure 5 a Releasing and b pulling out the SD card When the copy process on the computer is finished you have to insert the card again in the device You must keep the card so that you can see the contacts Figure 6 gold plated terminals and push the card inside the connector of the device until you hear a click which means that the card is locked inside the slot Figure 6 SD card insertion back to the instrument
4. nstant of soil which is proportional to soil humidity The calculation of the dielectric constant derives from the measurement of the capacitance between electrodes 4 and 5 The temperature sensor is a thermistor and is located at point 8 of the instrument Charging the instrument In order to charge the instrument connect the charger to the receipt 11 of the device When the charger is connected the red 12 and the green 13 indicator will illuminate The green light indicates that the charger is connected correctly while the red that the battery is being charged When the red light turns off the battery is fully charged Figure 2 Figure 2 Instrument s charging components ATTENTION during the charging procedure the power switch 14 should be OFF Using the instrument Before each use of the instrument make sure of the following The All electrodes are clean Cleaning can be done by carefully wiping the sensor with a damp cloth The battery is fully charged The battery charging should be performed using the charger accessory The SD card is inserted in the slot located inside the lid at the backside of the instrument After each use and before storing the device you need to make sure that all sensors are clean Moreover during storage it is crucially that the end of the pH sensor Stays liquid This is achieved by placing the protective cap 3M of potassium chloride steps order that should be followed during
5. r BUSY should light up and shall remain lit for the all the measurement duration When the measurement is completed a characteristic sound shall be heard 10 Repeat steps 6 9 of the process with different soil samples in different containers for other soil depths e g for a depth 40cm or 60cm press the corresponding button At this point the measurement process is completed and the values set is stored to the SD Card If there is need of taking more measurements of different areas of the same site then step 4 10 of the above process have to be repeated without turning off the instrument If the device is switched off for any reason steps 1 2 must be repeated while when changing location area step 3 has to be repeated as well Logging of Measurements The measurement values are automatically stored in the SD card at a file named LiFE For using the measurements by the appropriate software on your personal computer you must first remove the SD card from the device and insert it in the card reader slot of your computer SD card handling In order to remove the SD card first remove the protective cap which is located at the rear of the device Then push the protective cap to the point with the arrow and pull it Figure 4 Figure 4 Instrument s protective cap removal After that gently push the SD card with your finger You will hear a click and the card will be released Figure 5a Then pull it back Fi
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