User's Manual

3 4
BASE STATION INSTALLATION
The Base Station is generally located near the irrigation control panel.
The Base Station is powered by two incoming 12VDC power sources.
These two separate power sources are used to determine when power
is applied to the irrigation system. Therefore, one power source should
provide power only when the irrigation system is running. This power
source is considered the MAIN power and should be connected as such.
The other power source should provide power continuously and should
be connected as the AUXILLARY power. Do not connect power until all
other connections are made and antennas have been installed.
Find a suitable location for the Base Station and mount it. If it is mount-
ed on the front of a metal electrical panel, the magnets and bracket on
the back of the Base Station can be used to secure it to the panel door.
Once the Base Station is placed in the correct location, proceed with the
following installation steps:
RH POD INSTALLATION
The RH Pod should be located within 8-10 feet of the Base Station in an
area of the field that is similar to the crop environment. If the RH Pod
is located too close to any concrete or bare area of the field, the local
ambient temperature in such an area will be higher than the ambient
temperature in the field. This temperature difference will not provide an
accurate picture of the field condition and should be avoided.
The RH Pod should be mounted on a metal fence post similar to that
used with the Field Sensor. It should be located above the crop canopy,
at a height of at lease 4 feet above the ground.
The RH Pod is supplied with a cable that is similar to a phone cable. This
cable plugs into the RH Pod on the bottom side. The other end of the
cable connects to the circuit board of the Base Station. The cable should
be fastened to the RH Pod bracket to provide protection for the cable.
RAIN GAUGE INSTALLATION
The rain gauge comes installed on the rain gauge bracket. This bracket is
designed to be installed either onto the pivot tower or onto another struc-
ture in the field. The surface of the bracket where the rain gauge sits must
be level for the rain gauge to work correctly. Once the rain gauge bracket
is mounted, use a small level to assure that the bracket is level. The rain
gauge should be approximately 6 to 8 feet above the ground.
The rain gauge has a cable that should be fastened to the bracket and to
various locations along its path to the Base Station so that the cable is pro-
tected. The cable connects to the bottom of the Base Station circuit board.
FIELD SENSOR ANTENNA INSTALLATION
The Field Sensor antenna has a magnetic base. It must have a clear line
of sight to the Field Sensors. Ideally it should be located on the rain
gauge bracket, but it can be located on any metal surface that is the
correct height off the ground. The less optimum the placement of the
Field Sensor antenna, the less range the Field Sensors will have. If the
Base Station is not receiving a signal from some of the Field Sensors,
relocating the Field Sensor antenna to a more optimum location is the
best approach to improve range.
The Field Sensor antenna connects to a small circuit board near the top
right corner of the Base Station.
CELL MODEM ANTENNA INSTALLATION
The Cell Modem antenna also has a magnetic mount. Care must be
taken that the antennas are connected to the proper locations in the Base
Station. The system will not be harmed by incorrect connection, but the
system will not work if the antennas are connected backwards. Place the
Cell Modem antenna on a section of metal, but DO NOT place it on the
rain gauge bracket if the Field Sensor antenna has already been mounted
there. If you know where the closest cell phone tower is, place the antenna
is a location that will provide the best line of sight path with no metal struc-
tures in the way. The cell phone antenna should be place on top of a local
structure, with the antenna pointing vertical. It should NOT be located
between the Sensors and the system antenna. It should be placed away
from the system antenna by a minimum distance of five feet. If the Base
Station is not receiving transmissions from the Sensors, the cellular modem
antenna should be disconnected for a one hour. If the Sensor transmissions
are received by the Base Station then the cellular antenna should be relo-
cated further away from the system antenna and then reconnected.
RAINALERT CONNECTION INSTALLATION
If a RainAlert product was provided with your system, please see the
instructions that came with the RainAlert product for installation to the
irrigation system. When used with a SmartCrop® system, the Hunter
Mini-Klik rain switch is replaced with a connection to the SmartCrop®
Base Station. The Base Station uses information from the rain gauge to
determine when to send a signal to the RainAlert.