Acclima SDI-12 User manual

SDI-12
Sensor Reader
User Guide
Introducing Waveform Capture

Connecting a Sensor.....................................................Page 1
Powering the Reader On or Off ....................................Page 2
GPS and Time Settings.................................................Page 2
Navigating back to the Home Screen............................Page 3
Sensor Reading Configuration..................................... Page 3
Sensor Identification ...............................................Pages 3, 4
Reader Sleep Time Configuration.................................Page 4
Reader Time Format Selection..................................... Page 4
Reading the Sensor.................................................Pages 4, 5
Viewing a Reading's Waveform.....................................Page 5
Viewing Statistics of the Current Data Set.....................Page 5
Beginning a New Set of Readings.................................Page 5
Setting Soil Water Content Threshold Warnings........... Page 6
General Soil Type Selection.......................................... Page 7
Water Content Scale......................................................Page 7
Data Output Options......................................................Page 8
Erasing Data Logs.........................................................Page 8
Erasing Logs and Configuration Options...................... Page 8
Setting Up A Data Tag for Associating Readings...........Page 8
Supplied 32GB Thumb Drive Micro & Standard USB....Page 9
Retrieving and Shuttling Your Data................................Page 9
Upgrading the Reader Firmware...................................Page 9
Icon Tray Legend...........................................................Page 10
Charging the Reader Battery......................................... Page10
Acclima Contact Information..........................................Page10
Contents

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True TDR-315L
VWC-Temp-BEC Sensor with
Model # ACC-TDR-315L
Note: Only Acclima sensors
with WAVEFORM CAPTURE
labeling will be able to pro-
vide waveform data.
Male M-12 Connector On Cable
Female M-12 Connection
Page 1
Plug the the keyed male M-12
connector on the end of the
sensor cable into the M-12 port
on the Acclima Sensor Reader.
Tighten the lock nut by
turning it clockwise until it is
finger-tight.
1. Connecting a Sensor

3. GPS and Time Settings
To turn on the GPS radio, if
you are on the 'Home' screen
you will see a menu of selec-
tions above the blue and
white-striped membrane
buttons. Press (and release)
the soft button under 'Radio'.
Another screen will appear
with one menu option 'GPS
On'. Press the same but-
ton to turn the GPS Radio
on. Subsequently, you will
see a stop-watch counter
run as the Reader synch-
ronizes with GPS satellites
overhead. (The time on your
reader will be updated by the
satellites, but you may need
go to the 'Home' screen,
choose 'Settings', then choose
'Set time' to change your time
zone). It usually takes
10 - 15 seconds to sync-up and
and acquire the signal.
This may vary depending on
your geographic location and other factors such as dense
cloud cover and/or tall obstructions such as buildings and
trees with dense foliage. Try to have a direct line-of-sight
to the sky from horizon to horizon when turning on the
GPS Radio. If a clear line-of-sight from horizon to horizon
isn't available try to find an area with a lot of viewable sky.
2. Powering the Reader On or Off
You can turn the Reader on or off at any time by pressing
the red power button. Note that whenever you press
any button, do so firmly, then release.
Page 2

To return to the 'Home' screen
at anytime you simply need to
press the blue 'Home' button
as shown below and the screen
on the left will appear .
Once the Reader has synced
up with the GPS satellite sys-
tem, you will see the GPS
coordinates and an estimated
accuracy (given in meters).
It's also here on this screen
that you are able to turn off
the GPS Radio by pressing the
menu button under 'GPS Off'.
When the GPS contacts the
satellite system the time on
the Reader will also sync.
4. General Setup
To ensure that your sensor is
properly connected to the
Reader, press the 'Sensor'
button on the 'Home' screen
and then the 'Detect' button
on the subsequent 'Sensor
Setup' screen. An address,
model, and serial number
should be detected and show
on the screen.
Page 3

5. Reading the sensor
Any time you want to take a
sensor reading, press the green
'Read Sensor' button and the
screen on the left will appear.
The length of the sensor wave-
guide rods, the hardware and
firmware versions will also be
displayed.
When you press the 'Settings'
button on the 'Home' screen,
the screen to the left will
appear. You can configure the
sleep or power down time
settings by toggling the 'Sleep'
button through eight different
options. One of the options
is to disable sleep mode.
Toggle the '12/24 Hr' button
for one of those two prefer-
ences. For setting the time
refer back to page 2.
Page 4

When you are on the 'Sensor
Reading' screen, you can gen-
erate a waveform of the latest
reading by pressing the button
on the right, 'Show Waveform'.
A waveform will be presented
within about five seconds.
(See waveform graph: center-
left.) To return to the 'Reading'
view, just press the 'Show
Reading' button.
To look at the statistics, press
the 'Stats' button.
To show the last reading, press
'Show Reading' from the menu.
If you select the 'Stats' button
notice that it will display the
number of readings from
which the averages, maxi-
mums and minimums are
taken.
To disregard previous
readings and begin a new set
you will need to press the
'Clear' button.
Note: If you are on any four of the
'Sensor Reading', 'Waveform',
'Reading Statistics', or 'Reading
Analysis' screens, pressing the
'Read Sensor' button will refresh
that particular screen with the
newest data taken into account.
Page 5

The 'Sensor Reading' screen
presents the volumetric water
content as a percentage,
soil temperature in Celsius
(will only be accurate if sensor
is in subsurface soil for several
hours or longer), permittivity,
and bulk electrical conductivity
in μS per centimeter.
If you press the 'Analysis' button
6. Water Thresholds
you will be presented with
the 'Reading Analysis' screen
which can be useful for indi-
cating the fill level of the
soil's field capacity (FC). To be
accurate you must push the
'Thresholds' button and
select the proper settings for
the soil you are reading. This
includes selecting the closest
soil type which will automat-
ically set an approximate
field capacity, managed
allowable depletion (MAD),
and the range between the
MAD and FC.
All of these settings can be
manually overridden and
edited by pressing each
respective 'Change' button.
For instance, to change the
default field capacity, press
the 'Change FC' button for a
screen and controls that
allow you to adjust it up or
down at your discretion.
Page 6

(FieldCapacity)
OptimumWater&OxygenContent
Allwaterisheldinplacebysoilparticles
(SaturationorOver-saturation)
Waterpercolatesdownandiswasted
takingvaluablenutrientswithit.
(ManagedAllowableDepletion-MAD)
StressArea
(PermanentWiltPoint)
PlantDeath
IncreasingSoilWaterContent
Note that if you select 'loamy
sand' as depicted on the left,
your default field capacity is
set to 15 % VWC which can
be edited and overridden by
selecting 'Change FC' as
shown in the preceding menu
control illustration.
This wetness scale gives a
depiction of the important
stages of soil water content
starting with saturation at the
top where soil water content
exceeds the surface tension of
the soil particles driving the
water down into the subsoil
washing away critical nutri-
ents with it and potentially
rotting the roots. Field
capacity is the ideal
soil water content that allows
moisture, nutrients, and
oxygen to stay around the
roots. The Managed Allowable
Depletion level is the lowest
that soil moistue can go with-
out permanently harming or
killing the plant.
The customized 'Allowed
depletion limit' can be set
to a chosen value using the
keys to the left if desired.
Page 7

7. Data Options
The screen on the left is ac-
cessed by pressing the 'Data'
button on the 'Home Screen'.
It provides you with the mem-
ory usage information (must
be at least 1% to show up).
You can select your preferred
'Data Output' by pressing
that button and toggling
through 'CSV''only, 'CSV and
binary', or just 'binary'. This
data will then be able to be
transferred to your micro-USB
drive in the preferred format
when it is plugged into the
Reader.
The 'Erase Logs' button allows
you to erase all log data, but
requires you to confirm by
pressing a 'YES' or 'NO' button.
Similarly, the 'Erase All' en-
ables you to erase all log and
configuration data, also with a
confirmation of 'YES' or 'NO'.
On the 'Data' screen (top-left)
you can access the 'Data Tag'
screen to by pressing 'Tag'.
The 'Data Tag' screen gives
you control to group your read-
ings with a specified identifica-
tion number. Once a number
has been selected all subse-
quent readings will be assoc-
iated with that number which
will show up in your exported
data.
Page 8