Decagon Devices ProCheck User manual

ProCheck
Operator’s Manual
Version 5
Decagon Devices, Inc.

Decagon Devices, Inc.
2365 NE Hopkins Court
Pullman WA 99163
[phone]
fax: [phone]
www.decagon.com
[email protected]
Trademarks
ProCheck is a registered trademark of
Decagon Devices, Inc.
© 2007-2010 Decagon Devices, Inc.

i
Contents
1. Introduction .................................... 1
Customer Service &Tech Support................. 1
Contact Information..................................... 1
Warranty ...................................................... 1
Repair Instructions ....................................... 2
Repair Costs ................................................. 2
Seller’s Liability............................................. 3
2. About the ProCheck ........................ 4
Specifications................................................ 4
Components ................................................. 4
3. e Buttons ..................................... 5
4. e Menus ....................................... 6
e Main Menu ........................................... 6
e Config Menu ......................................... 8
e Data Menu ...........................................17
Downloading Data ......................................19
Erasing Data Memory................................. 20
5. ECH2O Utility Software ................21
Connecting to your ProCheck .................... 22
More ECH2O Utility Options.................... 26
6. Troubleshooting ............................ 28
Troubleshooting ECH2O Utility................. 30
Troubleshooting Data Issues ........................31

ii
Appendix A: Compatible Sensors .......33
Appendix B: Sending Feedback ......... 36
ProCheck CE Compliance................. 38

ProCheck
1. Introduction
1
1. Introduction
ank you for purchasing Decagon Devices’ ProCheck.
e ProCheck is a device used to interface with your analog
and digital soil moisture sensors and obtain instantaneous
results. is manual will help you understand the functions
of and get the most out of your ProCheck device.
Customer Service &Tech Support
When contacting us via fax or E-mail, include your
ProCheck serial number and firmware version, name, ad-
dress, phone numbers, and a description of your problem.
Contact Information
PHONE:
United States/Canada (Toll Free) 1-800-755-2751.
Outside of the U.S./Canada: 1-509-332-2756.
FAX: [phone]
E-Mail: [email protected]
You can also send feedback to Decagon using ECH2O Util-
ity “Send Feedback to Decagon” feature. See Appendix B
for more information.
Warranty
e ProCheck is covered by a standard, one-year warranty
on parts and labor, and is activated upon the arrival of the
instrument at your location.

ProCheck
1. Introduction
2
Repair Instructions
If your ProCheck should ever require a repair, call Decagon
at (509)-332-2756 or 1-800-755-2751 (United States and
Canada). We will ask you for your address, phone number,
and your ProCheck serial number. For non-warranty re-
pairs, we will also ask for your method of payment.
Before shipping your instrument to Decagon, please
contact Decagon to obtain a Return Merchandise Au-
thorization number (RMA). is will allow Decagon’s re-
pair staff to keep track of your ProCheck. Once you have
acquired an RMA, send your ProCheck to Decagon. Please
include a document listing the complete shipping address,
name, and department of the person responsible for the
instrument, as well as a description of the problem. is
will better help our technicians and shipping department
to expedite repair on your ProCheck, and ship it back to
you.
Please pack your ProCheck carefully. Ship it back in the
carrying case, preferably inside a cardboard box. Ship to:
Decagon Devices, Inc.
2365 NE Hopkins Court
Pullman, WA 99163
Repair Costs
Manufacturer’s defects and instruments under warranty
will be repaired at no cost. For non-warranty repairs, costs
for parts, labor, and shipping will be billed to you.

ProCheck
1. Introduction
3
Seller’s Liability
Seller warrants new equipment of its own manufacture
against defective workmanship and materials for a period
of one year from the date of receipt of equipment (the re-
sults of ordinary wear and tear, neglect, misuse, accident
and excessive deterioration due to corrosion from any cause
are not considered to be a defect); but Seller’s liability for
defective parts shall, in no event, exceed the furnishing of
replacement parts f.o.b. the factory where originally manu-
factured. Material and equipment covered hereby which is
not manufactured by the Seller shall be covered only by
the warranty of its manufacturer. Seller shall not be liable
to Buyer for loss, damage, or injury to persons (including
death), or to property or things of whatsoever kind (includ-
ing, but not without limitation, loss of anticipated profits),
occasioned by or arising out of the installation, operation,
use, misuse, non-use, repair, or replacement of said mate-
rial and equipment, or out of the use of any method or pro-
cess for which the same may be employed. e use of this
equipment constitute’s Buyer’s acceptance of the terms set
forth in this warranty. ere are no understandings, rep-
resentations, or warranties of any kind, express, implied,
statutory, or otherwise, (including, but not without limita-
tion, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness
for a particular purpose), not expressly set forth herein.

ProCheck
2. About the ProCheck
4
2. About the ProCheck
The ProCheck is a hand-held readout device designed
for use with all soil moisture sensors and environ-
mental monitoring sensors made or sold by Decagon.
Specications
Accuracy: Determined by the sensor being used
Battery Type: 4 AA
Battery Life: 500-1000 Hours Expected
Connector Type: Stereo Plug (3.5mm)
Memory: 5000 individual readings
Components
 •ProCheckHand-heldreader
 •SerialCable
 •Manual
Optional - Pigtail adapter

ProCheck
3. The Buttons
5
3. The Buttons
MENU is used to turn on the
ProCheck and cycle through the
menus at the top of the screen. Hold-
ing MENU down for 3 seconds will
turn the power off. Pressing MENU
in an annotation/edit screen will re-
turn to the previous screen.
SAVE is used to save setting changes
to the instrument and annotate read-
ings.
ENTER is used to choose options
within menus, start readings, and
scroll to the right in an annotation/
edit menu.
ESC is used to cancel setting chang-
es, cancel readings, and scroll to the
left in an annotation/edit menu.
The UP and DOWN arrows are used
to scroll through sensors and menu
options, as well as change charac-
ters and numbers in the annotate/edit
menus.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
6
4. The Menus
The Main Menu
The ProCheck features three main menus designed for
ease of use. The ProCheck displays the Main Menu
whenrstpoweredon.Thismenuisusedfortakingthe
measurements with Decagon’s sensors.
Changing Your Sensor
You can change your sensor type by pressing the up and
down arrow keys if the sensor list spinner is available.
NOTE: You can customize the sensor units and calibrations in the Con-
fig. Menu. e sensor version is only shown if the ProCheck was able
to retrieve sensor information directly from the sensor. A soil calibration
type is displayed only if it is available for that sensor type.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
7
Taking a Reading
To take a reading, scroll through the sensor list until you
nd the sensor type you want to read. Plug the sensor
into the stereo jack on the top of the ProCheck.
Press ENTER to start the live update mode. A live up-
dating icon is displayed in the lower right corner. The
ProCheck will continuously update the screen with the
latest sensor reading. Press ENTER again to restart the
sensor. Press ESC to exit the live update mode. Press
SAVE to save the current reading on the display. From
the save screen you may annotate your reading.
Annotating a Reading
Once you have taken a reading, press SAVE to show the
annotation screen. The left side of the screen shows a
reading summary and the right side of the screen shows
theannotationeldaswellasthedateandtimetheread-
ing was taken.
Use the up and down arrow keys to change the current
character and use the left and right arrows to change the
cursor position. Press SAVE to save the annotation and
MENU to return to the main screen without saving the
record.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
8
NOTE: e ProCheck will remember the last annotation
stored into memory. You can clear all or part of an old annota-
tion by pressing the up or down arrow key. is will clear all
the characters to the right of the current cursor position.
The Cong Menu
TonavigatetotheCongMenu,pressMENUuntilthe
Congtab ishighlighted.Several different optionsare
available for customizing the instrument.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
9
Units Sub Menu
From this menu you can configure your unit preferences
for various unit types.
Use the up and down arrows to navigate to the unit you
would like to change and press ENTER to cycle through
the different types.
e “Show Unprocessed Data” option allows you to view
any formatted data in its raw analog to digital count (ADC)
state instead. When this option is checked, all data read-
ings on the main and data screens are displayed in an un-
processed format as seen on the following screen. is can
be helpful when troubleshooting sensors or when creating
your own custom calibration. To save your changes, press
SAVE. To cancel without saving, press ESC.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
10
Calibration Type Sub Menu
Some sensors support a calibration adjustment for dif-
ferent media types (soil, rockwool, etc.). e first screen
shows a summary of the selected soil calibrations for each
configurable sensor.
To modify a sensor’s calibration type, press ENTER. You
can choose a preset soil calibration type or create your
own (See creating a Custom Calibration). To change the
soil calibration type, press ENTER when the medium op-
tion is selected. You can view the calibration coefficients
by pressing ENTER when the coefficients option is high-
lighted. Press SAVE to save your calibration preference or
press ESC to exit without saving changes.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
11
Below is a list of sensors that support soil calibrations.
Sensor Name Supported Medium Calibrations
EC-20 Soil Moisture Mineral, Custom
EC-10 Soil Moisture Mineral, Custom
10 HS Soil Moisture Mineral, Custom
EC-5 Soil Moisture Mineral, Potting, Rockwool, Perlite, Custom
ECH2O-TE Moisture,
Temp, EC
Mineral, Potting, Rockwool, Perlite, Custom
EC-TM Moisture, Temp Mineral, Potting, Rockwool, Perlite, Custom
5TE Moisture, Temp, EC Mineral, Potting, Rockwool, Perlite, Custom
5TM Moisture, Temp Mineral, Potting, Rockwool, Perlite, Custom
NOTE: With the 5TE 5TM sensors (only), custum calibra-
tion equations must be constructed with ea(dielectric per-
mittivity) as the ‘x’ variable. With the ProCheck and other
Decagon data acquisition equipment, ea = Raw/50. With
other data acquisition equipment, if read in SDI-12 mode,
ea = Raw/100.
Creating a Custom Calibration
You can create your own custom calibration for certain sen-
sor types. A custom calibration is applied directly to the

ProCheck
4. The Menus
12
raw analog to digital count (ADC) in the form of a fifth
order polynomial. For more information on creating a cus-
tom calibration, please refer to the literature section of our
website at www.decagon.com for an Application Note.
NOTE: Custom calibrations are in terms of m3/m3. Unit
conversions are applied after the custom calibration is applied.
Entering a Custom Calibration
To enter your custom calibration into the ProCheck, navi-
gate to the Calibration Type sub menu (in the Config
Menu) and select a sensor. Press ENTER until the medium
type says Custom. en press ENTER on the coefficient
option to get to a summary screen like the one below.
Each coefficient corresponds to a letter in the polynomial
above. Below the polynomial is the value of each coefficient
in scientific notation. To edit a coefficient, press ENTER
when the desired coefficient is highlighted. You will see a
screen like the one below.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
13
Use the up and down arrow keys to change the current
value, use the left and right arrow keys to change the cur-
sor position. Press SAVE to save the coefficient and MENU
to return to the coefficient list without changing the coef-
ficient.
Once you’ve changed all of the coefficients, press SAVE
again to save the custom calibration or ESC to return to
the Calibration Type sub menu without saving the calibra-
tion.
Sensor List Sub Menu
You can customize which sensors you would like available
on your main screen here.
Navigate through the sensor list using the up and down ar-
rows. To change the status of a sensor, highlight it and press

ProCheck
4. The Menus
14
ENTER. If the sensor name is checked, it will be included
in the list on the main screen. If it is unchecked it will
be excluded. You can use the “Check All” or “Un-check
All” options to enable/disable all the sensors at once. Press
SAVE to save your changes or press ESC to exit without
saving.
SDI-12 Address Menu
Intro to SDI-12
SDI-12 stands for serial data interface at 1200 baud. is
standard was created to interface battery powered data
recorders (loggers) with micro-processor based (intelli-
gent) sensors designed for environmental data acquisition
(EDA). Please see www.sdi-12.org for more information
on using SDI-12.
Decagon’s digital soil moisture sensors communicate us-
ing both the SDI-12 standard and Decagons proprietary
protocol. is SDI-12 feature is not necessary when using
Decagon sensors with Decagon data loggers. But, SDI-12
may be useful if you are using the sensors with other third
party data acquisition systems such as Campbell Scientific
data loggers.
One feature of the SDI-12 protocol is the use of a single
charactor sensor address. is character may consist of “0”
(default) to 1-9, a-z, or A-Z. is address is necessary when
multiple sensors are installed at a single site. is is impor-
tant because you will need to assign each sensor a different
address thus allowing you to keep their data separate.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
15
Setting SDI-12 addresses
e ProCheck may be used to conveniently assign SDI-12
addresses to the Decagon digital sensor. To assign the ad-
dresses, follow the instructions below:
Use the pigtail adaptor to connect a SDI-12 compat-1.
ible sensor the the ProCheck’s stereo jack.
In the CONFIG menu, select SDI-12 Address. Once2.
selected the following screen will appear. e screen
will refresh with the sensor’s current configuration.
Press the up and down arrows to select the new ad-3.
dress from “0” (default) to 1-9, a-z, or A-Z.
Press ENTER or SAVE to accept new address. Screen4.
will refresh showing new address setting.
Press ESC or MENU to exit the SDI-12 Address Sub5.
Menu.
Note: If you plan on setting addresses on multiple sensors,
repeat the steps 1 through 4 before proceeding to step 5.

ProCheck
4. The Menus
16
Date and Time Sub Menu
To set the date/time on the instrument you can connect
to ECH2O Utility and select the “Set Date/Time” option
under the actions menu, or you can follow the instruc-
tions below to manually update the date and time:
Scroll to the Date Option in the Config Menu and1.
press ENTER. You should see a screen similar to the
one above. A pair of arrows will be present above and
below the first value.
Use the up and down arrow keys to change the current2.
value. Press ENTER to move to the next value or press
ESC to return to the previous value. (Hold down the
up/down arrows to scroll quickly).
Press3. SAVE to save your changes.
Contrast Sub Menu
is menu allows you to alter the screen lighting contrast
settings. Scroll to the contrast option in the Config Menu
press ENTER.