Platemeters F200 User manual

F200 and F300
Platemeter User
Manual

Thank you for choosing an F200 or F300
Platemeter.
The electronic rising platemeter provides farmers with an
easy, accurate and reliable way to measure and record
pasture health and share that information.
Further information about
assembling and using your platemeter contact us at:
Platemeters Limited, 275 Cameron Road, Tauranga 3110, New Zealand
Welcome ...
facebook.com/platemeters
www.platemeters.co.nz [email protected].nz 0800 577 505

F200 and F300 User Manual | 3
Contents
1 Assembling the Platemeter..................................................................... 5
1.1 Your Platemeter...................................................................................... 5
2 Platemeter Parts ............................................................................................ 6
3 Retrofitting the Platemeter Counter................................................ 7
4 Caring for your Platemeter..................................................................... 9
5 Battery Life and Charging....................................................................... 10
5.1 Recharging the battery.................................................................... 10
5.2 Replacing the battery........................................................................ 11
6 Calibrating your Platemeter.................................................................. 12
7 Things to do before you start your walk ....................................... 14
8 P-Plus Instalation............................................................................................ 14
8.1 Download Link......................................................................................... 14
8.1.1 Moving P-Plus and your farm data to a new
computer ......................................................................................... 15
8.1.2 How to Run P-Plus with the Pasture Cover
Module............................................................................................... 16
8.1.3 How to Licence P-Plus Software.................................... 16
8.1.4 Entering Your Licence Key ................................................. 17
8.1.5 Re – Licensing.............................................................................. 17
9 Operating the Electronic Counter..................................................... 18
9.1 F200 Front Display Buttons........................................................... 18
9.2 F300 Front Display Buttons .......................................................... 19
9.3 Startup / Self-test ................................................................................ 19
10 Current DairyNZ Equations.................................................................... 21
10.1 Entering Factory Default Formula........................................... 21
10.2 Entering Your Own Formula.......................................................... 22
10.2.1 F200 Entering Formula ....................................................... 22
10.2.2 F300 Entering Formula....................................................... 23
11 Using the Correct Measuring Technique ..................................... 24
12 Taking Paddock Readings or the Pasture Walk ..................... 26
12.1 F200 Pasture Walk ............................................................................... 26

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12.2 F300 Pasture Walk............................................................................... 27
12.2.1 View Saved Paddock Data ................................................ 29
12.2.2 Delete Single Paddock Data............................................ 29
13 FAQ’s and Trouble Shooting................................................................... 30
13.1 There is no visual display................................................................ 30
13.2 The counter does not “beep” when taking a reading. 30
13.3 Cog becoming worn .......................................................................... 31
13.4 The counter continuously beeps and eventually
turns off ........................................................................................................ 32
13.5 Cog not running freely ..................................................................... 32
13.6 Counter Readings do not seem accurate ........................ 32
13.7 Battery retainer falling out ........................................................... 33
13.8 Front panel or membrane problems .................................... 33
13.9 How do I change the formula? ................................................... 33
14 Servicing and Repairs ................................................................................ 34

F200 and F300 User Manual | 5
Upper Handle
Lower Handle
Grooved Rod
Electronic Counter
Slide Tube
Rising Plate
1 - Assembling the Platemeter
Your Platemeter will come pre-assembled and only requires
two steps to be ready for use:
1. Attach the lower handle to the grooved rod by screwing
the two parts together.
2. Attach the plastic plate to the bottom of the slide tube
by screwing to the thread at the base of the slide tube.
Note: Under no circumstances should you apply any type of oil, or
lubrication to the platemeter. It is a dry bearing system and any
lubricant may damage the platemeter and may void your warranty.
1.1 Your Platemeter

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Slide Tube
Electronic Counter
Bracket
and Screws
USB Charger
Cable
Rising Plate
Upper Handle Lower Handle Grooved Rod
Visit platemeters.co.nz/collections/parts-for-sale to purchase
replacement parts and contact us using the details at the
bottom of the page if your Platemeter requires servicing or
you’d like to send it to us for assessment.
2 - Platemeter Parts
The F200 and F300 Platemeters are designed with breakaway
components, meaning if damaged in an accident the parts
are cost effective and easy to replace and in most cases the
part can be replaced by the user.
If your Platemeter is damaged or you require a part, please
refer to the below diagram to identify the correct part. If you
need to replace or repair components for the potentiometer,
membrane or within the counter you’ll need to send your
Platemeter or the counter to us for assessment.

F200 and F300 User Manual | 7
3 - Retrofitting the Platemeter Counter
The Platemeters electronic counter can be attached to most
AgHub, Jenquip, Tru-Test, and FarmWorks and other manual
plate meters with little to or no modification. To purchase
retrofitting kits or counters and view our ‘How To’ instructional
videos visit www.platemeters.co.nz.
Follow the instructions below to attach your platemeter
counter. It must be correctly attached and aligned to ensure
smooth operation.
1. Remove all existing electronic counters from the shaft.
2. Check that a cog is attached to the small shank on the
back of the counter.
3. If the cog isn’t attached, heat the cog in a hot cup
of water prior to pressing onto the shaft - don’t use
excessive pressure as this may damage the cog.
4. Lay the counter face down on a flat surface so that the
cog is to your left.
5. Turn the cog on the counter anti-clockwise (to the left)
until it stops.
6. Hold the Platemeter with the handle to the left. The
hole in the slide tube where the cog fits should face
toward you.
7. Make sure the grooved rod is fully closed to the bottom
end of the black slide tube. If you have difficulty
keeping the plate closed, you can put tape around the
large washer and the bulb of the slide tube.
8. Place the slide tube with the grooved rod inserted onto
the back of the counter, fitting the cog into the slit of
the tube, the cog should be situated in the middle of
the hole in the slide tube.

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9. Place the plastic bracket onto the slide tube, aligning
the raised ridge in the bracket with the hole in the slide
tube and the screw holes on back of the counter.
10.Place a screw and washer in each side of the bracket
and half-tighten; making sure that the cog meets the
middle of the grooved rod and tighten the four screws.
11. Check the counter is correctly attached by turning
the grooved rod it to make sure it moves easily in
all positions. If it sticks then either the slide tube or
grooved rod may be damaged, bent or corroded and
may need replacing, or it’s not correctly aligned.
12. Attach the plastic plate by screwing on to the bulb of
the slide tube and place the Platemeter in an upright
position on a hard surface to check the plate closes
fully.

F200 and F300 User Manual | 9
4 - Caring for your Platemeter
Avoid getting the counter wet
The counter is in a robust case which is splash proof. However,
as it’s an electronic device avoid getting the counter saturated.
Immersion in water will result in the circuitry getting wet and
damaged, reducing the life of your Platemeter.
Keep the shaft clean
A build-up of dirt will affect the accuracy of the Platemeter
because the shaft will not run smoothly, and more force is
required to take a reading.
Clean the shaft with a poly pad or similar
Do not use lubricant as this will build up inside the black outer
shaft.
Power Off
Remember to check the counter is switched off between
cover walks, and ensure you turn the power off when you have
finished your walk. The switch is easily left on which will waste
the battery.

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5 - Battery Life and Charging
5.1 Recharging the battery
The Platemeter should always be switched OFF during
recharging.
The rechargeable battery should give years of service
before needing to be replaced. If it does need replacing,
the instructions on how to do this are in Replacing the
Rechargeable Battery section.
Attach the charger that was supplied with your Platemeter
to the small socket on the side of the counter and turn the
wall socket on. The battery will take 5 hours to recharge. No
damage will occur to the Platemeter if the charger is left on
beyond this time.
F200 - the display will show Ch and decimal points will scroll
along the bottom of the display, when charged the display will
show FULL. The battery is now charged.
F300 - the display will show - 300 this is time in minutes (5
hours). The display will count down to ‘0’, after which the
display will show FULL and the unit will give 3 beeps. The
battery is now charged.
CAUTION: Do not use any charger other than the one supplied with the
Platemeter. This will void the product warranty.

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5.2 Replacing the battery
The battery can be recharged hundreds of times, but
eventually the time between charges will shorten and if this
happens, a replacement battery should be fitted.
Before you replace the battery make sure the unit is switched
off.
- Remove the counter from the black tube and loosen the
screw in the middle of the counter back.
- Pull out the battery retainer clip from the bottom of the
counter.
- Remove the battery and gently remove the battery snap. To
avoid damage to the battery snap it is recommended you
use a screwdriver to flip off the battery clip as damage can
occur to the internal connections if grasped by fingers and
pulled off.
- Replace the battery with the same type and specification as
the one that came with your counter.
- Press the battery snap firmly onto the new battery and insert
back into the battery retainer.
- Replace the battery retainer into the counter taking care not
to catch the wires in the side wall of the counter.
- Tighten the central screw on the back and refit to the black
tube.
- Charge the battery for at least 16 hours before initial
use. Make sure the counter is re-calibrated before you
commence your next walk.
Alternatively, you can send the Platemeter us and we’ll supply
and replace the battery. Please contact us beforehand so we
can give you an estimated cost and instructions for packaging
the unit.

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6 - Calibrating your Platemeter
To ensure the Platemeter accurately measures the compressed
height of pasture, the counter must be calibrated. This
requires setting a base level of zero so measurements can be
benchmarked against this. If the counter does not return to
zero after each ‘plonk’ it will not record the measurement and
the counter won’t beep.
If the counter is removed from the black tube or receives
a severe knock it may jump a groove on the steel shaft,
which will put the counter out of calibration and it will need
to be recalibrated. You’ll need a small flat blade screwdriver
that will fit into the slot of the silver shaft at the back of the
counter.
How to calibrate:
- Ensure the unit is switched off plate is fully down on a
firm flat surface and the .
- Hold down the COUNT button
while switching the unit on. The
display will change to CAL briefly
and display a colon ‘:’ followed by a
number. Let’s assume you see ‘: 5’
when you switch on.
- The colon signifies that it is in fine
calibration mode.
- Use a flat blade screwdriver and
turn the silver shaft within the cog,
clockwise (looking at the display)
until the display reads ‘0’. NB: The
cog and steel shaft must remain
stationary.

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- Once the counter reads zero, move the counter up the
full length of the shaft The colon will disappear once
it passes 9 and enter ‘clicks’ mode. At full height the
display should read ‘50’, which is 50 half centimetres.
- The counter is now calibrated.
- Switch off when you have finished, and then back on
again without pressing any buttons.
Test the zero calibration by raising and lowering the plate
several times. A beep should sound and the kgDM/ha is
displayed on the LCD screen as the plate falls. If it doesn’t,
repeat the steps above and retest.
If the calibration fails to hold then check the black saddle is
screwed down firmly, and the platemeter doesn’t twist easily
on the steel shaft. Otherwise the potentiometer, which the cog
drives may be faulty and will need replacing. This can happen
with excessive wear and by dust and dirt getting into the dry
bearing of the potentiometer.
Important: Be careful not to over-wind the metal cog fitting and this can
damage the unit. Use a firm but gentle amount of force to wind the fitting
anti-clockwise.
For more information about calibrating your platemeter and
“How To” videos visit www.platemeters.co.nz.

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7 - Things to do before you start your walk
The F200 and F300 Platemeters can be used immediately out
of the box, but you P-Plus installed on your computer before
you need can enter or load data from your first walk.
If P-Plus is not installed, refer to the section below. When P-Plus
software is installed on your computer, you’ll need to setup your
farm by creating:
• aproperty
• paddocks
• equations
• denethewalkorder.
- Ensure you are not using the demonstration farm.
- Start Up / Self-Test – see section a.3.
- Enter or choose your equation. See Section 10.
8 - P-Plus Instalation
This section outlines the basic instructions for installing
P-Plus on your computer. For more detailed information about
using P-Plus, please visit our website www.platemeters.co.nz
Alternativly help can be found in P-Plus by pressing the F1 key
on your keyboard at any point. This will bring up help relative to
the P-Plus window you have open at the time.
8.1 Download Link
To download P-Plus visit:
platemeters.co.nz/pages/p-plus-pasture-software.
When you select the link, you will be taken to a drop box page
with a blue download button. Click the blue button and select
‘Direct Download’.

F200 and F300 User Manual | 15
You can see the status as it downloads, most likely on the
toolbar at the bottom of your screen (depending on how
your computer is set up) – pplus.exe.
If you select this once it is finished your screen may go
black with a message saying “Do you want to allow this
app from an unknown publisher to make changes to your
device?”. Select Yes.
You will then be taken through the installation setup,
including agreement to the Terms and Conditions.
Once this is done, you can access P-Plus from
the icon on your desktop.
8.1.1 Moving P-Plus and your farm data to a new computer
On the old computer
- You will need a USB memory stick to put the backup on.
- Backup your farm data. Go to Help and Backup for
details on how to do this.
- Browse to your USB memory stick so it becomes your
selected backup location.
- Backup your farm data.
On the new computer
- Install P-Plus and request a new licence by contacting us.
- Make a new farm with the same name as the old
computer
- Select Farm and Restore, Use the TOP browse only and
browse to the USB Memory stick
- Find the backup file
- Select the backup file and then select OK in Restore
- This will put your farm data into P-Plus
- Check the data is ok
- Wait for new licence key to arrive to activate your P-Plus
licence. This may take up to 48 hours.

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8.1.2 How to Run P-Plus with the Pasture Cover Module
Once the installation is complete, go to your desktop and
double click on your P-Plus Icon to start the program.
Alternatively, from the windows task bar click on the Start
menu, select All Programs then from the P-Plus Program
Group, select P-Plus.
On opening P-Plus the window in the image below will
appear. This is simply a warning window advising the
number of days left in the trial licence to evaluate your
P-Plus software.
8.1.3 How to Licence P-Plus Software
This screen will automatically appear after OK button is pressed
on the 30-day trial period screen.
This screen will disappear when you
have registered P-Plus correctly.
Please click on OK to close the screen.
If you are upgrading from a licenced
copy of P-Plus the warning window
may not appear.

F200 and F300 User Manual | 17
This is an older function of the software and no longer needs
to be filled out. Instead of completing this, please email info@
platemeters.co.nz with:
- Your Computer ID – this can be found on the first screen when
you open P-plus, or navigate to Help, About.
- The Platemeter ID – this is a code found on either the top of the
counter, or at the bottom, where the battery retainer is.
- Licence name – this is the name of the owner or purchaser of
the software licence.
- Farm Name
- Phone number
8.1.4 Entering Your Licence Key
Once the Licence Details have been received and processed by
Platemeters, a P-Plus Licence key will be emailed back to you with
some basic instructions on how to activate your licence.
8.1.5 Re – Licensing
P-Plus may need to be re-licensed on a replacement computer or
in the event of significant changes being made to your computer.
In either case P-Plus may become unlicensed.
This will require the generation and issue of a new licence file.
In this case contact Platemeters.

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9 - Operating the Electronic Counter
The Platemeter is switched On and Off using the toggle switch at
the back of the unit. Off is in the ‘up’ position. When the unit is off
there are no numbers displayed on the LCD screen.
9.1 F200 Front Display Buttons
The various functions of the F200 are accessed by the
two buttons on the front of the unit, labelled ‘Avg/Reset’
and ‘Count/Formula’. The wordings in bold type are the
primary functions. These are activated by a short press of
the button. The secondary functions ‘Reset’ and ‘Formula’
are activated by holding the button down until the
function operates.
When the unit is first switched on the display will show
the model number, the current formula in use and finally
the calculated kgDM/ha based on that formula, and any
readings in memory. Pressing the “Avg” button will briefly
display the Average pasture height.
This is often referred to as “clicks” (measured in 0.5cm)
and will be displayed to one decimal place (i.e. 0.0 or 12.4).
Note: 1 click= 0.5cm
The number of readings is displayed when ‘Count’ button is
pressed. The display will show a ‘c’ on the left side and the
count on the right. The display will return to normal after 2
seconds.
All readings can be cleared (reset) by holding down the “Reset” button
for approximately 2 seconds, then the display will change to “0”.

F200 and F300 User Manual | 19
9.2 F300 Front Display Buttons
The various functions of the F300 are accessed by the four
Buttons on the front of the unit labelled
- Disp/Enter
- Avg/Reset
- Count/Menu and the
- Up/Down arrow buttons
The wordings in bold type are the primary functions.
These are activated by a short press of the button. The
secondary functions in normal type are activated by
holding the button down until the function operates
- Disp/Enter - shows the current paddock number
selected (1 – 100).
- Up/Down arrows - used to scroll back and forth in some
options.
- Count - the number of readings is displayed. The
display will show a ‘c’ on the left side and the count on
the right. Holding the button down will take you to a
menu of other options described in sections 9 and 11.
- Avg/Reset - Pressing this button briefly for ‘Avg’ will
display the average height of your readings in clicks
(0.5cm). Holding it down for ‘Reset” will save the
average height to memory and reset all data ready for
the next paddock.
9.3 Startup / Self-test
- Switch On. The unit will beep and display ‘F200’ or
‘F300’. It may also beep 3 times and display ‘Lo’ if the
battery needs recharging. The current formula in use
will be displayed next with the ‘+’ part of the equation
first (default 500) and then the ‘x’ part second (default
140). The display will then show the kgDM/ha calculation
based on that formula and any readings stored in
memory.
- To clear the readings, press and hold the ‘Reset’ button
until the display shows ‘0.0’

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There is one default plate equation and one custom (user
editable) equation. The former is built into the chip and
cannot be replaced or modified. This equation is typically
used between April and September in New Zealand.
The counter also provides an option for selecting your
own equation or those recommended by consultants,
DairyNZ or Beef + Lamb. When you receive your counter,
it will normally be setup for the DairyNZ recommended
equation for the autumn/winter months. Please refer to
Section 9 Current DairyNZ Equations for examples of the
DairyNZ equations.