Rain Bird ICI+ Instruction Manual

1

Before installing the ICI+, follow the Pre-Installation checklist in the ICI+ Manual to
ensure your current system is compatible and ready to go. This includes:
2

Checking that your Rain Bird Central Control Software meets the requirements.
Nimbus II or Cirrus, version 8.1.0 or higher is required if you are keeping
your MIM and adding an ICI+, and
Stratus II, Nimbus II or Cirrus, version 8.1.0 or higher is required if you
are using only an ICI+
NOTE: If you currently have Stratus II, and are converting your MIM to the ICI+ wire
path by wire path, rather than all at once, this will require you to upgrade to Nimbus
II. This will give you the ability to set up multiple interfaces in the central control
software.
3

Verify all satellites on the wire paths that will be connected to the ICI+ are Rain Bird
MSC+, PAR+ and/or PAR+ES models.
4

Have the IFX boards ready to install, or, if a new satellite has been purchased, confirm
it has an IFX Board installed.
The IFX Board is standard in all PAR+ES satellites manufactured after 12/22/19.
5

Next, gather the installation tools to install the ICI+ and IFX Satellite boards.
Note: extra USB cords may be required depending on the system you are setting up.
Two are needed if installing Satellites (with IFX Boards) and ICMs, and three are
needed if installing Satellites (with IFX Boards), LINK Satellites and ICMs. Refer to the
ICI+ Manual for installation instructions for the USB cords.
6

Lastly, it is very important to conduct a thorough site survey which includes:
Confirming central grounding is installed to spec and tested for 10 ohms or less;
Confirming there is an available MAXI™ grounding plate (MGP1) mounting point
with MSP-1 installed
Checking the condition of the wire path where you will be adding ICMs
And to determine how many satellites are on the wire path and check capacity
7

Now that you have everything ready, installing ICMs on a satellite wire path can be
done in 5 steps.
8

Step 1:
Create a backup of your Central Control database by going to your computer desktop
and running either the Nimbus II or Cirrus Backup utility, depending on the software
you have installed.
Then, verify the backup database has been saved with the current date by going to
My Computer/ Local Disk (C:) / NimIIBak (or CIRBAK if using Cirrus).
9

Step 2:
Install the ICI+ interface following the instructions in ICI+ Installation Manual:
•Connect the field wiring
•Connect the power cord to the specified Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
•And lastly, attach USB cables after version 8.1 or later Rain Bird Central Control
software is loaded and open.
10

Step 3: Install IFX Boards in all satellites connecting to the ICI+ interface.
The original interface board (IFB) is located under the Rain Bird Satellite face plate
and is easily replaced with an IFX Board using a Phillips head screwdriver.
11

Step 4: Configure your Rain Bird Central Control Software
Activate Rain Bird Central Control software (version 8.1.0 or higher) on the Central
Control PC and select System Settings to set up the MIM and ICI+ configuration.
In System Settings, configure the Field Boxes for the ICI+ interface. (NOTE: The Field
boxes are the cells, located below each interface icon, and the number of Field Boxes
you select is based upon how many physical interfaces you have installed.)
12

If you are changing all wire paths to ICI+ and completely removing the MIM, you will
have 2 Field Boxes in the Central Control: one for the ICI+ satellite stations ( which
emulates the MIM interface) and one for the ICI+ ICM stations.
No changes are needed to the existing MIM Field Box with the exception of assigning
the new COM port to the MIM box emulator.
13

You will then add a 2nd Field Box under “ICI” for the ICM Stations to be added.
14

If you are keeping the MIM, and only moving over one or more wire paths to the ICI+,
you will have 3 Field Boxes.
15

The first, Field Box #1, will have the station details from the satellite wire paths still
connected to the MIM;
16

You will need to set up a 2nd Field Box for the satellite stations on the wire paths
moved over to the ICI+;
17

Finally, you will set up a 3rd Field Box for ICM stations that you will be adding to the
satellite wire paths on the ICI+.
18

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is possible to copy station details from Field Box #1 to Field Box
#2 for all satellite stations that are moving from the MIM to the ICI+. Please contact
Rain Bird GSP Services for assistance.
19

Once you have the Field Boxes configured in the Central Control, you will connect two
USB cables from your computer to the USB ports inside the ICI+.
Connect one USB cable from the PC to the connector labeled “MIM” on the CPU
board inside the ICI+.
20