Soil Instruments RO-1 VW Note User manual

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VWnote
User Manual
Soil Instruments Limited has an ongoing policy of design review and reserves the right to amend these specications without notice.
Man230 VWnote – MN1114 – Rev1.2.0
Man 230

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What’s this manual about?
This manual tells you about the VWnote and how to
use it to take readings from VW sensors.
Who does this apply to?
Installers, eld engineers and technicians who need to
acquire readings from VW sensors and to maintain the
VWnote system.

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Welcome!
Thank you for choosing the VWnote.
This manual has been written to help you utilise all of the
functions of the VWnote. Please read this manual thoroughly
before use to help avoid any problems and keep it handy
when using the VWnote.
VWnote
The VWnote is a handheld device which takes readings from
Vibrating Wire (VW) sensors and stores them on an internal
memory for retrieval later via a USB ash drive. The VWnote can
read almost all commercially available vibrating wire sensors.
Built with state-of-the-art electronic components and the
latest rmware technology, each VWnote comes with many
powerful built-in functions. These functions will allow you to
customise how readings from each sensor are taken, displayed,
stored and managed in order to assure correct and repeatable
readings every time.

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Contents
OVERVIEW & INTRODUCTION 6
Important Information 6
Product Changes 6
Warranty 6
Disposal 6
System Description - Things You Need to Know 7
Features 7
Benets 7
System Components 8
The VWnote 8
USB Flash Drive 8
VWnote Conguration Tool Software 8
VW Sensor Lead 9
Rechargeable Battery & Charger 9
VWnote Carry Case 9
Quick Start Guide 10
Before You Go to Site 10
When You Are In The Field 10
Back In The Oce 11
DETAILED VWNOTE USER GUIDE 12
Charging the VWnote 12
Charging Unit LED Sequence 12
Connecting Sensors to The VWnote 13
VW Sensor With Built-In Temperature Sensor 13
VW Sensor Without Built-In Temperature Sensor 13
How to Use The Keypad 14
Menu Structure 16
Main Menu 16
The READ Menu 18
List Of Sites 18
List Of Sensors 18
Sensor Reading 20
Save 20
The SETUP Menu 22
Setup 22
List Of Sites 22
List Of Sensors 22
Congure A New Sensor 23
Congure An Existing Sensor 23
Flow Diagram 24

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PRECISELY MEASURED
instrumentation and monitoring
How To Setup Sensor Conguration 26
Sweep Frequency 26
Excitation Voltage 25
Temperature Unit 25
Display Resolution 25
Raw Data Unit 28
Engineering Unit Name 28
Calibration Factors 28
The DATA TO USB Menu 30
The DATE/TIME Menu 31
The CFG EXPORT Menu 32
The CFG IMPORT Menu 33
The INFO Menu 34
GUIDE TO THE CONFIGURATION FILE & DATA FILE 35
Content Of The Sensor Conguration File 35
Sweep Frequency 35
Excitation Voltage 35
Temperature Unit 35
Display Resolution 35
Raw Data Unit 35
Engineering Unit Name 35
Calibration Factors 35
Building a Sensor Conguration File 36
Building With VWnote Conguration Tool 36
Installing The VWnote Conguration Tool 36
Running The VWnote Conguration Tool 36
Finding And Interpreting Data Files 43
Locating Data Files 43
Interpreting The Data Files 45
Data Storage And Handling 45
MAINTENANCE GUIDE 46
Maintaining The VWnote 46
Battery Maintenance 46
Charging Unit LED Sequence 46
Calibration 47
Firmware And Software Updates 47
APPENDICES 48
Appendix A – How to Apply Calibration Factors for VW Sensors 48
Appendix B – Frequently Asked Questions 50
Appendix C – CE Declaration 51

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The following symbols are used throughout the manual
PRODUCT
CHANGES
WARRANTY
DISPOSAL
! Important: Failure to adhere to the warnings in this manual
may result in network disruption and possible data loss.
Failure to observe the warning may result in injury, product
malfunction, unexpected readings or damage to the product
that may invalidate its warranty.
Soil Instruments has an on-going policy of design review and reserves
the right to amend the design of their product and this instruction
manual without notice.
Refer to our terms and conditions of sale for warranty information.
The batteries are a consumable item and are excluded from the
warranty.
Products marked with the symbol are subject to the following
disposal rules in European countries:
• This product is designated for separate collection at an
appropriate collection point
• Do not dispose of as household waste
• For more information, contact Soil Instruments or the local
authority in charge of waste management
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION
QUESTION
WARNING TIP
TIP
Tips give additional information that may be helpful when using
VWnote.
WARNING
OVERVIEW & INTRODUCTION
Important information

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FEATURES
BENEFITS
• Portable and rugged.
• Compatible with most commonly used VW sensors.
• Real-time display of VW sensor readings in engineering units as
well as in Hz, Hz2/1000 and period.
• Fully congurable reading and displaying parameters of each
sensor.
• Large data storage (2GB) and easy data retrieval via a USB ash
drive.
• Firmware upgradable via USB ash drive by the user – no need for
a PC and no need to return it back to factory.
• Powered by a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) rechargeable battery,
30 hours without backlight and 15 hours with backlight. User
selectable backlight for the display, auto shutdown after six
minutes of inactivity.
• Powerful features in a rugged and portable package; makes it
easy to carry and operate in all site conditions.
• Easy to follow menu makes taking readings on site simple, fast
and error free.
• The optional 15 VDC excitation, which provides higher energy
excitation than the default excitation of 5 VDC, ensures quality
readings for sensors with long cables.
• A site ID and a sensor name are assigned to each sensor. This
facilitates management of a large quantity of VW sensors from a
large site or multiple sites.
• Saved readings are grouped by dates which, together with the
large internal memory, minimises data loss.
• Each reading is displayed and recorded with readings in raw and
engineering units.
• The VWnote does not require a PC in the eld to set up or
download data, which means users of VWnote do not need to
carry a site PC nor need to be computer literate to use VWnote.
Things You Need to Know About VWnote
System Description

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System Components
The VWnote is a handheld readout unit as well as a data logger for VW
sensors. Below is a picture of the VWnote showing the various parts that
you will use to interact with it.
USB FLASH DRIVE
VWNOTE
CONFIGURATION
TOOL SOFTWARE
THE VWNOTE
Each VWnote will be supplied with a USB ash drive. Apart from being
the distribution medium for the VWnote Conguration Tool software,
you can also use it for data o-loading from the VWnote, as well as
importing the conguration le to, and exporting it from, the VWnote.
Distributed on the USB ash drive with every VWnote is the VWnote
Conguration Tool. This is a Windows-based software that you will use
to create and edit the sensor conguration le, which will contain
information on how readings from each sensor will be read, displayed
and stored. See ‘Guide To The Conguration File & Data File’ for more
information.
Backlit LCD
display
Sensor connector
Rechargeable battery
charging point
Keypad
USB port for
ash drive

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The VW sensor lead is shown in the picture below. One end of the lead
has a Lemo plug that you will plug into the sensor connector on the
top left of the VWnote. On the other end of the lead are four crocodile
connectors coloured red, black, green and white, for connecting to the
wires in the signal cable of a sensor with matching colours.
The VWnote is supplied with a padded carry case with shoulder strap
and pockets for the sensor connecting lead and the USB ash drive.
We recommend that you carry and store the VWnote in the carry case
whenever it is not being used.
The VWnote contains a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) rechargeable
battery and is supplied with a trickle charge battery charger.
VW SENSOR LEAD
VWNOTE CARRY
CASE
RECHARGEABLE
BATTERY &
CHARGER

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Quick Start Guide
1. Remove the VWnote from its carry case.
2. Switch on the VWnote, go to ‘READ’ in the main menu and follow the
procedures below to take a reading:
• Connect a VW sensor to the VWnote using the
sensor lead
• Select your site from the site list and then your sensor
from the sensor list
BEFORE YOU GO
TO SITE:
WHEN YOU ARE IN
THE FIELD:
1. Place the VWnote on charge, ensuring that you follow the charging
procedure outlined in ‘Detailed VWnote user Guide - Charging the
VWnote’ is followed.
2. Switch on the VWnote.
3. Select ‘DATE/TIME’ from the main menu to set the VWnote internal
clock to the current date and time.
4. Select ‘INFO’ to conrm that the rmware version is V2.01 or later.
If the rmware needs updating, follow the instructions for rmware
update in the ‘Maintenance Quide - Firmware And Software Update’
section of this manual.
5. Test the reading function as follows:
• Connect a VW sensor to the VWnote using the sensor lead
• Go to ‘READ’ in the main menu and select ‘DEFAULT’ on the
top of the site list and‘DEFAULT_VW’ from the top of the
sensor list
• Press to start reading
• Check the VW reading and the temperature reading
6. If you have a pre-prepared conguration le containing your custom
sensor list, go to ‘CFG IMPORT’ in the main menu to load the sensor
list into the VWnote (for more details, see the‘Detailed VWnote user
Guide’ section of this manual).
7. Switch o the VWnote by going to‘OFF’in the main menu and
pressing .
8. Unplug the sensor lead from the VWnote. Replace the sensor
connector cap and the USB port cap.
9. Place the VWnote in its carry case along with the sensor lead and
a ash drive, ready to take to site.
TIP
Follow the troubleshooting guide in Appendix B of this manual if the
readings are unstable or incorrect.