Soil Instruments RO-1 VW Note User manual

1
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.

3
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.

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1. If you have not already downloaded the data to a ash drive (see
Step 4 above), then do so now.
2. Transfer the data on the USB ash drive to a PC for further transfer or
processing.
Please refer to the ‘Detailed VWnote User Guide’ in this manual for more
details of each step.
BACK IN THE
OFFICE:
• If you do not have a pre-prepared sensor list, you can
read the VW sensor by selecting ‘DEFAULT_VW’ from
the sensor list, or you can add sites and sensors by
going to ‘SETUP’ in the main menu (please refer to
‘Detailed VWnote User Guide’ for detailed instructions)
• Press to start reading
• If necessary, press again to view the reading quality
indices. Press to return to the readings
• Press ‘Save’ to send the current readings to the VWnote
internal memory
• Press once to return to the sensor list to select
another sensor from the same site, or press twice
to go to the site list to select another site
• Disconnect the sensor cable from the crocodile clips
3. Repeat the procedures in Step 2 for any other sensors you wish to
read, taking care to ensure that the sensor you are reading matches
with the unique site and sensor ID in the VWnote.
4. After you have nished taking readings for the current site, you can
transfer the data straightaway to a ash drive in the eld without the
need for a site PC as follows:
• Plug a USB ash drive into the USB port on the bottom
of the VWnote
• Go to ‘DATA TO USB’ in the main menu, and then
press to display ‘DO NOT ERASE INTERNAL DATA’
• Press and arrows to select between ‘DO NOT ERASE
INTERNAL DATA’ and ‘ERASE INTERNAL DATA’ before
pressing ‘Save’ to initiate the transfer
• The transfer is successful when the VWnote displays
‘DATA SAVED TO USB’. Press
5. Before you move to the next sensor location or the next site,
please ensure that you disconnect the sensor lead from the
VWnote, replace all caps and return the VWnote back to its carry
case for safe transport.

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STEP ACTION
1 Make sure the VWnote is switched o
2Remove the protective cap from the charging point, located on the
top of the VWnote
3Plug the connector into the charging point on the VWnote, making
sure to align the connections correctly
4Plug the charging unit into a mains power socket
5 Switch on the mains power to the charging unit
6The LED on the charging unit will follow the sequence outlined in
the table below
7Place the protective cap back into the charging point on the
VWnote when charging is complete
Follow the charging procedure outlined in this manual at all
times to properly maintain the battery. Do not overtighten the
connector when charging the unit, to avoid damaging the socket.
WARNING
STEP LED STATUS
1 Red - Green Analysing battery status
2 Red - Green
3 Red Charging in progress
4 Green VWnote charged; switched to trickle charge mode
The VWnote is supplied with a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) recharge-
able battery. It is important to follow the charging procedure outlined
below at all times to correctly maintain the battery.
DETAILED VWNOTE USER GUIDE
Charging The VWnote
CHARGING UNIT
LED SEQUENCE

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Connecting Sensors to the VWnote
VW SENSOR
WITH BUILTIN
TEMPERATURE
SENSOR
VW SENSOR
WITHOUT BUILT
IN TEMPERATURE
SENSOR
For a VW sensor without built-in temperature sensor, only connect the
sensor to the red and the black crocodile clips.
You can connect only one Vibrating Wire sensor at a time to the
VWnote; this sensor can be with or without a built-in temperature
sensor.
All sensor connections to the VWnote are made via the Lemo plug
which is located under a cap on the top of the VWnote; see gure
below:
Consult the sensor user manual for the sensor connections.
If you are still unsure, please contact Soil Instruments.
Please ensure that the bare parts of the clips do not touch each other
and cause shorts among the four wires.
VWnote is only compatible with the 3K ohm thermistor
temperature sensors. It will not work with the RTD-based
temperature sensor in some of the VW sensors.
Only a qualied person trained in the use of VWnote and the
VW sensors may connect sensors.
CLIP COLOUR SENSOR TERMINAL
Red VW +
Black VW -
Green (or Blue) Temperature +
White Temperature -
WARNING
WARNING

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How to Use the Keypad
Below is a picture showing the keypad of the VWnote. Each key on the
keypad has multiple functions depending on its context within the
VWnote menu.
KEY FUNCTION
On The On button has two functions:
1. When the VWnote is o, pressing it turns the VWnote on.
2. When the VWnote is already on, pressing it will toggle the LCD
displays backlight between on and o.
Up ( ) The key acts as an ‘up’ instruction in the situations below:
1. It moves the cursor up in the currently displayed list such as the
main menu, list of sites, list of sensors, current readings, quality
indices and various reading and display parameters.
2. It increases the value of the current eld when updating date/time.
3. It moves upward through a list of alphanumeric letters when the
site name, sensor name and sweep frequency are entered one
character at a time.

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KEY FUNCTION
Down ( ) The key acts as a ‘down’ instruction in the situations below:
1. It moves the cursor down in the currently displayed list such as
the main menu, list of sites, list of sensors, current readings, quality
indices and various reading and display parameters.
2. It decreases the value of the current eld when updating date/
time.
3. It moves downward through a list of alphanumeric letters when
the site name, sensor name and sweep frequency are entered one
character at a time.
Left ( ) The acts as a back instruction or ‘NO’ to a question. When a menu
option is selected or a question is displayed on the screen, pressing
this key will take you back to the previous menu selection.
Right ( ) The acts as a ‘next’ instruction in the situations below:
1. When a menu option is displayed, pressing this key will take you
to the next screen or stage of the menu functions. For example,
when pressed while READ is selected, this key takes you to the
list of sites; when a sensor is selected, this key will take you to the
sensor
reading screen.
2. When VWnote asks you to enter a site name, a sensor name, a
frequency, this key will take you to the next character position.
3. When VWnote asks you to change date/time, this key will take you
to the next eld.
Save The Save button has several functions:
1. When you set a new DATE/TIME for the VWnote, it commits the
change to VWnote memory.
2. When you use SETUP to enter or edit reading, displaying and
calibration parameters of a sensor in the sensor list, it commits the
changes to VWnote memory.
3. When the sensor reading is displayed, it saves the latest reading.
4. It is also used as YES in response to the question‘ARE YOU SURE?
YES(Save)/No( )’. For example, when CFG EXPORT or CFG
IMPORT is selected by pressing , you will need to press Save to
conrm that you want to proceed with the exporting or importing.

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Menu Structure
MAIN MENU
>READ>READ
SETUP
>SETUP
DATA TO USB
>DATA TO USB
DATE/TIME
>DATE/TIME
CFG EXPORT
>CFG EXPORT
CFG IMPORT
>CFG IMPORT
FIRMWARE UPDATE
>FIRMWARE UPDATE
>INFO
>INFO
OFF
>OFF
READ
Normal Mode Menu Advanced Mode Menu
SETUP
>SETUP
DATA TO USB
>DATA TO USB
DATE/TIME
>DATE/TIME
CFG EXPORT
>CFG EXPORT
CFG IMPORT
>CFG IMPORT
INFO
>INFO
OFF
>OFF
READ

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Select this menu item to take a reading of the VW sensor that is
currently connected to the VWnote.
CFG IMPORT
FIRMWARE
UPDATE
OFF
READ
SETUP Select this item to add sensors to the list of sensors or to edit the read-
ing and displaying parameters and calibration factors of an existing
sensor.
DATA TO USB Select this menu item to transfer data stored in the VWnote internal
memory to the USB ash drive that is plugged into the VWnote USB
port.
DATE/TIME Select this menu item to display the date and time of the real-time clock
in the VWnote and to update it when necessary.
CFG EXPORT Select this option to copy the sensor list in the VWnote to the USB ash
drive plugged into the VWnote USB port. If you add sensors or revised
the sensor conguration in the VWnote using the keypad, you will need
to make a copy of the new sensor conguration to the USB ash drive
for backup or for further editing on your PC.
This option is used to copy a new sensor conguration le from a USB
ash drive to the VWnote, overwriting the existing sensor conguration
in the VWnote.
This option is only available in the Advanced Mode. You only need to
perform a rmware update when instructed to do so by our support
department. Instructions on how to access the Advanced Mode and
how to perform rmware update will be provided.
To avoid accidental power down, the VWnote does not have an OFF
button. You can switch o the VWnote by choosing‘OFF’ in the menu
and then pressing . You will see a message saying ‘POWER OFF.
Bye! See you later!’ before the unit switches o.
As a power conservation measure, the VWnote will switch itself o
automatically after six minutes of inactivity.
INFO Choosing this option to display the following information about the
VWnote:
• Serial number (S/N) of the VWnote
• Version number and version date of firmware
• Unit date and time
• Battery Voltage
• Storage (free) in %
• Storage (used) in %
You can press the and arrows to scroll through the information.
TIP
You can navigate through the main menu by pressing and .
The selected menu item is shown by a >in front of it.

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The READ Menu
>READ
>SITE: DEFAULT
(List of Sensors in
DEFAULT site)
>DEFAULT_VW
SITE: ABC_STN
12.651 psi
READING SAVED
Notes:
1) VW readings displayed on four screens
2) First line of rst screen is reading in engineering units
3) Other screens are readings in raw units
Notes:
1) List is sorted by SENSOR name
2) DEFAULT site has only one SENSOR
“DEFAULT_VW”
3) Other sites may have more sensors
Notes:
1) List is sorted by SITE name
2) DEFAULT site is always on the top of list
Save
PRESS -->
TEMP = 23.5 °C
FRQ = 2654.221 Hz
TEMP = 23.5 °C
Hz
2
/1K = 7044.965
TEMP = 23.5 °C
PER = 376.76 uS
TEMP = 23.5 °C
SITE: BCC_ST_STN
SITE: XYZ_QUARRY
SITE: XYZ_STN
.........................
LIST OF SITES
LIST OF SENSORS
1. The list of sites you specified will be displayed on the LCD screen,
two sites per screen and sorted alphabetically. Use and to
navigate up and down the list.
2. The top of the list is always‘DEFAULT’, which is hard coded in the
VWnote and cannot be changed by the user.
1. The list of sensors you specified in the site you selected will be
displayed on the LCD screen, two sensors per screen and sorted
alphabetically. Use and to navigate up and down the list.
2. If you select the ‘DEFAULT’site, the top of the list is always
‘DEFAULT_VW’, which is hard coded in the VWnote and cannot
be changed by the user.
3. The ‘DEFAULT_VW’ is a generic sensor created in the VWnote for you
to use to read VW sensors before you have the chance to set
up a sensor list in the VWnote.

19
>READ
>SITE: DEFAULT
(List of Sensors in
DEFAULT site)
>DEFAULT_VW
SITE: ABC_STN
12.651 psi
READING SAVED
Notes:
1) VW readings displayed on four screens
2) First line of rst screen is reading in engineering units
3) Other screens are readings in raw units
Notes:
1) List is sorted by SENSOR name
2) DEFAULT site has only one SENSOR
“DEFAULT_VW”
3) Other sites may have more sensors
Notes:
1) List is sorted by SITE name
2) DEFAULT site is always on the top of list
Save
PRESS -->
TEMP = 23.5 °C
FRQ = 2654.221 Hz
TEMP = 23.5 °C
Hz
2
/1K = 7044.965
TEMP = 23.5 °C
PER = 376.76 uS
TEMP = 23.5 °C
SITE: BCC_ST_STN
SITE: XYZ_QUARRY
SITE: XYZ_STN
.........................
Sensor ‘DEFAULT_VW’ uses the following default parameters of reading
and displaying:
• Site name: DEFAULT
• Sensor name: DEFAULT_VW
• Sweep frequency: 1400-3500 Hz
• Excitation V = 5V
• Display Resolution = 0.1
• Unit (raw) = Hz2/1K
• Unit (eng) = Hz2/1K
• R0=0
• G=-1
• Calibration=linear
• Unit (temp)=oC.
In most cases, the ‘DEFAULT_VW’ sensor will allow you to take readings
from most type of VW sensors before you have the chance to dene a
sensor list for the VWnote.
TIP

20
SENSOR READING
SAVE
After you have selected which sensor to read by pressing , the
readings of the currently connected VW sensor will be displayed
on four consecutive screens:
1. Screen 1 – The VW reading in engineering units (as calculated using
the raw reading and the calibration factors and zero reading you
specified) and temperature reading in °C (or °F).
2. Screen 2 – The VW reading in Hz and temperature reading in
°C (or °F).
3. Screen 3 – The VW reading in Hz2/1000 and temperature reading in
°C (or °F).
4. Screen 4 – The VW reading in period (S) and temperature reading in
°C (or °F).
5. You can navigate among the four screens by pressing and .
The readings will be automatically refreshed every two seconds.
1. Pressing the ‘Save’ key while you are on the sensor reading screen
will send the current VW readings and temperature reading with
time stamp to the VWnote internal memory. VWnote will display
‘READING SAVED. PRESS ‘
to acknowledge the readings have been saved successfully.
2. Pressing will take you back to the sensor reading.
From there you can save another set of readings for the same sensor,
or you can press to return to the sensor list to select another
sensor to read.
TIP
If no sensor is connected, or the sensor or signal cable is faulty, Screen
1 will display ‘No VW sensor?’ and/or ‘No Therm. Sen.?’ alerting you to
the problem. In this case, you will not be able to navigate away from
the rst screen.
TIP
Due to limited display space on the LCD screen, Hz2/1000 is displayed
as Hz2/1K.