Underhill Novo User manual

© 2013 Underhill International Corporation
UNDERHILL INTERNATIONAL
20505 Crescent Bay Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630 USA
tel: [phone] •fax: [phone]
1-866-863-3744 •www.underhill.us
An industry leader in innovative watering
products all over the world, Underhill brings
33 years of know-how in developing our
inventory of “Products that work...smart.™
Form No. UNM-B13
Novo™
63-Station 2Wire Converter
Products that work...smart.™
OPERATION MANUAL
www.underhill.us • 1-866-863-3744

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Product Benefits 1
System Overview 2
How does it Work? 2
Mounting and Installation 4
Installing the Novo 4
Wiring the Novo 4
Programming a Decoder 8
Wiring a Decoder to a Valve Solenoid 9
Programming an External Sender 9
Connecting Senders to a Host Controller 10
Key Functions 11
Dial Positions 12
Example Screens & Their Keys 13
View Sender Commands 15
View Decoder Setup 16
2Wire Communication Path & Maximum Wire Distances 18
Electrical Specifications 21
FCC Notice 22
Warranty 23
Index 25

1
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on the purchase of Underhill International’s Novo™product
offering ease of installation and operation for large estate and light to medium
commercial irrigation applications.
Product Benets
The Novo™ is easy to install and operate offering a number of customer benefits
that also reduces field troubleshooting when needed.
Simple – Compact design for faster and easier mounting to an interior wall or
within a wall mount or pedestal-type enclosure for outdoor applications.
Flexible and Easy to Expand – The Novo is intended to operate up to 32
stations on a 2Wire system using any host conventional multi-wire irrigation
controller. See “System Overview” on next page.
An additional 31 stations in 8-station increments for a total of 63 stations
can also be managed by installing Underhill’s Universal Senders. See Product
Overview on the page 3.
Proven – Install with a high level of trust knowing that Underhill has more than
200,000 station decoders installed worldwide.
Will operate with poorly insulated wire when retrofitting a multi-wire system.
Uses pure AC power to the decoders so no electrolytic destruction of field
wiring occurs.
No additional grounding is required along the 2Wire path, except at the Novo.
No special shielded communication wire is needed for the 2-Wire path which
can simply be 12, 14, or 18 AWG irrigation wire commonly found at most
irrigation suppliers that can save costs compared to other 2Wire systems.
Reliable – Superior resiliency to lightning protection.
Integrated Solution – All of the components necessary to provide up to 32
stations in one package.

2
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
How does it Work?
The following two diagrams represent typical installations of the Novo™
depending on how many stations need to be managed. The Novo allows any
conventional, multi-wire, irrigation controller to manage a 2Wire system with
Underhill decoders. This is accomplished by mounting the Novo to a vertical
surface and connecting the included color-coded wire to a host controller’s station
outputs. The Novo in turn converts signals to the 2Wire communication path to
individual station valves with decoders.
The Novo is powered from an external AC adapter connected to a 120-volt or
220-volt power source. This is the same requirement whether the Novo is wall-
mounted indoors or outdoors in a weather-resistant pedestal-style enclosure.
Note: Underhill external transformers p/n’s TW-35VA-115V
or TW-35VA-220v are compatible with this product only.
Figure 2-1 depicts the Novo with a host controller managing up to 32-stations.
Assumes host controller can manage up to 32 stations.
MANAGING UP TO 32 STATIONS
Figure 2-1

3
Figure 3-1 depicts the Novo with a host controller managing up to 63 stations by
adding 8-station Senders for station counts above 32.
MANAGING UP TO 63 STATIONS
Figure 3-1
Note: Assumes the host controller must have sucient stations to manage
63 stations or if two stations are combined to a single decoder using a
controller with fewer stations.

4
MOUNTING AND INSTALLATION
Installing the Novo
The Novo installs to any vertical surface by using the upper 2 (qty) keyholes and
two lower holes (accessible inside the product) located on the back of the case.
See Figure 4-1.
MOUNTING KEYHOLES ON THE BACK CASE OF THE NOVO
Figure 4-1
Note: The Novo is not intended for outdoor applications without
protection from a weather-resistant enclosure. An outdoor
enclosure to accommodate the Novo and transformer can be
ordered separately p/n TW3-PLC.
1. Confirm the Novo is level horizontally. Locate and mark the center point
of the upper mounting holes. Drill 2 (qty) ¼” x ½”deep holes. Tighten the
fasteners so that approximately 1/8”of threads remain exposed. Hang the
Novo 2Wire Converter and confirm it is secure. Locate and drill the lower
mounting holes, then securing w/ 2 additional #6 fasteners.
Wiring the Novo
1. Opening the Case
Press the two left and right thumb tabs located on the underside of the
Novo case. The case will swing upward revealing several terminal blocks.
2. Connecting the Novo to a Host Controller
Locate the 9-conductor, multiple-colored wire that is included with the
Novo. Four (qty) x 36” lengths of wire are included providing connection
between a host controller and the Novo for up to 32 stations.
The 9th conductor is white and represents the valve common wire for that
specific terminal block only. All common wires need to be tied together as
shown in Figures 2-1 & 3-1.
Locate the four terminal blocks underneath the display cover of the Novo,
See Figures 5-1 and 5-2.
2 (qty) keyhole
upper mount
2 (qty) lower
mounting holes

5
Stations 9 - 16
Stations 25 - 32
Stations 17 - 24
Stations 1 - 8
NOVO FIELD WIRE TERMINAL BLOCKS
Figure 5-1
Common Wire
noted as “C”
Lowest station
number at
the bottom
VALVE STATION SEQUENCING
Figure 5-2
The Novo comes with four sets of color-coded, pre-installed cable assemblies
but if fewer stations are required, a cable assembly can be removed by pressing
down on the square button next to the terminal hole with a small flat-bladed
screwdriver and pulling on the individual wire at the same time.

6
Table 1 below provides the wire color-coding on each of the four terminal blocks
for the Novo. Confirm these wires are connected to a host controller’s station
outputs accordingly.
Table 1
NOVO STATION WIRE TERMINATIONS
Terminal Block Location Terminal Block Location
Lower Left Upper Left
Term
Blk
Sta
#
Sender
Wire Color
Term
Blk
Sta
#
Sender
Wire Color
JP8/9 Com White JP9/9 Com White
JP8/8 8 Violet JP9/8 16 Violet
JP8/7 7 Blue JP9/7 15 Blue
JP8/6 6 Green JP9/6 14 Green
JP8/5 5 Yellow JP9/5 13 Yellow
JP8/4 4 Orange JP9/4 12 Orange
JP8/3 3 Red JP9/3 11 Red
JP8/2 2 Brown JP9/2 10 Brown
JP8/1 1 Black JP9/1 9 Black
Terminal Block Location Terminal Block Location
Lower Right Upper Right
Term
Blk
Sta
#
Sender
Wire Color
Term
Blk
Sta
#
Sender
Wire Color
JP11/9 Com White JP12/9 Com White
JP11/8 24 Violet JP12/8 32 Violet
JP11/7 23 Blue JP12/7 31 Blue
JP11/6 22 Green JP12/6 30 Green
JP11/5 21 Yellow JP12/5 29 Yellow
JP11/4 20 Orange JP12/4 28 Orange
JP11/3 19 Red JP12/3 27 Red
JP11/2 18 Brown JP12/2 26 Brown
JP11/1 17 Black JP12/1 25 Black
Zip-tie the multi-conductor cable assemblies together. Strip back approximately
3/8-1/2” of wire insulation and terminate in the appropriate station outputs of the
host controller. Be certain to follow the same color-coding in the table above.
3. Connecting to the 2Wire Communication Path
Locate the three large, green-colored terminal blocks labeled L1, L2 and
“GND”. See Figure 6-1.
2WIRE INPUTS AND GROUND TERMINALS
Figure 6-1
Remove approximately 3/8” to ½”of wire insulation of the 2Wire communication
cable. Terminate a colored wire of the 2Wire path into the terminal labeled“L2”
and another colored wire into the terminal labeled “L1”.
4. Installing a Ground Wire (lightning protection) to a Ground Rod

7
Locate the“Gnd”terminal block shown in Figure 6-1. Insert a bare #14 copper
ground wire into this location. Connect the opposing end to a 5/8”diameter x 8’
long ground rod a minimum of 10 feet away from this location in accordance with
the American Society of Irrigation Consultants grounding specifications.
http://www.asic.org/uploads/assets/011007_121320_ASIC_GROUNDING_
GUIDELINES.doc
Note: Avoid sharp bends in the ground wire where a surge can jump to
other conductors when a surge occurs.
5. Connecting the Novo to an AC Power Source
Connect the Novo to a 120 or 230-volt, 50 or 60Hz power source using an
Underhill external transformer part number TW-35VA-115v or TW-35VA-230v
models.
Note: Make the wire connections to the Novo terminal block rst then plug
the opposing end of the transformer into the appropriate power source.
Locate the two small terminal block labeled as “AC” on the Novo terminal block
shown in Figure 7-1 below.
AC INPUTS
Figure 7-1
These are non-polarized terminals meaning either wire from the transformer can
be terminated in either one of the two terminals. Tighten with a small screwdriver.
Note there is a gray set of terminals for a future feature not oered in this
unit’s software version.
6. Adding more than 32 Stations
The Novo can manage up to 63 stations, given a host controller has this capability.
Note: The Sender(s) must be programmed prior to wiring into a host
controller.
To add more than 32 stations, install Underhill “Senders” p/n TW-SEN-8 in 8-station
increments (see Figure 8-1). Connect the thick red and black Sender wire to the
2Wire path (L1 & L2) as it exits the Novo (see Figure 3-1).