Wagner Meters Orion 930 User manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction
4 Orion® 930 Parts
5 Quick Start: Basic Use for
Solid Wood
8 Correct Usage Guidelines for
Your Orion® 930 Moisture Meter
11 Function Buttons: Detailed
–ON/HOLD Button
– UP and DOWN Buttons
– DEPTH Button
– SPECIES/MATERIAL Button
• How to Program a Species Setting
• Relative Scale for Moisture
Measurement of Non-Wood
Building Materials
– AUDIO Button
23 Summary of Orion® 930 Features
– Low Battery Alert Indication
–Auto Shut-Down to Preserve
Battery Life
– Calibration of your Orion® 930
–Protective Rubber Boot for Your
Orion® 930
–7-Year Warranty
–Wagner’s IntelliSenseTM Technology
30 Specications
31 Changing the Battery
31 Meter Storage
32 Warranty

1 2
Congratulations!
You have purchased one of the most accurate
moisture measurement instruments for wood
in the world. Using IntelliSenseTM technology,
hand-held moisture meters from Wagner
Meters have been proven by universities
and institutes worldwide to provide superior
measurement results.*
With its electromagnetic eld, your Orion®
930 moisture meter covers a relatively
large cross-sectional area each time you
take a reading, giving you a far better
representation than other technologies of
the true moisture content of your wood.
Wagner moisture meters read IN the wood,
not just on the wood.
INTRODUCTION The 2.0-inch (50mm) wide by 2.5-inch
(63mm) long by either .25-inch (6mm)
or .75-inch (19mm) thick sensor eld
of your Orion® moisture meter closely
approximates the full-thickness cross-
section method used when performing the
ASTM D4442-16 oven-dry lab method.
This ASTM standard (and its international
counterparts) is the standard to which all
moisture meters for wood are compared
for accuracy.
Your Orion® 930 is best-suited for wood
thicknesses from .25 inches (6mm) up to
1.5 inches (38mm). The meter can be used
on non-solid wood products, and the Species
Setting Booklet includes a few settings for
some of these common materials.
In the Standard Measurement mode, your
Orion® 930 measures moisture content
within the 4.0% to 32.0% moisture
content range.
NOTE: Measurement range may vary
slightly depending on species setting of the
meter.

3 4
The Orion® 930 has an easy-to-read
digital display, scaled in 0.1% increments
when in the Standard Measurement mode
for your solid wood applications.
Wagner hand-held moisture measurement
technology is virtually unaffected by wood
temperature.**
Since 1965, Wagner Meters has been
providing quality moisture measurement
equipment and Wagner’s technology
has been proven to provide some of the
most accurate results in the industry
when compared to the ASTM D4442-16
Standard. Wagner meters have been used
for years by professional lumber-grading
associations, and meters from Wagner
continue to provide reliable and consistent
moisture measurements, with unsurpassed
convenience and ease of use.
*Information available upon request.**Contact
a Wagner Meters expert at 844-689-0660 if your
wood is very hot or frozen.
LCD
ON/ HOLD
BUTTON
SPECIES/
MATERIAL
BUTTON
DOWN
BUTTON
UP BUTTON
AUDIO
BUTTON
ORION 930 PARTS
BATTERY
COMPART-
MENT
(Meter Serial
Number is
located in this
compartment)
SENSOR
PLATE
®
DEPTH
BUTTON

5 6
Press the ON/HOLD button to store the setting
and return the meter to the Reading mode.
Next, press the SPECIES/
MATERIAL button once,
and the current species setting
(calibrated to specic gravity)
will appear. The factory
default displayed will be 0.50 for a new
meter. Use the UP or DOWN arrow buttons
to set the correct species
setting for the wood species
you wish to measure (refer to
your Species Settings Booklet
to nd the correct setting).
Finally, press the ON/HOLD
button to place the meter back
in the Standard Measurement
mode.
NOTE: If you cannot nd the correct setting
for the wood species or material you wish
to measure, go to www.wagnerspecies.com
where you can access Wagner’s extensive
Species Database. If you still cannot nd
the correct setting, contact a Wagner Meters
expert at 844-689-0660.
With your Orion® 930
turned OFF, press and
release the ON/HOLD
button. Meter will turn
on and briey display the
model number, followed by the rmware
revision number. If this is the rst time
you are using your new Orion® 930,
immediately after the revision number is
displayed, the meter display should revert
to Standard Measurement mode, with the
display showing 0.0% when the meter is
held in the air. If meter display does not show
0.0%, then refer to page 15 regarding the
SPECIES/MATERIAL button.
Next, press the DEPTH
button to put the meter in
the Depth Setting mode and
press either the UP button,
DOWN button or DEPTH
button. The Depth setting will change
from 3-4 or ¾” to 1-4 or ¼” or vice versa.
QUICK START
BASIC USE FOR SOLID WOOD

7 8
To make sure that you are getting the most
accurate readings from your Orion® 930
meter, Wagner Meters recommends that
you pay close attention to the following
guidelines:
1. If the thickness of the piece of wood
or other building material is greater
than .75 inch (19mm), and you wish
to get more of a full thickness rather
than a shallow measurement, it is a
good idea to take measurements in
3/4” mode on both sides and average
the readings.
2. To prevent high or inaccurate
readings, always have a minimum
1-inch (25mm) air gap underneath
the piece of wood you are measuring.
During this process make sure your
hand is not directly underneath
the meter.
CORRECT USAGE GUIDELINES
FOR YOUR ORION® 930
MOISTURE METER
A small DP will appear in the lower left corner
of the screen to visually indicate that you are
in 3-4 (¾”) Depth Setting mode (Deep mode).
Grasping the meter on the sides, begin
taking measurements on the face of the
wood pieces by pressing down rmly,
making sure the rectangular sensor plate
area on the back of the meter is pressing
rmly on the wood surface and completely
covered by the wood. Minimum wood
dimension needs to be 2.0 inches (50mm)
wide by 2.5 inches (63mm) long by .75
inches (19mm) in thickness. When taking
measurements, make sure there is a 1-inch
(25mm) minimum air gap underneath the
wood you are measuring (refer to Correct
Usage Guidelines section of this manual).
When you are nished
taking measurements and
wish to turn the meter
off, press the ON/HOLD
button for approximately
2 seconds. Alternatively, the meter will
automatically shut off after approximately
60 seconds of no activity.

9 10
If the sensing area is not completely
covered, your moisture reading will
be inaccurate.
5. If there is visible moisture or water
on the surface of the wood or material
to be tested, wipe off any excess, and
let the surface dry out for a couple of
minutes before taking measurements.
If possible, turn the board over and
measure the other side.
6. Be sure to press down rmly to
ensure good sensor plate contact with
the surface of the wood or building
material. This is especially important
when measuring rough-sawn lumber.
7. Do not take readings where there
is a noticeable defect or knot in
the lumber.
Our Technical Staff Wants to Help You:
Please contact us at our worldwide toll-
free number, 844-689-0660,for specic
guidelines on how to properly measure wood
3. Your Orion® 930 meter was designed
for wood thicknesses from .25
(6mm) to .50 (13mm) in ¼” mode
and .75 inches (19mm) up to 1.5
inches (38mm) in ¾” mode. If you
wish to measure wood pieces with
thicknesses less than .75 inches
(19mm) in ¾” mode, the meter will
underestimate the actual moisture
content. Thicknesses that are slightly
thinner (example: .625 inches
(15.9mm)) will not be underestimated
substantially, but the thinner the piece
becomes, the more the measurement
will be underestimated. For pieces
thinner than .50 inches (12.7mm),
it is recommended that you use the
¼” mode.
4. The actual sensing area is a 2.0-inch
(50mm) wide by 2.5-inch (63.5mm)
long rectangle on the back of the
meter (opposite side of the display
and keypad). In order to take a valid
measurement, this sensing area must
be completely covered with the wood
or other material you are measuring.

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active. In other words, turning off the meter
will not cause the meter to revert to factory
default settings, but will retain whatever
settings you programmed it with.
When in the Standard Measurement mode,
pressing and releasing the ON/HOLD button
will freeze whatever reading is showing on
the display. Additionally, the word HOLD
will show in the upper right-hand corner.
This HOLD feature is valuable when taking
measurements in hard-to-reach places where
you cannot see the display.
If the AUDIO function of the meter is turned
on (refer to the “Audio Button” section on
page 20), the meter will emit a short beep
every 4 seconds that the current reading
remains on HOLD.
The current reading will remain on the
screen until the ON/HOLD button is briey
pressed again, returning the meter back to
Standard Measurement mode and HOLD
will disappear from view.
ON/HOLD Button
When the meter is OFF,
pressing and releasing the
ON/HOLD button will
turn the meter ON, with the meter briey
displaying the model number, followed by
the rmware revision number. Immediately
after briey displaying the revision
number, the meter will be in the Standard
Measurement mode. At this point, the meter
is ready to take moisture measurements.
Be assured that any settings that you have
previously programmed/selected will be
FUNCTION BUTTONS:
DETAILED USAGE INSTRUCTIONS
with unusual characteristics. Additional
measurement corrections may be necessary
if you are measuring lumber that is frozen,
salt water-permeated, or is treated with CCA,
ACQ, or any other treatment with metallic
or other components that might bias the
moisture readings.

13 14
button, DOWN button or DEPTH button
is pressed, the Depth setting will change
(e.g. from 3-4 to 1-4) or vice versa. Press
the ON/HOLD button to store the setting.
If the meter is in the Depth Setting Mode
and the ON/HOLD button is pressed, the
meter will return to the Reading Mode.
If the meter is in Depth Setting mode
and on the ¼” (6mm) depth setting, in
addition to displaying ‘1-4,’ the meter
will repeatedly ash 2 dashes in a vertical
sequence on the digital display screen.
If the meter is in Depth Setting mode
and on the ¾” (19mm) depth setting, in
addition to displaying ‘3-4’, the meter
will repeatedly ash 3 dashes in a vertical
sequence on the digital display screen.
NOTE: A small DP will appear in the lower
left corner of the screen to visually indicate
that you are in 3-4 (¾”) Depth Setting mode
(Deep mode).
NOTE: Meter will shut down automatically
after 60 seconds if the meter is left on HOLD
with no measurement activity. Pressing the
ON/HOLD button for 2 seconds will turn the
meter off.
UP and DOWN Buttons
The particular settings mode
(SPECIES/MATERIAL or
AUDIO) that you are in at
a given time will determine
how these buttons will
function. Settings values will
be increased or decreased,
or different functions activated according
to the specic instructions outlined for each
settings button.
DEPTH Button
Your Orion® 930 meter
features dual depth capability
that allows you to measure
at ¼ and ¾ inch depths depending on the
setting you have chosen. If the meter is in
the Depth Setting Mode and either the UP

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you are in the Standard Measurement
mode. More information concerning
Relative Scale can be found on page 20.
3. Meter Calibration mode. Follow the
instructions on page 25 to perform
your own eld calibration using
the included Orion® Calibration
Reference from Wagner.
When meter is ON, press the SPECIES/
MATERIAL button; the meter display will
indicate the current mode. If the meter is in
the Species Setting mode (indicated by a
3-digit number on the display such as 0.50,
etc.), you can use the UP or DOWN arrows
to program the meter for the correct setting.
If, on the other hand, you need to change to
a different mode, you can press and release
the SPECIES/MATERIAL button until you
are in the desired mode.
Regardless of the mode you choose, when
the meter is turned OFF (or shuts off
automatically), and then the meter is turned
back ON, the meter will be in the mode it
was in when it shut OFF.
SPECIES/MATERIAL
Button
The SPECIES/MATERIAL
button on your Orion®
930 is used to place your meter into one
of three different modes by pressing the
button until you are in the desired mode.
The available modes are:
1. Species Settings mode. This mode
is for programming the meter to the
correct setting for the wood species
you wish to measure. When in this
mode, the meter display will indicate
settings values from 0.20 up to 1.00.
Factory default is 0.50.
2. Relative Measurement mode. Used
for obtaining relative, rather than
absolute, measurements, typically
for non-solid wood applications
(example: relative measurements
on drywall or engineered ooring).
When you toggle to this mode,
the display will show REL in the
lower-left corner of the display when