C-Dax Pasture Meter Assembly And Operation Manual Download

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Assembly and Operation Manual

Version: 2400-6651–1 February 2011

Summary of Contents for Pasture Meter

Page 1: ...1 Assembly and Operation Manual Version 2400 6651 1 February 2011...

Page 2: ...1 This section contains Introduction Important Safety Warning Important Safety Information Table of Contents Warranty Disclaimer Limit of Liability Unpacking your Pasture Meter SECTION 1 Introduction...

Page 3: ...parameters need to be respected We thank you for making this investment and assure you of our attention at all times IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING The C Dax Pasture Meter is designed specifically to be tr...

Page 4: ...to equipment that is loaned or rented to someone who has not read the owner s manual and is not familiar with the operation of the equipment NEVER EXCEED THE LOAD LIMIT CAPACITY OF THE ATV OR OTHER VE...

Page 5: ...Section 3 Assembly Setup The Sled 15 The Indicator Console 21 Using Your Pasture Meter 23 Raising Lowering the Sled 24 Understanding the Sensor 25 Understanding the Indicator Console 27 Understanding...

Page 6: ...4 Section 7 Trouble Shooting Installation Troublshooting 58 BluetoothTM Trouble Shooting 59 Section 8 Quick Reference Quick Reference Guide Tier 2 63 DIY calibration method 65...

Page 7: ...the instructions and has not been subject to neglect misuse or accident and has not been repaired serviced or dismantled by any person other than an approved service agent or person authorised by C Da...

Page 8: ...cknowledged that use of the product is outside of the manufacturer s control The end user therefore assumes all responsibility for failure loss and damage resulting from its use Any advice or recommen...

Page 9: ...1 Customer Services Technical C Dax Ltd P O Box 1010 Palmerston North New Zealand Email sales c dax co nz...

Page 10: ...2 This section contains General Description The Sled Assembly Safety Warning The Sensor The Indicator Console SECTION 2 Descriptions...

Page 11: ...The C Dax Pasture Meter has been designed to greatly improve the collection of pasture cover data in quantity speed and ease of collection It is an electronic device that is trailed behind an ATV and...

Page 12: ...or takes 200 height readings per second At a ground speed of 20kph this represents a reading every 27mm of ground traveled The measuring sensor is mounted on a purpose built sled See FIG 1 Page 8 whic...

Page 13: ...both structural strength and the weight necessary to keep the sled on the ground Special blade like fixtures have been built into the feet of the frame to stabilise tracking during operation The wheel...

Page 14: ...on the environment in which the device is working Operator experience and regular inspection of the glass windows will ensure reliability of results The Sensor The sensor consists of 18 light beam emi...

Page 15: ...e be factored into the measurement It has been scientifically established that a 10mm adjustment provides an accurate overall reading The height shown on the indicator console in mm is the number of l...

Page 16: ...unctions are shown on the display and the operator has the ability to input the calibration equation of choice The indicator console is mounted on a purpose built bracket and locked in place with a wi...

Page 17: ...on contains The Sled The Indicator Console Using your Pasture Meter Understanding the Sensor Understanding the Indicator Console Measuring your First Paddock Indicator Console Settings SECTION 3 Assem...

Page 18: ...is most important that the sled be slightly raised at front to allow easy passage over terrain If angled downwards the front of the sled is likely to dig into the ground Particular care should be take...

Page 19: ...ge 19 5 Fit adjustment bolts and nuts as per the illustrations on Pages 17 Adjusting the angle of sled As shown in FIG 6 on Page 17 a gap of 25mm at the point shown should suffice for most pasture Exp...

Page 20: ...ld the angle be satisfactory as it is then tighten the bolts as indicated by Step 4 See FIG 8 on Page 18 Once the sled is correctly adjusted the equipment is ready for use FIG 6 FIG 7 5 adjustment pos...

Page 21: ...tachment bolts Step 3 Loosely fit adjustment bolts and nuts Step 2 Attach drawbar to tow ball on ATV or other vehicle Raise the front of the sled slightly above horizontal Step 4 Tighten adjustment bo...

Page 22: ...cable hanging from rear See FIG 9 Maneuver sled to extreme left and right positions to ensure cable will not foul wheels and not be damaged by hot exhaust pipe or hot exhaust emissions Return sled to...

Page 23: ...transport position be careful to follow safe lifting practice Always ensure you have secure footing bend knees and do not lift weight with your back Keep feet and hands away from the underside of the...

Page 24: ...e swivel latch on back of console so that it fits through bracket Slide console onto bracket until it rests on the back bracket Tighten swivel latch firmly Connect silver plug wired to blue white powe...

Page 25: ...ector cable fitted If already fitted connect the blue white power cable directly to it The path to run the cables to the battery and rear carrier is up to the installer but should be chosen to protect...

Page 26: ...not exceed manufacturers maximum pressure as stated on the tyre Lower tyre pressures should be maintained on rougher terrain If sled bounces excessively try lowering the tyre pressures A starting poi...

Page 27: ...ur back Keep feet and hands away from the underside of the sled REMEMBER Let your legs do the lifting DANGER Do not attempt to reverse the towing vehicle with wheels locked in measuring position It is...

Page 28: ...er to the trouble shooting tips at the end of this manual Placing an object or hand between the sensor side arms will result in height readings being displayed on the indicator console The sensor take...

Page 29: ...e sensor Keep clear poly carbonate clean Warning Do NOT use cleaning objects likely to damage the polycarbonate Metal objects are likely chip or scratch which may lead to moisture contacting electroni...

Page 30: ...ock numbers are selected in the indicator console to ensure the correct pasture cover information is recorded against the corresponding farm and paddock ON Button Used to 1 Switch unit ON OFF Button U...

Page 31: ...designed for use in Winter may be appropriate all year round As a starting point use the following equation KgDM ha Pasture height x 18 6 750 Pasture cover equation adjustment If low covers are readin...

Page 32: ...m Paddock and Lower Sled Measure Paddocks Download Pasture Covers in Farmkeeper Create Feed Wedge Determine Grazing Plans Press ON Button Press MENU Button and scroll through menu Select farm and padd...

Page 33: ...the up and down cursor Scroll by pressing the grey cursor key on the right hand side until FACTr appears Adjust the constant by pressing the up and down cursor Press MENU again to save settings and r...

Page 34: ...hat all light beams are functioning correctly Lower sled and set Indicator Console to either kgDM ha or mm To Start Recording Push right cursor button once With Paddock ID enabled you will be prompted...

Page 35: ...ile recording the normal display mode shows the running average This can be changed at anytime to show a live reading the reading detected by the sensor at any instant of the mm or kgDM ha To switch b...

Page 36: ...f o Turn the console off o Press MENU then press the right cursor until you see PId On and FId On you can switch the value between on off by pressing the up down cursor o Press right cursor until SAVE...

Page 37: ...34 This section contains Bluetooth Software Installation Downloading Your Pasture Measurements Creating a Feed Wedge SECTION 4 Software...

Page 38: ...per CD in the CD DVD ROM drive on your PC and wait for it to autorun Follow the instructions on screen A Bluetooth to USB adapter and associated driver software optionally supplied NOTE Not required i...

Page 39: ...ble the Bluetooth functionality Start installation of Bluetooth drivers In some cases installation of the Bluetooth driver software is commenced by double clicking or right clicking the Bluetooth icon...

Page 40: ...llation process During the installation process when it says there is no USB device plugged in insert the Bluetooth adapter and continue Bluetooth Services required The only Bluetooth service required...

Page 41: ...ike this Step 2 Turning on Pasture Meter Next plug the power into the Pasture Meter indicator console and turn it on It may show ERR this is OK if it is not connected to the sensors on the sled Ensure...

Page 42: ...cell phones Step 4 Enabling the Serial Port Service Once the Pasture Meter device has appeared double click on it to display the services that it offers there should only be one Dev A Double click on...

Page 43: ...then enter 0000 that is four zeros and click OK IMPORTANT Please take note of the COM port number e g COM4 that is allocated this will be used later when configuring the Linker If the Above Window doe...

Page 44: ...ome green arrows on it as shown below NOTE The Bluetooth icon in the System Tray should also have a green centre like this Step 5 Disconnecting the serial port Now right click on the serial port icon...

Page 45: ...rmkeeper by DOUBLE CLICKING on the following icon located on your desktop Make sure you indictor console is turned ON and plugged into your external power source The next step is to import the paddock...

Page 46: ...not connect check the following o The Indicator Console is pluged into your external power source and turned on o The Indicator Console is NOT in the Record mode o Your external BluetoothTM dongle is...

Page 47: ...ax Demo Farm 10 and so on Once allocated click next Farmkeeper will now ask you to confirm the calibration equitation you have used and other collected data Note the No of samples field indicates the...

Page 48: ...45 Once you have confirmed the pasture cover data then click Next and the following screen will appear with the number of covers imported...

Page 49: ...created your first feed wedge by navigating to the Reports Feed Wedge report see below Next select you farm then click Generate Report You can then view the report in either the Report Graph or Map t...

Page 50: ...47 This section contains Maintaining your Pasture Meter Removing the Sensor Dispatching for Repair SECTION 5 Maintenance...

Page 51: ...wering mechanisms are required to be only tight enough to remove slack 4 Do not adjust the 14 Allen head screws which bolt the sensor together There are 4 on each rear side of the sensor and 6 on top...

Page 52: ...r of the ATV These components must be carefully put aside while any welding work is undertaken Welding sets up high circulating currents in the steel framework and these can damage or destroy the sens...

Page 53: ...he Sensor need to be removed for any reason it must be disconnected from the ATV unbolted from the sled uprights and the cable protector unscrewed from the draw bar Once unbolted slide the sensor back...

Page 54: ...inside the sensor for packing See far left illustration below Both legs of the sensor must be securely wrapped in suitable packaging material eg bubble wrap cardboard etc The indicator console and al...

Page 55: ...52 This section contains Exploded parts diagram Parts list SECTION 6 Parts...

Page 56: ...53 Exploded Parts Diagram...

Page 57: ...54 Notes...

Page 58: ...55...

Page 59: ...56 This section contains Trouble Shooting Tips SECTION 7 Trouble Shooting...

Page 60: ...57...

Page 61: ...ly follow the prompts If the Installation Window does not come up please go into Windows Explorer Windows Explorer may be an icon on your desk top Alternatively go to Start then Programs and scroll th...

Page 62: ...the computers local Bluetooth hardware is on When the Bluetooth icon is green is means an end to end connection has been established e g a virtual serial port Red Icon Tips If the Bluetooth icon is r...

Page 63: ...the Bluetooth manager Try searching for discoverable devices Check that the Pasture Meter can be found Green Icon Tips If the Bluetooth icon is green try these steps This could occur for instance if t...

Page 64: ...this or this dialog then the Pasture Meter Bluetooth device needs to be paired with the computer by entering the code 0000 that s four zeros Click on the yellow box and you should see the following di...

Page 65: ...62 This section contains Quick Reference Guide DIY Calibration Method SECTION 8 Quick Reference...

Page 66: ...ight beams are functioning correctly 5 Place hand or object through light beams and note that a height reading occurs If any 4 holes are blocked the reading should be 90mm showing correct operation 6...

Page 67: ...easured Please Note The wheels should be placed in the transport position whenever the Pasture Meter is not being operated on grass however brief the period is 13 Press right cursor and repeat the pro...

Page 68: ...nd a range of paddocks to calibrate against Pre Grazing post grazing and in between approximately 5 paddocks 2 Turn your pasture meter on and set the units to mm 3 Sit the pasture meter over each of y...

Page 69: ...Step 3 Calculate Column E Square each entry in Column C i e 40 x 40 1600 Step 4 Calculate Column F Multiply each entry in Column C by it s corresponding entry in Column D i e 40 x 360 14400 Step 5 Ad...

Page 70: ...the y axis of a graph c see below The parameters are used to convert pasture height to pasture dry matter using the formula below kgDM ha Pasture height x Slope Intercept N B Use the form on the prev...

Page 71: ...ht x Slope Intercept kgDM ha 110 x 18 6 750 2796 kgDM ha During 2008 AgResearch DairyNZ and Massey University with the support of Pastoral 21 Feeds Program conducted extensive independent calibration...

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