Geokon 8800, Instruction Manual

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MODEL 8800 SERIES GEONET WIRELESS DATA HOSTING SYSTEM | MAINTENANCE | 25
4. MAINTENANCE
All GeoNet devices are designed to operate in field environments with minimal
upkeep; nevertheless, there are some basic maintenance procedures that should
be followed to ensure maximum reliability and functionality.
4.1 PREVENTING WATER FROM ENTERING THE ENCLOSURES
GeoNet devices are designed to be splash proof and rain proof, but are not
submersible.
These units are sealed by a gasket preventing water entry, so long as the screws
that hold the lid in place are properly tightened and the gasket inside the lid is
properly aligned. It is also very important to ensure that all the cable fittings are
securely tightened. Models that feature a 10-pin connector are equipped with a
watertight cap, which must be installed when the connector is not in use.
Despite these precautions, the loggers may encounter leakage along the cable if
the cable is cut, or if the unit is installed in an especially humid environment. In
this type of environment,
GEOKON
recommends that the internal desiccant packs
be replaced at intervals to prevent condensation from corroding or shorting out
the internal electronics.
4.2 BATTERY LIFE
Battery life is affected by the quantity and physical configuration of the loggers,
along with weather conditions and the radio environment (as related to retries).
Loggers that are the only communication link between other loggers and the
gateway will have a shorter battery life than those that have no routing
responsibility.
Table 10 below shows an estimate of battery life in a network of fewer than 20
loggers based on the number of readings collected and forwarded to the
gateway. More than 1,000 days of battery life are possible when using a scan
rate of one hour or higher, with only one hop. A more frequent scan rate will
reduce this estimate. If greater battery life is needed, a 12-volt nominal input is
available from
GEOKON
.
TABLE 10: Battery Life Estimates
4.3 REPLACING BATTERIES
The network must be put into deployment mode prior to replacing the batteries
in the gateway. This is also best practice when replacing batteries in loggers.
Replace D cell batteries when their measured voltage drops below 2.0 VDC.
Replace external 12-volt batteries when the measured voltage drops below 11
VDC.
GeoNet devices MUST be mounted vertically
10: Alkaline Lithium
Readings Transmitted 25,000 70,000
Radio Cycles 500,000 1,400,000
Scan Rates (minutes) Days Days
12 208 583
20 347 972
30 521 1458
60 1042 2915