18
IC System
TM
Design Guide, v2.3
Wire Path “Field Fuses” (aka “Switches”)
Third-party, fused wire path “field fuse” devices are available on the market that provide the ability to
isolate one leg of a wire path for troubleshooting purposes. These switch devices have proven effective
on DECODER type control systems to facilitate easy troubleshooting when a wire path has gone down
due to a failed decoder. However it is extremely rare for an IC System
TM
to experience this type of
failure because the ICM is specifically designed to fail offline by itself and not bring down the wire path
when damaged. For this reason, Rain Bird strongly discourages the use of third-party switches on the IC
System. Third-party switches are an unnecessary, extra device on the wire path with the potential to act
as an additional failure point to be investigated. Third-party switches may prevent the Rain Bird central
control software system diagnostics from properly identifying a failed ICM.
Looping Communication Wire
The IC System communication wire should NOT be looped. Dead ends are highly preferred and
recommended. While the system will work with looped communication wire, troubleshooting will be
more difficult so looping is not recommended.
Combining Wire Paths at the Interface
While a single IC wire path can easily handle 750 ICMs when sized according to the design guide table,
there are times when it may make sense to bring separate wire paths (with fewer ICMs) directly back to
the interface. When combining two or more distinct wire paths into a single output terminal at the ICI, it
is not necessary to calculate the total length of all of the wire paths combined when calculating Trunk
wire size. Each distinct path is viewed separately as a Trunk and not a Branch. Therefore, size each of the
Trunk wires paths separately, considering the number of ICMs and length of that path to calculate the
wire size. NOTE: The combined number of ICMs on a single terminal output still cannot exceed 750
ICMs.
Remotely Locating Integrated Control Interfaces (ICI)
Rain Bird has had great success with remotely located interfaces for many years. Designers may wish to
consider remotely locating the Integrated Control Interface (ICI) in the field to reduce long wire runs or
address localized conditions. For example, the central control computer can be located at the
maintenance building and the ICI can be remotely located in a pump station, clubhouse or other secure,
weatherproof location that is more conveniently located to the golf course irrigation system.