Spectrum Technologies Fieldscout TDR 350 Product Manual Download Page 3

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CONTENTS

General Overview

Specifications

Product Dimensions

Button Functions

Display Screens

Meter Operation

Meter Care

Maintenance: Display and Battery Removal

Maintenance: Display and Sensor Replacement

Data Logs

Field Scout Mobile App/SpecConnect

Pairing TDR350 with FieldScout Mobile App

VWC Measurements

Electrical Conductivity

Optional Accessories

Appendix 1: Soil Specific Reading Correlation

Appendix 2: Troubleshooting

Appendix 3: Updating Device Firmware

Appendix 4: Calibration

Warranty Info

Declaration of Conformity

This manual will familiarize you with the features and operation of

your new Field Scout

TDR 350 Soil Moisture Meter. Please read

this manual thoroughly before use

Summary of Contents for Fieldscout TDR 350

Page 1: ...TDR 350 Soil Moisture Meter PRODUCT MANUAL Item 6435 ...

Page 2: ... meter also measures soil surface tempera ture The user can quickly transition between taking VWC readings in standard high clay and sand soils The TDR 350 s shaft mounted probe allows the user to take measurements while standing The meter s built in data logger eliminates the need to record data manually The data points can be viewed with the FieldScout Mo bile app that maps out soil measurements...

Page 3: ...t 16 Pairing TDR350 with FieldScout Mobile App 18 VWC Measurements 20 Electrical Conductivity 21 Optional Accessories 22 Appendix 1 Soil Specific Reading Correlation 23 Appendix 2 Troubleshooting 24 Appendix 3 Updating Device Firmware 25 Appendix 4 Calibration 26 Warranty Info 28 Declaration of Conformity 28 This manual will familiarize you with the features and operation of your new Field ScoutTM...

Page 4: ...l Connectivity USB Type A Bluetooth Low Energy GNSS Accuracy 1m Galileo 3 5 to 10m Glonass GPS WAAS and EGNOS enabled Power 4 AA alkaline batteries Log Capacity 50 000 measurements Display Backlit high contrast graphic LCD Weight 4 3 lbs 1 9 kg IP Rating Display IP54 Probe IP67 Probe Head Dimensions 2 4 x 1 4 6cm x 3 5cm Shaft Dimensions Extended Length 38 96 5cm Collapsed Length 23 58 4cm Width 1...

Page 5: ...5 Product dimensions The following are the dimensions of a fully extended TDR 350 It is possible to reduce the length of the meter to 23 58 5 cm by adjusting the lower half of the shaft ...

Page 6: ...tton Press to enter available menus Press to select or confirm a menu selection DELETE or UP button Press to move up within a menu Delete last measurement from the running aver age counter and its entry from the internal data log see p 14 READ or DOWN button Press to move down within a menu From Reading screen press briefly to make a reading Press and hold to clear the average and reset the sample...

Page 7: ...g screen Measurements from the sensor are displayed on the Reading screen along with rod size used soil type and a reading count with running average Press READ to take readings update Count and the Average Indicators Battery level icon upper right corner Bluetooth icon displayed when enabled A bar appears through it when not actively communicating GNSS location icon When enabled Transitions from ...

Page 8: ...content 27 Sand for sand based fields or turf greens Clear Logs Erases data logs from internal memory Save to USB Transfers data logs to a USB flash drive if at tached Backlight Sets the LCD backlight ON OFF AUTO In AUTO mode the backlight will shut off 5 seconds after a button press GNSS Location Enable or disable geo location fix for new log entries Bluetooth Enable or disable Bluetooth connecti...

Page 9: ...minutes Current Date Current Time Reported values are acquired from the satellite location signal Timezone Offset from Greenwich Mean Time As the offset changes the Time and Date will update Daylight Savings ON or OFF Calibration Overrides factory calibration See Appendix Factory Defaults Resets menu settings and counter to the fac tory default value Pressing Select button for these options brings...

Page 10: ...e Set tings Menu p 8 Taking Readings 1 Grip the TDR handles to the left and right of the display 2 Push down on the handles maintaining a steady downward pressure to drive the rods into the soil until the sensor base is in contact with the soil surface Be sure not to allow back and forth or side to side movement This can introduce air pockets into the soil medium which will alter the reading Cauti...

Page 11: ... extended period of time ie between seasons Battery life If the battery level is low or a battery is inserted incorrectly the low battery icon appears on the screen and the display will power off Battery life is affected by the enabled features accessories connected and the frequency of use If not needed the Bluetooth GNSS Location and backlight features can be disabled The back light can also be ...

Page 12: ... base plate for battery sensor or display replacements Procedures are shown in the following sections Battery Replacement 1 Follow steps above for Display and Sensor Removal to access the batteries 2 Install four AA batteries and ensure correct polarity by referencing the positive and negative labels at either end of each slot 3 Follow the procedure on the next page to reinstall the display plug c...

Page 13: ...he sensor cable molding 4 If equipped with the IR temperature sensor option attach it to the smaller diameter connector 5 Guide the excess cable length back down through the base plate 6 Mount the display back onto the base plate by tightening the four screws Be sure the USB port side faces the same side as the serial number label Sensor Block Removal Replacement 1 Follow steps for Display Removal...

Page 14: ...as a csv file named with the serial number as the filename If a previous data file exists on the flash drive with the same filename it will be over written Caution If you cleared the data log before taking the current set of measurements be sure any data on the flash drive has already been saved to your PC Erasing Data Press the Menu Select button p 6 to open the Settings Menu Scroll to the Clear ...

Page 15: ...and a negative sign may ap pear for South or West compass directions d Satellite fix status will be 0 if unable to determine a location 1 for lo cation without differential correction and 2 for location with differential correction e Rod length options are L Long 8 M Med 4 8 S Short 3 and T Turf 1 5 f Soil Type options are S Standard H Hi Clay and D sanD g Indicates whether the value in column B i...

Page 16: ...a color coded pushpin icon is placed at every sampling point If the TDR has a good GNSS location fix p 7 the app will use the coordinates from the meter If not or if the meter s GNSS location is disabled it will use the internal location of the smartphone The data from the Pro version of the app is sent instantaneously to SpecConnect Data can be viewed in map form fig 3 exported to a spreadsheet o...

Page 17: ...17 Fig 3 2 D Contour Plot in SpecConnect Fig 4 Trend Report ...

Page 18: ...create name and select a new session This will bring up the Select Session Mode screen Fig 1 Select whether you are using Grid or Freeform Pro version only mode to collect data 5 a For Grid mode the Main Grid screen Fig 2a will appear Confirm that the meter you are using appears at the top of the screen If not a new session must be created Tap any of the zones to bring up the Take Reading screen F...

Page 19: ... feature has not been activated you will be prompted to do so 7 The app will search for the Bluetooth device It should then ap pear in the list of scanned devices Fig 4 After selecting the device the App will be ready to take readings Note Although the device appears in the app it may not appear on the phone s list of Bluetooth devices Figure 4 Scanned device list ...

Page 20: ...t Wilting Point and Field Capacity One rule of thumb is that irrigation should be initiated when half the Plant Available Water has been depleted Time Domain Reflectometry TDR The speed of an electromagnetic wave along a waveguide in soil is de pendent on the bulk dielectric permittivity of the soil matrix The fact that water 80 has a much greater dielectric constant than air 1 or soil solids 3 7 ...

Page 21: ...xy measure ment is possible because as salts dissolve into the soil they disassociate into ions which conduct electricity Salinity Index The TDR also has the option to report EC in the form of the Salinity In dex The salinity index is defined as the ratio of the bulk EC to the volu metric water content expressed as a decimal For example if the bulk EC is 0 25 mS cm and the VWC is 22 the Salinity I...

Page 22: ...e tem perature sensor TDR Spacer item 6435SP Placed on the end of the sensor block to aide in identification of how fast and firm the turf greens are The spacer has two orientations allowing it to work for either desired depth Requires 3 8 cm 1 5 turf rods For use with firmware version 1 02 or higher Allows for the measurement of 1 3cm 0 5 or 2 5cm 1 0 soil depths Pilot Hole Maker item 6430PH If t...

Page 23: ... reading at each sample site 4 Extract a known volume of soil at each sample site Ideally an undisturbed soil core Reduce evaporation store samples in a sealed plastic container 5 Weigh the wet soil samples 6 Dry the samples 105o C for 48 hours and weigh again 7 Plot sample measurements against FieldScout TDR readings Regression analysis is used to develop a formula to correlate TDR readings to th...

Page 24: ...d in distilled water Test readings are made in a container of distilled water or saturated sand The container should have a diameter of at least 3 inches 7 5cm and should be tall enough so the rods can be completely immersed or inserted Readings should be taken with the Soil Type to Standard and the correct Rod Length selected The meter should read VWC 0 in air In saturat ed sand it should read be...

Page 25: ...ve The file will not be seen by the meter if it is renamed or stored within a folder on the drive 3 Power off the meter 4 Remove the protective cap from the meter s USB port 5 Insert the flash drive into the meter s USB port 6 While pressing the Delete button press and release the On Off Back button The meter will beep 7 Release the buttons Note The display screen will remain blank during the upda...

Page 26: ... distilled deionized water into the container The water level must be deeper than the rods currently installed Note The wa ter and container must be free of minerals and salts to calibrate properly 2 From the Settings Menu p 8 set the rod length to the correct length of the rods currently installed 3 From the Settings Menu choose the Calibration option 4 Press the Select button to initiate the cal...

Page 27: ... European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service Pan European satellite navigation system It augments the US GPS satellite navigation system and makes it suitable for safety critical applications VWC Volumetric Water Content The percent of the soil volume that is filled with water At saturation the VWC will equal the soil porosity EC Electrical Conductivity A measure of how well the soil solu ti...

Page 28: ...or USA ANSI C63 4 2014 EN 55032 2015 Paul Martis Hardware Engineering Manager February 6 2017 Warranty This product is warranted to be free from defects in material or workmanship for one year from the date of purchase During the warranty period Spectrum will at its option either repair or replace products that prove to be defective This warranty does not cover damage due to improper installation ...

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