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In this example
HenSafe
will open at 07:30 as long as it is lighter than your
calibrated Opening LUX level. Useful when sunrise is at 4am!
SETTING UP
HenSafe
TO OPERATE IN LUX MODE
In this Mode
HenSafe
will open and close your door only when the ambient light (LUX) levels exceed those which you calibrate.
You can add up to 90 minutes delay to the Closing LUX level which will help late-to-roost hens not to be locked out.
Two lux levels are stored by
HenSafe
one for opening and one for closing.
You must calibrate both LUX levels even if you are only
using one of them
so that
HenSafe
knows the difference between morning and evening light levels.
STEP 1 – Calibrating your Close LUX Levels
In the evening, watch your hens go to roost and ensure they are inside their house.
Press and hold the Green Manual Button.
Your door will start to close and after approx. 10 seconds you will see
CALIBRATING
appear on the Display.
Release the Green Manual Button.
Your door will continue to close. During this time do not obstruct the ambient light from reaching
HenSaf
e
.
When the motor has stopped and your door has closed the Display Backlight will go out and
HenSafe
will remember the LUX
level for use with future Close times.
After successful calibration the Display will illuminate for a few seconds and
OK
will appear to confirm your setting.
An unsuccessful calibration will result in the message
BAD LIGHT LEVEL ABORTED
being displayed (please see the section on
Display Messages to rectify).
STEP 2 – Selecting the Close Setup Mode to operate on LUX
Now go to Close Setup via the Menu as before and change from TIME Mode to LUX Mode, adding up to 90 minutes delay if needed,
using the
button and SET button.
STEP 3 – Calibrating your Open LUX Levels
With the door closed, press and hold the Green Manual Button to calibrate it opening.
If your door is already open before you start then just close it with the Manual Button first.
STEP 4 – Selecting the Open Setup Mode to operate on LUX
Now go to Open Setup via the Menu as before and change from TIME Mode to LUX Mode. There is no time delay option for Opening.
Tips:
You can recalibrate the LUX levels at any time by pressing and holding the Green Manual Button as above.
Your LUX levels will stay in memory until you calibrate again, no matter which Mode of operation is selected.
Unwanted Light Sources
:
If you have outside lights, stack yard floodlights, streetlights etc. nearby then this may cause
HenSafe
to operate early/late.
Remember that overnight snow and bright sunshine will increase ambient light levels for the morning opening.
To overcome this you can set
HenSafe
to operate in TIME Mode or BOTH Mode – see next section.
Setting up
HenSafe
to operate in BOTH Mode
With this Mode,
BOTH time and lux parameters set by you must be met before
HenSafe
operates your door.
This Mode is particularly useful as the seasons and light levels change. Using LUX Mode on its own in Summer for opening and closing
may result in your door opening very early and closing very late, exposing your hens to predators - BOTH Mode enables you to set a
time with a light level backstop, or a light level with a time backstop.
Using BOTH Mode to Open
HenSafe
STEP 1 –
Install
HenSafe
and set it up in TIME Mode with your preferred Open and Close times.
STEP 2 –
Calibrate
your Open LUX Level
AND
your Close LUX level.
STEP 4 –
Set the Mode to BOTH on the Open Setup menu
In this example,
HenSafe
will close your door at the LUX level you have
calibrated, PLUS 15 minutes extra – so you can cater for stragglers
IMPORTANT
To enable light sampling to take place
HenSafe
will operate within 5 minutes of the calibrated light level being detected.
This prevents spurious operation due to transient light sources.
Dark clouds, car headlights, torch beams etc. which last
*
less than 5 minutes*
will not be registered
and will not affect the opening or closing of your door.
