We would like to introduce our wireless, PC
based sprinkler control system for container nurseries, tree farms, golf courses or any
large property that requires the ultimate in flexibility, ease-of-use and maintainability
for irrigation control. The system was originally designed for a tree farm. The owner of
the very first system could not be more pleased and says that “this will
revolutionize container nursery irrigation.”
The
system utilizes all Commercial-Off-The-Shelf components that are industrially hardened
devices. It is based on a Microsoft Access database, but the owner/operator never actually
has to work in the database, as the graphical front-end allows for programming of
schedules to be done with mainly just mouse clicks. Since the system is PC based, it is
also possible to remotely manage and monitor your irrigation schedule. Additionally, a the
program can run on a laptop with which you could drive around your property and have full
control via radio and antenna.
This is the Main Screen. From here
you can navigate to any of the fields or the Scheduler, Trend Screen or Alarm History.
This is the Zone Configuration
Screen. Here you can program Zones with any combination of valves (by Field/Section/Valve
Selection) and one or two pumps. You can also provide limits of pressure and flow for
error proofing.
The window with the black background
is the Scheduler. Here you can program Groups with any combination of Zones. Select
Duration, Start Time, Chemigation and Day(s) of week. Allows changing of all times by
percentage.
This is an example of a Field Screen.
Each Field Screen shows valves on by schedule in green with indication of which group
started each valve. Valves can be turned on manually by clicking and will then light up in
yellow.
This is an example of the Trend
Screen. Here you can get a history of what ran. Pressure and Flow for each pump can be
displayed. This could be very useful should you suspect a broken pipe over-night, for
instance.
The Trend Screen is complimented by a
Run Log:
And an Alarm Log for troubleshooting
purposes.
Note that these last few screenshots were
captured over remote connection to the customer’s computer via Go-To-My PC. This is
another powerful possibility with PC based control. You can manage this system from just
about anywhere. The cost savings in this alone could be substantial.
Here is a CAD drawing of a typical
remote cabinet. The cabinet is Fiberglass and Weatherproof. Your field wiring connects to
interface blocks that are individually fused for each output. The enclosure also houses
the transformer for your valves, as well as the communication devices including the
wireless Ethernet radio.
