Decagon EC-5 Operator's Manual
  1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Decagon Manuals
  4. Accessories
  5. EC-5
  6. Operator's manual

Decagon EC-5 Operator's Manual

Soil moisture sensor
Hide thumbs
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

Operator's Manual
Decagon Devices, Inc.
Version: October 10, 2016 — 11:23:43

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading
Need help?

Need help?

Do you have a question about the EC-5 and is the answer not in the manual?

Questions and answers

Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel

Related Manuals for Decagon EC-5

Summary of Contents for Decagon EC-5

  • Page 1 Operator’s Manual Decagon Devices, Inc. Version: October 10, 2016 — 11:23:43...
  • Page 2 EC-5 Decagon Devices, Inc. 2365 NE Hopkins Court Pullman WA 99163 Phone: 509-332-5600 Fax: 509-332-5158 Website: www.decagon.com Email: support@decagon.com or sales@decagon.com Trademarks “ECH2O” is a registered trademark of Decagon Devices, Inc. c 2001-2014 Decagon Devices, Inc. All Rights Reserved...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    1.2 Seller’s Liability ..... . 2 About EC-5 2.1 Specifications ..... . .

  • Page 4: Introduction

    There are several ways to contact Decagon if you ever need assis- tance with your product, have any questions, or feedback. Decagon has Customer Service Representatives available to speak with you Monday through Friday, between 7am and 5pm Pacific time.

  • Page 5: Seller's Liability

    1 INTRODUCTION EC-5 Seller’s Liability Seller warrants new equipment of its own manufacture against de- fective workmanship and materials for a period of one year from the date of receipt of equipment. Note: We do not consider the results of ordinary wear and tear, neglect, misuse, accident as defects.

  • Page 6: About

    The two-prong design and higher measurement frequency allows the EC-5 to measure VWC from 0 to 100% (VWC of saturated soils is generally 40 to 60% depending on the soil type) and allows accurate measurement of all soils and soilless medias with a wide range of salinities.
  • Page 7 2 ABOUT EC-5 EC-5 Cable Length: 5 m standard; custom cable lengths up to 40 m available upon request Data logger Compatibility (not exclusive): Decagon: Em50, Em50R, and Em50G Campbell Scientific: Any logger with serial I/O (CR10X, CR850, 1000, 3000, etc.)

  • Page 8: Installing The Sensors

    Decagon advises that you test the sensors with your data log- ging device and software before going to the field. The EC-5 sensor was designed for easy installation into the soil. Af- ter digging a hole to the desired depth, push the prongs on the sensor into undisturbed soil at the bottom of the hole or into the sidewall of the hole.

  • Page 9: Wiring

    Wiring Figure 1: 3.5 mm Stereo Plug The following software support the EC-5 sensor: ECH2O Utility 1.12 or greater ECH2O DataTrac 2.77 or greater Connecting to a non-Decagon Logger Customers may purchase EC-5 sensors for use with non-Decagon...
  • Page 10 These sensors typically come configured with stripped and tinned (pigtail) lead wires for use with screw terminals. Refer to your distinct logger manual for details on wiring. Our Integrator’s Guide gives detailed instructions on connecting the EC-5 sensor to non-Decagon loggers. Please visit www.decagon.com/support/literat for the complete Integrator’s Guide.
  • Page 11 EC-5 Figure 3: Connections If your EC-5 is equipped with the standard 3.5 mm plug and you want to connect it to a non-Decagon data logger, you have two op- tions. First, you can clip off the plug on the sensor cable, strip and tin the wires, and wire it directly into the data logger.

  • Page 12: Connecting Sensors

    EC-5 4 CONNECTING SENSORS Connecting Sensors Decagon designed the EC-5 sensor for use with our Em50 series data loggers, the Em5b data loggers, or the ProCheck handheld reader. The standard sensor (with a 3.5 mm “stereo plug” connector) quickly connects to and is easily configured within a Decagon logger or ProCheck.

  • Page 13: Collecting Data

    EC-5 sensor. The current requirement for the EC-5 is 10 mA at 2.5 V. We designed the EC-5 sensor for use with data loggers and read- out devices that provide short excitation pulses, leaving the sensors turned off most of the time. Continuous excitation not only wastes battery power, but may, under certain circumstances, cause the sen- sor to exceed government specified limits on electromagnetic emis-...

  • Page 14: Scwin (Short Cut) Directions

    02: 0.0000 Execution Interval (seconds) *Table 3 Subroutines End Program SCWin (Short Cut) Directions The following are instructions for using the Campbell Scientific SCWin (Short Cut) program to read the EC-5 soil moisture sensor. 1. Download EchoCSI.zip from http://www.decagon.com/appnotes/ EchoCSIappnote.pdf.
  • Page 15 LoggerNet, there is a tab for SCWin (Short Cut) on the tool bar. 5. Select New to start a new program to read the EC-5. (a) Select the data logger you will be using to read the sensors. (b) Select the measurement interval (a shorter measurement interval, i.e.

  • Page 16: Removing The Sensor

    7. Under the “Sensors” file tree, double-click on “Meteorological” and then select “Soil Moisture.” 8. Choose “EC-5” Sensor. Removing the Sensor When removing the sensor from the soil, do not pull it out of the soil by the cable. Doing so may break internal connections and make the...

  • Page 17: Calibration

    Sensor Calibration Values Following is a list of the both the millivolt and RAW calibration val- ues for the EC-5, where is the VWC, mV is the millivolt output of the sensor, and where x is the RAW sensor output.
  • Page 18 10 dS/m saturation extract. VWC (θ) is given by: θ = 8.5 10 0.48 where RAW is the output from the Decagon data logger using 3 V excitation. If you are using a non-Decagon data logger, VWC is given θ = 11.9 10 0.401...
  • Page 19 0.675 for a data logger with 2,500 mV excitation. Rockwool We calibrate the EC-5 in Grodan Master rockwool with solution electrical conductivities of 0.2, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 4.5 dS/m. VWC can be calculated using θ = 6.28 x 10 + 1.37 x 10...

  • Page 20: Maintenance And Troubleshooting

    EC-5 7 MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING Maintenance and Troubleshooting If you encounter problems with the EC-5, they most likely manifest themselves in the form of incorrect or erroneous readings. Before contacting Decagon about the sensor, do the following: Check to make sure the connections to the data logger are both correct and secure.

  • Page 21: Declaration Of Conformity

    EC-5 Year of First Manufacture: 2001 This is to certify that the EC-5 ECH2O soil moisture sensor, manu- factured by Decagon Devices, Inc., a corporation based in Pullman, Washington, USA meets or exceeds the standards for CE compliance as per the Council Directives noted above. All instruments are built at the factory at Decagon and pertinent testing documentation is freely available for verification.
  • Page 22 Declaration of Conformity, 18 Stereo Plug, 6 Dielectric Permittivity, 14 Wiring Diagrams, 7 ECH2O Utility, 6 Email, 1 Extension Cables, 9 Fax, 1 Installation Orientation, 6 Procedure, 5 Removal, 6 Integrator’s Guide, 7 Logger Communications, 8 Connection, 7 Non-Decagon, 6...

Table of Contents