Soil Instruments RO-1 VW Note User Manual
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Soil Instruments RO-1 VW Note User Manual

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VWnote
User Manual
Soil Instruments Limited has an ongoing policy of design review and reserves the right to amend these specifications without notice.
Man230 VWnote – MN1114 – Rev1.2.0
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  • Page 1 VWnote User Manual Soil Instruments Limited has an ongoing policy of design review and reserves the right to amend these specifications without notice. Man230 VWnote – MN1114 – Rev1.2.0...
  • Page 2 What’s this manual about? This manual tells you about the VWnote and how to use it to take readings from VW sensors. Who does this apply to? Installers, field engineers and technicians who need to acquire readings from VW sensors and to maintain the VWnote system.
  • Page 3 Welcome! Thank you for choosing the VWnote. This manual has been written to help you utilise all of the functions of the VWnote. Please read this manual thoroughly before use to help avoid any problems and keep it handy when using the VWnote. VWnote The VWnote is a handheld device which takes readings from Vibrating Wire (VW) sensors and stores them on an internal...

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Contents OVERVIEW & INTRODUCTION Important Information Product Changes Warranty Disposal System Description - Things You Need to Know Features Benefits System Components The VWnote USB Flash Drive VWnote Configuration Tool Software VW Sensor Lead Rechargeable Battery & Charger VWnote Carry Case Quick Start Guide Before You Go to Site When You Are In The Field...
  • Page 5 How To Setup Sensor Configuration Sweep Frequency Excitation Voltage Temperature Unit Display Resolution Raw Data Unit Engineering Unit Name Calibration Factors The DATA TO USB Menu The DATE/TIME Menu The CFG EXPORT Menu The CFG IMPORT Menu The INFO Menu GUIDE TO THE CONFIGURATION FILE &...

  • Page 6: Overview & Introduction

    WARNING Tips give additional information that may be helpful when using VWnote. PRODUCT Soil Instruments has an on-going policy of design review and reserves CHANGES the right to amend the design of their product and this instruction manual without notice.

  • Page 7: System Description - Things You Need To Know

    System Description Things You Need to Know About VWnote • Portable and rugged. FEATURES • Compatible with most commonly used VW sensors. • Real-time display of VW sensor readings in engineering units as well as in Hz, Hz /1000 and period. •...

  • Page 8: System Components

    System Components THE VWNOTE The VWnote is a handheld readout unit as well as a data logger for VW sensors. Below is a picture of the VWnote showing the various parts that you will use to interact with it. Rechargeable battery charging point Sensor connector Backlit LCD...

  • Page 9: Vw Sensor Lead

    VW SENSOR LEAD The VW sensor lead is shown in the picture below. One end of the lead has a Lemo plug that you will plug into the sensor connector on the top left of the VWnote. On the other end of the lead are four crocodile connectors coloured red, black, green and white, for connecting to the wires in the signal cable of a sensor with matching colours.

  • Page 10: Quick Start Guide

    Quick Start Guide BEFORE YOU GO 1. Place the VWnote on charge, ensuring that you follow the charging procedure outlined in ‘Detailed VWnote user Guide - Charging the TO SITE: VWnote’ is followed. 2. Switch on the VWnote. 3. Select ‘DATE/TIME’ from the main menu to set the VWnote internal clock to the current date and time.

  • Page 11: Back In The Office

    • If you do not have a pre-prepared sensor list, you can read the VW sensor by selecting ‘DEFAULT_VW’ from the sensor list, or you can add sites and sensors by going to ‘SETUP’ in the main menu (please refer to ‘Detailed VWnote User Guide’...

  • Page 12: Detailed Vwnote User Guide

    DETAILED VWNOTE USER GUIDE Charging The VWnote The VWnote is supplied with a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) recharge- able battery. It is important to follow the charging procedure outlined below at all times to correctly maintain the battery. STEP ACTION Make sure the VWnote is switched off Remove the protective cap from the charging point, located on the top of the VWnote...

  • Page 13: Connecting Sensors To The Vwnote

    Temperature - Consult the sensor user manual for the sensor connections. If you are still unsure, please contact Soil Instruments. Please ensure that the bare parts of the clips do not touch each other and cause shorts among the four wires.

  • Page 14: How To Use The Keypad

    How to Use the Keypad Below is a picture showing the keypad of the VWnote. Each key on the keypad has multiple functions depending on its context within the VWnote menu. FUNCTION The On button has two functions: 1. When the VWnote is off, pressing it turns the VWnote on. 2.
  • Page 15 FUNCTION Down ( key acts as a ‘down’ instruction in the situations below: 1. It moves the cursor down in the currently displayed list such as the main menu, list of sites, list of sensors, current readings, quality indices and various reading and display parameters. 2.

  • Page 16: Menu Structure

    Menu Structure MAIN MENU Normal Mode Menu Advanced Mode Menu >READ >READ SETUP SETUP >SETUP >SETUP DATA TO USB DATA TO USB >DATA TO USB >DATA TO USB DATE/TIME DATE/TIME >DATE/TIME >DATE/TIME CFG EXPORT CFG EXPORT >CFG EXPORT >CFG EXPORT CFG IMPORT CFG IMPORT >CFG IMPORT...
  • Page 17 READ Select this menu item to take a reading of the VW sensor that is currently connected to the VWnote. SETUP Select this item to add sensors to the list of sensors or to edit the read- ing and displaying parameters and calibration factors of an existing sensor.

  • Page 18: The Read Menu

    The READ Menu (List of Sensors in DEFAULT site) >SITE: DEFAULT >DEFAULT_VW SITE: ABC_STN SITE: BCC_ST_STN SITE: XYZ_QUARRY >READ SITE: XYZ_STN ......Notes: Notes: 1) List is sorted by SITE name 1) List is sorted by SENSOR name 2) DEFAULT site is always on the top of list 2) DEFAULT site has only one SENSOR “DEFAULT_VW”...
  • Page 19 12.651 psi TEMP = 23.5 °C Save READING SAVED FRQ = 2654.221 Hz PRESS --> TEMP = 23.5 °C /1K = 7044.965 TEMP = 23.5 °C PER = 376.76 uS TEMP = 23.5 °C Notes: 1) VW readings displayed on four screens 2) First line of rst screen is reading in engineering units 3) Other screens are readings in raw units Sensor ‘DEFAULT_VW’...

  • Page 20: Sensor Reading

    SENSOR READING After you have selected which sensor to read by pressing , the readings of the currently connected VW sensor will be displayed on four consecutive screens: 1. Screen 1 – The VW reading in engineering units (as calculated using the raw reading and the calibration factors and zero reading you specified) and temperature reading in °C (or °F).

  • Page 22: The Setup Menu

    The SETUP Menu SETUP You can enter a new sensor configuration into VWnote or edit the existing sensor configuration in the VWnote using the keypad on the VWnote. The process is slow because there are only six keys on VWnote. It is designed for use on site when you need to add sensors or change the sensor configuration in an emergency.

  • Page 23: Configure Anew Sensor

    The sensor name is limited to 15 characters and can contain only A-Z, 0-9 and “_”. Pressing during entry or edit will not move the cursor one character to the left. It will cancel the entry or edit and take you back to the previous menu.

  • Page 24: Flow Diagram

    FLOW DIAGRAM > ADD A SITE (New SITE) SITE: ABC_QUARRY SITE: ABC_STN SITE: BCC_ST_STN >SETUP (Existing SITE) SITE: XYZ_QUARRY SITE: XYZ_STN ......(List sorted by SITE name) DEFAULT: 1400 - 3500 Hz SWEEP FREQUENCY: 1400 - 3500 HZ CUSTOM: PRESS --> TO SPECIFY EXCITATION VOLTAGE : 5V (or 15V) TEMPERATURE...
  • Page 25 (New SENSOR) (List of Sensors in one SITE) Save Save SITE: SENSOR: >ADD A SENSOR XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX EXTENSOMETER_1 EXTENSOMETER_2 PIEZOMETER_1 PIEZOMETER_2 PIEZOMETER_3 (Existing SENSOR) (List sorted by SENSOR name) Save SWEEP FREQ SAVED PRESS --> START Save SWEEP FREQ SAVED 1400 3500 Hz PRESS -->...

  • Page 26: How To Setup Sensor Configuration

    How to Set Up Sensor Configuration The following eight parameters define how each sensor is read and how the readings are displayed. The current settings for these parameters are presented on eight screens that you can scroll through using Pressing while each parameter is displayed will take you to further screens where you can edit their values.

  • Page 27: Excitation Voltage

    • 2. EXCITATION The default excitation voltage that VWnote uses to energise the sensor before taking a reading is 5 V. This is sufficient for most VOLTAGE: site conditions where the sensors have a short cable length • You can select the optional 15 V excitation if the sensor has a long cable •...

  • Page 28: Raw Data Unit

    • 5. RAW DATA Although three raw data formats (Hz, Hz /1000 and period) are displayed by VWnote while the sensor is read, only one raw UNIT: reading (in Hz or Hz /1000) is saved and used for conversion into reading in engineering units •...
  • Page 29 • If you select POLYNOMIAL: 1. Pressing will take you to the next screen where you can view, enter or edit the value of A. 2. Pressing up and down will display other screens displaying value of B and ‘R0 or C? PRESS ‘...

  • Page 30: The Data To Usb Menu

    The DATA TO USB Menu You don’t need a site PC to download saved data from the VWnote. Instead, you transfer the saved data to a USB flash drive then transfer the data to a PC, which need not be in the same office or the same site as the VWnote.

  • Page 31: The Date/Time Menu

    The DATE /TIME Menu Select this menu item to update the date and time of the VWnote internal clock. The date is in ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD). Use move the cursor from the field of year to fields of month, day, hour, minute, second and back to year, and so on.

  • Page 32: The Cfg Export Menu

    The CFG EXPORT Menu If you have added new sensors to the VWnote or made changes to the sensor configuration in the VWnote using the keypad, you can back up the sensor configuration to a flash drive using this menu item. Save >CFG EXPORT DONE.

  • Page 33: The Cfg Import Menu

    The CFG IMPORT Menu In addition to entering sensor configuration using the keypad, you can produce a sensor configuration file on your PC using the VWnote Configuration Tool software. For the import to work, the configuration file must be named as ‘VW_CONF0.vwn’ and reside in the root folder on the USB flash drive.

  • Page 34: The Info Menu

    The INFO Menu This menu item allows you to view information about the VWnote. The information includes: • VWnote serial number • Firmware version number and compilation date of firmware • Data and time of the VWnote’s internal clock • Storage capacity in MB (used) •...

  • Page 35: Guide To The Configuration File & Data File

    GUIDE TO THE CONFIGURATION FILE & DATA FILE Content of the Sensor Configuration File The Sensor Configuration File contains the following eight parameters that define how each sensor is read and how the readings are displayed. 1. SWEEP You need to set the sweep frequency to any range between 450 Hz and FREQUENCY: 6000 Hz, such as 450-1250 Hz or 1200-2800 Hz.

  • Page 36: Building A Sensor Configuration File

    Building a Sensor Configuration File You can build the list of sensors with configuration in two ways: • Using the keypad on the VWnote to create and edit the list in the VWnote’s internal memory. See ‘Detailed VWnote User Guide’ •...
  • Page 37 STEP ACTION Insert the VWnote USB flash drive into the PC. Open the VWnote software folder on the flash drive and run ‘VWnote Configuration Tool.exe’ . Click on ‘File’ then ‘New’ to create a new configuration file. After you elect to create a new configuration file, the ‘Add New Sensor’...
  • Page 38 STEP ACTION Click on either the ‘General Settings’ or ‘Calibration Factors’ tab on the Sensor Configuration Window. Clicking on the Cancel button will cancel the addition of a new Sensor Configuration. Hovering over an input field with the mouse will bring up a short description of that field.
  • Page 39 STEP ACTION When you have finished filling in the details, click ‘OK’ to continue. If there is an error in any field, it will be highlighted in red – mouse over the highlighted field to show the error message on the bottom left of the window.
  • Page 40 STEP ACTION To edit an existing Sensor Configuration, select the configuration you want to edit and go to ‘Edit’ then ‘Edit Sensor’. This will bring up the ‘Sensor Configuration’ window, with the details for the selected configuration. Clicking on the ‘Cancel’ button will cancel any changes to the selected ‘Sensor Configuration’...
  • Page 41 STEP ACTION To delete a ‘Sensor Configuration’ , select the configuration you want to delete and click on ‘Edit’ then ‘Delete Sensor’. This will remove the Sensor Configuration from the list. To save the ‘Sensor Configurations’ , go to ‘File’ then ‘Save’ . If you created a new file, the ‘Save File Dialogue’...
  • Page 42 STEP ACTION If you edited an existing file, ‘File’-’Save’ will save it over the existing configuration file without asking. When you are asked to enter or confirm a file name, a warning message will appear alerting that VWnote will only recognise ‘VW_CONF0.vwn’...

  • Page 43: Finding And Interpreting Data Files

    Finding And Interpreting Data Files LOCATING The data collected from a VWnote is stored internally and retrieved DATA FILES using a USB flash drive. When you open the flash drive folder on a PC or laptop, you will find a folder has been created with the name made up of the prefix ‘VN’...
  • Page 44 The Logfile is simply a record of events such as powering on or low battery, with a note of the battery voltage; this is for diagnostic purposes only and you may ignore it. Click on a readings file to open it (further explanation of the data shown is given in the next subsection).

  • Page 45: Interpreting The Data Files

    INTERPRETING The data file is in ‘comma separated value’ (CSV). The field delimiter THE DATA FILE symbol is the “,” (comma) character. The record delimiter string in the CSV file is ‘CR+LF’ characters (carriage return and line feed). There is a header line appearing as the first line of the file with the same format as normal record lines.

  • Page 46: Maintenance Guide

    MAINTENANCE GUIDE Maintaining The VWnote The VWnote is manufactured with a multi-layer circuit board containing surface mount components. For this reason there are no parts which require routine maintenance. BATTERY The VWnote is supplied with a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) MAINTENANCE rechargeable battery.

  • Page 47: Calibration

    VWnote back to our factory. please contact Soil Instruments or our distributors for more information. FIRMWARE AND From time to time, Soil Instruments may issue updates to the firmware SOFTWARE and the VWnote Configuration Tool for additional features or bug fixes.

  • Page 48: Appendices

    Appendix A – How to apply Calibration Factors for VW Sensors The calibration certificate for your VW sensor will provide you with the information on how to convert the raw readings into readings in engineering units. Below is an example of calibration certificate from Soil Instruments:...
  • Page 49 /1000) taken at the time of installation R1 is the current reading in Hz /1000. CALCULATION The polynomial formula for all Soil Instruments VW sensors is: USING E = A x R1 + B x R1 + C POLYNOMIAL EQUATION...

  • Page 50: Appendix B - Frequently Asked Questions

    Appendix B – Frequently Asked Questions What happens if I drop the VWnote unit? The VWnote has been subjected to a drop test from a one metre height onto a concrete surface. The VWnote is supplied with a wrist strap so you can keep it attached to your wrist when there is a drop risk.

  • Page 51: Appendix C - Ce Declaration

    We hereby declare that the devices described below are in conformity with the directives listed. In the event of unauthorised modification of any devices listed below, this declaration becomes invalid. Type: VW-Note and VW-Read Product Model: RO-1 VW Note and RO-1 VW Read Relevant EC Directives and Harmonized Standards: 2004/108/EC Electromagnetic Compatibility directive, as amended by EN61326-1, ed3 The product(s) to which this declaration relates is in conformity with the essential protection requirements of 2004/108/EC Electromagnetic Compatibility directive, as amended by EN61326-1, ed3.
  • Page 52 SUPPORT www.soilsupport.com +44 (0) 1825 765044 Bell Lane, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1QL United Kingdom +44 (0) 1825 765044 www.soilinstruments.com info@soilinstruments.com Soil Instruments Limited. Registered in England. Number: 07960087. Registered Office: 3rd Floor, Ashley Road, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 2DT...

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