Spectrum Technologies Field Scout TDR 150 Product Manual
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Spectrum Technologies Field Scout TDR 150 Product Manual

Soil moisture meter
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TDR 150
Soil Moisture Meter
PRODUCT MANUAL
Item # 6445

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Summary of Contents for Spectrum Technologies Field Scout TDR 150

  • Page 1 TDR 150 Soil Moisture Meter PRODUCT MANUAL Item # 6445...

  • Page 2: General Overview

    General overview Thank you for purchasing the Field Scout TDR 150 soil moisture, electrical conductivity and soil surface temperature meter. This manual describes the meter's general features and operation. Soil moisture is a critical, and potentially highly varia- ble, component of the soil environment. Time domain reflectometry is a proven technology for quickly and accurately determining volumetric water content (VWC) in soil.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    CONTENTS General Overview Specifications Meter Dimensions Button Functions Display Screens Meter Operation Meter Care GNSS (Location) Features Setting Date and Time Optimizing Geo-Referenced Measurements Maintenance Data Logs Field Scout Mobile App/SpecConnect Pairing with the FieldScout Mobile App VWC Measurements Electrical Conductivity Optional Accessories Appendix 1: Soil-Specific Calibration Appendix 2: Troubleshooting...

  • Page 4: Specifications

    Specifications Measurement Percent volumetric water content (VWC) Units Period (raw sensor reading) Resolution, VWC: 0.1% increment ±3.0% @ < 2 mS/cm Accuracy and 0% to Saturation (Saturation is typically around Range 50% volumetric water) EC: 0.01 increment ; ± 0.1 mS/cm; 0 - 5 range Temperature: 0.2 ˚F (0.1 ˚C) increment ;...

  • Page 5: Meter Dimensions

    Meter dimensions 3.00 in 7.6 cm 3.00 in, 7.6 cm 11.5 in 23.0 in 29.2 cm 58.4 cm 5.2 in 13.2 cm 3.30 in 1.50 in 8.4 cm 3.8 cm...

  • Page 6: Button Functions

    Button Functions ON/OFF or BACK button Press briefly to power on. − Press and hold to stay on logo screen. − Press for 2 seconds to power off. − Press briefly within a menu to return to prior − screen. MENU or SELECT button Press to enter available menus.

  • Page 7: Display Screens

    Display Screens The TDR 150 has 3 main display screens; - Startup Information (shown on previous page) - Reading (figure 1) - Settings Menu (see p. 8) Note: An upgrade is required (see p. 27) to access GNSS and Bluetooth features. Startup Information screen Initially displayed after first powered on.
  • Page 8 Settings Menu screen Used for changing device features, setting rod length and working with log files. Use the arrow buttons to move to the desired option. Use the MENU|SELECT button to toggle option choices. Clear Average*: Clears the displayed average and count. Note: Same as a press and hold of the READ|Down arrow button.
  • Page 9 Moisture Type: Selects displayed moisture mode VWC%, Peri- od, or TDR 300. - VWC%: Volumetric Water Content with EC compensation. - Period: Raw sensor reading in microseconds (us). - TDR 300: VWC without EC compensation EC Units: EC value (mS/cm) or Salinity Index (see p. 25). Auto-Off: Power off delay: 15, 30, 45, 60 minutes.

  • Page 10: Meter Operation

    Meter Operation Configuring the meter Meter configuration is done in the Settings Menu (pp. 8- Taking Readings 1. Grip the TDR sensor block. 2. Push down on the block, maintaining a steady down- ward pressure to drive the rods into the soil until the sen- sor base is in contact with the soil surface.

  • Page 11: Meter Care

    Meter Care The FieldScout TDR meter will function properly under normal conditions experienced in field use. The sensor block is sealed and will not be damaged by immersion in water. The display is not waterproof, so it should not be used during heavy rainfall or left exposed during irrigation events.

  • Page 12: Gnss (Location) Features

    GNSS (location) Features The location reference will be stored with the measurement in the data log. The TDR350 has 3 settings related to the geo-location feature. These settings can be enabled or disabled in the Settings Menu (p. 10). Select the desired option and press the Menu/ Select button to toggle between the ENABLE and DISABLE op- tions.

  • Page 13: Setting Date And Time

    Setting Date/Time By default, the TDR350 gets the date and time from the satellite signal. These values are displayed in the Settings Menu (p. 11). The date and time can also be set manually. When the time and date are set manually, they will over-ride the default value. Note: When the batteries are removed, the date/time are reset and the meter resumes getting this information from the satel- lites.

  • Page 14: Optimizing Geo-Referenced Measurements

    Optimizing Geo-Referenced Measurements Achieving optimal results of the optional geo-referencing feature depends on several factors including how long the meter has re- mained active, atmospheric conditions for the day, which satellite systems are in range and obstacles that may block the reception of the satellite signals.
  • Page 15 Preparing for a data collection session Upon initially powering on or enabling the GNSS location fea- ture, expect the first geo-referenced location to take place within a minute or so of operation on a clear day. The GNSS location ar- row icon (p.7) will transition from clear to a shaded color as more satellites or higher level of precision are reached.

  • Page 16: Maintenance

    Maintenance Replacing/Re-attaching the Sensor Block (item 6445S): 1. Flip the display so the backing plate is facing up. 2. Remove the 4 corner screws using a Philips Screwdriver. 3. Lift off the base plate, observing the original orientation of the cable. 4.
  • Page 17 Battery Replacement: 1. Flip the display so the backing plate is facing up. 2. Remove the 4 screws on the base using a Philips screw- driver. 3. Lift off the base plate, observing the original orientation of the cable. 4. Install four new AA batteries observing correct polarity by referencing the (+) positive and (-) negative labels.

  • Page 18: Data Logs

    Data Logs Figure 1: Sample TDR 150 data file Downloading Data Logs to a USB Flash Drive 1. Connect the flash drive to the meter’s USB port. 2. Press the MENU|SELECT button to open the Settings Menu. 3. Press the READ|Down arrow button to reach the Save to USB op- tion.
  • Page 19 Time: MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS based on the GMT offset selected in the Timezone option (p. 11) VWC%: Volumetric Water Content based on the Moisture Type setting—EC Compensated or “TDR 300” (without EC compensation) Period: Raw Period result (after any applied user calibration) EC: Electrical Conductivity in milli-Siemens Temp_Soil: Soil temperature sensor reading in degrees Celsius Temp_Soil(F): Soil temperature sensor reading in degrees Fahrenheit...

  • Page 20: Field Scout Mobile App/Specconnect

    Field Scout Mobile App/ SpecConnect For upgraded meters (see p. 27), the FieldScout Mobile App can be used to send data directly to the SpecConnect web interface. Data can be viewed on a Smartphone in two formats. In grid mode, the site is divided into a customizable 2-dimensional grid of 3 to 5 rows and 3 to 5 columns.
  • Page 21 Fig. 3. 2-D Contour Plot in SpecConnect Fig. 4. Trend Report...

  • Page 22: Pairing With The Fieldscout Mobile App

    Pairing With The FieldScout Mobile App Bluetooth functionality requires an equipment upgrade (p. 27). The internal Bluetooth radio must be paired with the smartphone running FieldScout Mobile. For some smartphone operating sys- tems, it may be necessary to manually enable Location Services. 1.
  • Page 23 b. For Freeform mode, the app will immediately transition to the Take Reading screen (Fig. 3). 6. Tap the Connect FieldScout Device via Bluetooth button. If the Bluetooth feature has not been activated, you will be prompted to do so. 7.

  • Page 24: Vwc Measurements

    VWC Measurements Volumetric Water Content (VWC) The ratio of the volume of water in a given volume of soil to the total soil volume expressed as a decimal or a percentage. Three soil moisture levels of most importance can be defined as follows: Saturation: All soil pores are filled with water.

  • Page 25: Electrical Conductivity

    Electrical Conductivity Electrical Conductivity The FieldScout TDR uses EC readings obtained from the same probes used to measure VWC. To improve the VWC measurement accuracy, EC is factored out of the VWC reading. This is a key advantage over its pre- decessor.

  • Page 26: Optional Accessories

    Optional Accessories There are two optional items that can be used to expand the capabil- ities of the TDR350. Visit www.specmeters.com for more infor- mation and installation instructions. Infrared Temperature Sensor (item 6435TS) Provides an instantaneous and highly accurate tempera- ture reading as an alternative to the existing surface tem- perature sensor.

  • Page 27: Appendix 1: Soil-Specific Calibration

    Appendix 1: Soil-Specific Reading Correlation To improve accuracy, correlate TDR period readings with a soil-specific sample set. VWC data can be correlated by measuring the weight of a known volume of saturated soil as it is gradually dried, by gradually wetting a known volume soil with measured increments of water, or by using a neutron probe.

  • Page 28: Appendix 2: Troubleshooting

    Appendix 2 Troubleshooting Sensor Function Verification: Test readings can be taken in three standard environments; air, dis- tilled water, and sand saturated with distilled water. It is important that any troubleshooting be done with distilled water. Readings tak- en in tap water can differ greatly from the expected results observed in distilled water.

  • Page 29: Appendix 3: Updating Device Firmware

    Appendix 3: Updating Device Firmware Firmware updates may be made available to add or improve the product features. The firmware can be updated using a USB flash drive. Firmware update files can be found on the Spectrum web- site. 1. Copy the latest firmware update from your PC onto the root directory of the flash drive.

  • Page 30: Appendix 4: Calibration

    Appendix 4: Calibration The FieldScout TDR is fully calibrated at the factory. Further calibration is not required nor recommended. The meter has internal calibrations for standard, sand, and high-clay soil types which will work for many soils. Each meter will have a small difference in how it responds to identical soil conditions.

  • Page 31: Appendix 5: Adding Gnss/Bluetooth Capability

    Appendix 5: Adding GNSS/ Bluetooth Capability The standard version of the TDR 150 meter comes with the GNSS and Bluetooth capability locked. These features can be unlocked by pur- chasing item 6445GBU (TDR 150 GNSS/Bluetooth Upgrade). After purchasing the upgrade, the unlock file is downloaded from the fol- lowing website: www.specconnect.net/activate This will bring up the Get Product Activation Key screen.

  • Page 32: Glossary

    Glossary GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System. Standard generic term for satellite navigation systems that provide autonomous geo- spatial positioning with global coverage. This term includes e.g. the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou and other regional systems WAAS: Wide Area Augmentation System. Air navigation aid de- veloped by the Federal Aviation Administration to augment the Global Positioning System (GPS), with the goal of improving its accuracy, integrity, and availability.
  • Page 35 Warranty This product is warranted to be free from defects in material or workmanship for two years 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 installa- tion or use, lightning, negligence, accident, or un- authorized modifications, or to incidental or conse-...

  • Page 36: Declaration Of Conformity

    DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY Spectrum Technologies, Inc. 3600 Thayer Ct. Aurora, IL 60504 USA Model Numbers: 6445 Description: Portable Soil Moisture\Conductivity\Temperature Probe Type: Electrical Equipment for Measurement, Control, and Laboratory Directive: 2004/30/EU Standards: EN 61326-2:2012 EN 61000-6-1:2007 EN 61000-6-3:2007+A1:2010 ICES-003:2016; ITE Emissions for Canada (ANSI C63.4:2014) FCC Part 15:2016: Emissions for Unintentional Radiators for USA (ANSI C63.4:2014)

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