netvox R718PB15A Wireless Soil Moisture/ Temperature/Electrical Conductivity Sensor User Manual

netvox R718PB15A Wireless Soil Moisture/ Temperature/Electrical

Conductivity Sensor

Introduction

R718PB15A is a Class A device based on the LoRaWAN open protocol of Netvox and is compatible with the LoRaWAN protocol  It will send the value of soil moisture, temperature, and electrical conductivity to the corresponding gateway

LoRa Wireless Technology:
Lora is a wireless communication te technology dedicated to long-distance and low power consumption. Compared with other communication methods, the LoRa spread spectrum modulation method greatly increases to expand the communication distance. Widely used in long-distance low-data wireless communications. Examples, automatic meter reading, building automation equipment, wireless security systems, and industrial monitoring. Main features include small size, low power consumption, transmission distance, anti- interference ability, and so on.

LoRaWAN:
LoRaWAN uses LoRa technology to define end-to-end standard specifications to ensure interoperability between devices and gateways from different manufacturers.

Appearance

Main Characteristic

• Using SX1276 wireless communication module
• 2 ER14505 batteries AA SIZE (3.6V / cell) power supply in parallel
• Host protection level IP67
• Soil moisture detection
• Soil temperature detection
• Soil electrical conductivity
• Compatible with LoRaWANTM Class A
• Frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology
• Configurable parameters via a third-party software platform, reading data and setting alarms via SMS text and email (optional)
• Applicable to third-party platforms: Actility / ThingPark, TTN, MyDevices / Cayenn
• The product has low power consumption and supports long battery life.

Note:

The battery life is determined by the frequency and other variables reported by the sensor. Please refer to http://www.netvox.com.tw/electric/electric_calc.html On the website, users can find various models of battery life in different configurations

Set-Up Instruction

On/Off

Power on| Insert batteries. (users may need a screwdriver to open)
Turn on| Press and hold the function key for 3 seconds till the green indicator flashes once.
Turn off

(Restore to factory setting)

| ****

Press and hold the function key for 5 seconds and the green indicator flashes 20 times.

Power off| Remove batteries

Note

| 1.     For the first 5 seconds after power on, the device will be in engineering test mode.

2.  Remove and insert the battery; the device is at off state by default. Turn on the device to use again.

3.  On/off interval is suggested to be about 10 seconds to avoid the interference of capacitor inductance and other energy storage components.

Network Joining

Never joined the network

| Turn on the device to search the network to join. The green indicator stays on for 5 seconds: success

The green indicator remains off: fail

Had joined the network (not restore to factory

setting)

| Turn on the device to search the previous network to join. The green indicator stays on for 5 seconds: success

The green indicator remains off: fail

Fail to join the network

| Suggest to check the device verification information on the gateway or consult your platform server

provider.

Function Key

Press and hold for 5 seconds

| Restore to factory setting / Turn off

The green indicator flashes 20 times: success The green indicator remains off: fail

Press once

| The device is in the network: The green indicator flashes once and sends a data report

The device is not in the network: The green indicator remains off

Sleeping Mode

The device is on and in the network

| Sleeping period: Min Interval.

When the report change exceeds the setting value or the state changes: send a data report according to Min Interval.

---|---

Low Voltage Warning

Data Report

After power on, the device will immediately send a version packet report and a data report including the values of the soil moisture, soil temperature and soil electrical conductivity, and the voltage. The device sends data according to the default configuration before any other configuration.

Default setting:

Maxime: Max Interval = 3600s (60 min)
Minime: MinTime configuration is not available.
But the software has restrictions, MinTime must be configured with a number greater than 0.

Note:

1. ReportChange is not supported by R718PB15A. (Invalid configuration)
2. The data report will be based on the ReportMaxTime period when sending the data packet.
3. The Report cycle is according to the configuration.
4. The data report is including the values of the soil moisture, soil temperature and soil electrical conductivity, and the voltage.
5. It would take about 20 seconds for the sensor to process the collected value if you were to manually trigger the device by pressing the button, please be patient.

Data report configuration and sending period are as follows

Description

| ****

Device

| ****

CmdID

| Device

Type

| ****

NetvoxPayLoadData

---|---|---|---|---

ConfigReportReq

| ****

R718PB15A

| ****

0x01

| ****

0x58

| MinTime

(2bytes Unit: s)

| MaxTime

(2bytes Unit: s)

| Reserved

(5Bytes, Fixed 0x00)

ConfigReportRsp

| ****

0x81

| Status

(0x00_success)

| Reserved

(8Bytes, Fixed 0x00)

ReadConfig

ReportReq

| ****

0x02

| Reserved

(9Bytes, Fixed 0x00)

ReadConfig

ReportRsp

| ****

0x82

| Minime

(2bytes Unit: s)

| Maxime

(2bytes Unit: s)

| Reserved

(5Bytes, Fixed 0x00)

Configure R718PB15A report parameters MaxTime = 1min

Down link: 0158000A003C0000000000
Device Return

• 8158000000000000000000 (Configuration succe ss
• 8158010 0000000 0000000 0 (Configuration fail ure

Read device configuration parameters
Down link: 0258000000000000000000

Device R eturn
8258000A003C0000000000 (current configuration)

Installation

1. The top of the waterproof box is about 3 cm away from the ground.
2. The sensor monitors a cylinder with a radius of about 7 cm and a height of about 10 cm*2
3. Sensor is placed away from the ground by 10~15 cm

Note: The above is the installation diagram. Please adjust the device according to the environment and pay attention to the main body of the device maintaining a good signal.
Method 1. Horizontal Installation

1. Excavate a hole or trench a few centimeters deeper than the depth at which the sensor is to be installed.
2. At the installation depth, shave off some soil from the vertical soil face exposing undisturbed soil.
3. Insert the sensor into the undisturbed soil face until the entire sensor is inserted. The tip of each prong has been sharpened to make it easier to push the sensor into the soil. Be careful with the sharp tips.
4. Backfill the trench taking care to pack the soil back to natural bulk density around the sensor body of the soil sensor.

Method 2. Vertical Installation

1. Auger a 3-in hole to the depth at which the sensor is to be installed.
2. Insert the sensor into the undisturbed soil at the bottom of the auger hole using a hand or any other implement that will guide the sensor into the soil at the bottom of the hole. Many people have used a simple piece of PVC pipe with a notch cut in the end for the sensor to sit in, with the sensor cable routed inside the pipe.
3. After inserting the sensor, remove the installation device and backfill the hole taking care to pack the soil back to natural bulk density while not damaging the black over-molding of the sensor and the sensor cable in the process.

Cleaning and Maintenance

The EC measurement is extremely sensitive to the presence of nonconducting contamination on the screws, especially at high EC. The most common source of contamination is skin oil from handling the screws with bare hands. Use the following steps to clean the sensor:

1. Clean the screws using a mild detergent such as liquid dish soap and a nonabrasive sponge or cloth.
2. Rinse the sensor and screws thoroughly with tap or DI water.

Do not touch the screws without gloved hands and never contact the sensors with any source of oil or another nonconducting residue.

Note:

1. Avoid detergents that contain lotions or moisturizers.
2. Please do not disassemble the device unless it is required to replace the batteries.

Do not touch the waterproof gasket, LED indicator light, or function keys when replacing the batteries. Please use a suitable screwdriver to tighten the screws (if using an electric screwdriver, it is recommended to set the torque as 4kgf) to ensure the device is impermeable.

Information about Battery Passivation

Many Netvox devices are powered by 3.6V ER14505 Li-SOCl2 (lithium-thionyl chloride) batteries that offer many advantages including low self-discharge rate and high energy density. However, primary lithium batteries like Li-SOCl2 batteries will form a passivation layer as a reaction between the lithium anode and thionyl chloride if they are in storage for a long time or if the storage temperature is too high. This lithium chloride layer prevents rapid self-discharge caused by a continuous reaction between lithium and thionyl chloride, but battery passivation may also lead to voltage delay when the batteries are put into operation, and our devices may not work correctly in this situation.As a result, please make sure to source batteries from reliable vendors, and it is suggested that if the storage period is more than one month from the date of battery production, all the batteries should be activated. If encountering the situation of battery passivation, users can activate the battery to eliminate the battery hysteresis.

ER14505 Battery Passivation

To determine whether a battery requires activation
Connect a new ER14505 battery to a resistor in parallel, and check the voltage of the circuit. If the voltage is below 3.3V, it means the battery requires activation.

How to activate the battery

• Connect a battery to a resistor in parallel
• Keep the connection for 5~8 minutes
• The voltage of the circuit should be ≧3.3, indicating successful activation.
  Brand| Load Resistance| Activation Time| Activation Current
  ---|---|---|---
  NHTONE| 165 Ω| 5 minutes| 20mA
  RAMWAY| 67 Ω| 8 minutes| 50mA
  EVE| 67 Ω| 8 minutes| 50mA
  SAFT| 67 Ω| 8 minutes| 50mA

Note:
If you buy batteries from other than the above four manufacturers, then the battery activation time, activation current, and required load resistance shall be mainly subject to the announcement of each manufacturer

Important Maintenance Instruction

Kindly pay attention to the following in order to achieve the best maintenance of the product:

• Keep the equipment dry. Rain, moisture and various liquids or water may contain minerals that can corrode electronic circuits. In case the device is wet, please dry it completely.
• Do not use or store in dusty or dirty areas. This way can damage its detachable parts and electronic components.
• do not store in an excessive heat place. High temperatures can shorten the life of electronic devices, destroy batteries, and deform or melt some plastic parts.
• Do not store in an excessive cold place. Otherwise, when the temperature rises to normal temperature, moisture will form inside which will destroy the board.
• Do not throw, knock or shake the device. Treating equipment roughly can destroy internal circuit boards and delicate structures.
• Do not wash with strong chemicals, detergents or strong detergents.
• Do not paint the device. Smudges can make debris block detachable parts up and affect normal operation.
• Do not throw the battery into the fire to prevent the battery from exploding.

Damaged batteries may also explode.
All the above suggestions apply equally to your device, batteries, and accessories.
If any device is not operating properly, please take it to the nearest authorized service facility for repair.

References

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