Spectrum Technologies WatchDog 2400, WatchDog 2425, WatchDog 2450, WatchDog 2475 Product Manual

2000 Series

®

Mini Stations

PRODUCT MANUAL

Model #’s

2400, 2425, 2450, 2475

1

CONTENTS

General Overview 4
Specifications for Internal Sensors 5

External Sensors 6
Station Installation 8
Configuring the Data Logger 9
Connecting to a PC/ Battery Replacement 10

Clearing the Loggers Memory 11
Keypad Display 12
Setting the Time and Date 13
Setting the Display Units 14

Setting the Degree Day Counter 15
Setting the Chill Hour Counter 16
Resetting the Disease Models 17
Archives 18
Screens 20

Degree Days/ Chill Hours 22
Activating Optional Disease Models 23

2

Light 25
Plant-Specific Light Requirements 26
General Light Requirements 28
DIF 29
VPD 30
Grape Powdery Mildew 32
Grape Mills Table 33
Grape Black Rot 34
Apple Scab/Apple Sooty Blotch 35
Apple Mills Table 36
Tom Cast 38
References 39
CE Declaration of Conformity 40

3

General overview

Thank you for purchasing a WatchDog 2000 Series Mini
Station. The loggers are completely waterproof and fea­ture 12-bit resolution for higher accuracy. The loggers
can be accessed at different times by multiple users be­cause the data is not cleared from memory following a
download. The 2000-Series Mini Stations can communi­cate via direct-wire, radio or telephone connections.

Current weather conditions, historical data, and computed
parameters are easily viewed on the station’s LCD screen.
The internal electronics calculate Growing Degree Days
(GDD) for up to three degree day counters. For example,
one counter can be activated at planting while another can
track the development of insects. The station calculates
Chill Hours, which is the total amount of hours during
which temperatures have been below a specified low tem­perature. The station LCD can also be programmed to
display a variety of plant disease infection potentials. The
arrow keys allow you to scroll through the sensor read­ings, Degree Day/Chill Hour calculations as well as set
your temperature ranges.

4

Specifications

Internal sensors

Model # Internal

Sensors

2400

2425

2450

2475

Temperature

Temperature

Temperature

None

- - - - - - -
Humidity

- - - - - - -
Humidity

- - - - - -

PAR Light

Measurement

Range

N/A

-25° to 212°F

-32° to 100°C

-25° to 212°F

-32° to 100°C

- - - - - - - - -

10% to 100%

@ 5 to 50C

-25° to 212°F

-32° to 100°C

- - - - - - - - -

10% to 100%

@ 5 to 50C

- - - - - - - - -

0 to 2500 µmol/m2/s

Accuracy

N/A

±1°F

±0.6°C

±1°F

±0.6°C

- - - - - - - ­±3%

±1°F

±0.7°C

- - - - - - - ­±4%

- - - - - - - ­±5%

Operating Temperature Range: -22° to 130°F (-30° to 55°C)

Logger Capacity

The WatchDog 2000 Series Mini Stations can log up to
8800 data intervals. This represents 198 days at 30
minute intervals, 99 days at 15 minute intervals, or other
proportionate capacities. When the station reaches
capacity, it wraps and begins recording over the oldest
data. It is important to download data within the
appropriate days to ensure no data is lost.

5

External Sensors

All WatchDog 2000 Mini Station models have external channels (ports)
for additional sensor input. The following table lists some of the
available optional sensors. See www.specmeters.com for a complete
list. Most sensors include a 6-foot cable with pin-type connector.
Items 3667-20, 6460-20, 6470-20 and 6450WD20 have 20 foot cables.

Item #

Description

Accuracy

Range

Measurement

3665R

3666

3667,

3667-20

3670i Silicon Pyranometer 1-1250 W/m2 ±5%

3668i,

3668i3,

3668i6

3676i UV Light Sensor 0-200 µmol m-2s

6460,

6460-20

Tipping Bucket

Rain collector

Leaf Wetness

Sensor

External (Soil)

Temperature Sensor

Quantum Light

Sensor and Sensor

Bars

WaterScout SM 100

Soil Moisture Sen-

sor

N/A ±2%

0(Dry) - 15(Wet) N/A

-40 to 185ºF

-40 to 85ºC

0-2500 µmol m-2s

0% to saturation

(typically 50%)

-1

-1

±1.1°F

±0.6°C

±5%

±5%

±3%

6470, 6470-

20

3669

6450WD

6450WD20

6451 Irrigation Sensor Switches at 5 psi ±1 psi
3673

3674

6

WaterScout SMEC

300 Soil Moisture/

EC/Temperature

Sensor

Soil Moisture

Transducer

Watermark Soil

Moisture Sensor

Input Cables for

user-supplied sensor

VWC: 0% to sat.

EC: 0 to 10 mS/cm,

Temp: 0 to 122 °F

(-18 to 50 °C)

0-100 kPa ±2%

0 - 200 cbars N/A

0-2.5V

4-20mA

VWC” ±3%

Temp: ±1.4

EC: ±2%

°F (0.8 °C)

±0.005V

±1%

External Sensors (cont.)

To connect the external sensor to the station, plug the sensor
cable into the station port that has been programmed for that
particular sensor.

Port A is the only channel that will record rainfall data.

Program each channel (port) to a specific sensor through the
SpecWare launch screen. Refer to the SpecWare Software
User’s Guide for more detailed instructions on launching and
sensor configuration.

For a Weather Station to be compatible with the SMEC300 sen­sor, SpecWare software version 9.04 or later is required. See the
following table for the earliest compatible firmware and number
of sensors that can be used per station type.

Using SMEC 300 sensors will reduce the logging capacity.

When using 30 minute intervals, the logger will hold 89 days of
of data rather than 198. Be sure to download data more often.

Weather

Station

2475 3.9 1 A
2450 3.9 2 A, B
2425 3.9 3 A, B, C

Firmware

Version

Number of

Sensors

Available
Channels

2400 3.9 4 A, B, C, D

7

Station Installation

The data logger has the versatility to be located in any
micro-climate for recording weather data. Hardware is
included for attaching it to a 1” to 1¼” outside diameter
mast (pipe). Use a 5’ - 10’ length of conduit or pipe as the
mast mount. When purchasing and/or cutting the mast to
size, plan on placing 1½’ - 2’ of the mast into the ground.
It can also be mounted to a wooden post with the screws
that are provided.

For all models (except model 2400), the radiation shield
protects the temperature sensor from solar radiation and
other sources of reflected heat. If other sensors are con­nected, secure the sensor wires to the mast just below the
display module with a plastic tie. This will make the
wires less vulnerable to being accidentally severed during
the season.

8

Configuring the

Data Logger

The 2000-Series data logger does not have a button or
switch for powering up and down. Instead, the device is
operational whenever the batteries are installed. The log­gers are shipped with default logging settings that can be
modified with SpecWare software (see SpecWare User’s
Guide for details). Once the logger is configured, it will
retain those settings even after the battery is removed or
replaced.

One new feature of the WatchDog 2000-Series loggers is
that they do not need to be relaunched after being down­loaded. This allows greater flexibility for loggers that are
accessed by multiple users. Although, the logger stores
data on an interval set in SpecWare, the sensor readings
displayed on the LCD are refreshed every 20 seconds.

The 2000-Series data loggers are configured in the
WatchDog Manager screen of SpecWare software. Re­member to identify the WatchDog type as 2000-series.

9

Connecting to a PC/

Battery Replacement

The computer port of the data logger is accessed by re­moving the plastic screw on the underside of the logger
(see fig. 1). The PC interface cable that accompanied
SpecWare software plugs into the serial jack inside the
logger casing.

The only time the logger needs to be connected to a com­puter is during a download and/or when a change is being
made to the logger configuration. The data is not erased
following a download, and the logger does not need to be
restarted. Please consult the SpecWare User’s Guide or
Spectrum Technologies’ online troubleshooting resource
if you experience difficulty connecting to the logger.
Whenever the batteries are replaced, the time and date
must be reset immediately so the data is time-stamped cor­rectly. However, all settings related to Degree Days, Chill
Hours and IPM parameters (disease models, DIF, etc.) re­main stored in the meter’s memory even when the batter­ies are removed.

The 2000 Series data log­gers are powered by 4 AA
batteries. This will provide
enough power for 1 year of
continuous use. The bat­tery compartment is ac­cessed by removing the 4
Philips head screws on the
face plate (see fig 1).
Upon installation of the

PORT

batteries, the LCD should
illuminate and the logger
resume functioning. The
LCD will prompt you to set the date and time (see p. 11).

10

Figure 1

Clearing the

Logger’s memory

The memory of the 2000-Series data logger is not auto­matically cleared when the logger is downloaded or the
batteries are replaced. The logger can be cleared manual­ly through SpecWare software. This may be desired if,
for example, the logger is being shut down for the season
or is being moved to a new location.

Once the command is sent from SpecWare to clear the
memory, the data erasure is carried out automatically by
the logger itself. The PC interface cable can then be dis­connected without affecting the process. A data erasure

will take several minutes to complete and the logger
cannot be contacted in the interim. Once the memory
is cleared, it is impossible to recover. SpecWare pro-

vides warning messages to prevent an accidental clearing
of the memory.

11

Keypad/Display

The keypad of the 2000-Series data logger allows you to
scroll through all measured and calculated parameters
available on the LCD. It is necessary to use the keypad to
set the date and time for the data being stored in the long­term memory. This is the only keypad function that is al­so reflected in the data stored in the data logger. Other­wise, the data logger only records the measurements from
the sensors. Parameters calculated and displayed on the
LCD by the firmware (such as Growing Degree Days) are
only retained in the Daily and Monthly Archives (see Ar­chives, p. 16). The functions of each of the keypad but­tons are described in the following pages.

Pressing the Display key once brings the LCD display to
life. The screen will initially display descriptive infor­mation about the station. The screen then displays current
conditions. Current conditions are refreshed every 20 sec­onds. Pressing the Display key a second time will deacti­vate the display. The station continues to record data
when the display is not active. To conserve battery pow­er, the display goes off after 2 minutes of inactivity.

12