Wagner Meters Orion 940 Instruction Manual
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction
5 Orion® 940 Parts
6 Quick Start: Basic Use for
Solid Wood
11 Correct Usage Guidelines for
Your Orion® 940 Moisture Meter
14 Function Buttons: Detailed
– ON/HOLD Button
– UP and DOWN Buttons
– DEPTH Button
– SPECIES/MATERIAL Button
• How to Program a Species Setting
• Relative Scale for Moisture
Measurement of Non-Wood
Building Materials
– DATA Button
– AUDIO Button
30 Summary of Orion® 940 Features
– Low Battery Alert Indication
– Auto Shut-Down to Preserve
Battery Life
– Calibration of your Orion® 940
– Protective Rubber Boot for Your
Orion® 940
– 7-Year Warranty
– Wagner’s IntelliSenseTM Technology
38 Specications
39 Changing the Battery
39 Meter Storage
40 Warranty
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Congratulations!
You have purchased one of the most accurate
moisture measurement instruments for wood
in the world. Using IntelliSenseTM technology,
hand-held moisture meters from Wagner
Meters have been proven by universities
and institutes worldwide to provide superior
measurement results.*
With its electromagnetic eld, your Orion®
940 moisture meter covers a relatively
large cross-sectional area each time you
take a reading, giving you a far better
representation than other technologies of
the true moisture content of your wood.
Wagner moisture meters read IN the wood,
not just on the wood.
INTRODUCTION
The 2.0-inch (50mm) wide by 2.5-inch
(63mm) long by either .25-inch (6mm)
or .75-inch (19mm) thick sensor eld
of your Orion® moisture meter closely
approximates the full-thickness crosssection method used when performing the
ASTM D4442-16 oven-dry lab method.
This ASTM standard (and its international
counterparts) is the standard to which all
moisture meters for wood are compared
for accuracy.
Your Orion® 940 is best-suited for wood
thicknesses from .25 inches (6mm) up to
1.5 inches (38mm). The meter can be used
on non-solid wood products, and the Species
Setting Booklet includes a few settings for
some of these common materials.
In the Standard Measurement mode, your
Orion® 940 measures moisture content
within the 4.0% to 32.0% moisture
content range.
NOTE: Measurement range may vary
slightly depending on species setting of the
meter.
3 4
The Orion® 940 has an easy-to-read
digital display, scaled in 0.1% increments
when in the Standard Measurement mode
for your solid wood applications.
Your Orion® model 940 has data collection
capacity to store readings and get statistical
data. When the data collection mode is
activated you will have the ability to store
and review up to 100 readings and get the
maximum, minimum, and an average of all
stored readings.
Wagner hand-held moisture measurement
technology is virtually unaffected by wood
temperature.**
Since 1965, Wagner Meters has been
providing quality moisture measurement
equipment and Wagner’s technology
has been proven to provide some of the
most accurate results in the industry
when compared to the ASTM D4442-16
Standard. Wagner meters have been used
for years by professional lumber-grading
associations, and meters from Wagner
continue to provide reliable and consistent
moisture measurements, with unsurpassed
convenience and ease of use.
*Information available upon request.**Contact
a Wagner Meters expert at 844-689-0660 if your
wood is very hot or frozen.
5 6
LCD
ON/ HOLD
BUTTON
SPECIES/
MATERIAL
BUTTON
DOWN
BUTTON
UP BUTTON
DATA
BUTTON
ORION 940 PARTS
BATTERY
COMPART-
MENT
(Meter Serial
Number is
located in this
compartment)
SENSOR
PLATE
®
DEPTH
BUTTON
AUDIO
BUTTON
With your Orion® 940
turned OFF, press and
release the ON/HOLD
button. Meter will turn
on and briey display the
model number, followed by the rmware
revision number. If this is the rst time
you are using your new Orion® 940,
immediately after the revision number is
displayed, the meter display should revert
to Standard Measurement mode, with the
display showing 0.0% when the meter is
held in the air. If meter display does not show
0.0%, then refer to page 17 regarding the
SPECIES/MATERIAL button.
Next, press the DEPTH
button to put the meter in
the Depth Setting mode
and press either the UP
button, DOWN button
or DEPTH button. The Depth setting will
change from 3-4 or ¾” to 1-4 or ¼” or
QUICK START
BASIC USE FOR SOLID WOOD
7 8
vice versa. Press the ON/HOLD button to
store the setting and return the meter to the
Standard Measurement mode.
Press the DATA button
and the word DATA will
appear briey on the display,
immediately followed by the
word OFF. Next, using the
UP or DOWN button, either turn data ON for
collecting data manually or to AUTO if you
want the data collected automatically. Once
you have made your selection, press the ON/
HOLD button to activate the selected data
storage function.
If you chose the ON mode for collecting
the data, place the meter on the wood to be
measured and press the ON/HOLD button
briey to gather a data point. You will hear
a beep as the data is gathered. The number
of the data point will be displayed and then
the moisture recorded will be displayed.
If you choose the Automatic Data Gathering
mode, place the meter on the wood to be
measured. Wait briey until you hear a beep.
The meter will display the reading number
and then the reading taken. Move the meter
to the next sample for more readings.
When done sampling wood, turn the
Automatic Data Gathering mode OFF by
hitting the DATA button again. This will
stop the recording of data.
After the data has been collected, press
the DATA button twice and the maximum
reading will be shown (MAX). Subsequent
presses of the DATA button will show the
minimum (MIN) average of all stored
readings (AVG). Press the DATA button
once more and all individual recorded
readings can be viewed (REC). Use the
UP or DOWN button to scroll through the
individual readings. To clear individual
readings, press the UP and DOWN buttons
simultaneously. CLRD will show on the
display followed by NO. Press the UP or
DOWN button to select YES, then press
the DATA button to clear the reading. Press
the DATA button once more and CL ALL
will ash, followed by NO. To clear all
data, use the UP or DOWN button to select
9 10
A small DP will appear in the lower left corner
of the screen to visually indicate that you are
in 3-4 (¾”) Depth Setting mode (Deep mode).
Grasping the meter on the sides, begin taking
measurements on the face of the wood
pieces by pressing down rmly, making
sure the rectangular sensor plate area on
the back of the meter is pressing rmly on
the wood surface and completely covered
by the wood. Minimum wood dimension
needs to be 2.0 inches (50mm) wide by 2.5
inches (63mm) long by .75 inches (19mm) in
thickness. When taking measurements, make
sure there is a 1-inch (25mm) minimum air
gap underneath the wood you are measuring
(refer to Correct Usage Guidelines section of
this manual).
When you are nished
taking measurements and
wish to turn the meter
off, press the ON/HOLD
button for approximately
2 seconds. Alternatively, the meter will
automatically shut off after approximately
60 seconds of no activity.
YES and then press the DATA button to
activate the clear function. (Note: There is
no prompt after pressing the DATA button.
All stored data will be erased.)
Next, press the SPECIES/
MATERIAL button once,
and the current species
setting (calibrated to specic
gravity) will appear. The
factory default displayed will be 0.50 for
a new meter. Use the UP or DOWN arrow
buttons to set the correct species setting for
the wood species you wish to measure (refer
to your Species Settings Booklet to nd
the correct setting). Finally, press the ON/
HOLD button to place the meter back in the
Standard Measurement mode.
NOTE: If you cannot nd the correct
setting for the wood species or material
you wish to measure, go to www.
wagnerspecies.com where you can access
Wagner’s extensive Species Database. If
you still cannot nd the correct setting,
contact a Wagner Meters expert at
844-689-0660.
11 12
3. Your Orion® 940 meter was designed
for wood thicknesses from .25 (6mm)
to .50 (13mm) in ¼” mode and .75
inches (19mm) up to 1.5 inches (38mm)
in ¾” mode. If you wish to measure
wood pieces with thicknesses less than
.75 inches (19mm) in ¾” mode, the
meter will underestimate the actual
moisture content. Thicknesses that are
slightly thinner (example: .625 inches
(15.9mm)) will not be underestimated
substantially, but the thinner the piece
becomes, the more the measurement
will be underestimated. For pieces
thinner than .50 inches (12.7mm), you
should use the ¼” mode.
4. The actual sensing area is a 2.0-inch
(50mm) wide by 2.5-inch (63.5mm)
long rectangle on the back of the
meter (opposite side of the display).
In order to take a valid measurement,
this sensing area must be completely
covered with the wood or other material
you are measuring. If the sensing area is
not completely covered, your moisture
reading will be inaccurate.
To make sure that you are getting the most
accurate readings from your Orion® 940
meter, Wagner Meters recommends that
you pay close attention to the following
guidelines:
1. If the thickness of the piece of wood
or other building material is greater
than .75 inch (19mm), and you wish
to get more of a full thickness rather
than a shallow measurement, it is a
good idea to take measurements in
3/4” mode on both sides and average
the readings.
2. To prevent high or inaccurate
readings, always have a minimum
1-inch (25mm) air gap underneath
the piece of wood you are measuring.
During this process, make sure your
hand is not directly underneath
the meter.
CORRECT USAGE GUIDELINES
FOR YOUR ORION® 940
MOISTURE METER
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