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mcsSprinklers Features

 

 

mcsSprinklers is an integrated commercial / residential irrigation control package that uses readily-available personal computer resources to optimally irrigate an installation. It is available in three versions ranging from timed-only control in the basic, ET and timed control in the standard and full irrigation management in the professional.   It takes advantage of internet technology to obtain current environmental conditions as well as forecast data from which projected rainfall and evaporation is determined. It uses the Rain8 and EtherRain families of valve controllers to provide control via the existing powerline, wired to the PC, or wireless. It also supports integration with Homeseer and xAP to augment the family of valves that can be controlled and further integration with other aspects of automation.


 

As well as the sophisticated automated modes of operation, mcsSprinklers allows for several forms of manual intervention. Handheld remote control can be used to roam the irrigation zones and selectively turn on/off valves for head flow adjustments. Voice can be used to control zones and the current irrigation status can be vocally delivered with a voice request.   mcsSprinklers maintains a record of all control actions taken from which utilizations reports can be generated.

mcsSprinklers can operate as a simple application with the only interface being the connection to the Rain8 or similar valve control hardware.  It can also operate as a robust central control site with redundant copies running in a coordinated manner to maximize the availability of the irrigation function.

When operating as a smart environment-dependent controller it can obtain environmental data from the internet, from a local weather station, from other automation sources local to the site, or any combination of these.

It is able to control valves using a X10 or UPB powerline, direct serial cable, WiFi/IP, or RF.  Any combination can be used at the same time.  It can control distributed multi-drop irrigation wiring as well as the more typical single point routing.  This gives the capability to control irrigation of a single building or a campus of buildings.

It is able to accept water meter inputs and keep track of water utilization on a zone-by-zone and day-by-day basis.  When a meter is not available it can calculate water utilization based upon valve head flow rates.

 

 

 

  mcsSprinklers runs as an application under Microsoft Windows W98, W2000, XP, Vista or W7. 

An icon  is available in the tray from where desktop control can be gained.  This control will turn green when irrigation is underway. 

The same control and visibility can be gained remotely from the internet with a browser connection.

In addition email notifications can be setup to become informed of events that require attention

 

   

A complete manual is available that fully describes the setup and theory of operations.  Typical setups are included as case studies.  Irrigation strategies are described and full reference description of each setup item is included.

The setup is guided by an interview process that tailors the interview based upon prior answers.

In addition, context help popups are available and activated by hovering the mouse over any setup item.

 

 


 

Irrigation control can be based upon calculated waterfall/evaporation, measured soil moisture, or three forms of periodic timed control. Mixtures of these modes can be used as well.

Historical record of soil moisture level is maintained and graphically displayed to provide a visual feedback over the recent months or for the entire year.

The control is organized to allow zones to be grouped into areas that share a common scheduling strategy. Zones can be run in sequence, in parallel, or a combination depending upon available water pressure and desired scheduling

Water supply, if controlled by a pump, can be controlled on an area-by-area basis so when any zone of the area becomes enabled the pump for that area will also be enabled.

 Normal watering periods can be altered based upon current conditions such as wind speed, day-of-week, forecasted rainfall, and several other criteria to assure that water is applied only when needed and only when allowed by local regulations.

 

 

 

 

Status is always available on the local computer or from a remote location via the internet.  mcsSprinklers contains a built-in web server so no additional software needed to gain this remote visibility and control

Over 90 individual status items can be observed and manual control of individual zones or entire areas can be performed with a mouse click.

 

 

 

Control and viewing can also be made from a area/zone oriented view.

In this case the predicted next watering cycle for each zone is display as well as a color-coded graphic for a quick view of the overall status.

Note that the two zones in Area 1 are controlled by calculated soil moisture content while the zone in Area 2 is controlled by a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.

 

 

 

 

  Records of past activity and zone-related information are available with mouse clicks from several different views.   The calendar provides access to recent and near-term information ranging from daily run times, moisture levels, water utilization, general rainfall and irrigation status.

A click on the day's cell in the calendar drills down to the detail for the day.

Another click provides the bigger-picture annual trends for the zone, sensor, or other status item