Precision Irrigation Controller (PIC) & Substrate Sensor Quick Start Guide

1x 24V Power Supply

1x Mounting Hardware Kit

Varying quantity of Substrate Sensors based on order.

Controller Installation

1. Mount the PIC to a solid vertical surface such as a wall or vertical rack structure which is located as centrally as possible to where the sensors will be installed. Use the provided hardware mounting kit or suitable hardware for your mounting surface and attach the PIC to the surface using the mounting tabs located on the top and bottom of the controller's enclosure.
2. Connect the provided power adapter to the 'Power' terminal located on the Irrigation control board inside the enclosure. 
3. Plug the power adapter into an appropriately rated receptacle for your country using the correct adapter prongs provided.
4. If a hardwired internet connection is desired and the PIC has an ethernet port (older versions do not have an ethernet port), connect a CAT5e or CAT6 cable with an RJ45 terminated on the cable end to the PIC ethernet port. Connect the other end to your internet router or network switch directly. Do not connect this cable to a booster or wireless adapter.
   1. Important: Do not connect this ethernet cable to a PoE (Power over Ethernet) port on a network switch. The PIC does not need PoE.

Terralink Sensor Installation

Single Terralink per PIC Channel Installation

1. The Terralinks are connected directly to the zone terminals of the PIC indicated in the provided wiring diagram (see Terralink Wiring Diagrams link above). If multiple sensors will be used per zone, proceed to the next section for daisy chaining instructions.
2. Strip the wire insulation off the cable ends and insert each color wire in the appropriate terminals of the PIC as indicated on the wiring diagram. *Note: If the cable needs to be extended to reach the PIC, you may extend this cable with 18AWG (1mm) / 3 Conductor cable. The total cable length, including the provided cable attached to the sensor, should not exceed 175' (53.3m).
   1. 1. Red wire to '12V' Terminal
      2. White wire to 'S' Terminal
      3. Silver (bare) wire to 'G' Terminal
3. Use a small flat blade screwdriver (3/32”) to hand tighten all 3 screw terminals on to the copper wire. Once tightened, gently pull on each wire to ensure they are fully secured in the terminal. If any slip out, repeat the above steps. IMPORTANT: Make sure there is not any copper exposed outside of the terminals. This may lead to two conductors contacting and short circuiting the sensor.
4. Repeat for the remaining Terralink sensors. 

Multiple Terralink per channel Installation (Daisy Chaining in Commercial Applications)

*IMPORTANT: Daisy chaining sensors requires the Precision Irrigation Controller be paired with a Core controller or IoT Gateway. Daisy chaining is not possible with standalone PICs.

1. If more than 1 Terralink sensor is intended to be used per zone,  making multiple connections with waterproof junction boxes or T-connectors must be utilized. A single junction box or daisy chain configuration may be used. Consult the example installation video and generic wiring diagrams for further installation details.
   1. IMPORTANT: A maximum of 10 Terralink sensors with unique addresses may be installed on a single zone chain. Duplicate addresses on the same chain are not compatible. Available addresses are 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 & 9.
   2. IMPORTANT: The total length of the daisy chain must not exceed 175ft (53.3m) from the PIC at the furthest point. Exceeding this distance may lead to unreliable data transmission.
2. For each zone, run an 18/3 AWG (1mm) copper home-run cable to the 1st junction box from the PIC controller. From this point, either run 18/3 AWG wire to each subsequent junction box or directly connect Terralink sensors in the junction box.
3. Verify each Terralink sensor address is unique within each zone chain. The address on each sensor must be unique on a single PIC input channel. Each input can support one of each sensor address (0-9) and the PIC has 4 inputs for a maximum total of 40 sensors per PIC.
4. Strip individual conductors to expose copper then make connections using either Wago connectors, wire nuts or a similar secure wire connection method. Follow the provided wiring diagram for all connections. Make sure to keep wire color and polarity consistent throughout the entire chain.
5. Insert each color wire in the appropriate terminals of the PIC as indicated on the wiring diagram (see 'Terralink Wiring Diagrams' link above). Then use a small flat blade screwdriver (3/32”) to hand tighten all 3 screw terminals. Once tightened, gently pull on each wire to ensure they are fully secured in the terminal.
6. Repeat these steps for additional Terralink daisy chain zones. 

TEROS 12 Sensor with Adapter Cable Installation

Single TEROS 12 per PIC Channel Installation

1. The TEROS 12 is connected directly to the zone terminals of the PIC using adapter cables purchased from Growlink. 
2. Align the pins of the TEROS 12 sensor cable with the adapter cable end. Connect the two ends and hand tighten the threaded barrel connector.
3. Strip the wire insulation off the adapter cable end and insert each color wire in the appropriate terminals of the PIC as indicated below. *Note: If the cable needs to be extended to reach the PIC, you may extend this cable with 18AWG (1mm) / 3 Conductor cable. The total cable length, including the provided cable attached to the sensor, should not exceed 175' (53.3m).
   1. 1. Brown wire to '12V' Terminal
      2. White wire to 'S' Terminal
      3. Blue wire to 'G' Terminal
4. Use a small flat blade screwdriver (3/32” works best) to hand tighten all 3 screw terminals on to the copper wire. Once tightened, gently pull on each wire to ensure they are fully secured in the terminal. If any slip out, repeat the above steps. IMPORTANT: Make sure there is not any copper exposed outside of the terminals. This may lead to two conductors contacting and short circuiting the sensor.
5. Repeat for the remaining TEROS 12 sensors. 

TDR Sensor Installation

Single TDR per Channel Installation

1. The TDR probes are connected directly to the zone terminals of the PIC indicated in the provided wiring diagram (see TDR Wiring Diagrams link above). If multiple TDR probes will be used per zone, proceed to the next section for daisy chaining instructions.
2. Strip the wire insulation off the cable end and insert each color wire in the appropriate terminals of the PIC as indicated on the wiring diagram. *Note: If the cable needs to be extended to reach the PIC, you may extend this cable with 18AWG (1mm) / 3 Conductor cable. The total cable length, including the provided cable attached to the sensor, should not exceed 175' (53.3m).
   1. 1. Red wire to '12V' Terminal
      2. Blue wire to 'S' Terminal
      3. White wire to 'G' Terminal
3. Use a small flat blade screwdriver (3/32”) to hand tighten all 3 screw terminals on to the copper wire. Once tightened, gently pull on each wire to ensure they are fully secured in the terminal. If any slip out, repeat the above steps. IMPORTANT: Make sure there is not any copper exposed outside of the terminals. This may lead to two conductors contacting and short circuiting the sensor.
4. Repeat for the remaining TDR sensors. 

Multiple TDR per channel Installation (Daisy Chaining in Commercial Applications)

*IMPORTANT: Daisy chaining sensors requires the Precision Irrigation Controller be paired with a Core controller or IoT Gateway. Daisy chaining is not possible with standalone PICs.

1. If more than 1 TDR sensor is intended to be used per zone,  making multiple connections with waterproof junction boxes or T-connectors must be utilized. A single junction box or daisy chain configuration may be used. Consult the example installation video and generic wiring diagrams for further installation details.
   1. IMPORTANT: A maximum of 10 TDR sensors with unique addresses may be installed on a single zone chain. Duplicate addresses on the same chain are not compatible. Available addresses are 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 & 9.
   2. IMPORTANT: The total length of the daisy chain must not exceed 175ft (53.3m) from the PIC at the furthest point. Exceeding this distance may lead to unreliable data transmission.
2. For each zone, run an 18/3 AWG (1mm) copper home-run cable to the 1st junction box from the PIC controller. From this point, either run 18/3 AWG wire to each subsequent junction box or directly connect TDR sensors in the junction box.
3. Verify each TDR sensor address is unique within each zone chain. The address on each sensor must be unique on a single PIC input channel. Each input can support one of each sensor address (0-9) and the PIC has 4 inputs for a maximum total of 40 sensors per PIC.
   1. To find the address of each sensor, reference the images below.
4. Strip individual conductors to expose copper then make connections using either Wago connectors, wire nuts or a similar secure wire connection method. Follow the provided wiring diagram for all connections. Make sure to keep wire color and polarity consistent throughout the entire chain.
5. Insert each color wire in the appropriate terminals of the PIC as indicated on the wiring diagram (see 'TDR Wiring Diagram' link above). Then use a small flat blade screwdriver (3/32”) to hand tighten all 3 screw terminals. Once tightened, gently pull on each wire to ensure they are fully secured in the terminal.
6. Repeat these steps for additional TDR daisy chain zones.