ARABLE SOLAR INSTALLATION GUIDE

Transcription

1 ARABLE SOLAR INSTALLATION GUIDE

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3 Table of Contents About Arable Solar What s inside the box? Included Components Before Heading to the Field Installation Accessories Checklist Arable Solar Installation Guide 9 Help How do I know if Arable Solar is charging the Mark? Doesn t the Arable Mark already have a solar panel? Why do I need another one? 10 Contact Us

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5 About Arable Solar We recommend using Arable Solar with all Marks. The Mark is designed to function year-round without an auxiliary solar panel, under ideal weather conditions. However, depending on latitude and any adverse conditions that lead to shorter periods of daylight, we recommend supplementing with the solar panel to reduce any risk of interrupting connectivity or data collection. Arable Solar will provide the power to ensure a high battery level and continuous data transmission, days a year. 1

6 What s Inside the Box? Please take a moment to ensure that you have the following components: Vertical bracket Bolts (2) Black plastic retaining nuts (4) O-Ring Horizontal arm Zip ties Wing nuts (2 large, 2 small) Hex nuts (2, for optional use) U-Bolt Washers (2 large, 2 small) 3.5-watt solar panel with attached red power cable Red adapter power cable 2 Decision Agriculture

7 Before Heading to the Field Pack the following: Adjustable hand wrench if you prefer to use the hex nuts Phillips head screwdriver to affix the bolts Scissors to trim the zip ties 3

8 Arable Solar Installation Guide Step 1: Installing the Horizontal Arm Items: Horizontal arm, U-bolt, 2 wing nuts (large), 2 washers (large), 2 hex nuts (if preferred) Just below where your Mark s vertical mount meets the pole that you are using, place the U-bolt around the pole. Note: The Arable Mark and Arable Solar are designed to be mounted on a pole with an outside diameter between 1 to 1 ⅜. Position the horizontal arm so that the solar panel will be facing south (if you are in the Northern Hemisphere) or north (if you are in the Southern Hemisphere). SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE: Solar panel faces NORTH NORTHERN HEMISPHERE: Solar panel faces SOUTH Slip the U-bolt through one end of the horizontal arm. Fasten the horizontal arm in place using the supplied washers and wing nuts. Be sure these are tight so the arm is securely fastened to the pole. For an even more secure fit, you can use hex nuts instead. Note: the arm may bend if these are over-tightened. 4 Decision Agriculture

9 How to set up Arable Solar Step 2: Installing the Panel Items: Solar panel, vertical bracket, 2 bolts, 2 wing nuts (small), 2 washers (small), 4 black plastic retaining nuts To mount the solar panel to the vertical bracket, first thread the solar panel s red cable through the circular hole in the vertical bracket. Use two of the black plastic retaining nuts to affix the panel to the bracket. Note: the protruding cylinder on the nuts should be recessed into the bracket. These should not be over tightened or they will be damaged. The remaining two black plastic retaining nuts are extra and can be threaded on the two unused mounting bolts on the top back of the solar panel for safekeeping. To mount the vertical bracket to the horizontal arm, use the supplied bolts, small washers, and small wing nuts. 5

10 Arable Solar Installation Guide Step 3: Connecting Cables Item: Red adapter power cable Connect the red cable attached to the solar panel to the second red cable. Ensure the two are securely connected. 6 Decision Agriculture

11 How to set up Arable Solar Step 4. Connecting Arable Solar to the Mark Note: If you purchased an Arable Bridge, the solar panel will plug into the Bridge not the Mark. See Instruction Booklet that came in the Arable Bridge box, or visit Items: O-ring, red adapter power cable Slip the O-ring around the black plastic exterior of the plug on the free end of the red cable. There should be about ¼ of space between the O-ring and the tip of the plug. Next, align the plug with the power port on the bottom of the Mark, and connect them. You will see that there is only one way for the pins inside the plug to properly fit into the port. Do not force the plug, as you risk damaging the pins or the port. Finally, slide the O-ring forward into the crevice between the plug and the Mark to create a seal. IMPORTANT! Make sure the black rubber O-ring is snug in the crevice, so that the plug is flush with the Mark when connected. This will prevent water ingress. Use the zip ties to bind the cables to the horizontal arm. This helps reduce stress on the connections and keeps everything in place and water-tight. 7

12 Arable Solar Installation Guide Step 5: Ensuring Charge is Occurring Once the plug is connected to the Mark, you can check to ensure that the external solar panel is connected by covering the donut shaped solar panel within the Arable Mark with a cloth. If the LED on the bottom of the device is illuminated, it is indicating that it is receiving charge from the external solar panel. Please note that if the Arable Mark s internal solar panel is not covered the LED will illuminate due to charge from either solar panel. In order to confirm charge is coming from the auxiliary solar panel, the Arable Mark internal panel must be covered. The finished installation should look like this: 8 Decision Agriculture

13 Help Questions & Answers How do I know if Arable Solar is charging the Mark? You will see a small LED illuminate on the bottom of the device next to the port when plugging the cord into the device. If the device is charging, it will illuminate orange. If the device is fully charged, the LED will illuminate green. If the LED does not illuminate, please check the connections between the two red cables, and the solar panel and Mark. Doesn t the Arable Mark already have a solar panel? Why do I need another one? Our device has a small, donut-shaped solar panel surrounding the Arable A logo. The Mark is designed to function without any auxiliary solar panel yearround, assuming abundant sunlight conditions. In conditions with less sunlight availability, Arable Solar will provide the additional power to ensure a high battery level and continuous data transmission. We strongly recommend this for all installations to gather data that will give the full picture of your crop. 9

14 Contact Us Our Customer Success team is standing by to help! Reach out to You can also log into your account at app.arable.com and message our team through the help portal on the lower right hand of the screen. 10 Decision Agriculture

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16 Arable Labs, Inc.