Owner's Manual

Try to choose phrases for the Primary descriptions that describes large
categories of programs, such as types of landscapes or locations. Use the
Secondary Descriptions for a different kind of breakdown such as methods.
In the picture above, the primary description groups programs by landscape,
while the secondary describes methods. Thus all programs for Normal
irrigation of Fairways are quickly selected by these descriptions.
Unfortunately, once a description is entered and saved, you can not delete it
from the list due to the relational nature of the Sentinel database. However,
you can always add new descriptions if you need more selection.
To the right of the descriptions, you will see two indicators, Data Source and Changes made, yet to send. When you open
the Auto Programming window, programs are read from the Sentinel database from the PC hard drive, thus the Data
Source reads Disk. After you receive data from the field unit, the Data Source will change from Disk to Field. This indicator
enables you to determine where the displayed program data originated.
When any parameter on the Auto Programming screen is altered, a checkmark will appear in the check box next to
Changes made, yet to send. It will remain checked until you send the updated program to the field unit (either from this
window or with Automatic Communications described in Chapter 11) or manually clear it by clicking the checkmark with
the mouse. This is a reminder that changes have been made but have not been sent to the field units.
Referring to the STATION ORDER AND RUN TIMES section
of the Auto Programming window (accessed by clicking
Programs in the Master Control Panel), note that there are
48 slots represented by boxes with numbers inside and next
to them. These slots represents the run time slices that form
a program. The number inside each box is its own station
run time in minutes. It is important to understand that the
number next to each box is not the slot number but the
station number or valve number that is assigned to that slot.
The station number or valve number refers to the field
terminals that the field unit controls. Initially there is a one-to-
one correspondence, station 1 is assigned to slot one,
station 2 is assigned to slot two and so forth. You can
change this and assign any station to any slot and even
assign the same station to a number of different slots. When you first start using Sentinel, all of the run times in the boxes are
zero and all the stations are listed in order alongside the slots. The slots determines the succession of stations that will run in
the given program.
To change a run time and/or assign a station, click on the box. The Edit Slot
window will open. You can change the Station Number and enter the Run Time
in minutes at the corresponding box. The other activated text boxes in the Edit
Slot window will depend on the station information entered in the Zone Data
screen. This is explained in Chapter 6 in greater detail.
For now, we will only deal with the Run Time entered in minutes. As an example,
suppose we change the station number 6 to 1, and enter a run time of 1 minute.
Save this change by clicking OK, then Close. The result is shown below. Now
there are two slots with station 1.
Now we’ll see how a number of slots can be edited in rapid succession. Click slot box 7 with the mouse and an Edit Slot
window will open. After proper changes are made in the Edit Slot window, click OK to save it. Instead of clicking Close, click
Previous or Next to edit the slot to the left or right of the currently selected slot. As an example, we can start with slot 7. We
assigned station 2 to slot 7 with 5 minutes run time, clicked OK and Next to move up to slot 8, changed it to 3, and so on.
We could proceed indefinitely and click Close after editing the last slot desired. There is an even faster way to edit a number
of slots. You can change the run times of any number of slots simultaneously. To select a group of slots for editing, place the
mouse cursor directly over the station number of the first desired slot. When clicked with the mouse, the station number will
change to white to indicate that it is selected. You can repeat this for any slots. To select several at once, after clicking the
first station number, hold down the shift key and move the mouse to the station number of the last desired slot. All of the
slots in between both numbers will be selected and the corresponding station numbers will change to white.
Program Slots
5 - 10
Toro Sentinel Central Software User’s Guide