Owner's Manual

In the example picture, we have adjusted the Percent Scale
factor back to 100, added a 20-minute delay, and changed
two of the Start Times, just enough to allow the program to
complete its cycle between starts. Now we have a workable
program but it will not run yet because the field unit is not
aware of the program changes. Clicking the Send Cluster
button will open the Communication In Progress window
and transmit all programming data seen on the Auto
Programming screen to the field unit, where it is stored in
tables.
This includes everything you see on the Auto Programming
screen with the exceptions of the unit and program
descriptions. It includes the Start Times, Schedule
assignment (the actual schedule must be sent from the
Schedule window), Percent Scale, Repeats, Delay, Water Window start and end, Continuous Run option, Station Order
(station/valve number assigned to each slot) and Run Times of all slots. Furthermore, note that the command is Send
Cluster, which means the entire cluster of all four programs is sent at the same time. Not just the data you see on the current
screen is sent, but all the data for the other three programs in the cluster are sent as well. In this case, all programs of cluster
A from A 1 (shown), A 2, A 3, and A 4 are transmitted at the same time. This enables you to define four different programs,
then send them all at the same time in one operation.
Once the data is saved in the field unit, it can operate on its own. In the example above, the program will begin at the next
start time to occur after the unit receives the program (if it is a scheduled run day). Slot 1 will run station 1 for 3 minutes, slot
2 will run station 2 for 3 minutes, and so on, until slot 10 runs station 5 for 5 minutes. Slots 11 through 48 will be ignored
because there are no run times. The program then executes the 20-minute delay, running no programs. After the delay, the
first repeat begins the whole cycle again, followed by another delay and the second repeat. Then the unit will wait for the next
Start Time, unless one of the other 15 programs takes over. Remember: Any program of any cluster can control any
combination of all the field unit stations.
The Receive Cluster command is available for two reasons. You may wish to receive programs to verify that programs sent
to the field unit were transmitted accurately. Also, if you have upgraded the Sentinel software, this is a handy way to retrieve
the programs from field controllers and save them into the new database in the Central computer. Like the Send Cluster
command, Receive Cluster will open the Comm Progress window, but instead of transmitting, it will receive all four
programs of the selected cluster from the field unit, and replace what you see on the screen with the program received. The
received data will replace the cluster (four programs) in the Central computer when you click the Save command.
Depending on the situation, similar programs might be needed in
multiple field units. In this event, Sentinel provides a utility to copy all of
the programs from the currently accessed field unit to all units selected
in the database.
To copy the programs, click the Copy to Unit button from the Auto
Programming window. A new utility window will open with a list of all
field units in the current irrigation system. By default, no field unit is
selected. Select one unit at a time by toggling No to Yes under the
Select? column. Select All and Clear All buttons are also provided at
the bottom of the window. If groups of field units are already setup in
System / Group Maintenance, all units in a group may be selected by
clicking the group name from the list under the Group(s) column at the right side of the window. After the selection process is
complete, click Copy and Sentinel will copy all of the program data (run times, start times, etc.) from the currently accessed
field unit to any units selected in the database. Be aware that the new data will overwrite all data previously stored in the
database for all the selected field units. Once the program data is successfully copied into the selected field units,
modifications can be made by opening the Auto Programming window for each unit individually. After programs are copied,
they can be sent to the field units with the Send Program Changes command or with AutoComm, both described in
Chapter 11.
NOTE: Copying programs to field units will copy the selected schedule number, start times, run time, percent scale, water
window, repeats, delay, state of continuos run, ET check boxes and station order. It will NOT copy the Primary and the
Secondary descriptions of the programs and it will NOT copy the schedules and any other data found in other utility widows
of the Master Control Panel such as Zone Data.
Copy Programs to Field Units
Program Transmission
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Toro Sentinel Central Software User’s Guide