FarmQA Compaction Testing Overview
FarmQA developed the Compaction Testing System (CTS) 1000 with simplicity and repeatability in mind. The CTS 1000 can efficiently measure compaction accurately, resulting in trustworthy data. To collect data with the CTS 1000, follow the instructions below. (see full manual for mounting instructions)
CTS 1000 Data Collection
- Power up the compaction unit using the on/off switch on the left-hand side of the device (shown below). The LCD screen should turn on if wired correctly and the emergency stop switch is pulled out.
- (Optional) Turn on external Bluetooth GPS device
- Turn on the Android device, download and open the FarmQA app found on the Google Play store.
- Within the FarmQA App click "set credentials", then enter FarmQA provided credentials and click “Log in”. (WiFi is required for this step)
- Next select “set enterprise” from the FarmQA app home screen, then select the enterprise that compaction data should be associated to.
- With Bluetooth turned on, click on the “set device” option within the app. Click “scan” and select the compaction unit that appears in the list below (this will appear as a series of numbers and letters). Then click “Set device”.
- Next click on the “Collect” option within the FarmQA App, but do not click anything else.
- Return to the compaction unit and complete the tare process by reading the directions on the LCD screen.
- After tare is complete, return to the FarmQA App. It should say "Ready for measurement" and have coordinates shown in the top left-hand corner of the screen.
- The compaction unit can now be used by clicking and holding the green “Run” button on the collect screen for 1 second.
- Results can be sent to FarmQA controller by going to “results”->clicking on a result->“sync” (WiFi required).
- Back button to return to home page
- Probe coming up arrow
- Probe position (0 = tare position)
- Settings button that opens Settings page
- Probe Length (keep at 29.5 inches)
- Tare Depth set using the switches on the CTS 1000
- Max Depth. The greatest this value can be is Probe Length minus Tare Depth. If you want the probe to always go as deep as possible then after setting the Tare Depth using the switches on the CTS 1000 set this value to 29 and then push the Save button. The app will then reduce the Max Depth to Probe Length minus Tare Value. If you want to shorten the cycle time and only measure down to 18 inches into the soil for example you can set the value to 18 or any other value less than Probe Length minus Tare Depth.
- Max Force. If the actuator exceeds this value the probe will stop and stay where it is. The user needs to check the probe for any damage and then raise the probe by pushing the OPERATE button on the CTS 1000. This is for safety and to reduce wear on the cone tip. If the soil you are in only requires around 200 lbs of force then having the Max Force at 350 lbs keeps the cone tip from pushing harder than necessary into a rock for example. If the soil is very hard, though, the Max Force can be increased to 550 lbs. Note: this value is in pounds, not pounds per square inch (psi). The cone tip has a cross sectional area of 0.4418 square inches at it’s widest point. 350 pounds applied to a cone tip of this size has a psi value of 350 pounds/0.4418 square inches = 792 pounds per square inch (psi).
- Display Current button tells the CTS 1000 to display it’s settings on the LCD screen. This is to ensure that any changes to the app settings have been communicated to the CTS 1000 correctly.
- The Cone Index value determines where the vertical red line is located on the graph.
- The Results to Show value determines how many previous results to show on the graph. This is to make it easy to see if there is an anomaly in the soil at the current sample point. If there is an anomaly additional samples should be taken nearby. This can be set to “0” if you don’t want any previous results displayed.
- Save button
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