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SunScan
Canopy Analysis
System
User Manual
SS1-UM-1.05
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Notices Copyright All rights reserved. Under the copyright laws, this manual may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Delta-T Devices Limited. Under the law, copying includes translation into another language. Copyright © 1996, Delta-T Devices Limited. SunData software and canopy theory are Copyright © 1996 John Wood, Peak Design, Wensley Road, Winster, Derbyshire, U.K. Acknowledgements Extracts and illustrations from the Psion Workabout documentatio
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Contents Introduction .................................................................................................6 How to use the manuals............................................................................. 6 Organisation of this manual.......................................................................... 6 The SunScan Canopy Analysis System .................................................... 6 PAR measurements...................................................................
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Menus and Screens ..................................................................................30 More Psion and file handling notes.........................................................33 Navigating Psion directories and screens...............................................33 The Workabout User Guide ........................................................................ 33 Navigating the Psion directories and screens............................................. 33 Psion subdirectory
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Maintenance and repair............................................................................ 64 Checking the batteries................................................................................ 64 The SunScan probe batteries..................................................................... 64 The Workabout batteries ............................................................................ 64 Checking the desiccant .................................................................
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Introduction How to use the manuals This manual tells you how to use your SunScan Canopy Analyser and its accessories. Some pages in the Menus and Screens section are "Quick Guides" which summarise the principal operating modes of the SunScan. They have been laminated on to durable material so that they can be taken into the field instead of the full manual. A separate Technical Manual is provided, but you will only need to refer to it in exceptional circumstances. If you have purchased the Psio
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SunScan probe The light sensitive “wand” of the probe is 1 metre long, containing 64 photodiodes equally spaced along its length. The probe handle contains batteries and electronics for converting the photodiode outputs into digital PAR readings, which get sent to your Data Collection Terminal via the RS232 link. Beam Fraction sensor The Beam Fraction sensor (BFS) also measures PAR light levels. It is used to monitor the light incident on the canopy at the same time as you are making measurement
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Getting Started After unpacking the SunScan consignment and checking the contents against the packing list, you will want to know if everything is functioning correctly. All parts of the system are checked at our factory before despatch, so you should not anticipate trouble. If the SunScan carrying case is difficult to open, slacken the pressure release screw which is built into the carrying case moulding. If you are an experienced user, the functional checks can be done in a few minutes with no
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After some minutes of inactivity, the Workabout screen will automatically blank itself to save power. Press On/Esc once more to restore the screen display. ♦ Now connect the SunScan probe to the RS232 port at the top of the Workabout. Leave the BFS sensor disconnected. ♦ Press the yellow arrow keys to select the SunData icon.(A black background appears round the selected icon label.) ♦ Press the yellow Enter button. (Enter always accepts the selected item.) The SunData opening screen should appe
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Installing the SunData s/w in your PC In this section you will be told about the SunData s/w, and what you need to do to get it running on your PC. You will then use it to establish that your PC can communicate with the SunScan probe. The SunData s/w Diskette What the s/w does The s/w is provided as three groups of programs in separate directories on the diskette. If you find a README file in the root directory of the diskette, please read it. It may contain late release information not included
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Running SunData The program you will run is SUNDATA.EXE (which was in the \PC directory on the diskette). This will be a quick test just to obtain the opening SunData screens on your PC. From DOS ♦ Change to the directory on your hard disk which holds the SUNDATA.EXE file. ♦ At the DOS prompt, type: SUNDATA then ↵ ↵ ↵ ↵ or Return or Enter to run it. The opening SunData screen will appear. SunData is running. You should see a starting plaque similar to this: ♦ Press the Tab key ( → →| → →||| ) to
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Communication checks: SunScan probe to PC For this test you will need the SunScan probe, and the SunData PC s/w running in your PC to the stage described above. ♦ Now connect the SunScan probe coiled cable to the COM port you have just specified, and press ↵ ↵ ↵ ↵ again. The CONNECT option will be activated, and the screen will change to report the connection. ♦ On the SunScan probe handle, press the red "GO" button once or twice. Further changes to the screen will occur. Communication between t
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Running SunData in Windows At this stage you may wish to install the SunData program so that it runs from within Windows. In Windows 3.11 The SunData diskette also contains SUNDATA.PIF and SUNDATA.ICO files for use with Windows. ♦ In Windows Program Manager, select File, New, Program Item ♦ Specify SunScan for the Description, SUNDATA.PIF for the Command Line, your program directory name for the Working Directory, and SUNDATA.ICO for the Icon File. Program Manager will then display the SunScan I
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SunScan Tutorial About this tutorial What you will learn This tutorial takes you step by step through the processes of setting up and taking readings with the SunScan probe, and then transferring the data files to a computer for analysis. It is divided into two parts, each of which should take about 20 to 30 minutes. For the first part you will need access to the Psion Workabout and its User Guide, or to a portable computer if you are using that instead. The second part requires access to the
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Warning! If you were already in the Psion System Screen, you’ll see a message Exit System Screen? Press N, so that you stay in the System Screen. From this point you can launch SunData, the SunScan application, but first it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the Workabout’s keyboard. The main uses of the keys are explained in the Workabout user Guide on pages 10 and 11. The following keys are particularly important for the Workabout: Pops up a menu of options relevant to your current
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Using a PC instead of the Workabout Starting the PC software Skip this section if you are using the Psion. Refer to the section in Getting Started for details on starting the PC version of the SunData software. This should bring you to the PC title screen. You will then set the probe into its emulator mode for the first part of the tutorial, as follows: ♦ Press Alt+S to drop down the Settings menu as shown. ♦ Move to the SunScan Probe option using the ↑↓ ↑ ↑ ↑↓ ↓ ↓ arrow keys, and accept it by p
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(This page is intentionally blank) SunScan User Manual v 1.05 SunScan Tutorial • • 17 • •
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Setting up a measurement session Working through the menu options In normal use the SunData software calculates Leaf Area Index (LAI) based on readings from the SunScan probe and from the Beam Fraction Sensor (if fitted). These calculations also require information about the distribution of leaf angles and absorption of light by leaves within the canopy and knowledge of the solar angle calculated from the time of day and local latitude and longitude. SunScan probe Average PAR within canopy Beam
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You will go through these different combinations later in the tutorial, and there is also a route map in the Menus and Screens section. These settings can be stored as a Configuration. Saving a number of configurations enables you to switch quickly between the different set-ups necessary at different sites, or when analysing the canopy of different crops with different characteristics. Note: The Workabout’s file structure is very similar to a standard DOS system. Files, such as SunData configur
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Taking readings Using the Emulator mode You have now configured all the settings necessary to start taking readings, including setting SunData into emulator mode, with BFS, and setting the display to LAI At its simplest, you only need to press Enter twice to take, display and store each Leaf Area Index reading, and the values it is derived from: ♦ Press Enter once to collect and display an (emulated) reading. ♦ Press Enter again to store that reading, and return to the Next Reading screen. ....o
