VWC and EC meter

METER TEROS 12  with ProCheck takes measurements of moisture, electric conductivity (EC) and temperature of mineral soil or soilless media.  

• Soil moisture: It has a resolution of 0.001 m³/m³ volumetric water content (VWC).  It is accurate at ±0.03 m³/m³ (±3.00 % VWC) typical in mineral soils that have solution EC <8 dS/m. 
• Temperature: It can measure -40 to +60 °C, has a resolution of  ±0.10 °C and accuracy of ±0.5 °C from −40 to 0 °C ±0.3 °C from 0 to +60 °C.
• Bulk EC: It can measure 0–20,000 μS/cm (bulk) with resolution of 1 μS/cm and accurate at  +/- (5% + 10 μS/cm) from 0–10,000 μS/cm or +/- 8% from 10,000–20,000 μS/cm.

ProCheck can save up to 5,000 individual readings which include sensor type, date, time, raw value, calibrated value, and calibration coefficients.

IMPORTANT: Please be careful with the TEROS 12 sensor as it is very sensitive. Make sure the sensor is clean and dry before and after use. Remove the batteries from the meter after use.

Materials:

• TEROS 12 sensor connected to ProCheck reader
• wash beaker
• rinse bottle with distilled water
• Kim wipes
• hand gloves

Optional (to download data)

• ECH₂0 utility (https://www.metergroup.com/downloads/)
• Meter USB driver (8.0) (https://www.metergroup.com/downloads/)

Methods:

1. Plug the sensor into the stereo connector at the top of the PROCHECK.  

Configuring the Procheck meter

1. Press MENU to navigate to Configuration tab.
2. Use the UP and DOWN buttons to scroll down to Date.  Enter the correct date then press Enter.
3. Repeat step 2.  Select Time to input correct time then press Enter
4. Under Configuration tab, select Calibration type, sensor type, and type of medium. Press SAVE to confirm settings.
5. Refer to section 2.7 of the Procheck meter manual to apply custom settings.

Take a reading

1. Press the MENU button till you reach the Measurement tab.
2. Remove the rubber cap from the top of the sensor.  Clean sensor with distilled water and dry with Kim wipes.
3. Dig a hole in your medium and bury the sensor into your medium.
4. Press ENTER to engage the live update mode In live update mode, the ProCheck will take a reading every 30 s and update the screen. A pair of arrows rotate in the lower right corner during updates.
5. Press ESC to exit the live update mode.
6. Press SAVE to save the current reading on the display.

Annotate a reading with ID

1. Under the Measurement tab, press SAVE to show the annotate screen which contains reading summary and annotation field.
2. Use UP and DOWN to change the current character (A-Z, 0-9, or special characters or space). Press ENTER to move to the next value. Press ESC to return to a value.  Repeat until the last character.
3. Press SAVE to save the annotation or MENU to return to the measurement tab without saving the record.

Download data (for multiple measurements instead of spot-checking)

1. Launch ECH₂0 utility.
2. Use the supplied USB-to-serial cable to connect ProCheck to a USB port on the computer. 
3. Choose the correct communication port from the Connect via dropdown list. Click connect.
4. Click the Download button in the toolbar to download all new data.
5. Alternatively, if you want to download all the data, go to the Data menu, and select download all data.
6. Edit the file name in the file save dialog
7. Select the location on the computer to save the data
8. Choose a file format. Data are saved as an excel workbook file by default.
9. Click save to start the download.

For more info please refer to ProCheck manual, TEROS-12 manual, and other info.

By Vera Velasco, 2024-06-06