Product overview and engineering role
The SimtoLink multi-depth soil-moisture profile tube puts several FDR (frequency-domain reflectometry) sensing zones on one tube, so volumetric water content can be read as a profile by depth. It serves precision irrigation, drought assessment, and research plots. Multi-point soil calibration and temperature compensation cut the bias that comes from different soils.
SimtoLink gives a burial-depth note, an RS485 register map, and two power forms, battery or external, as ordered. A gateway can gather the readings for an irrigation controller or an agricultural IoT platform. Volume orders can specify tube length and layer count.
Reliability and field fit
CCC test items that apply are covered on this tube. Ports have surge and reverse-polarity protection. Grounding is reinforced and the layout is partitioned, which lowers ground-loop and common-mode risk. A higher ingress grade and a corrosion-resistant coating can be chosen for outdoor or coastal ground.
Bulk import of parameters, threshold policies, and event video or waveform capture, on models that have them, are in the software, and OTA updates configuration and firmware. SimtoLink asks for three checks on site: power-on self-test, communications time sync, and a sample reading. For metering or safety use, assistance covers a third-party metrology submission and type-test documents.
Key hardware parameters
The ratings are a typical build of this profile tube, for selection and for a technical clause in a bid. If you need a wider range, redundant power, or an intrinsically safe explosion-proof variant, ask SimtoLink for the hardware specification and the installation and commissioning guide. Order numbers in the family may differ slightly; follow the nameplate and the documents shipped with the tube.
| Parameter | Specification | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sensing | FDR dielectric (multi-layer) | Profile water content |
| Layer count | Multi-depth (typically 3～6 layers) | Custom |
| Water-content range | 0～100 %vol (after calibration) | Depends on the soil |
| Update rate | From 4 Hz | Configurable |
| Communications | RS485 | Low-power policy |
| Power | Battery 3.6V / external | Runtime and sleep |
| Ingress | IP67 | Buried / outdoor |
| Operating temperature | -23～64 ℃ | Industrial grade |
| Material | Stainless steel / corrosion-resistant | Long-term burial |
| Calibration | Multi-point soil calibration | Can return to the factory |
Typical applications
How this tube is usually put in the ground, for choosing a scheme and checking the interface:
Open fields and protected cropping
Drip and sprinkler zones start and stop from the profile water content, so a wet surface and a dry root zone are less likely to sit together.
Orchards and ecological restoration
Moisture in the root-active layer is watched, which supports survival estimates for new plantings and a tending irrigation plan.
Research plots and weather sites
Readings sit with evapotranspiration and rain-gauge data for hydrological model calibration and small-catchment trials.
Installation, grounding, and maintenance
- Before the tube is powered, confirm the supply range and polarity. Use a multimeter on bus voltage and breaker capacity when the circuit is shared.
- Run RS485 on shielded twisted pair, grounded at one end, and keep it out of a long shared bundle with high-power cable.
- Finish two-way register access and a threshold trigger with the platform in the lab, then move the tube into the plot.
- Outdoors, leave a path for water and for air. Inspect sealing faces, and set lightning-ground resistance to the local code.
- In long service, take a sample check and archive logs every 6 months.
Ordering, documentation, and support
The soil tube ships with a hardware specification, outline drawings, a wiring table, and an example project from SimtoLink. Volume orders can add sample review and inspection at the plant. Warranty and calibration follow the contract and the papers packed with the tube.
Related reading
Pages in this folder, for an agriculture and environment network: