toro gdc design guide - fulflo · lightning arrester toro p/n dec-sg-line 4'' x...

Toro GDC Design Guide

1 Overview

Decoders are an alternative to traditional controller systems – they work much like conventional controllers, but are installed below grade in valve box.

The Toro GDC decoders are provided in three basic configurations: 1-, 2-, and 4-station and can operate up to 20 stations simultaneously, anywhere up to 4,500m. When properly connected to an earth-ground rod or plate, the GDC provides 20,000-volt surge protection at the controller. A single, two-wire path connects the Gateway controller to the decoders.

1.1 Applications

The site drawing below illustrates the various applications for one-, two-, and four-station decoder placement on the golf course. One-station decoders are used for the block valves that control four sprinklers on the tee areas, two-station decoders are used to control the two sprinklers on each fairway lateral, and the 4-station decoder controls the four sprinklers covering the green.

D

1.2 Benefits

Decoder systems are simple, reliable, and easy to expand. There are a number of advantages a decoder system has over a satellite system:

• More resistant to vandalism

• Less costly & less wire

• Less sensitive to flooding

• More aesthetically pleasing

• No high voltage power on the course.

1-Station Decoder

2-Station Decoder

4-Station Decoder

220G Brass Valve

700 or 800S Sprinklers

810G Sprinklers2-Wire Comm Cable

2 SystemComponents

In addition to a Gateway and the decoders, a decoder system may also include a central computer, hand-held remote interface, a weather station interface, and a pump station interface. Installation of all of these components is outlined in the following section.

2.1Power&Grounding

Suitable Power supply.

The PC and Gateway are designed to run on a clean, properly earth-grounded mains power supply.

Great care should be taken on construction sites where generators may be used to provide power. Prior to operating the decoder system, the suitability of the mains power supply should be verified by a qualified electrician.

Gateway

Serial/Fiber Optic Cable

Serial Cable

Handheld Radio

Decoder Decoder

Sprinkler Sprinkler

Central Computer

Hand-Held Remote Interface

DTMF

Two-wire Communication Cable

2.2 Decoders

The station decoder modules are available in 1-, 2-, and 4-station configurations. The decoder modules are connected to the Gateway via two-wire communication cable.

For PC-controlled systems, the maximum station capacity per output board is 800 stations. The maximum number of decoders per wire path is 250, however these decoders may have 1, 2 or 4 station outputs, and no more than 500 decoders are run from any one output board. A maximum of 1000 decoders can operated by a Gateway when equipped with two output boards and four communication cable wire paths. This allows for the capacity of 1600 stations, however it should be achieved over four separate two-wire paths and would require the use of multi-station decoders.

It is recommended that the decoder modules are installed in an approved valve box to provide protection from the elements, as well as providing easy access to the wiring. Use high-voltage waterproofing to all the wire connections.

StationTerminal 1 2 3 4

Valve Box - Install the decoder module on the side wall of the valve box for ease of service.

The maximum communication wire lengthbetween the Gateway and the farthestdecoder is 4,500m using 2,5mm2 comm wire.

Wh

ite

Bla

ck

Wh

ite

Bla

ck

Wh

ite

Bla

ck

Wh

ite

Bla

ck

The maximum communication wire length between the decoder module and the solenoid is 138m using 2,5mm2 wire, or 100m using 1,5mm2) wire.

Output Board

Each station can activateup to two solenoids.

Out to additionaldecoder modules

Station Wires

The output board canaccomodate up to 800 stationsfor the PC-Driven Gateway. The decoder modules can beconnected in any configurationusing the four-station terminals.

1-StationDecoderModule

Station 4Blue a Red/White Solenoid WireBlue/Black a Black Solenoid Wire

Station 2

Station 1 Red a Red/White Solenoid WireRed/Black a Black Solenoid Wire

PowerBlack a Black Com Wire White a White Com Wire

Green a Red/White Solenoid WireGreen/Black a Black Solenoid Wire Station 3 Orange a Red/White Solenoid WireOrange/Black a Black Solenoid Wire

2.3 SurgeArrestorsandGrounding

Toro offers two types of surge protection: communication wire and decoder. The decoder input and output surge protection is integrated into every decoder. A communication wire surge unit is properly earth-grounded and spliced into the communication cable every 300m. Additional wire, moisture-proof splice kits, earth-ground conductors, and Cadweld® connectors are required for the surge unit addition.

GRN

GRN

Red

Red w/ Black Stripe

WHT

BLK

DEC-SG-LINE

WHT

BLK

1,5mm2 = 100m Max.2,5mm2 = 138m Max.

1,5mm2 = 100m Max.2,5mm2 = 138m Max.

300m

150m Max.

2

1

1

Red / White

Black

Red

Red w/ Black Stripe

Red / White

Black

Red / White

Black

Green

Green w/ Black Stripe

1-Station Decoder

Line Surge Unit

Earth GroundDevice

Earth Ground Device

DEC-SG-LINE

Line Surge Unit

1-Station Decoder

2-Station Decoder

SDEC-ISP-1

S

S

Red

Red w/ Black Stripe

1

Red / White

Black

SDEC-ISP-1

DEC-ISP-2

3' (91.4 cm) Minimum Distance

Between the Arresterand the Ground Plate

Lightning ArresterToro P/N DEC-SG-LINE

4'' x 36'' (10.16 cm x 91.44 cm)Ground Plate - Surrounded by50 lbs (2.68 Kg) of PowerSet®

Toro Decoder Module

Paige P7350DController-to-DecoderCommunication Cable

Use Paige P7351D forDecoder-to-Solenoid

Communication Wiring

2.4 DCLatchingSolenoid

DC Latching solenoids use changing polarity to open and close. They do not require any voltage/current to remain open or closed. The solenoid can operate up to two solenoids per output simultaneously.

Because the latching solenoid operates on DC power, it must be properly connected to the decoder in order to function. Red or white solenoid wires connect to the solid-color wire from the decoder for that station while the striped wire connects to the black wire on the solenoid for that station.

2.5 CommunicationWirePathIsolationSwitches

An isolation switch can be installed to direct the incoming signal from the Gateway into two or three directions, by simply flipping a switch.

The Paige® DCDSTM (Decoder Cable Switch Device, part# 270DCSD, 2-way splitter, and 270DCSD3, 3-way splitter) should be installed at strategic locations throughout the decoder system such that it can isolate certain sections of cables for purposes of troubleshooting.

.

INRed

Black

Red

Black

Red

Black

270DCSD

OUT 1

2 OUT

INRed

Black

Red

Black

Red

Black

270DCSD3

OUT

Red

BlackOUT

OUT

1

2

3

It’s advisable to install DCSD’s where the 2-wire paths split, as illustrated below. It also helps to install them about half way along very long cable paths. By doing so, cable sections can be isolated with a flip of a switch. At all switch device locations, a sufficient amount of decoder comm cable should be provided to allow the splice connection to be raised a minimum of 60cm above grade (the comm path wiring should be buried at least 60cm below grade).

3 SystemWiring

There are two basic wire types in a decoder system: the communication wire that runs from the Gateway to the decoders in the field, and the station wire (also referred to as the station output wire), which runs from the decoder to the solenoid.

3.1 CommunicationWire

The maximum allowable comm wire run from the Gateway to the furthest decoder using 2,5mm2 wire is 4,5km.

3.1.1 Specification

Toro GDC Cable is recommended for the decoder comm path. The Toro GDC Cable provides 2,5mm2 (14 AWG) twisted pair, solid-copper insulated conductors, color-coded white and black, encased in a HDPE sunlight-resistant, red outer jacket.

Recommended Cable Manufacturers:

• LUKN”X”Y”C - 2,5mm2

• Paige® – 7350D - 14 AWG.

Please see attached approved specification sheets – Paige® & Lely (UK) Ltd.

3.2 Configuration&Placement

Each comm cable path may have a maximum length of 4,500m. Decoders should be evenly distributed along that length. For layouts which have multiple branches (or spurs) in the design, standard voltage drop calculations should be used to determine the maximum length of the wire path.

The maximum permissible voltage drop, measured from the Gateway to the furthest decoder on the wire path is 6 volts.

• Total voltage drop = the total current x the total resistance.

• Amperage per decoder = 0.0007 Amps.

• Cable resistance = 7,2 ohms per 1000m LUKN”X”Y”C - 2,5mm2 or 7,62 ohms per 1000m Paige 7350D 14 AWG. Both conductors to be considered for a 2-core cable.

Example:

250 decoders x 0.0007 amps x 4,5000m / 2 (average distance) x 2 (return path) x 7,2 ohms / 1000m = 6 volts.

For conditions where there is a substantial length of cable from the central before the first decoder and subsequent decoders are installed, the following tables can be used to quickly determine allowable distances.

Length of 2.5mm2

cable starting fromcentral with NOdecoders (Km)

2.25

2.00

1.50

1.00

0.50

0

+

+

+

+

+

+

0

0.50

1.50

2.50

3.50

4.50

=

=

=

=

=

=

Maximum Lengthfrom central to

furthest decoder(Km)

2.25

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

Length of 2.5mm2

cable with 250decoders evenlydistributed (Km)

Length of 14 AWGcable starting from

central with NOdecoders (ft)

6,800

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

+

+

+

+

+

+

0

1,600

3,600

5,600

7,600

9,600

=

=

=

=

=

=

Maximum Lengthfrom central to

furthest decoder(ft)

6,800

7,600

8,600

9,600

10,600

11,600

1,000

0

+

+

11,600

13,600

=

=

12,600

13,600

Length of 14 AWGcable with 250

decoders evenlydistributed (ft)

3.3 GatewayOutput-FieldWiringDetails

For maximum signal integrity we recommend that all cables on central output board 1 are separated from all cables on central output board 2 by at least 10cm at all times. Where 2 Gateways are being used on a system, we recommend that the cables from Gateway 1 are separated from Gateway 2 by 1000mm at all times.

3.4 CommunicationCableLayoutandConnections

GDC field cable architecture requires that all communication & solenoid cable runs are SPURS.

In conventional AC systems it is a common industry practice to loop the field circuits to help reduce voltage drop. It is critical that this does not happen on GDC systems. Every cable run is a spur – NO RINGS or LOOPS.

The more wire paths that are used, the less vulnerable the system is to a wire cut. It’s important to remember to never connect both ends of a wire path to the controller!

3.5 VoltageDropCalculation

The following example illustrates a basic GDC communication path with a spur configuration, and the calculations used to determine the total voltage drop.

Communication Number of Amps/ Cable Average Number of Ohms/ VoltagePath Section Decoders Decoder Length Distance Conductors Meter Drop

Beyond Endpoint 120 x 0.0007 x 900m x - 2 x 0.0072 = 1.089 Between Start/End 110 x 0.0007 x 900m x 0.5 x 2 x 0.0072 = 0.499 1.588

0.076

0.141

A to B

300m - 50 Decoders

A

Gateway

B

C

D

400m - 70 Decoders

Beyond Endpoint 0 x 0.0007 x 300m x - 2 x 0.0072 = 0.000 Between Start/End 50 x 0.0007 x 300m x 0.5 x 2 x 0.0072 = 0.076

B to C


Total Voltage Drop = 1.806

B to D

900m - 110 Decoders

Step 1 - For each wire path, identify the start point and each significant point along the path.

• Sections with no decoders (more than 100m)

• Sections with decoders evenly distributed

• Points where the cable splits in two or more directions

• End points

Step 2 - Calculate the voltage drop for each section.

a) For decoders beyond the section endpoint

b) For decoders between the section start and end points

Step 3 - Calculate the total voltage drop from the gateway to each cable endpoint by adding up the subtotals for each section.

Step 4 - If the voltage drop from the gateway to any cable endpoint exceeds 6 volts:

• reduce the quantity of decoders on the cable

• reduce the distance

• increase the wire size for some portion (or all) of the cable

3.5 VoltageDropCalculation(continued)

The following example illustrates a GDC system communication path and decoder placement on six holes of a typical golf course application, and the calculations used to determine the total voltage drop for various path segments.

Communication Number of Amps/ Cable Average Number of Ohms/ VoltagePath Section Decoders Decoder Length Distance Conductors Meter Drop


0.343

1.056

0.038

0.006

0.009

0.207

0.012

0.110

0.317

A to B

A to B to C to J 1.718A to B to C to D to E 1.443A to B to C to D to F 1.446A to B to C to D to G to H 1.658

A to B to C to D to G to I 1.756


B to C


Total Voltage Drop = 1.806

C to D


D to E


D to F


D to G


G to H


G to I


C to J

Comm Path Segments Voltage Drop

Impedence x Resistance = Volts

x x x x

xA

B

C

D

EF

H

G

I

J

8

7

6

5

4

3

vv

vvvv

v

vv

vv

v

v

vvvv

vvvv vv

v

v

vvvvvvvv

vv

vv

v

vvv

v

v

v

v

vv

v

vvvv

vvvv

v

v

vv

v

vv

vv

u u

u

u

uuvu u

uu

uuu

uuuu

uu

uu u

uu

u

uu

u

uuu

uu uuu

u

u

u

uu

u

u

uu

u

u

uu

uu

u

u

uu

x

x

x

x

x

x

x 198m

288m

251m

34m

365m

99m

157m

420m

92m

89m137m

139m

= 1 Decoder= 2 Decoders= 4 Decoders= Valve = Gateway

3.6 SolenoidConnections

The wire colors are important for determining the station number and polarity on the decoder:

Station 1 = Red/Red-Black

Station 2 = Green/Green-Black

Station 3 = Orange/Orange-Black

Station 4 = Blue/Blue-Black

So for example, with a one station decoder, the red wire on the decoder must be connected to the red wire on the solenoid. The red/black striped wire is connected to the black solenoid lead.

Remember, wiring must maintain correct polarity for proper operation. If two solenoids are being used on the output wire, wiring must maintain correct polarity for both solenoids.

3.6.1 Splicing

Station output wire connections require waterproof splices, such as 3M DBR-6/DBY-6 connector kits.

3.7 MainPowerInterference

Toro recommends that all communication cables be kept separate from mains power cabling.

Power cables which have a higher voltage than communication/mains control cabling will induce a voltage into that communication line through transformer effect. This will be detrimental to the decoder communications & reliability.

All cables must be separated from high voltage power lines by at least 30cm per these guidelines:

* Maximum Voltage x Current ratings of circuit.

** These are minimum spacing recommendations to minimize noise coupling. There may be greater separation required by safety agencies or local codes.

Communication cables should be routed away from potential building and road construction as much as possible. Toro recommends that comm cables are routed in plastic ducting (2 to 3mm wall thickness) in areas with ongoing construction expected in order to prevent stretching, crushing or cuts to the cables.

Notes:

toro gdc design guide - fulflo · lightning arrester toro p/n dec-sg-line 4'' x...

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