Services Available | |
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Repair | No |
Calibration | No |
Free Support | Yes |
The CWS655 is a wireless version of our CS655 soil water reflectometer. It has 12 cm rods and monitors soil volumetric water content, bulk electrical conductivity, and temperature. This reflectometer has an internal 900 MHz spread-spectrum radio that transmits data to a CWB100 Wireless Base Station or to another wireless sensor. The internal radio's frequency is commonly used in the US and Canada.
Leia maisThe CWS655 has 12-cm rods that insert into the soil. It measures propagation time, signal attenuation, and temperature. Dielectric permittivity, volumetric water content, and bulk electrical conductivity are then derived from these raw values.
Measured signal attenuation is used to correct for the loss effect on reflection detection and thus propagation time measurement. This allows accurate water content measurements in soils with bulk ≤3.7 dS m-1 without performing a soil-specific calibration.
Soil bulk electrical conductivity is also derived from the attenuation measurement. A thermistor in thermal contact with a probe rod near the epoxy surface measures temperature. Horizontal installation of the sensor provides accurate soil temperature measurement at the same depth as the water content measurement. For other orientations, the temperature measurement will be that of the region near the rod entrance into the epoxy body.
There are situations when it is desirable to make measurements in locations where the use of cabled sensors is problematic. Protecting cables by running them through conduit or burying them in trenches is time consuming, labor intensive, and sometimes not possible. Local fire codes may preclude the use of certain types of sensor cabling inside of buildings. In some applications measurements need to be made at distances where long cables decrease the quality of the measurement or are too expensive. There are also times when it is important to increase the number of measurements being made but the data logger does not have enough available channels left for attaching additional sensor cables.
Measurements Made | Soil electrical conductivity (EC), relative dielectric permittivity, volumetric water content, soil temperature |
Water Content Accuracy | ±3% VWC typical in mineral soils, where solution EC ±10 dS/m |
Required Equipment | CWB100 |
Rods | Not replaceable |
Sensors | Not interchangeable |
Weather Resistance | IP67 rating for sensor and battery pack (Battery pack must be properly installed. Each sensor is leak tested.) |
Operating Temperature Range | -25° to +50°C |
Operating Relative Humidity Range | 0 to 100% |
Power Source | 2 AA batteries with a battery life of 1 year assuming sensor samples taken every 10 minutes. (Optional solar charging available.) |
Average Current Drain | 300 μA (with 15-minute polling) |
Rod Diameter | 3.2 mm (0.13 in.) |
Rod Length | 12 cm (4.7 in.) |
Dimensions | 14.5 x 6 x 4.5 cm (5.7 x 2.4 x 1.77 in.) |
Weight | 216 g (7.6 oz) |
Measurement Accuracies |
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Volumetric Water Content | ±3% VWC typical in mineral soils that have solution electrical conductivity ≤ 10 dS/m. Uses Topps Equation (m3/m3). |
Relative Dielectric Permittivity |
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Bulk Electrical Conductivity | ±(5% of reading + 0.05 dS/m) |
Soil Temperature | ±0.5°C |
Internal 25 mW FHSS Radio |
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Frequency | 902 to 918 MHz |
Where Used | US and Canada |
FHSS Channel | 50 |
Transmitter Power Output | 25 mW (+14 dBm) |
Receiver Sensitivity | -110 dBm (0.1% frame error rate) |
Standby Typical Current Drain | 3 μA |
Receive Typical Current Drain | 18 mA (full run) |
Transmit Typical Current Drain | 45 mA |
Average Operating Current | 15 μA (with 1-second access time) |
Quality of Service Management | RSSI |
Additional Features | GFSK modulation, data interleaving, forward error correction, data scrambling, RSSI reporting |
Please note: The following shows notable compatibility information. It is not a comprehensive list of all compatible products.
Latest firmware for the CWS655.
The Wireless Sensor Planner is a tool for use with Campbell Scientific wireless sensors. It assists in designing and configuring wireless sensor networks.
Number of FAQs related to CWS655: 34
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Damage to the CWS655 electronics or rods cannot be repaired because these components are potted in epoxy. A faulty or damaged sensor needs to be replaced. For more information, refer to the Repair and Calibration page.
No. The equation used to determine volumetric water content in the firmware for the CWS655 is the Topp et al. (1980) equation, which works for a wide range of mineral soils but not for organic soils. In organic soils, the standard equations in the firmware will overestimate water content.
When using a CWS655 in organic soil, it is best to perform a soil-specific calibration. For details on performing a soil-specific calibration, refer to “The Water Content Reflectometer Method for Measuring Volumetric Water Content” section in the CS650/CS655 manual. A linear or quadratic equation that relates period average to volumetric water content will work well.
The equation used to determine volumetric water content in the firmware for the CWS655 is the Topp et al. (1980) equation, which works for a wide range of mineral soils but not necessarily for artificial soils that typically have high organic matter content and high clay content. In this type of soil, the standard equations in the firmware will overestimate water content.
When using a CWS655 in artificial soil, it is best to perform a soil-specific calibration. For details on performing a soil-specific calibration, refer to “The Water Content Reflectometer Method for Measuring Volumetric Water Content” section in the CS650/CS655 manual. A linear or quadratic equation that relates period average to volumetric water content will work well.
The bulk electrical conductivity (EC) measurement is made along the sensor rods, and it is an average reading of EC over the top 12 cm of soil.
No. The temperature sensor is located inside the sensor’s epoxy head next to one of the sensor rods. The stainless-steel rods are not thermally conductive, so the reported soil temperature reading is actually the temperature of the sensor head near the soil surface.
Because the sensor is installed vertically with the sensor head above ground, the soil temperature reading is not representative of the temperature over the length of the 12 cm rods, but the reading is closer to the temperature of the soil surface. Because the temperature reading is not representative of the entire thickness of soil measured for water content, no attempt was made to correct the water content readings for temperature changes.
Because the reported volumetric water content reading is an average taken along the entire length of the rods, the sensor should be fully inserted into the soil. Otherwise, the reading will be the average of both the air and the soil, which will lead to an underestimation of water content. If the sensor rods are too long to go all the way into the soil, Campbell Scientific recommends inserting the rods at an angle until they are fully covered by soil.
There is not an easy way to correct CWS655 readings for temperature. The CWS655 temperature sensor is located inside the sensor’s epoxy head next to one of the sensor rods. The stainless-steel rods are not thermally conductive, causing the reported soil temperature reading to be the temperature of the sensor head near the soil surface. Because the sensor is installed vertically with the sensor head above ground, the soil temperature reading is not representative of the temperature over the length of the 12 cm rods, but the reading is closer to the temperature of the soil surface. Performing a temperature correction requires a separate temperature sensor to be buried at approximately 6 cm deep and combines that data with the values reported by the CWS655.
The volumetric water content reading is the average water content over the length of the sensor’s rods.
Campbell Scientific does not recommend using the CWS655 to measure water content in compost. A compost pile is a very hostile environment for making dielectric measurements with soil water content sensors. All of the following combine to make it very difficult to determine a calibration function: high temperature, high and varying electrical conductivity, high organic matter content, heterogeneity of the material in the pile, changing particle size, and changing bulk density. The electrical conductivity values reported by the CWS655 may give some useful information about processes occurring in the compost pile, but it will not be able to give useful readings for water content. In addition, the plastic housing of the CWS655 may likely be damaged by the high temperatures and acids formed during the composting process.
No. The principle that makes the CWS655 work is that liquid water has a dielectric permittivity of close to 80, while soil solid particles have a dielectric permittivity of approximately 3 to 6. When liquid water freezes, its dielectric permittivity drops to 3.8, essentially making it look like soil particles to the CWS655. A CWS655 installed in soil that freezes would show a rapid decline in its volumetric water content reading with corresponding temperature readings that are below 0°C. As the soil freezes down below the measurement range of the sensor, the water content values would stop changing and remain steady for as long as the soil remains frozen.