Introduction

Congratulations on choosing the most capable commercial-grade smart irrigation controller in the world! You will find that the BaseStation 3200 is capable of dramatically reducing your water use while improving the health and quality of your landscape. Fully central control compatible, the BaseStation 3200 controller will typically pay for itself in one to two seasons based on water waste reduction alone.

This quick start guide helps you get familiar with the BaseStation 3200 interface, the dial positions, and the buttons on the front panel. It walks you through the basic steps for getting your controller configured for watering. Keep in mind that this guide is intended as a basic overview of the setup. You will find complete instructions for all of the controller’s features in the User Manual.

Smart Watering Modes

In addition to time-based watering, the BaseStation 3200 can also be operated in the following smart watering modes:

Soil Moisture Sensor-Based Watering

If you have a Baseline soil moisture sensor (biSensor™) installed in your landscaping and connected to your BaseStation 3200 irrigation controller, you can program the controller to water based on the moisture levels in the soil.

Refer to the following articles:

Configuring Lower Threshold Moisture Sensor-Based Watering

Configuring Upper Threshold Moisture Sensor-Based Watering

Weather-Based Watering

When operated in WeatherAccess™ mode with an active BaseManager™ Plus subscription, the BaseStation 3200 irrigation controller meets the EPA WaterSense program's water efficiency and performance criteria.

You need to have your BaseStation 3200 controller installed and connected to your communication module, and your BaseManager Plus account activated before you can configure the WeatherAccess settings.

On the BaseStation 3200, you can combine Baseline’s soil moisture sensor-based intelligent watering technology with the industry’s best practices for weather-based irrigation.

Controller Front Panel Layout

1.  USB Port – The USB port is used for doing Backup and Restore operations using a USB drive (also known as a “thumb drive” or a “flash drive”). The USB port is also used for doing firmware updates and exporting operation log files.

2.  Display – The color display indicates the current state of the controller and is used to display programming. This display uses thin-film transistor (TFT) technology to improve image quality in outdoor conditions including direct sunlight and low light.

3.  Dial – The dial is used to select the operation or programming mode of the controller.

4.  Buttons – The buttons are used to select programming elements, change their values, and initiate operations like testing a zone.

5.  Status LEDs – These two LEDs indicate the power status of the controller and the internal status of the controller hardware. The upper light is normally ON, but it may blink when internal diagnostics are run.

RUN Main Screen

When the controller dial is in the RUN position, the main screen displays the Zone Status report.

1.  Messages are indicated here. BUSY displays to indicate that the controller is performing watering calculations and communicating with devices.

2.  The controller’s current state.

3.  Indicates the status of the BaseManager connection and any performance components. Indicates the status of the two-wire.

4.  Press the enter button to display the online help.

5.  Status overview of zones and programs. Press the Previous or Next button to see detailed screens.

6.  Real-time flow meter value and status for the control points.

7.  The controller’s name, date, and time.

Detailed Status by Program Screen

1.  When the controller dial is in the RUN position and the main Zone Status screen is displayed, press the Next button twice to display the Detailed Status By Program screen.

2.  Press the + or – button to cycle through the controller’s programs.

3.  The colored box on the left indicates the program status. Refer to the Status Colors topic below for an explanation of the colors.

4.  If you leave the Detailed Status By Program screen displayed, it will continue to display when the controller dial is in the RUN position until the controller is reset. At that point, the Zone Status screen redisplays.

5.  When the Detailed Status By Program screen is displayed, press the Previous button to return to the All Zones & Programs Status screen, or press the Next button to go to the Water Source Status screen.

The following information is available in the fields:

Last Start: The date and time when the program was started for any condition including manual starts. The field also indicates what caused the last start.

Last Pause: The date and time of the most recent pause. The pause information shows until the program is started again. The field also indicates what caused the last pause.

Last Stop: The date and time when the program last completed watering. When a program is watering, this field is blank. The field also indicates what caused the last stop.

Next Start: The estimated next start date and time for the program. In some cases, the start condition for a program makes it difficult to accurately estimate when the next start will occur. Consider the information in this field as helpful, but remember that it might not be perfectly accurate depending on the program settings.

Avg Time: An average of the last 3 runtimes.

Avg Water: An average of the amount of water used during the last 3 runtimes.

Water Source Status Screen

1.  When the controller dial is in the RUN position and the main Zone Status screen is displayed, press the Next button three times to display the Water Source Status screen.

2.  Press the + or – button to cycle through the water sources on the controller.

3.  The colored box on the left indicates the water source status. Refer to the Status Colors topic below for an explanation of the colors.

4.  When the Water Source Status screen is displayed, press the Previous button three times to return to the Zone Status screen, or press the Next button to go to the Control Point Status screen.

The following information is available in the fields:

Month Used: The cumulative total used from this water source during the month.

Budget: The amount of water that can be taken from this water source during the month.

Empty: If an empty condition has been set up for this water source, this field shows OK or EM for empty. If no empty condition exists, the field shows DS for disabled.

Flow Path: This field shows the control point and mainline that are connected to this water source.

Control Point Status Screen

1.  When the controller dial is in the RUN position and the main Zone Status screen is displayed, press the Next button four times to display the Control Point Status screen.

2.  Press the + or – button to cycle through the control points on the controller.

3.  The colored box on the left indicates the control point status. Refer to the Status Colors topic below for an explanation of the colors.

4.  When the Control Point Status screen is displayed, press the Previous button four times to return to the Zone Status screen, or press the Next button to go to the Mainline Status screen.

The following information is available in the fields:

MV: The status of the master valve associated with this control point.

Flow: The status of water flowing through this control point.

Pump: If the control point has an assigned pump, this field shows the status. If no pump is assigned, the field shows None.

Pressure: If the control point has an assigned pressure sensor, this field shows the status. If no pressure sensor is assigned, the field shows None.

Month Used: The cumulative total used from this control point during the month.

Flow Path: This field shows the water source and mainline that are connected to this control point.

Mainline Status Screen

1.  When the controller dial is in the RUN position and the main Zone Status screen is displayed, press the Next button five times to display the Mainline Status screen.

2.  Press the + or – button to cycle through the mainlines on the controller.

3.  The colored box on the left indicates the mainline status. Refer to the Status Colors topic below for an explanation of the colors.

4.  When the Mainline Status screen is displayed, press the Next button to return to the Zone Status screen.

The following information is available in the fields:

Zones On: The zones that are associated with this mainline.

CPs On: The control points that are associated with this mainline.

Flow: The amount of water in this mainline.

Month Used: The cumulative total used from this mainline during the month.

Flow Path: This field shows the mainline connections.

Status Colors

The following colors display on the RUN screen to indicate the status of programs, master valves, flow meters, and zones.

Online Help

At the bottom of every screen, there is a Help option that displays the Online Help. The Online Help describes how to use the buttons to change the functions associated with that screen.

1.  To display the help, press the Next or Previous button to highlight the Help option at the bottom of a screen, and then press the Enter button.

2.  Press the Next button to move through the pages of the Online Help.

3.  Press the Previous button to back up.

4.  Press the Back button to return to the controller screen.

The help can be displayed in Spanish. Refer to Selecting the Language for Online Help in the User Manual.

Quick Start Your Controller

These instructions walk you through the basic steps for getting your controller configured for watering. Refer to the User Manual for complete instructions for all of the controller’s features.

STEP 1
Install and Connect Devices    

Install all of your irrigation devices and connect them to the controller according to the instructions that came with the devices.

STEP 2
Set the Date and Time on the Controller    

Set or change the controller date and time to match the current time and date. An inaccurate date and time can cause watering events to be missed.

1.  Turn the dial to the Time & Date position.

2.  In the Time field, the hours place is highlighted.

3.  Press the + or – button to change the value.

4.  Press the Next button to move to the minutes place, and then press the + or – button to change the value.

5.  Press Next to continue moving through the fields, and then press the + or – button to change the value.

STEP 3
Search For and Assign Devices 

Searching For Devices

1.  Turn the dial to the Assign position.

2.  Press the Next or Previous button to move to the option for the type of device that you want to search for, and then press the Enter button.

3.  Press the + or – button to select Search in the left column of the Assign screen.

4.  Press the Enter button to search for devices.

The search may take several minutes to complete. You will see a status screen like the one shown here while the search is in progress. The display shows the number of devices found and the number of ports or addresses available.

5.  After the search has finished and the device serial numbers display in the left column, press the + or – button to select any unassigned device serial number.

6.  Press the Next or Previous button to move to the Assignments column and select an available number.

7.  Press the Enter button to assign the selected device to that number.

8.  When you have finished making changes, turn the dial to the RUN position.

STEP 4
Set Up Time-based Watering

1.  Turn the dial to the Zones position. The Zones screen displays for the first zone.

2.  In the Zone field, press the + or – button to select the zone that you want to set up as timed.

3.  Press the Next button to move to the Zone Mode field, and then press the + or – button until Timed displays in the field.

4.  Press the Next button to move to the Water Time field.

• To change the value in the hours place, press the + button.
  
  
• To change the value in the minutes place, press the Next button, and then press the + or – button.
  
  

5.  Press the Next button to move to the Cycle Time field. If you are using soak cycles for this zone, the cycle time defines the duration of each watering cycle interspersed with soak times.

6.  Press the Next button to move to the Soak Time field. If you are using soak cycles for this zone, the soak time defines the duration of each soaking cycle interspersed with watering times.

7.  Press the Next button to move to the Enabled field. Press the + or – button to display YES in the field.

8.  Press the Next button to move to the Use ET Deficit Water Times field. Press the + or – button to toggle the value in the field between YES and NO.

9.  Verify that the number displayed in the Program field in the upper-left corner of the screen matches the program in which you want to set up the timed zone.

• If you want to set up the timed zone in a different program, press the Next button to move to the Program field, and then press the + or – button to change the program number.
  
  
• To remove the zone from the current program, press the Previous button to return to the Water Time field, and then press the – button to remove the watering time in the field.
  
  

10.  After you have configured the settings for the current zone, perform one of the following options:

• To configure another zone, press the Enter button until the number of the zone that you want to configure displays in the Zone field at the top of the screen. Repeat steps 3 – 10.
  
  
• When you have finished making changes, turn the dial to the RUN position.
  
  

STEP 5
Set Up Programs    

Setting Up the Start Times for a Program

1.  Turn the dial to the Programs position.

2.  The Program Start Times Setup option should be highlighted. If it is not highlighted, press the Next button to highlight it.

3.  Press the Enter button. The Start Times screen displays.

4.  Verify that the number displayed in the Program field matches the program that you want to set start times for. If you want to select a different program, press the + or – button to change the program number.

5.  Press the Next button to move to the start times grid.

6.  Press the + or – button to set the time in the first cell.

7.  Press the Next button to move to the next cell in the start times grid, and then press the + or – button to set additional start times as needed.

8.  After you have configured the start times for the current program, perform one of the following actions:

• To configure start times for another program, press the Enter button until the number of the program that you want to configure displays in the Program field at the top of the screen. Repeat steps 5 – 7.
  
  
• When you have finished making changes, turn the dial to the RUN position.

Setting Up the Start Days for a Program

1.  Turn the dial to the Programs position.

2.  Press the Next button to highlight the Program Start Days Setup option, and then press the Enter button. The Start Days screen displays.

3.  Verify that the number displayed in the Program field matches the program that you want to set start days for. If you want to select a different program, press the + or – button to change the program number.

4.  Press the Next button to move to the Schedule Type field. For the purpose of this quick start, select Days of the Week.

5.  Press the Next button to set up the weekdays when you want the program to start. By default, the boxes for the days of the week are marked with a Y (Yes), which indicates that the program will start every day. If you want to change a start day, press the Next button to select the day, and then press the + or – button to change the setting.

Setting Up the Water Windows for a Program

Water windows tell the controller when watering is allowed and not allowed. You can set water windows for either Weekly (shown in the illustration below) or daily – when moving from weekly to daily, the weekly settings are copied to each day of the week.

Selecting daily water windows gives you hourly control of watering for each day of the week, and for each program. A white square will pause watering for that hour, or keep a start time from starting a program.

1.  Turn the dial to the Programs position.

2.  Press the Next button to select the Program Water Windows Setup option. The Water Windows screen displays.

3.  Press the + or – button to select the program that you want to set up water windows for.

4.  Press the Next button to move to the Water Window Type field, and then press the + or – button to select either Weekly or Daily.

5.  Press the Next button to move to the Day of the Week field. If you are using the “Weekly” Water Window Type, you cannot change the setting in this field, but if you are using “Daily,” press the + or – button to display the day of the week that you want to set up water windows for.

6.  Press the Next button to move to the ON/OFF field.

• If the boxes in the grid are blue (allow watering), the field displays OFF. Press the Enter button to turn all the water windows off.
  
  
• If the boxes in the grid are white (do not allow watering), the field displays ON. Press the Enter button to turn all the water windows on.
  
  

7.  To make changes to the individual boxes in the grid, press the Next button. The color of the number in the first box of the grid changes to red (indicating that you can change the setting in that box).

• To change the water setting for the time/day represented by that grid, press the + button.
  
  
• To move to the next box in the grid, press the Next button.
  
  

STEP 6
Set the Controller to RUN    

Turn the dial to the RUN position. Watering will start when the next start day and time is reached.

Forcing a Program to Start

1.  Turn the dial to the Manual position.

2.  Press the Next button to select the Start or Stop Program(s) option.

3.  Press the Enter button. The Prog Start/Stop screen displays.

4.  In the Program/Status column, press the + button to select an idle or paused program that you want to start.

5.  Press the Next button to move to the Start/Stop column. The field in this column displays Start.

6.  Press the + button. The field in the Start/Stop column displays Stop, and the program’s status changes to Watering.

7.  To start the manual run, turn the dial to the RUN position.