MultiGrow Installation Guide
V2.0 MultiGrow Installation Guide Copyright© 2018 Autogrow Systems Ltd 4
It is recommended to supply power to the MultiGrow controller through a UPS, this will ensure no
unnecessary shutdowns due to power fluctuations. It is also a good idea to power the internet router
through the same UPS.
ONLY 24 v DC voltage is to be supplied over the CAT5 Bus network. Supplying power over CAT5 is very
convenient for sensors as they often only require enough power to energize their electronics.
Bus Network
General
The MultiGrow Controller will communicate with its peripherals (Output Modules, EpMT Remote
Sensors, Environment Sensors etc.) via the Peripheral Bus Network. This is simply a Cat5 Ethernet
cable that daisy-chains between the modules, terminals are provided in the MultiGrow Controller
and on the circuit board in each module. Colour coding is stipulated in the wiring diagrams. Please
find these in the Appendix.
The weather station shall be on its own Weather Bus Network and terminals are provided within the
MultiGrow Controller. One or two weather stations can be connected to the Weather Station Bus.
The second (optional) weather station provides some redundancy in case of failure of the first or
may be required for accurate readings over a very large site.
Autogrow recommend a stranded CAT5 twisted pair Ethernet cable be used for the Bus Network.
However, if the cable is to be run outside or underground, the cable should be special gel-filled
exterior cable with a hard sheath. If it’s run in an electrically noisy environment or in a situation
where lightning is frequent, a screened cable should be used. The use of solid core cable should be
avoided as the cores tend to break easily and will cause communication faults that are difficult to
diagnose. If solid core is to be used, then extra care must be taken to securely fix the cable and
reduce any free movement. The absolute maximum length of each Bus Network is 1600m and this
will only provide reliable communications if it has been expertly installed using appropriate cable
and installation methods.
It is important to follow the colour coding and terminations in the following diagram; no other
combination of cores or cable type is to be used. Further wiring diagrams are available in the
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General