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1 TRIME-FM2 /-FM3 Field Measurement Device
(Version P2 or P3)
1.1 Functional Description
The TRIME-FM is a portable moisture measurement instrument, which has been developed for mobile
field use. It can additionally be supplied with an external power supply. It is connectable to a data
logger or a PC for automated data logging.
1.1.1 Manual Operation
The manual operation is very easy. Pressing the START-button switches on the TRIME-FM. Pressing
the button once again, starts the measurement. The message “Measuring...“ disappears after about 10
seconds and the measured values of the water content and the TDR level are displayed on the first two
lines. The TDR level can be used to assess the electrical conductivity of the soil or material. The
instrument switches off about three minutes after the last operation, in order to save battery power.
1.1.2 Probe Connection
There is a build-in non-volatile memory (EEPROM) inside the probe connector, where all calibration
data is stored, e. g. cable length, probe geometry, and calibration coefficients. Therefore several
probes can be used with the same TRIME-FM. It is possible to connect probes with different cable
lengths and different calibration data according to the device type P2 or P3. The device type P3 allows
only the usage of P3-probes and P2-probes can only be connected to P2-devices. Probes can only be
used at the TRIME-FM, which they were (basic) calibrated with. To prevent confusion, each probe has
a label with the serial number of the device, which it was calibrated with.
To screw the probe connector on is only necessary if the instrument is exposed to the weather. For
manual measurements with several probes, it is recommended not to screw on the coupling ring, in
order to be easy on the thread.
The insertion of the probes must be carried out very carefully in order to prevent air pockets around the
rods or the access tube, if the tube probe is used. Therefore the insertion of the rod probes with the
preparation rods is only recommended, if it is not possible to stick them in manually. Repeated
insertion in the same holes is not recommended, too. The access tubes should be inserted with our
auger equipment. Since the highest measuring sensitivity is directly around the rods or the access
tube, the TRIME-FM would measure too low values, if there was an air gap. In water saturated soils
the measured values would be too high.
The probe rods must be inserted in the soil completely, because the probe measures along the whole
length of the rods.
1.1.3 Basic Alignment
The basic alignment can be done without any connection to a PC and without the calibration program
SMCAL. The TRIME-FM is set to the calibration mode by plugging the calibration connector. Please
refer to the chapter “Basic alignment with the Calibration Set“.
A calibration for a specific material cannot be established by using the calibration connector.
1.1.4 Display Functions / Error Messages
The LC-display of the TRIME-FM has four lines with 20 characters each.
Almost all messages, which can be displayed, are changeable, that means they can be translated to
the desired language. The modification of the texts can be done by the program TRIMETXT.
Generally, the third line is used to display status and error messages. It indicates, whether measuring
is active or the battery is just being charged or discharged. Occurred errors are indicated with error
number and address.
Error numbers between 1 and 29 are internal errors, which are displayed without additional text.
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