The Rain Bird weather station at the Anakie
Road Depot, North Geelong
In January 2004, the City of Greater Geelong
(South West of Melbourne) with assistance from Greg Sinclair
from Rural
and Turf, began the installation of the Rain Bird “Maxicom
Central Control System” to an initial eight sites within
the municipality with an additional 130 sites to be brought
online over the upcoming years. The system chosen was a “Hybrid” system
utilising existing landline phone communications as well
as GSM modem communications to the harder to get to sites.
Along with the initial eight sites, the City of Greater
Geelong also installed a Rain Bird weather station at the
Anakie Road Depot located in North Geelong where the main
Central Control Computer is located. The weather station
chosen was a direct connect version, connected directly to
the Central PC. This has enabled Richard Dilenna, Parks Supervisor
from the City of Greater Geelong, to commence with ET (Evapotranspiration)
based irrigation scheduling. This type of scheduling enables
the user to supply the “correct” amount of water
to the plant type, based on crop factors, soil type and the
prevailing weather conditions rather than time based scheduling.
During the second half of 2004 another eight sites were
brought online as well as a second weather station being
installed at the Belmont Rd Depot (South Geelong). This weather
station is connected to the Central via a landline modem
that phones in its information twice daily. The City of Greater
Geelong covers a very largearea (approx 600-700 km2) with
many different soil types from sand to clay based and with
careful ET based programming the council is now starting
to see the massive savings in not only water but also labour
costs that Maxicom can provide.
The Central Control Computer and software were set up with
the assistance of Bob Payne, RBA Technical Support Specialist.
The database and other relevant information entered into
the system was a team effort by Greg Sinclair, Bob Payne,
and Richard Dilenna. The on-site training was also provided
to Richard and other key council staff. Installed at the
majority of the sites are ESP-MC Site Sats using either a
landline or GSM modem communication, with two of the larger
sites utilising CCU’s. Several of the existing sites
have had the existing controllers upgraded for Maxicom communication.
All the sites have also had installed electronic Rain Buckets
for immediate localised rain suspension or shut down if needed.
Also, electronic Flow Meters will be installed to most sites
over the period of the roll out.
Some of the key sites to be brought online have included
the Kardinia Park (Shell Stadium) surrounds incorporating
the Victorian District Cricket Oval and the Western Beach
foreshore that incorporates some of Geelong's beautifully
presented foreshore in the heart of the city. To assist with “Peace
of Mind”, the council opted to take up Rain Bird Australia’s “Global
Service Plan” for a period of three years. This is
like an insurance policy giving the City of Greater Geelong
24 hour, seven days a week back up and assistance from RBA
Tech Services. This program covers everything from the PC
hardware to the database ensuring that the council is covered
for any unforeseen events in that period.
