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MSC+ Specifications
The controllers, where indicated and shown on the drawings,
shall be Rain Bird MSC+ controllers; microprocessor-based,
solid-state controllers. The MSC+ controller shall be capable
of having 16, 24, 32, 40 or 48 stations, and operating as
a stand-alone controller or as a satellite controller operated
under Rain Bird central control. The base controller shall
be a 16-station, stand-alone controller. It shall have the
capability of adding up to four (4) eight-station Relay Output
Modules (ROM-8), giving the availability of 16, 24, 32, 40
and 48 stations. These ROM-8s can be easily added in the field.
It shall have the capability of adding a central control Interface
Board, which will allow operation under central control for
either the standard Rain Bird two-wire communication path
or using the wireless Link radio for central-to-satellite
communication. This Interface Board shall be installed in
the base of the pedestal. For any central control operation
to occur, the Interface Board must be installed.
The controllers, where designated as MSC+ PP models, shall
be housed in a sturdy, heavy-duty, temperature and chemical
resistant, ABS molded, high-impact resistant, plastic pedestal
enclosure. The controllers, where designated as MSC+ SS models,
shall be housed in a 304 series, brushed-finish, stainless
steel pedestal enclosure. The stainless steel shall be 50mm
thick and of all welded construction.
The pedestal enclosure shall be 30" tall and 12.25"
wide by 12.06" deep. The enclosure shall be complete
with mounting template and hardware for bolting to a poured
concrete base. The top cover shall have a heavy molded rubber
gasket and a key operated lock. The plastic enclosure shall
have a front and a back removable panel for convenient access
to both compartments of the pedestal for installation. The
front of the stainless steel enclosure shall have a removable
panel for easy access to the entire pedestal for installation.
All models of the MSC+ shall be UL, C-UL or CE listed, as
applicable.
The MSC+ controller units shall be capable of operating under
the following power requirements at 50/60 Hz frequency:
1) 115 VAC Nominal [95-132 VAC], 2) 220 VAC Nominal [205-232
VAC] and 3) 240 VAC Nominal [225-255 VAC]. The transformer
shall be capable of stepping down 115/220/240 VAC input power
to 26.5 VAC output power for the operation of solenoid remote
control valves and/or valve-in-head sprinklers. The transformer
shall be rated at 5.25 AMP capacity for operating a maximum
of sixteen (16) standard Rain Bird solenoids at one time.
The MSC+ transformer connector shall have two "pigtails"
preinstalled into the power connector to facilitate wiring
to primary power. For 120 VAC operation, one shall be plugged
into the common terminal and the other into the neutral terminal.
For 220/240 VAC operation, these same positions correspond
to the two hot terminals. The mounting bracket in all MSC+
models shall be capable accommodating conduit diameters of
up to one inch.
Each unit shall have a circuit breaker that can be reset,
rated at 6.0 AMP. All controllers must be grounded to 10 OHM
or less. The unit shall use relays and metal oxide varistor
(MOV) surge arrestors to electrically isolate the circuitry
from field noise, while providing a physical gap to protect
against surge damage from coming in on the field wiring. The
panel which houses the Main Logic Board shall have a detachable
harness that connects to the Power Interconnect Board in the
pedestal base, allowing for quick removal of the panel assembly.
The controller shall use socketed EPROM chips on the printed
circuit boards to allow easy upgrade of the controller software.
The ROM-8s shall be installed in the pedestal base under
the Interconnect Board. The ROM-8s shall have harnesses that
daisy chain the ROM-8s together in the pedestal base and allow
for easy field upgrades to increase total capacity up to 48
stations. MSC+ plastic pedestal models shall have two 24-station
terminal boards available to facilitate field wire installation.
Each board in turn shall have its own preinstalled 18-gauge
wire harness, with the other ends of the harnesses prewired
in groups of eight into connectors for quick and simple connection
to the ROM-8s. In MSC+ steel pedestal models, the field wires
shall attach to the ROM-8s with quick disconnect connectors,
facilitating installation and reducing the need to disconnect
and reconnect field wires.
The panel assembly of the MSC+ controller shall have a sealed
and sloped keypad and display to keep moisture and contaminants
away from the critical electronic components of the unit.
A large, 32-character (two [2] lines of 16 characters each)
alphanumeric crystal display shall be used to show the operational
information and diagnostic data of the controller in an easy
to read manner. Three (3) rows of LED indicating lights (16
LEDs in each line) shall provide "at a glance" indications
of controller STATUS mode, STATION in operation, number of
start TIMES programmed for each schedule, start DAYS programmed
for each schedule, and present FUNCTION mode of controller,
etc. The control panel shall have 27 large, raised buttons
with clear, descriptive icons and English labeling to facilitate
local programming.
The MSC+ controller shall have eight (8) user-selected languages:
English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
and Dutch. A language display shall act as a prompt and a
multilingual manual and shall be included with the unit. The
MSC+ controller shall have Pass Key protection to preclude
unauthorized access to sensitive software elements of the
controller.
All MSC+ controllers shall be completely 2000 (Y2K) compliant
and will continue to function properly before, during and
after the year 2000 with no modifications required.
The MSC+ controller units shall have eight (8) automatic
schedules possible, plus a separate manual schedule capability.
Schedule starts are based on a seven (7) day calendar or on
a one (1) to thirty-one (31) day cycle. Each of the independent
schedules shall have the capability of up to twelve (12) start
times per day and overlapped starts shall automatically "stack."
Water budgeting for each independent schedule shall be able
to be selected from 0 to 200%, in 5% increments to allow automatic
changes to all station operating times of stations within
the schedule, without separately reprogramming each station.
Each of the 16-48 individual stations shall allow for the
setting of operation times from one (1) minute minimum time
to one hundred twenty (120) minutes maximum time, in one (1)
minute increments.
The CONTROL mode shall provide for four (4) controller control
modes: 1) "OFF," for "Rain Shut-Down,"
2) "MANUAL," for manual starts only to operate,
3) "LOCAL," to operate the satellite as a stand-alone
controller only, and 4) "MAXI" (central control),
to allow for the response of the MSC+ satellite unit to the
Rain Bird central computer program (this light will only be
active if the central control Interface Board is installed).
Under central control, the satellite shall ignore any of its
own individual programming unless a loss of control commands
from the central is detected. Under LOCAL operation, the controller
must be programmed for its desired operation, at the MSC+
controller itself. In the MANUAL mode, the MSC+ satellite
shall be capable of manual operation only, with no LOCAL or
MAXI (central control) scheduling capable of operating. Under
the "Rain Shut-Down" condition, no clock irrigation
activity will start.
The MSC+ controller shall be capable of multistation operation
as programmed on the satellite itself or as programmed at
the Rain Bird central computer. It shall be capable of simultaneously
operating up to eight (8) automatic schedules, as well as
a multimanual program, with a limit of up to sixteen (16)
solenoids operating at one time. Any given station may be
assigned to more than one schedule. The user shall have the
capability of assigning sequential or simultaneous operation
to the stations within each of the automatic and manual schedules.
Under all normal central control operation, all station timing
(for the 16-48 individual stations) of the MSC+ satellite
unit shall be done from the central control unit and NOT according
to the times that may be programmed for each of its stations
at the MSC+ unit itself. An MSC+ satellite with more than
24 stations shall be assigned to two (2) different central
control channels. The programming on the MSC+ unit itself
shall be functional only in case of an emergency, should the
communication link between the satellite and the central be
lost. The change over to the "Stand-By" program
and/or back to Maxi (central control) status shall take place
automatically and will not require a trip to the field to
set each satellite unit to the backup or the central control
mode of operation.
The MSC+ satellite unit, when operated under central control,
shall be capable of RANDOM ACCESS or operation of the individual
stations and is not required to be operated in numerical sequence.
Any of the stations may be repeated anywhere within the schedule’s
cycle of operation, as often as desired and for a different
amount of time on each repeat. It also shall be possible to
place any individual station of a satellite in as many different
scheduled cycles as may be desired. There will be no limit
or restriction as to the number of individual scheduled cycles
a given satellite station may be scheduled in at any time.
The built-in, back-up program and nonvolatile memory shall
maintain schedules and time of day during a power outage for
up to 10 years.
TWO-WIRE COMMUNICATION: If so specified, a two-wire communication
path shall be used to communicate between the central control
equipment and the MSC+ satellites, provided that the central
control two-wire Interface Board is installed in the unit.
This two-wire path shall also be used to communicate back
to the central equipment. This feedback signal shall be used
by the central to verify and log all satellite activity.
TWO-WAY WIRELESS COMMUNICATION: The wireless Link central
control option shall use a UHF transceiver with a Rain Bird
modem in place of the standard two-wire interface. The central
control two-wire interface board shall be replaced with a
special Link interface board designed for MSC+ application
and installed in the same location. An additional transformer
supplies power for the Link radio.
The central control interface type, along with firmware version
numbers installed for both controller Main Logic Board and
the central control Interface shall be able to be queried
via the MSC+ keypad and panel display.
All MSC+ satellite, low-voltage station output wiring shall
be type UF single conductor annealed soft copper wire with
a 0.06" thick PVC insulation jacket. Wires are of the
sizes indicated on the drawings and of the colors indicated
or directed. All splices and all underground connections,
in both the two-wire communication and station output wiring,
shall be made using either 3M, DBY or DBR (direct burial)
splice kits or 3500 Scotch-Lok connector packs. All underground
wire joints and connections shall be in standard size rectangular
valve boxes, except at solenoids and ROM-8 connections.
The model, location and number of MSC+ controllers shall
be as shown on the drawings or as instructed and shall be
as manufactured and furnished by Rain Bird Corp., Glendora,
California, U.S.A.
MSC+
Specs