Baseline Systems BaseStation 3200 - Manual (Page 19)

C h a p t e r 1 – G e t t i n g S t a r t e d
Page 17
Baseline 3200
Installing Standard Accessories
Rain Switches and other Normally Closed Sensing Devices
All BaseStation 3200 controllers are compatible with industry standard Normally Closed (NC)
sensing devices such as rain switches. These devices can be directly connected to the
appropriate terminals on the 3200, or can be connected using Pause biCoders to the two-wire
path. The pause behavior of the unit, and the associated messages and alerts generated, will be
different if the NC device is connected to a Pause biCoder than if it is directly connected to a
sensor terminal on the 3200.

Normally Closed sensing devices, such as a rain switch, that are directly
connected to the 3200 cannot be overridden. Watering will be stopped for
all programs until the switch re-connects (i.e., the rain switch dries out.)
Pause devices including rain switches can be connected to Pause biCoders,
which can be associated with (or ignored by) specific programs. See the
appropriate programming section below for more details.
Connecting a Rain Switch to the BaseStation 3200
PAUSE |RAIN |FLOW |COM BLACK RED BLACK RED
| AC+ | AC- | PAUSE |RAIN |FLOW |COM BLACK RED BLACK RED
Specific watering behavior is different for each of the different ports:
Rain Sensor Port: on activation, all watering is stopped, and all active programs are terminated.
No new irrigation will be allowed to start until the rain switch deactivates (dries out). Baseline
recommends that rain switches connected this way are set to the shortest possible delay setting.
Smart irrigation using soil moisture sensors will automatically account for all rainfall which
penetrates into the soil, which is often quite different that the amount of total rainfall as
measured by a rain switch.
Flow Sensor Port: on activation, all watering is stopped, and all active programs are terminated.
No new irrigation will be allowed to start until (1) the flow sensor input is cleared (no longer
open), and (2) the flow alert is cleared in the controller. The flow alert can be cleared remotely
using BaseManager central control, but requires user intervention. Manual intervention is
required to protect against landscape damage caused by broken pipes or valves.
Pause Port: on each activation (open circuit), all irrigation will temporarily be paused for 4 hours.
All active programs and scheduled watering will resume after the pause period has ended. If the
pause port is activated again during the pause period, the 4 hour pause period will be restarted.
Standard 3200 Connection Module
Normally Closed Rain
Switch