Getting wire to where you are irrigating miles of roadways, a corporate campus, a gas station, vineyards or fairways, is and expensive and sometimes difficult. The freeWire™ irrigation system provides wireless network coverage over a wide range, and with the ability to upgrade high performance antennas no irrigation site is too big.

Open Ground (baseline)

Test Conditions and Results: Valve Radio had standard omni-directional internal antenna Base station antenna was standard 3-inch swivel whip Base 5 feet above grade, valve radio 5 feet above grade Measured an operational range of 1475 feet.

freeWire™ Base Station with standard 3-inch swivel whip antenna

Below Grade

Test Conditions and Results: Valve Radio positioned such that antenna was 10 inches below grade in a valve box Valve Radio had standard omni-directional internal antenna Base station antenna was standard 3-inch swivel whip Base station antenna positioned 5 feet above grade Measured 200 feet operational range Possible range increase strategies: Directional antenna on valve radio to double range to 400 feet High gain antenna on base station to add another 30% to that for a total of 520 feet

freeWire™ Valve Radio positioned such that antenna was 10 inches below grade in a valve box

Under Water

Test Conditions and Results: Valve Radio surrounded by 6 inches of water in all directions Valve Radio had slightly directional antenna (about 60 degree angle) Base station had high gain omni-directional antenna Valve Radio had high power transmitter attached Measured an operational range of 135 feet Discussions and strategies Note that this range is really extraordinary for any type of radio through water except ultra-low frequency military units. The fact that we can get any signal at all out of a flooded valve box gives us a huge advantage over any other wireless solution, since our repeater technology can forward messages from there. The most convenient strategy for handling the possibility of flooding is to have an elevated repeater close to the valve box. It should be noted that valve radios automatically close the valve when contact with the base station is lost. This prevents a runaway case where the open valve floods over the radio and then cannot be closed.

Chain Link Fence and Line of Trees

Test Conditions and Results: Valve Radio had standard omni-directional internal antenna Base station antenna was standard 3-inch swivel whip Base 5 feet above grade, valve radio 2 feet above grade 7 foot chain link fence between valve radio and base and 6 large trees in line between valve radio and base Measured an operational range of 700 feet.

Wall Penetration

Test Conditions and Results: Valve Radio had standard omni-directional internal antenna Base station antenna was standard 3-inch swivel whip Both valve radio and base 5 feet above grade Six wood/plaster walls spaced about 20 feet apart. Measured an operational range of 170 feet. Possible  range increase strategies: Directional antenna on valve radio to double range to 340 feet High gain antenna on base station to add another 30% to that for a total of 440 feet Adding a repeater inside the building to increase range to well over 600 feet

freeWire™ Valve Radio positioned such that antenna was obscured by six (6) wooden walls

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