Koi Watch - System Overview

Support/FAQ’s and Troubleshooting guide

Support

The Koi Watch manual is available for download here.  Please take a few moments to browse through the various FAQ’s and troubleshooting guide.  If you are still unable to resolve your problem, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Email Koi Watch support

Technical support line – 01582 623333

General FAQs

Q1.  How does the 30 day money back guarantee work? 

A1.  We have great confidence in Koi Watch and as such we are able to offer a 30 day no quibble money back guarantee so you can try before you buy!  If after installing Koi Watch on your pond system you find that within 30 days of purchase it does not deliver everything that you expected, simply return Koi Watch with all components in its original packaging for a full refund (excluding P & P). 

Q2.  How long is Koi Watch guaranteed for? 

A2.  Koi Watch is guaranteed from manufacturing defects for 2 years from the date of purchase. 

Q3.  Which SIM should I purchase for the dedicated mobile phone? 

A3.  ‘Pay as you go’ SIMs offer the best solution over a monthly contract.  Text messaging is very cheap and ‘text bundles’ can be purchased from most network operators making the cost per text message even cheaper.  It is best to purchase a SIM from the same operator as your personal mobile (target phone) phone.  This ensures your phone will receive a good signal (providing your personal mobile phone gives a good signal) and text messages often arrive quicker when sent to the same network. 

Q4.  Is the Koi Watch software running in the main unit upgradeable? 

A4.  Yes.  The Koi Watch software is fully upgradeable.  Future software enhancements based on Customer feedback etc will be made available to existing Koi Watch owners. 

Q5.  Can I install Koi Watch outside? 

A5.  Yes.  However, the main Koi Watch unit is not water or shower proof and must not be exposed to water or the elements at any time.  Mobile phones are particularly sensitive to damp conditions.  The golden rule when selecting an installation site – do not install Koi Watch where you would not be prepared to leave your mobile phone 24 hours a day! 

Q6.  Can I extend the temperature probe and float switch cables? 

A6.  Yes.  The temperature probe and float switch cables can be extended up to a maximum of 30 meters using good quality speaker cable.  Please ensure the joints are sound.  Please contact us for more information – we would be happy to extend the cables for you! 

Q7.  Can I use any mobile phone as a dedicated mobile phone? 

A7.  No.  Only the 7110, 6210, and 6310 Nokia mobile phones are supported.

Q8.  How do I connect the power supply, temperature probe, float switch, and dedicated phone to the main Koi Watch unit?

A8.  Please refer to the Koi Watch manual for assembly instructions.  To assist a photo showing the inside of the Koi Watch unit is shown here.

Koi Watch Operation FAQs 

Q1.  If I trigger an alarm by, for example, closing a float switch, Koi Watch calls my mobile and sends me a text message to alert me as expected.  If shortly after the alert, I open the float switch again, the Koi Watch LCD still displays ‘Alarm Triggered’ with the float switch shown as triggered.  Why has the LCD not been updated? 

A1.  Upon detection of an alarm condition Koi Watch will stop monitoring the temperature probe and float switches for a default time of 2 hours (see ‘Holdtime’ configuration parameter for information on changing this time).  The LCD will be ‘held’ for this time period displaying the values read when the alarm condition occurred.  This is necessary to prevent very frequent calls to the target phone should the temperature or water level go in and out of the alarm state.

Q2.  How long should the AA batteries last? 

A2.  The batteries should last about 6 months assuming Koi Watch has not been run from the batteries during this time i.e a power cut has not occurred. 

Q3.  Can I use rechargeable AA batteries? 

A3.  Yes.  Koi Watch can accept any ‘AA size’ NiCd or NiMh 1.2v rechargeable batteries. 

Q4.  Can I attach anything other than float switches to the float switch terminal blocks? 

A4.  Yes.  Any passive actuator can be connected e.g flood detector.  Please contact us for more details. 

Troubleshooting 

In case of the product not working, there are various diagnostic features to help in determining the cause of the problem. 

This diagnostic procedure should be followed in this order: 

1.  Is nothing shown on the LCD display? 

Ensure the power supply is connected and is switched on. 

2.  Does the LCD show an incorrect temperature? 

Ensure that the temperature probe is connected.  NB If the temperature probe is not connected to the terminal block connector (J2) the temperature reading should be 0.0. 

3.  Does the LCD show ‘??’ for all the associated float switches? 

Until the dedicated phone has been detected as on-line and the configuration has been acquired, the polarity of the float switch triggered state is unknown. 
Ensure the phone cable is connected to Koi Watch and the dedicated mobile phone. 

4.  Does the LCD show ‘Phone off-line’ after 5 minutes even when the phone is plugged in? 

At the phone end, disconnect the phone cable from the phone then re-connect.

5.  Does the LCD show ‘Deactivated’ after 5 minutes? 

At least one of the key configuration parameters has failed to read.
Ensure that all of the key parameters are present in the phone book.  The names are case-sensitive and the name must be exactly as specified.
Ensure that all of the key parameters have been stored in SIM storage.
Ensure the dedicated phone is switched on BEFORE Koi Watch. 

6.  If the float switch(es) is triggered, the state shown on LCD does not change to ‘Trig’ for the associated float-switch? 

Ensure that the float-switch(es) is connected.
Ensure that the float-switch is operational – physically short together the float switch terminals J3 and/or J4.
Ensure Koi Watch was not already in an alarm-triggered state.  Upon detection of an alarm condition Koi Watch will stop monitoring the temperature probe and float switches for 2 hours (see the ‘Holdtime’ configuration parameter for information on changing this).  The LCD will be ‘held’ for this time period displaying the values read when the alarm condition occurred.