Legacy BL-3200Baseline Controller

Table of Contents

PART 1 - Product Specification

1.1Manufacturer

1.2Operating Specifications

PART 2 - Warranty

2.1Standard Warranty

2.2Extended Warranty

PART 3 - Controller Firmware

3.1Configuration

3.2Programming

3.3Messages and Alerts

3.4Reports and Graphs

3.5Intelligent Soak Cycles

3.6Master Valves

3.7Flow Monitoring and Management

3.8Moisture Sensor

3.9Water Management

3.10System Backups

3.11Diagnostics

3.12Manual Operation

3.13Start, Stop, Pause

3.14Event Scheduling

3.15Central Control and Remote Control

3.16Smart Watering Modes

PART 4 - Hardware

4.1Display

4.2Ethernet Jack

4.3Power Specifications

4.4Surge Protection

4.5Environmental Specifications

PART 5 - Controller Enclosures

5.1Enclosure Options

LegacyBaseStation 3200irrigation controllersfrom Baseline shall have the following specifications and capabilities:

PART 1 - Product Specification

1.1Manufacturer

  1. All controllers shall be manufactured by Baseline Inc, in Boise, Idaho,and specified as model BL3200.

1.2Operating Specifications

  1. Each controller shall be able to operate:
  2. Up to 200 zones along a two-wire path and/or a conventional wire path
  3. Up to 25 moisture sensors
  4. Up to 8 temperature sensors, which monitor and control program operation based on temperature thresholds
  5. Up to 8 normally open or normally closed event device inputs
  6. Up to 8 normally open or normally closed master valves and/or pump starts for the entire system
  7. Up to 8 flow sensors or meters, which manage and monitor flow across a site as independent or connected hydraulic systems organized into mainline groupings
  8. Up to 8 independent mainlines for control and management of separate water delivery systems
  9. Up to 110 device loads on the two-wire path
  10. 1, 2, and 4 station biCoders = ½ load
  11. 12 to 24 station Powered biCoders = 2 loads
  12. Soil moisture sensor = 1 load
  13. Flow biCoder = 3 loads
  14. Event device = 1 load
  15. Up to 99 completely independent programs
  16. Up to 15 solenoids concurrentlyover two-wire
  17. Up to 2 typical solenoids per 12 station biCoder or up to 4 typical solenoids per 24 station powered biCoder over conventional wire plus 2 additional solenoids using the VE00001 and VE00002 ports
  18. The controller shall display on-screen help. The on-screen help shall be available in both English and Spanish. The help text language shall be user-configurable.
  19. The operator shall be able to establish 3 levels of security for users of the controller: Operator, Programmer, and Administrator.

PART 2 - Warranty

2.1Standard Warranty

  1. The controller and installed equipment shall carry a standard warranty of 5 years from the date of installation.
  2. The customer shall be responsible for reviewing the Baseline Warranty Statement available on the Baseline website (

2.2Extended Warranty

  1. The user shall have the option to apply for an extended warranty of 10 years from the date of installation.
  2. Approval of the extended warranty shall be based on:
  3. Fully completed extended warranty application

1)The Extended Warranty application form shall be available on the Baseline website (

  1. Successful site inspection

1)The site inspection shall be completed by an authorized Baseline representative.

  1. The extended warranty shall include coverage of surge damage, even from direct lightning strike.
  2. Surge protection equipment shall be installed according to specification.

PART 3 - Controller Firmware

3.1Configuration

  1. The controller shall search for and identify all devices connected to the two-wire and list them according to device type and serial number.
  2. The controller shall be capable ofaddressing or re-addressing any two-wire decoder (biCoder) from the controller by re-assigning the device’s serial number to a new zone address.
  3. The controller shall assign any station or terminal number on a multi-station biCoder from the controller to any zone address in any order,in any program.
  4. The controller shall support full two-way communication with all devices and monitortwo-wire voltage and communication integrity, solenoid voltages, current, and status (reported as open/short/OK).

3.2Programming

  1. The controller shall be capable of managing 99 programs, including up to 8 start times per program with overlapping run times.
  2. The controller shall automatically stack overlapping programs. The system can run any number of programs concurrently if permitted by the concurrent zone settings.
  3. The controller shall allow run times for zones from 1 minute to 23 hours 59minutes.
  4. The controller shall support program prioritization and progression to allow control of which landscape areas get watered first, and/or to prioritize water rations during restricted water allocations.
  5. The controller shall be able to adjust seasonal water budget from 25% to 200% by program.
  6. The controller shall allow an operator to enable or disable each zone.
  7. The controller shall allow an operator to set a “water window” by programon a per hour basis for each day of the week, which suspends watering beyond a set time and resumes watering when another window opens.
  8. The controller shall allow a program to be started by the following conditions:
  9. Start time
  10. Moisture percent
  11. Temperature value
  12. Event decoder contacts open/closed
  13. The program shall be capable of using the following schedules:
  14. Day intervals in even days
  15. Odd days
  16. Odd days excluding the 31st
  17. User defined interval
  18. Custom 7-day calendar
  19. Historical day intervalcalendar with customizable half-months
  20. The controller shall be able to irrigate in the following modes:
  21. Timed (standard time-based watering)
  22. Soil moisture based
  23. Weather based
  24. For weather-based watering to be enabled, the controller shall be operated in conjunction with BaseManager Plus and WeatherAccess.
  25. The controller shall be able to group zones into scheduling groups as follows:
  26. Primary – Primary zones can be time based or soil moisture based.
  27. Linked – The settings for a linked zone matchthe settings of the assigned primary zone.

3.3Messages and Alerts

  1. The controller shall display an on-screen, historical-run-time chart that includes the time watered for last 6 days by program.
  2. The controller shall display an on-screen historical water used chart that includes the actual water used for the last 6 days by the flow meter.
  3. The controller shall display a 6-day scalable soil moisture history graph with integrated run-time bar chart.
  4. The controller shall display all pause and stop conditions in message screens that are accessible from the main screen. The system displays one message for each condition, and the user can clear each message.
  5. The controller shall display high flow alerts, low flow alerts, pause messages and conditions, and rain delays, wire faults, as well as other operating conditions.
  6. The controller shall display messages generated from diagnostic tests initiated by thecontroller and by the user.

3.4Reports and Graphs

  1. The controller’s main screen shall be able to display water usage, soil moisture graphs, design flow or actual flow, two-wire current, program reports, pause reports, and zone status by program (shown asa color representing watering, soaking, waiting, paused, disabled, and error)without affecting any active programs.
  2. The controller shall be able to log data collected from each flow meter, moisture sensor, temperature sensor, and zone run time.
  3. The controller shall have the ability to report:
  4. The last date a program ran
  5. The next run date of a program
  6. Water consumption used by program per run estimation
  7. 14 days of moisture readings displayed graphically
  8. Water flow estimation in gallons per minute (gpm)
  9. Total daily, current month, and previous month’s water consumption estimation in gallons
  10. Actual water used and flow rate for each flow meter
  11. A report for every pause condition event
  12. Monthly water budget

3.5Intelligent Soak Cycles

  1. The controller shall have the ability to perform Intelligent Soak Cycles™to prioritize cycles for zones that have already started to water over zones that have not started.
  2. The controller shall have the ability to program cycle times and soak times between 0 minutes and 23 hours 59 minutes.

3.6Master Valves

  1. The controller shall support up to 8 normally open and/or normally closed master valves and/or pump starts for the entire system.
  2. Each master valve shall be assignable to any program orall programs.
  3. The controller shall have the ability to manage a pump or other loads switched with a relay on a per program basis.
  4. The controller shall be able to operate normally open and normally closed master valves.

3.7Flow Monitoring and Management

  1. The operator shall be able to manually enter a design flow for each zone, with or without an installed flow meter.
  2. The controller shall be able to learnflow rates by turning each zone on, one at a time, allowing the flow rate to stabilize, and then recording the flow of each zone back to the controller.
  3. The operator shall be able to configure pipefilltime for each point of connection.
  4. The controller shall display real-time flow updated every 15 seconds when watering.
  5. The controller shall be able to learn flow for zones assigned to one mainline, while zones assigned to another mainline(s) shall be allowed to continue irrigating.
  6. The operator shall be able to schedule learn flow cycles for individual zones or for all zones assigned to a program.
  7. The controller shall intelligently schedule watering based on available flow or design flow to maximize concurrent valve operation and minimize total water time by mainline.
  8. The controller shall support up to8 mainlines.
  9. The controller shall allow a program to be assigned to any one mainline.
  10. The controller shall be able to limit the number of concurrent zones using the design flow.
  11. The controller shall allow a programmed flow variance from0 to 100%, where 0 is equal to off.
  12. In an “overflow event,” the controller shall close master valves and halt all irrigation by program.

3.8Moisture Sensor

  1. The controller shall support up to 25 individual soil moisture sensors.
  2. The controller shall have the ability to automatically adjust run times and/or day intervals based on soil moisture readings.
  3. The controller shall override a programmed run time or day interval when it detects a soil moisture reading that exceedsthe assigned shut-off value.
  4. Using a moisture sensor, the controller shall be able to determine the water capacity of the soil and establish a lower limit threshold for the sensor.
  5. The controller shall provide a moisture limit that is accurate within ±3%.

3.9Water Management

  1. The controller shall support water source prioritization and intelligent secondary water source management to control which water sources are used first.
  2. The controller shall support empty and full indicators from moisture sensors and switches to optimize management of cisterns, ponds, rainwater catchment and other water storage systems.
  3. The controller shall support a settable wait time after an empty condition is met.
  4. The controller shall support per-program prioritized daily water rationing across multiple water sources.

3.10System Backups

  1. The controller shall be able to export all data to a USB flash drive including:
  2. All events
  3. All programming
  4. Run times (including manual run times)
  5. Water used
  6. Moisture logs
  7. Temperature logs
  8. Alarm logs
  9. Program summary report
  10. Test all results
  11. The controller shall have the ability to load all programming information directly from a USB flash drive.
  12. All programming shall be saved in non-volatile memory.
  13. The controller shall save running events and logs every 10 minutes to non-volatile memory.

3.11Diagnostics

  1. The controller shall have the ability to reprogram the solenoid drive current of the decoder from the controller without uninstalling or removing the decoder from the field.
  2. The controller shall be able to detect and report a “two-wire over current.”
  3. The controller shall be able to read and report the current of the two-wire during normal running conditions.
  4. The controller shall be able to test each individual zone and display:
  5. Two-wire voltage drop
  6. Valve voltage
  7. Current
  8. Decoder serial number
  9. The controller shall run a weekly diagnostic test on normally open master valves to help prevent a normally open master valve from “sticking” open.

3.12Manual Operation

  1. The operator shall be able to manually operate one zone or all zones of a program with programmable concurrent zones and run times.
  2. The operator shall be able to manually start or stop a program.
  3. When running a manual zone, the controller shall allow the user to advance watering to the next zone or return to a previous zone while not affecting the programming of the controller.

3.13Start, Stop, Pause

  1. When a moisture sensor, event device, or temperature device (such as a BL-5303 Air Temperature Sensor or a BL-5315B Soil Moisture/Temperature biSensor) is connected, the controller shall be able to:
  2. Start a program
  3. Stop a program
  4. Pause any program
  5. The user shall be able to configure the pausein 1minute increments from 0-24 hours. Watering will resume when the pause condition is removed and the allotted time has passed.

3.14Event Scheduling

  1. The controller shall be able to schedule 8 controller-wide event dates plus 8 event dates per program during which watering is disabled.

3.15Central Control and Remote Control

  1. The controller shall be able to connect to BaseManager™ and LiveView™ when configured with an approved communication module.
  2. The controller shall support the following communication options: built-in Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular modem, Ethernet radio, and long haul Ethernet.
  3. The operator shall be able to configure, program, and operate all zones from BaseManager central control software.
  4. The operator shall be able to receive email and text message alerts when connected to BaseManager central control software.
  5. The operator shall be able to perform manual operations remotely with Mobile Access™ when connected to BaseManager central control software.

For more information please refer to the BaseManager specification

3.16Smart Watering Modes

  1. In addition to time-based watering, the BaseStation 3200 shall also be operated in the following smart watering modes:
  2. With an installed and configured Baseline soil moisture sensor, the BaseStation 3200 shall be able to start/stop irrigation cycles based soil moisture readings.
  3. When operated in conjunction with BaseManager Plus and WeatherAccess, the BaseStation 3200 shall be able start/stop irrigation cycles based on weather data calculations.
  4. When operated with WeatherAccess, the BaseStation 3200 shall have the EPA WaterSense label.

PART 4 - Hardware

4.1Display

  1. The controller display shall have a high-contrast 3.5-inch (8.9 cm) screen with a resolution of 320x240 at 65,536 colors. The LCD brightness shall be a minimum of 200lumens.

4.2Ethernet Jack

  1. The controller shall have a 100 Base-TX Ethernet jack.
  2. The jack shall accept RJ45 connectors.
  3. The jack shall be compliant with CAT5, CAT5e, and CAT6 Ethernet cable.
  4. The jack shall be RoHS compliant.
  5. The jack shall meet or exceed IEEE 802.3 standards.
  6. The jack shall have indicator LEDs.

4.3Power Specifications

  1. The controller shall come standard with a 120 VAC transformer, which has apparent power of 40 VA.
  2. The controller shall not exceed 30 VAC RMS output on the two-wire.
  3. The controller shall be able to support up to a 1.45 amp output current.

4.4Surge Protection

  1. The controller shall have 3 levels of surge protection built into the controller including a replaceable and fusible surge protection PC board.
  2. The controller shall have a minimum of a 1 picosecond surge response time.

4.5Environmental Specifications

  1. The controller shall be able to operate in environments ranging from 32°F to 140°F
    (0°C to 60°C) ambient temperatures.

PART 5 - Controller Enclosures

5.1Enclosure Options

  1. Pedestal
  2. The pedestal enclosure shall be specified as a -P- enclosure.
  3. The pre-assembled enclosure shall be 17.38″ W x 36.25″ H x 12.63″D
    (44 cm W x 92 cm H x 32 cm D).
  4. The pedestal enclosure shall be a NEMA type 3R rainproof enclosure manufactured entirely of 16-gauge 304-grade stainless steel. The main housing shall be louvered for cross flow ventilation. Filter screens shall cover all louvers to help protect internal components from water spray, insects, and dust. A stainless steel backboard shall be provided for the purpose of mounting electronics and other types of equipment. The backboard shall be mounted on 4 stainless steel bolts that will allow for removal of the backboard.
  5. A stainless steel cam-style lock shall be mounted in the door for security.
  6. The pedestal shall come complete with lightning and surge protection and all terminals shall be factory labeled. The pre-assembled enclosure shall come with an on/off switch to isolate the controller along with a GFI receptacle.
  7. Large Capacity Powder Coated Wall Mount Enclosure
  8. The large powdered coated wall mount enclosure shall be specified as an -X- enclosure.
  9. The pre-assembled vandal resistant enclosure shall be 15.50″ W x12.38″ H x6.40″ D(39.4 cm W x 31.45 cm H x 16.26 cm D) and shall come complete with lightning and surge protection and all terminals shall be factory labeled.
  10. The wall mount enclosure shall be zinc plated and then powder coated 16-gauge steel.
  11. A nickel-plated cam style lock shall be mounted in the door for security.
  12. Large Capacity Stainless Steel Wall Mount Enclosure
  13. The large stainless steel wall mount enclosure shall be specified as an-XS- enclosure.
  14. The pre-assembled vandal resistant enclosure shall be 15.50″ W x12.38″ H x 6.40″ D (39.4 cm W x 31.45 cm H x 16.26 cm D) and shall come complete with lightning and surge protection and all terminals shall be factory labeled.
  15. The wall mount enclosure shall be manufactured entirely of 16-gauge 304-grade stainless steel.
  16. A nickel-plated cam style lock shall be mounted in the door for security.

REV 10.3.2018

Baseline Support: 866-294-58471