Equipment Cost and Support Services
Agricultural Electronics Corporation Home Page
All of the equipment is designed, manufactured, and assembled in the United States and shipped FOB Tucson, Arizona. Equipment configurations can be tailored to the user requirements.
Products are sold as complete packages including the sensors, wiring, central instrumentation computer, installation documentation, operation documentation and processing software. This gives us the assurance that measurements can be made and, in the hands of a properly informed user, will yield meaningful results.
We work very closely with the user in project design and installation. Proper project design, installation, checkout and interpretation of data will give the user maximum benefit.
Cost Alternatives
On a service contract only basis (without equipment purchase other than the wiring harness) Agricultural Electronics Corporation (AEC) staff installs the wiring harness, petiole, berry and drip line sensors, electronic data collection and transmission equipment (the POD) in the field. The cost for the year 2007 growing season would be:
$ 185/month for petioles only - typically $850.00 for the season
$ 310/month for petioles and berries - typically $1,200.00 for the season
Drip line monitoring is included at no additional cost
One time wiring harness cost $190.00 (15 sensor capacity); $75.00 for each set of 15 new sensors each season
Installation cost dependent on location and number of sites monitored
On a purchase basis the cost of a typical production agriculture package is around US $3,280 (see alternative composition packages below.) Water status information is automatically acquired and transferred to the User's office. Data processing is done by the User with AEC supplied software. This method becomes advantageous when multiple sites are monitored.
Labor Content
User has no labor expense during the season. Prior to any machine harvest, the user is required to remove the extension wires, a 15-30 minute task for each site monitored.
| Services | Quantity | Price $US |
| Monthly Monitoring Charge | Per 15 Sensor Cluster - Petioles Only | $185 |
| Per 15 Sensor Cluster - Petioles and Berries | $310 | |
| Installation | Decreases for more than one nearby site and second year | Dependent on location and number of sites monitored |
| Products | ||
| POD* | Each | $2,900 |
| Phytogram™, Sensors and Cables** | 16 Channels | $ 780 |
| 32 Channels | $ 1,540 | |
| Replacement PHYTOGRAM™ Sensors | Set of 15 | $75 |
| Software for Data Processing and Display | Software Package | $250 |
| Fifteen Sensor Cluster including connector harness, cables, sensors, and ground rod. (Two Cluster maximum) | Each | $190 |
| DripLine Monitor | Included at no cost with Monthly Monitoring | $0 |
| Air Temperature Sensor | Each | $100 |
| Light Sensor*** | Each | $325 |
| Soil Moisture Sensor | Each | $50 |
| Soil Temperature Sensor | Each | $75 |
| Dendrometers | ||
| Automatic Dendrometer (Point or Band) - including 40 meter cable | 1 | $650 |
| 8 | $5,200 | |
| 16 | $10,400 | |
| 24 | $15,600 | |
| Manual Band Dendrometer | Each | $38 |
| Small Trunk Manual Band Dendrometer | Each | $42 |
| Extended Range Manual Band Dendrometer | Each | $46 |
| Automatic Root Dendrometer - including 40 meter cable | Each | $650 |
| Footnotes |
| * Includes POD Backbone, Solar Collector (6 volt, 500 mA), Ground Electrode, Serial Interface Cable, Installation Tools, Installation and Operating Manuals and software to transfer POD data to spreadsheet programs |
| ** PHYTOGRAM™ require 1 channel per sensor; Dendrometers require 2 channels per sensor |
| *** This unit is a LI-COR Corporation Quantum Sensor and measures PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) in the 400 to 700 nm waveband |
Typical Configurations
| Package | Composition | Price $US |
| RESEARCH PACKAGE | POD | $2,900 |
| 16 Channel PHYTOGRAM™ Sensors and Cables | $780 | |
| One Air Temperature Sensor | $100 | |
| Eight Automatic Dendrometers | $5,200 | |
| Total | $8,980 | |
| PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE PACKAGE | POD | $2,900 |
| Two 15 Sensor Clusters | $380 | |
| Total | $3,280 | |
| PLANT PATHOLOGY PACKAGE 1* | POD | $2,900 |
| 32 Channel PHYTOGRAM™ Sensors and Cables | $1,540 | |
| One Light Sensor | $325 | |
| One Air Temperature Sensor | $100 | |
| Total | $4,865 | |
| PLANT PATHOLOGY PACKAGE 2** | POD | $2,900 |
| 15 Sensor Cluster | $190 | |
| One Light Sensor | $325 | |
| One Air Temperature Sensor | $100 | |
| Total | $3,515 | |
| * Plant Pathology Package 1 can be used in a wide range of experimental designs ranging from one sensor in thirty-two plants or multiple sensors in fewer plants. |
| ** Plant Pathology Package 2 has fifteen plant sensors. |
Personal Customer Service
Agricultural Electronics Corporation will provide consulting services, data processing and data analysis in all aspects of our equipment. The magnitude, duration and cost of this service is determined on an individual project basis. This service is over and above the normal assistance we furnish in start-up and checkout of the equipment.
Installation, training and analysis packages are available upon request.
| Welcome Page | |
| PHYTOGRAM™ - Applications and specifications | Automatic Point and Band Dendrometers - For precise measurements of growth |
| POD - In-the-field solar powered data collection computer operating over extended period of time in various environmental conditions | Manual Band Dendrometers - Schematic drawing and product characteristics |
| Equipment Cost and Support Services - Products, Services, and typical Production and Research Packages | Automatic Root Dendrometers - For measurement of diurnal cycles and growth rates of roots near the surface. |
| Irrigation Management- Optimize irrigation scheduling with PHYTOGRAM™ technology for water and pumping cost savings | Dendrometer User Group Pages |
| Data Transfer Methods - Various alternatives- primarily cell phone and radio communication capabilities | |
| Water Content Levels of Specific Crops- for wine industry, using the Phytogram™ for indicator of petiole hydration status and berry ripeness | |
| Environmental Sensors - For concurrent assays of air and ground temperature, light, and soil moisture | Communicating with Agricultural Electronics Corporation - By E-mail, US Postal Service, Telephone and Fax |
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