5TE Operator’s Manual
4. Calibration
12
soil with very high electrical conductivity, or non-normal min-
eralogy, then it may be necessary to conduct a soil specific cal-
ibration for your 5TE sensor which will improve the accuracy
to 1-2% for any soil. For more information on how to per-
form your own soil-specific calibration, or to have Decagon’s
calibration service perform one for you, visit us online at
http://www.decagon.com.
Calibration in Non-Soil Media
At the time of publication of this manual version, Decagon
has not conducted any studies to correlate the dielectric per-
mittivity of non -soil media to VWC. As with the former
ECH
2
O TE sensor, we plan to publish calibrations for com-
mon non-soil media such as potting soil, rockwool, perlite,
etc., but those investigations have not been performed yet.
Please check the Decagon website http://www.decagon.com
or contact Decagon for the status of this ongoing research.
The 5TE can accurately read VWC in virtually any porous
medium if a custom calibration is performed. For information
on how to perform your own medium-specific calibration, or
to have Decagon’s calibration service perform one for you,
visit http://www.decagon.com.
Reference
Topp, G.C., J.L. David, and A.P. Annan 1980. Electromag-
netic, Determination of Soil Water Content: Measurement
in Coaxial Transmission Lines. Water Resources Research
16:3. p. 574-582.
