Photo: Country ClipperCountry Clipper recently announced the market innovation design, Contour Deck Tracking System (DTS).
The company says this deck tracking system delivers on the promise of an improved comfort ride, enhanced quality of cut and traction with a unique pivoting front axle and suspension design.
The company says the ContourDTS is standard on four Country Clipper zero-turn mower series, and the company says this feature encompasses the articulating front axle and method of which the deck is suspended from each side of the axle.
The company says the design allows the deck to track to the contour of the lawn, guided by each front wheel. Country Clipper says as one side of the deck raises to compensate for uneven terrain, the other remains in place to provide an even cut.
Providing up to 7” of front axle articulation, the company says the ContourDTS feature will increase traction by allowing all four tires to remain in contact with the ground.
Rain Bird releases new two-wire controllers with smart valve technology
Rain Bird recently introduced the ESP-LXIVM series, two new controllers for two-wire irrigation systems that provide large, challenging sites with advanced water management tools, diagnostics and other features.
The company says the ESP-LXIVM standard model can support up to 60 stations, while the “pro” model can manage larger sites with up to 240 stations. Both, the company says, feature an Integrated Valve Module (IVM), which is a “smart valve” that maintains constant communication with the controller for more efficient irrigation and advanced diagnostics.
Photo: Rain Bird“The ESP-LXIVM Series truly sets the gold standard on what two-wire, smart controllers can do,” says Amar Thiraviam, senior product manager for Rain Bird’s commercial controllers. “The IVM technology not only eliminates the need for decoders, and with it, 50 percent of splices, the powerful microcontroller in the IVM ‘smart valve’ also takes two-wire system reliability and diagnostics to a whole new level. And, years of customer research has resulted in a simple and sleek LX-IVM interface that provides an outstanding user experience.”
Rain Bird says the LXIVM’s advanced diagnostics include a “self-healing” feature that automatically detects fixes to wire path and splice issues and restarts irrigation without manual intervention.
The company says a “two-wire mapping” feature maps integrated devices to corresponding wire paths to quickly find and resolve issues. Supported field devices include the IVM-SOL for controlling stations or master valves, the IVM-OUT to manage third-party valves or devices, the IVM-SEN for controlling weather or flow sensors and the IVM-SD for surge protection on the two-wire path.
Rain Bird says the LXIVM’s advanced flow management tools include FloWatch, which alerts to high- and low-flow conditions, and FloManager, which manages hydraulic demand, making it possible to simultaneously activate multiple stations and reduce the time it takes to complete full irrigation cycles.
Rain Bird says the optional weather sensors are programmable by station to prevent or pause watering, and additional water management features include cycle + soak, seasonal adjust (by program or month), station delay and rain delay, among others.
The company says the ESP-LXIVM continues Rain Bird’s “extra simple programming” (ESP) tradition with a backlit LCD display. Rain Bird says users can select from six available languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese.
The company says the ESP-LXIVM features up to 10 independent programs, while the ESP-LXIVM Pro can manage up to 40. Rain Bird says all programs can have up to eight start times, and users can also start stations or programs manually as needed.
“With the launch of the LXIVM, Rain Bird extends our long-standing leadership in commercial two-wire irrigation controls,” says Barbara Booth, Rain Bird’s specification sales and marketing manager. “We believe installers will find this to be the most robust product on the market, while users will enjoy the easy user interface, powerful diagnostics and the ability to seamlessly integrate with our new IQ4 central control platform.”
Service Autopilot releases V3
Service Autopilot announced a new version of the software called V3. The company says V3 is set to launch in three distinct phases, with the first release scheduled to go live on Feb. 21.
Photo: Service AutopilotThe company says this software was built with lawn care and landscaping professionals in mind, so they can streamline and automate their everyday processes. The company says that the purpose of the software is to provide lawn and landscape owners with an all-in-one software solution.
Service Autopilot says the V3 is an evolving upgrade that will roll out over the first half of the year, and the company says the V3 release will give Service Autopilot members a more simplified, consistent version of the software.
The company says it knows how important time and money are to its members, so they are releasing this system upgrade in smaller releases. This, the company says, gives users the ability to familiarize themselves with each component little by little and maximize value.
Service Autopilot says there will be three upcoming phases.
In the first release, the company says enhancements will be made to the “core.”
The company says members will be able to create new, user-friendly forms to more easily get leads and win estimates. This update, the company says, includes multi-page forms and logic for creating separate paths to let users make one form that works for both residential and commercial clients.
In phase one, Service Autopilot says the Team App will also receive new functionality.
The company says V3 forms will now be accessible and changeable within the app, and Service Autopilot says these two-way form changes remove the need for double entry. The company says employees can also add service and products to their client’s account in the app.
The last main update in phase one, Service Autopilot says, will completely reimagine accounting within the company to provide a cleaner, streamlined user interface. The company says members will be able to drag columns, use comma filters and customize their view to match the needs of their business.
In the second release, which is slated for March, Service Autopilot says workflows are being improved across the board. The company says members will navigate through leads, jobs, clients and contracts with a more seamless user experience.
The following are a few of the new workflows:
- A job scheduling wizard
- Activity streams
- Custom fields
- Pin drop
- Updated client account screens
- Jobs will be re-labeled as visits
The company says the third release is the biggest and most-requested change in phase 3 in the new email integration in Service Autopilot V3. The company says members will be able to start sending and receiving emails, and they can track these emails using Service Autopilot’s new ticketing system.
The company says that also in phase three, the dispatch board, now called routes, provide a faster, more organized view of the day. The company says the routes are organized by teams or individuals, and when clicking a route, the company says users can see a detailed view of all visits assigned to them each day.
