Brand new Lawnbott, comes with questions :D

[Radjack]

Hey all,
I just bought me a lawnbott and am planning on begining the install in the next week and am looking for a few noobie tips.
I have read a ton on this forum and you all seem super helpful. Hopefully all of your experience can point me in teh right direction.
I have a "U" shaped yard (just under 1/2 acre), with fence and flower beds(all on outside of yard) protected by mowers edge curbing. So it should be a fairly simple yard.

1. Should i let the bot simply cut using 1 zone? or run the wires to divide into 2nd and 3rd zones? I am looking for the max efficiency in cutting and minimal missed areas.
2. Should i program 1 long working time period (08:00-23:00), or multiple shorter periods (08:00-12:00 & 1600-20:00)? time is a non issue for me, just looking for best performance and efficiency.
3. Also if i use one long period does the bot go in/out multiple times until the end time is reached?
4. I am laying some new sod in some large areas, is the bot capable of handling that terrain?

Thanks for any advice.
Now i have to come up with a name...hmmmm

[LawnBotts.com]

Congratulations on your LawnBott purchase! See my reponses below:

1. I suggest dividing the area into at least 3 zones. You could try two but if you want the maximum efficiency, it's best to use the maximum amount of zones available. Depending on the model you purchased you can have up to 4 zones. If you purchased your mower from http://www.LawnBotts.com we will gladly illustrate a perimeter wire plan for free which includes dividing the area into zones. (I HIGHLY recommend this!) Here's how to get your installation plan: http://www.lawnbotts.com/robot_lawn_mower/

2. The long working time is the best option if time restraints are not an issue.

3. Yes the mower will come out twice a day with the long working time. If you have a LB3210 or higher model, the LawnBott will reduce the mowing frequency based on how your grass is growing. If you have a LB2150 or lower, I suggest watching the mower's progress and if it spends too much time in the yard, reduce the run time accordingly.

4. Depends on the terrain... but in most cases if you have a LB3510 you should be good to go. If you have a model lower than that, you'll probably need spiked wheels...

Thanks

[Radjack]

First problem....that did not take long...
I got the perimeter wire ran, hooked up the power supply/transmitter/filter, charged up mower, and then went to run it for the first time and the bot keeps saying "no signal".
I triple checked the power supply and transmitter - they seem to be good.
Perimeter wire is brand new wire that came with bot - never been spliced or cut.
Power supply has green LED on, therefore power is on.
Transmitter is flashing Green (x 5) then orange (x7-10, varies) so i think that is fine.
Voltage where perimeter wire is hooked up at base is 24VAC.
Only ~200ft of perimeter wire used, so not too long.
I have no idea what is going on or how to fix it...
Any ideas?
Thanks

[LawnBotts.com]

There are a couple things to try... If you purchased it from lawnbotts.com please email sales@lawnbotts.com or call 888-483-0063 so we can check a few things on your mower. Otherwise I would suggest contacting your dealer.

[DanB]

Radjack

I have been a user for two years now, and have found that almost all of the problems I have experienced have been related to how the perimeter wire is laid out. Avoid sharp corners and turns, rocks, objects that your bott could hit when following the wire, etc..

I would also suggest that you put the leads from a multimeter across the two exposed ends of the perimeter wire where they connect to the charging station, and read the resistance. You should have no more that a few ohms. If the reading is over, say, 10 ohms, or is erratic, then you most likely have a break or exposed place somewhere in the wire. This is probably not your problem, since you said there are no splices, but is useful information for the future.

[LawnBotts.com]

Dan is right that many problems have to do with installation. To add to Dan's post, some non-LawnBott wire can give good ohms readings and work well most of the time, but randomly cause signal errors. Not even we are able to find a problem by looking at ohms, the readings on the transmitter and diagnosing the mower itself. However once genuine LawnBott wire is down, the problems go away. It doesn't make sense and I scratch my head as to why, but we've had this happen on several customers with no splices.