Toro #53789 Ecxtra Sched Advisor

List Price: $45.09 Discount Price: $30.22

Features:

• Toro #53789 Ecxtra Sched Advisor
• TORO CO M/R IRRIGATION

Customer Reviews:

I Like It a Lot [Posted on 2008-06-12]
I give it a 5. I bought this package and a Toro 8-Zone Ecxtra Controller separately. Initially, I had some problems with the software. It updated my controller, but it wouldn't run the schedule as I had indicated. Since then I've solved all the problems. Here is my take on all that:

The 'Schedule Advisor' software on the CD that comes with the TimePod may be out-of-date if it has been sitting on your retailer's shelf for a long time. My CD came with software version 1.0.48. It had a bug in it that kept the controller from turning on automatically. They are all the way up to version 1.0.60 at the time of this review. They fixed the above-mentioned bug in version 1.0.54, or 1.0.58, or one of those.

All versions "1.0.xx" are not compatible with Vista, BUT they have released a public beta that is. It is 1.1.8 [beta] as of this writing, with promises of more to come. [...]The online support folks will answer your specific questions there, too. [Edit: Amazon won't let me post a URL, so go to the Toro website and look for an ECxtra forum. You can download all software there.]

I think the Ecxtra suffered initially from its new way of working with the TimePod and Schedule Advisor software, mentioned above. Toro is really good at the mechanics of irrigation, but I believe this was very near their first attempt at computer-controlled irrigation. They seem to be working hard to make it all work.

As mentioned, I bought the 8-zone Ecxtra and TimePod separately. You can save some money if you buy them together in a package deal that Toro offers. I like both the software and the controller. I'll give my opinion of both, since they work together. Here's what I like about them: (1) The controller is well built for irrigation equipment. It has cogent and well-functioning buttons and dial, and access to wiring is a snap. (2) It has non-volatile RAM inside the controller that holds your watering schedule intact *for years* after the power is turned off. This means that if you have a power failure--even a prolonged one--you don't have to reprogram the controller. The date and time, though, need to be reset after a 24-hour power outage; no big deal. All of this means... no backup battery is needed [yay!] (3) The Schedule Advisor software and TimePod are what I've been looking for forever. All other controllers have always looked like they were from the technological stone age to me. It was about time somebody stepped up and got into the 21st century. (4) The TimePod is cool, too. It's basically a USB memory drive "stick" with a USB connector on one end (for upload from your PC) and a proprietary connector on the other end (for download to the Ecxtra controller). It's simple, simple, simple to use.

Today, you'll need a PC running a version of Windows up to XP to run the Schedule Advisor software. They have a beta that will run on Vista as of today [June 2008], and that will eventually become a final release [if you read this after July-August 2008, the Vista software probably IS final]. Programming is really easy thru the software interface. They ask simple questions; you give simple answers and voila. The interface does look a little dated--other reviews for the controller/software package say that the software interface is "horrible", but it isn't. It resembles interfaces from the Windows 95-98 timeframe, that's all. No_big_deal. It works.

I like the whole thing and the whole idea, and it's getting better all the time thru continuous improvement at Toro.

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