Offsite irrigation controller

An offsite irrigation controller comprising:

• a fluid-pressure sensor for sensing a fluid pressure inside a fluid conduit;
• a digital compass for monitoring an orientation of an irrigation system as it rotates about a center pivot axis;
• a remote transmitter for communicating to an offsite receiver;
• and
• an electrical processing circuit coupled with said fluid-pressure sensor, said digital compass, and said remote transmitter, said electrical processing circuit receiving an output signal from each of the fluid-pressure sensor and the digital compass, and controlling the remote transmitter to transmit an operational status of the irrigation system to an offsite user, dependent on the received signals.

A method of operating an irrigation system using an offsite irrigation controller, the irrigation system including a framework rotatable about a center pivot axis, a fluid conduit supported by said framework, a plurality of fluid-emitting nozzles associated with said fluid conduit, and a central control panel, the method comprising the steps of:

• sensing a fluid pressure inside the fluid conduit using a fluid-pressure sensor;
• monitoring an angular orientation of the irrigation system relative to a center pivot axis using a digital compass;
• and
• transmitting an operational status of said irrigation system to an offsite user.