Data relay for a controller

An irrigation system, comprising:

• an irrigation controller including a two conductor hard wired communications link for accepting an actual value of at least one parameter of interest from an environmental sensor in the form of data encoded on the conductors via current modulation;
• at least one environmental sensor mounted in a location remote from the irrigation controller;
• a circuit connected to the environmental sensor for transmitting an RF signal representing an actual value of a parameter of interest detected by the environmental sensor;
• and
• a vandal resistant data relay connected to the two conductor hard wired communication link of the irrigation controller and including a receiver that receives the RF signal, and circuitry configured to extract the actual value of the parameter of interest and emulate a predetermined set of physical and protocol properties of the two conductor hard wired communication link of the irrigation controller.

A vandal resistant data relay, comprising:

• a receiver that receives an RF signal encoded with at least one environmental parameter of interest;
• circuitry that extracts an actual value of the parameter of interest from the RF signal and emulates a predetermined set of physical and protocol properties of a two conductor hard wired communication link of an irrigation controller;
• a housing that encloses the receiver and the extraction and emulation circuitry and includes a threaded hollow cylindrical stub for screwing into a knock out in a metal box housing the irrigation controller or into an electrical conduit, the stub having a hollow bore for routing a pair of wires that form a part of the two conductor hard wired communication link of the controller;
• and
• an antenna connected to the receiver.