GPS guidance on a budget

[tom4018]

Anyone use a cheaper GPS system for spraying and spreading fertilizer?

Saw these and read on some forums that they are ok for a light bar system.

http://www.cpufarmer.com/store/index.ph ... duct_id=57

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Those work but have become over priced with the GPS boom.
A few years ago you could of bought a Raven Cruiser New for $700, take a look at the price now...

 

[tom4018]

Those work but have become over priced with the GPS boom.
A few years ago you could of bought a Raven Cruiser New for $700, take a look at the price now...

A little more than double that now from what I see.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Those work but have become over priced with the GPS boom.
A few years ago you could of bought a Raven Cruiser New for $700, take a look at the price now...

A little more than double that now from what I see.

The rule of thump is, the older the tech is, the cheaper it gets. Apparently the Ag GPS companies don't follow this rule.

What are you useing now?
Something that has helped me is one of those ball compasses they put on boats.

 

[turklilley]

They work. I never spent enough time with mine to get good with it. Practice with it, it will be a useful tool for the price.

 

[tom4018]

Those work but have become over priced with the GPS boom.
A few years ago you could of bought a Raven Cruiser New for $700, take a look at the price now...

A little more than double that now from what I see.

The rule of thump is, the older the tech is, the cheaper it gets. Apparently the Ag GPS companies don't follow this rule.

What are you useing now?
Something that has helped me is one of those ball compasses they put on boats.

Just eyeballing it, which is not too good. Never thought about one of the compasses.

 

[hurleyjd]

http://www.farmergps.com/

 

[littletom]

I have a raven cruiser its ok. Can be a pain. Have not used spreading fertilizer. The memory is nice you can look back through what you have done. Or stop in the middle of a field and go back to pretty much the same place to start over a week later.

 

[dun]

I had one when they first started being common. Dumped it and went to a foam marker. GPSW would take 2-3 minutes to sync back up to realize I had turned for another pass.

 

[Bigfoot]

You may not have the free help I have, but spraying, I use two sasarus pols with a rag on the top. Kid on each end of the field. I spray 40' feet wide, so there's a 40' string on each pole. As soon as I turn, they lay there pole down, stretch their string, and walk the pole to the end.

 

[LongLopeSlowHorse]

Anyone use a cheaper GPS system for spraying and spreading fertilizer?

Saw these and read on some forums that they are ok for a light bar system.

http://www.cpufarmer.com/store/index.ph ... duct_id=57

I use this one for spraying and fertilizer.

The 'straight line' mode uses the original' AB' line all across the field.

The 'contour mode' uses last pass---seems that is more accurate, plus occasionally have to dodge around some obstacle.

Even a mili second interruption on power supply, that you can't even tell, will drive you nuts. Gotta aquire satelites all over again. I used lawn mower battery on seat for direct supply and wired a cigarette lighter plug into it, to keep it fully charged.

If you do use the 'ab' line, you can do about any pass next---#1 to 7 to 3--etc --if for some reason that's handier. I like to keep it simple, got a set of 107 haybuster drills and usually seed into stubble, kinda reassuring and saves on squinting....

 

[SJB]

If all you want to do is plot your track via gps so you can make sure you're going straight and a certain distance away from the last pass, I can think of two outside the box ways that would be cheap.

This one sounds dumb, but it would work for the basics. I bass fish a lot. In the fall and winter I routinely idle for hours over precise offshore structure by using my Lawrance depth finder/gps combo. It shows your trail real time, keeps tracks and waypoints for as long as you want, is highly accurate. You could literally mount a cheap lowrance gps only unit on your tractor. ~$500

The better idea, is to get you an iPad and a mount and use one of the several iOS apps for little or nothing in cost. The gps in an iOS device is also highly accurate and fast. Plus you could use the iPad (or iPhone) for other stuff, or you may already have one.

 

[tom4018]

Anyone use a cheaper GPS system for spraying and spreading fertilizer?

Saw these and read on some forums that they are ok for a light bar system.

http://www.cpufarmer.com/store/index.ph ... duct_id=57

I use this one for spraying and fertilizer.

The 'straight line' mode uses the original' AB' line all across the field.

The 'contour mode' uses last pass---seems that is more accurate, plus occasionally have to dodge around some obstacle.

Even a mili second interruption on power supply, that you can't even tell, will drive you nuts. Gotta aquire satelites all over again. I used lawn mower battery on seat for direct supply and wired a cigarette lighter plug into it, to keep it fully charged.

If you do use the 'ab' line, you can do about any pass next---#1 to 7 to 3--etc --if for some reason that's handier. I like to keep it simple, got a set of 107 haybuster drills and usually seed into stubble, kinda reassuring and saves on squinting....

What type of mount do you use? I would be using on a open station tractor and wondered if the suction cup would stay attached to the hood.

 

[dun]

Depending on the make, a suction cup mount will stick good. If your tractor has a ROPS and it is flat on top you can suction cup it to the top of the ROPS bar.

 

[LongLopeSlowHorse]

I use the suction cup on windshields, it works well there. It would be neat if you could make the script bigger----you swing way out on a corner, etc, and it'll guide you===but to closest pass--be helpful if I could read what pass it was referring to easier.

And when you're about done and maybe center of field is irregular---might be picking up on the pass to your left, maybe the one on your right.....but I got about 3 foam markers and would give them away to anybody who wanted them...

 

[lucky7chief]

We bought a used Trimble 250 off ebay for about $1000. It has the lightbar and a map to show where you've been. Even my 70 year old dad loves it. It saves on the fatigue of trying to see your tracks and maintain your spacing.

 

[M-5]

http://gpsworld.com/new-app-for-farmers ... the-field/

I will explore this app this weekend

 

[M-5]

http://gpsworld.com/new-app-for-farmers-enables-smartphone-nav-in-the-field/

I will explore this app this weekend

It takes a little figuring out but seems to work good enough. Don't like the fact it's all in dadgum metric. It gives you a track to follow and shows your over lap. I don't have anything to spray at the moment to be able to test it fully.

 

[bird dog]

I also use a Trimble. Paid $1200 for it new. I would hate to go back to foam. They didn't have phone aps when I bought it and that may be the way to go to save the cash. I have used my Trimble for spraying, fertilizing and planting both with a drill and broadcasting. Its very simple to use in its basic form. As someone mentioned it great for going back where you left off. I quit spraying on a field at dark Thursday evening. I will go back next week when I have some time and the machine will take you right back to the exact spot where you quit. I have mine wired into the cig lighter and it takes about 7 to 10 minutes to acquire a satellite signal. If you turn it on as you head back to the pasture, it will have the signal by the time you are ready to start.
Even when I used foam, I always ended up with missed streaks. The guidance system will eliminate most of these and will show you exactly where you did miss. I use mine in the FreeForm mode most of the time.
Here is the Utube link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLK71J4RWuA

 

[tom4018]

http://gpsworld.com/new-app-for-farmers-enables-smartphone-nav-in-the-field/

I will explore this app this weekend

It takes a little figuring out but seems to work good enough. Don't like the fact it's all in dadgum metric. It gives you a track to follow and shows your over lap. I don't have anything to spray at the moment to be able to test it fully.

I don't have a Android but wonder if a phone without service would still work? How much is the app?