John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
last lot what was put up for tender here was rented at over £200/acre without sfp entitlements
as good as i am, even i cant make the books balance at that price!!!!
The economics of autosteer
- Thread starter Clive
- Start date
last lot what was put up for tender here was rented at over £200/acre without sfp entitlements
as good as i am, even i cant make the books balance at that price!!!!
- Location
- Lincolnshire
You put a cone on the hill top as well as at each end. I usually use four cones and drive the best average straight line through them.
What about for jobs such as mowing would you go walking right across every field setting cones out and picking them up again? Time spent on that would have gakf the field cut
Stoxs
Member
- Location
- Andover , Hampshire
last time i tried that i fell over 3 times!!!!
bloody long tanglly grasss
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Don't need cones if mowing. Can easily see neighbouring bout/land and can run parallel to it by keeping my head still and aligning eye with mark on cab post to neighbouring bout. Not exact I know but good enough.
On another matter, how do these guidance systems cope when working along steep slopes? 24m in the horizontal will surely leave misses. to get the picture, imagine a vertical slope. First tramline on the slope, cover 24 m worth of the vertical surface if you level your boom so it's parallel to slope. Next 24 m tramline on GPS misses the vertical slope entirely, leaving a huge un sprayed area. I know this example is extreme but the same effect must occur to a lesser extent on the slopes we commonly find in arable work.
For the same reason, when I use cones in a dome shaped field, the tramlines end up slightly curved as they should do. If they are still straight at other side of dome then I have cheated. Try peeling an orange and laying the peel flat without splitting it.
TheEarlOfMoray
Member
- Location
- Morayshire
Auto steer has to be the best invention ever, used to think I was pretty damn good without it but now I wouldn't be without it. Feel so much more relaxed and can work longer hours as less tired and no fatigue. Can also drill in the dark now and I would never have chanced it before. No doubt John 1594 drills all the time in the dark without markers and has perfect straight and no overlaps. Currently using jdsf2 and the only annoying thing about it is the occasional signal drop out or when you work beside trees as it takes a good 20 mins to get the signal back. Apparently the new style receivers are better as they don't lose signal but I think it's just a con to upgrade! Signal dropout is worse now than it used to be so I'm thinking someone is flicking a switch somewhere to try and get everyone to upgrade to the new one. Rtk is def the best but ill stick to sf2 as its all I require at the mo.
Stoxs
Member
- Location
- Andover , Hampshire
3000 recievers are much better, i am lucky to have RTK and its the dogs dangly bits.
Totally agree i was surprised how much concentration steering needs! much better to see whats going on behind when you aint gotto keep looking forward.
You can really make a good job!!
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
thats half the problem, concerntrate too much makes it harder work, once you learn to sit back in the seat and go with the flow it comes naturally, i can look round and keep an eye on the drill and i dont come off my mark, its instinct more than anything
Team sprayer, more like Team player not John.
Good to know you like the Vader-scrap though?
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
Team sprayer, more like Team player not John.
last trailed drill i used was an MF 30, would hope the vaddy is in improvenment on that? As i have said, its nice to use, it works great in the dry, but i bet its a pig to use in the wet, il stick to the tried and tested ph/combi what works in all weathers
I have to say I am a little sceptical regarding auto steer at the moment. Can it not be as tiring keeping your eye on the auto steer when you lose signal and it goes wrong? Have heard of people waiting over an hour or longer for signal to come back and its not that straight forward to carry on manually? Unless you've gone down the route of rtk etc. Have been told mid afternoon is the worst time when sats are really busy and agriculture is at the back of the queue? Don't pretend to know alot about it, just interested on views. By the way John,agree combi's are good as very versatile, I have to say though I don't think your quite as good a drill man as me I'm afraid.
The loss of signal isn't that common but I agree that it can be a bit addictive. I have to remind my blokes that they did manage without before GPS...
Most higher grade kits have gyroscopes/tilt switches to adjust for slopes so in practice this isn't an issue. Look at the amount of extra overlap & straightening is done on slopes with bout markers & if anything this is where auto steer is even better. A change in slope angle is where misses & overlaps occur, not on a uniformly steep slope angle.
Most higher grade kits have gyroscopes/tilt switches to adjust for slopes so in practice this isn't an issue. Look at the amount of extra overlap & straightening is done on slopes with bout markers & if anything this is where auto steer is even better. A change in slope angle is where misses & overlaps occur, not on a uniformly steep slope angle.
- Location
- East Riding of Yorkshire
I have to say I am a little sceptical regarding auto steer at the moment. Can it not be as tiring keeping your eye on the auto steer when you lose signal and it goes wrong? Have heard of people waiting over an hour or longer for signal to come back and its not that straight forward to carry on manually? Unless you've gone down the route of rtk etc. Have been told mid afternoon is the worst time when sats are really busy and agriculture is at the back of the queue? Don't pretend to know alot about it, just interested on views. By the way John,agree combi's are good as very versatile, I have to say though I don't think your quite as good a drill man as me I'm afraid.
Jcfarmer, you dont need to keep an eye on the autosteer if when signal does drop out mine beeps so thats when I take over and continue manually till signal is back and then resume on auto. I can go for days without loosing signal then some days it drops out a lot its just how it works. This is why in my opinion you need to be skilled at the job your doing before autosteer comes into it!!
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
At last, some decent posts regarding the topic, thankyou @Mdt and @JCfarmer for talking sense and admitting autosteer cannot turn a monkey into a brain surgeon as some people try and convince you it can.
Now await @Stoxs reply that we are all luddites and that autosteer is the golden egg of modern agriculture and that it is a perfect 100% failsafe replacement for any human being, regardless of their skill level.
Now await @Stoxs reply that we are all luddites and that autosteer is the golden egg of modern agriculture and that it is a perfect 100% failsafe replacement for any human being, regardless of their skill level.
But you're the one who keeps saying people only buy auto steer so they can put cheaper drivers on machines and that anyone using it can't drive straight or put tramlines in right place or monitor their machine
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
pretty much! Least thats the commonest situation round these parts, and the results speak for themselves!
So where's the problem with the auto steer? On the seat, as it would be if same drivers didn't have it. Does that mean your whole argument against it is because some people don't use it as best as they could?
warksfarmer
Member
You dont get chemical and liquid fert overlap if your running section control so thats irrelevant. What you do get with auto steer is reduced seed, fuel, labour use because your not wasting time overlapping.
It also makes things look nicer which I think is the main driver for most people that buy into it.
It also makes things look nicer which I think is the main driver for most people that buy into it.
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
so basically nobody knows how or can be bothered to keep straight naturally and take some pride in their work?
as i thought all along
John, please stop commenting on all things GPS as you have no experience! To quote from
Stop taking subjects off topic. We all know you are a ledgend and can drive straighter than anyone of us.
Back to topic. Base all your sums on a 5% saving. You will usually get more
Stop taking subjects off topic. We all know you are a ledgend and can drive straighter than anyone of us.
Back to topic. Base all your sums on a 5% saving. You will usually get more