Fendt varioguide

[Richard Smyth]

Does anyone know if the Fendt varioguide using Trimble reciever on Rtk can accept a topcon Rtk signal.

If so what needs to be done differently.

Hoping you @Pheasant Surprise might know

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Does anyone know if the Fendt varioguide using Trimble reciever on Rtk can accept a topcon Rtk signal.

If so what needs to be done differently.

Hoping you @Pheasant Surprise might know

No reason why not, as long as you feed it RTCM 3 from the base. You can connect a variety of external radios to the Trimble AG-382 receiver. You can also configure Satel radios direct from within VarioGuide as "Fendt-Station"

 

[Fendt]

Yes. We are running a new 724 with the Trimble receiver and using a Topcon rtk correction. I can't remember if it's a satel radio or novatel.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Yes. We are running a new 724 with the Trimble receiver and using a Topcon rtk correction. I can't remember if it's a satel radio or novatel.

Probably a Satel radio. NovAtel only make receivers. There’s a choice between NovAtel or Trimble receivers on the ‘new’ VarioGuide. New being since end of 2015.

 

[Farmerboyben]

All you need is a satel radio. Can buy them through agco parts at around £1150.. has the ability to change frequency through the fendt screen. If you want a part number then I can get it for you.

 

[Richard Smyth]

Thanks for all the answers. Seems easy done so shall see how we get on

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

All you need is a satel radio. Can buy them through agco parts at around £1150.. has the ability to change frequency through the fendt screen. If you want a part number then I can get it for you.

Should be able to use any Satel radio within reason, not just the EASy Proof. Satel radio parameters for all Easy family radios will be programmed using standard SL commands.

 

[drylandfarmer]

No reason why not, as long as you feed it RTCM 3 from the base. You can connect a variety of external radios to the Trimble AG-382 receiver. You can also configure Satel radios direct from within VarioGuide as "Fendt-Station"

After reading these threads I thought I would take the plunge. I have recently purchased a 2016 Fendt 939 with the Ag382 and unlocked it to RTK. I run 3 other machines with Topcon X30's & 35's that take and RTK correction from my Topcon base station. My base is a Topcon MR1 feeding out RTK-RTCM3 via a Topcon(PacCrest) SRL35 radio at 460mhz. The protocol is Satel 3AS, FEC On, with Port baud rates of 38400-8-N-1. Everything works well with the current machines. I purchased an ADL rover radio (also PacCrest) to place into the roof space of the 939 and matched the radio protocols at the base (SATEL,EC off. FEC On, Port: 38400-8-N). I was able to receive the connection into the 939 but it looked like it couldn't actually read the data. I have attached photos to the RTCM3 messages from the MR-1 and the Fendt screen. I feel like I'm close but missing something simple that is taking hours to decipher. Do you have any suggestions? I have intercepted the messages at the base receiver and rover radio using CSGT Test suite and RTCM 2.3 & DGPS RTCM messages come through in long formats with lots of data but RTCM3 doesn't which has me scratching my head.

 

[drylandfarmer]

Does anyone know if the Fendt varioguide using Trimble reciever on Rtk can accept a topcon Rtk signal.

If so what needs to be done differently.

Hoping you @Pheasant Surprise might know

Does anyone know if the Fendt varioguide using Trimble reciever on Rtk can accept a topcon Rtk signal.

If so what needs to be done differently.

Hoping you @Pheasant Surprise might know

&Richard Smyth how did you go with your exercise?

 

[Northern farmer]

...The protocol is Satel 3AS, FEC On, with Port baud rates of 38400-8-N-1. Everything works well with the current machines. I purchased an ADL rover radio (also PacCrest) to place into the roof space of the 939 and matched the radio protocols at the base (SATEL,EC off. FEC On, Port: 38400-8-N).

A long time since I've configured my Satel radio at the base and at the tractor side I've only used the internal Satel radio within the VarioGuide receiver but are you sure all your serial bitrates are correct?

If I remember right, my base radio accepts maximum 38400 bps "at the connector" but the modulation bitrate is much lower (with an old 12.5 kHz channel raster radio it is 9600 bps, at 25 kHz I think it was 19200 bps).

In your setup I think you have bitrates to consider at the radio interface, the radio data speed, the external modem radio data speed and digital interface speed and the VarioGuide bitrate for the external radio interface. The last two must match but the bitrate "on air" may be different. You don't even seem to mention how the air interface is configured on your external modem.

I assume the Fendt baud rate setting for the external radio is simply the serial port speed. I doubt the receiver is able to control the external radio in any way (like the modulation speed).

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Putting it in plain speak there are several connection interfaces at the tractor that all need to be set correctly for comms to work:

1. PDL radio “air” interface back to base
2. PDL radio serial interface to tractor
3. Tractor serial interface to PDL radio (as shown above on the VarioTerminal)

As said above @drylandfarmer - please check steps (1) and (2) above using your external PDL radio programming software on the 939 is correct.

You should be able to check your radio is correctly setup independently of the tractor if you hook it up to your laptop using a serial connection. Then open a terminal session and you can see the correction messages (gibberish like) coming through. You need to ensure your comms settings on the laptop (usb to serial) converter match what’s going on in the tractor.

 

[Richard Smyth]

&Richard Smyth how did you go with your exercise?

Still have the topcon receiver in the roof uhf radio in the base has failed so with some help from @Pheasant Surprise I am sending position data to the tractor by ntrip. Happy with it so far

 

[Oscar]

I ve said it before but hats off to Pheasant surprise and northern farmer, your knowledge of GPS and Fendt is incredible!!
Having said that, you lost me after one sentence and you speak a foreign laungage!!!!

 

[Lofty1984]

I ve said it before but hats off to Pheasant surprise and northern farmer, your knowledge of GPS and Fendt is incredible!!
Having said that, you lost me after one sentence and you speak a foreign laungage!!!!

Echo that about the knowledge been immensely helpful to myself through these threads @Pheasant Surprise @Northern farmer and I’m glad I’m not alone with the tech stuff being like a foreign language

 

[drylandfarmer]

Thankyou to both Pheasant surprise & Northern Farmer for your input and I agree the comments above - it can be a minefield at times trying to navigate gps networking options so its great to be able to communicate with those with much more knowledge. I will check everything again and let you know how I go - I'm sure its something simple. Our AGI-4's with their internal 450-470mhz radios pick up the signals from my base without a hiccup, do either of you know what the default settings of those units would be as I may be able to use them as a clue as to something I may have missed when programming the PDL radio? Thanks again for your suggestions

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Thankyou to both Pheasant surprise & Northern Farmer for your input and I agree the comments above - it can be a minefield at times trying to navigate gps networking options so its great to be able to communicate with those with much more knowledge. I will check everything again and let you know how I go - I'm sure its something simple. Our AGI-4's with their internal 450-470mhz radios pick up the signals from my base without a hiccup, do either of you know what the default settings of those units would be as I may be able to use them as a clue as to something I may have missed when programming the PDL radio? Thanks again for your suggestions

Internal Satel snap-in radio module (UK and Ireland spec) within a VarioGuide AGI-4 receiver is 25 KHz channel spacing, Satel 3AS protocol, 38,400 bps serial baud rate (N81 word size and parity), FEC is switched on.

What region/country are you in @drylandfarmer ?

AGCO and Topcon supply different frequency range / channel space spec snap-in modules, depending on their territory of use.

You can easily query all your Topcon base and tractor receiver settings using Topcon Receiver Utility (TRU), tis a good idea to check what your base is sending out etc. especially if you didn't set it up or it has been subsequently altered perhaps from the settings you were given. You could be assuming stuff that isn't necessarily the case.

As said above I'd check the new ADL/PDL radio is reading information from the base correctly first - you can set it up standalone and use a laptop with terminal or other software like SNIP demo to decipher the correction stream.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

By the way what radio have you got at the base?

You say it's a PDL Topcon SRL-35....but an SRL-35 to the best of my knowledge is just a Satel 35W beastie dressed up in Topcon colours. In other words its a pure Satel EasyPro 35W on the inside.

In my experience getting radios to play nice together - always a sh!t ton easier if they are all the same brand, irrespective of whether they're using the same protocol e.g. Satel 3AS.

 

[Oscar]

See what I mean , above 2 posts from PS !!! I only understood what region are you in and the different frequency range, the rest is devils words and way over my grade !!!

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

the rest is devils words

666 my call sign. What can I say

 

[drylandfarmer]

By the way what radio have you got at the base?

You say it's a PDL Topcon SRL-35....but an SRL-35 to the best of my knowledge is just a Satel 35W beastie dressed up in Topcon colours. In other words its a pure Satel EasyPro 35W on the inside.

In my experience getting radios to play nice together - always a sh!t ton easier if they are all the same brand, irrespective of whether they're using the same protocol e.g. Satel 3AS.

By the way what radio have you got at the base?

You say it's a PDL Topcon SRL-35....but an SRL-35 to the best of my knowledge is just a Satel 35W beastie dressed up in Topcon colours. In other words its a pure Satel EasyPro 35W on the inside.

In my experience getting radios to play nice together - always a sh!t ton easier if they are all the same brand, irrespective of whether they're using the same protocol e.g. Satel 3AS.

It is an SRL 35 - I thought Pacific Crest made them but maybe I'm not 100%. I run 3 other AGI4's with the RTK unlock - in Australia. Im pretty sure the AGI4 snap in radios are set up the same as you mentioned.

So... I played around with it again today. Im persisting with the Satel 3AS protocol on the transmitter radio & rover radios. The radio-radio link is data rate is 19,200bps at 25khz. Serial Port links are 38400bps on both radios. I had the base receiver(Topcon MR-1), transmitter radio (SRL-35) and rover radio (ADL-450) all together at the base station. I then intercepted the messages at the serial port of the rover radio (prior to going into the AG382). I first tried sending CMR messages (as per the photo) in both CMR and CMR+ and had no problem receiving messages as per the 2nd photo. Then when I output RTCM 3.x the ADL radio could't receive the messages correctly (see last photo). My AGI4 radios have no problem receiving the same RTCM messages. I'm not sure why?

My next step is going to be to try and run everything on CMR and look at the settings within the AG 382 in the morning with Ag-Remote to see if I can get the CMR corrections into the Fendt. Could it be possible to use one of the AGI-4 snap-in radios in place of the ADL radio to feed messages into the AG382?