Northwest Texas Panhandle | We had been using the Outback S since 2001 and liked it so we decided to go all out and upgrade to the S2, 360, edrive, and baseline. The new pivot mode A=B line was what really made us upgrade since we have center-pivot irrigation. We tried it for the first time strip tilling with it in March. The center pivot mode theoretically will create a circular path if you just drive part of the arc. It will create a circle for you if you just go a few hundred feet, but it is usually no where close to the right place. If you continue around and do 3/4 of a circle (following sprinkler tracks), it tells you it has 'insufficient data points' if you don't do it absolutely perfectly. However, if you press it again quickly, it'll give you a pretty good circle. Here's where the 360 should come in to save the day. The next time you go back to the field, you have to do it all over again. It's impossible to get the line in the exact same place. It is impossible to make a perfect line while you have to been looking back constantly to get a planter working right and putting out the right amount of fertilizer and insecticide. The 360 won't work in pivot mode so there is no repeatability for the system. According to Outback, they're working on that. I'm looking for a way to get around this. My idea is find a way to copy all of the information out of the internal memory of the S2 and then load it back in again at a later time. Essentially, I want to trick it into thinking that I never left the field. I know you must be able to get information out of the S2 because Farmworks can use it to create a map of the field. Does anyone know of a way to upload into the internal memory? Also, has anyone had much success moving the receiver to the hood of the tractor to reduce how much the receiver moves when the tractor rolls? Overall, the outback system is a good thing to have if you have flat and straight fields. However, it still has not proved itself in pivot mode. If anyone has any comments about the Outback system, I would love to hear them.
John Reznik |
Outback A=B lines
