Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | iafarmerken - 3/7/2009 20:56
I just unlocked to omnistor on my ez500 and am wondering if HP is worth the extra money over XP? I will be planting 30 inch rows if that makes any difference. Also I am worried about the convergence issue. What is a normal time in open sky Iowa with the most recent firmware upgrade? Also any tips or hints on issues that you guys have ran into would be appreciated. Thanks.
I personally use a 332 with XP with Trimble's Autopilot to plant 30 inch rows. This will be my third year using this system. My plan was to start with XP and switch to HP if I found it to be necessary.
I have been happy enough with XP. Last year I went with the 100 day subscription which is half the price of a full year subscription. I activate the subscription shortly before planting begins. Later in the year, the subscription runs out and the system is switched back to WAAS. This arrangement works fine for me.
My biggest problem when planting is not making my turns consistent. With my ILS tractor and a 12-30 planter, I need to turn very tight. Because I am inconsistent on my turns, the planter is not always squared up straight behind the tractor. The autopilot puts the tractor in the right spot but the planter may take a bit to get straight. This means that my guess rows are a bit wide or narrow at times near the ends. Our land is quite flat but the planter drift on sidehills also results in some wide spots on side hills.
All in all the results are far better than what I was doing with manual steering.
I handle the convergence issue as others have suggested. I too have my GPS wired via a switch to a hot source. That means during planting season, I just leave it ON 24/7 for the most part. Our land is close to my home and I usually drive home each night. I park in an open spot in my dooryard that has a good view of the southern sky. That way the GPS stays convereged at all times.
Ocasionally, the GPS will drop out when I start the tractor (the 332 appears to be quite voltage sensitive) but regains convergence quite soon if I don't move the tractor.
I am of the opinion that if Convergence is lost, it is more quickly regained if the tractor does not move.
I also notice that if I need to go into my brothers yard for fuel etc. that I will lose Convergence in his dooryard due to the large number of metal buildings. I generally lose convergence at the same spot as I drive up the driveway. When I leave the driveway, the signal is apparently picked up at that same spot and convergence is regained quite quickly even though I am moving.
On the other hand if I leave his dooryard and go to a field (not going down the driveway), the Convergence takes a bit longer to be attained. |
Omni Star HP XP help
