Alsace 47°52'46"N 7°24'30"E | Hello all,
I have had the opportunity to test the EZ STEER out of the box without T2 on a MC Cormick MTX 200 starting Feb 25th running on EGNOS, the European equivalent to WAAS for a non stop period of 30 hours through to Feb 26 plus 10 more hours from Feb 27 to Feb 28
First impression: WOW! The implement attached was 3.37 m (approx. 11') wide, I defined an implement width of 3.27m (approx. 10'8") and was able to skip 2 passes and complete them afterwards. The precision was FANTASTIC !
But I had a serious drawback: every 6 hours or so it would start to drift abnormally (up to 5' pass to pass). Around midnight and midday, satelite reception was so bad that the EZ STEER disengaged, this was repeated the next night (Feb 27 to Feb 28). I could not resume EZ STEER operation those nights for over an hour!
Now here my general impression after having used it for 40 hours:
- Installation: really straightforward in less than an hour
- Switch from one tractor to another: in less than 15 minutes when changing antenna too
- Operation:
When satelite reception is satisfactory, this thing runs so well I wonder how we could drive our tractors, sprayers, combines without all that time.... it's a real screamer with a precision above all that has been advertised! I was already thinking of using it for planting corn without markers ;-) .
The EZ STEER motor is very silent: I didn't hear it at all!
The pression of the knob on the wheel is low enough to let you take steering over and pass your hand through!
The system is very sensitive to you taking over the steering wheel, so don't touch the steering wheel once engaged.
Only drawback is those periods when it gets erratic! I have talked to a farmer in south australia who reported the same behaviour down under. Are U guys experiencing that too? Is there a way to circumvene it?
Have thought of Omnistar, RTK, VRS (network of RTK base stations enabling a virtual RTK base station) as this is spreading in France. Does anybody have experience there?
Have heard that this bad satelite reception is general and can be predicted thanks to a program that can be downloaded from the trimble site (planning software). It should affect all GPS operation including RTK.
On the other hand, EGNOS being broadcasted from geostationary satelites should drastically improve the usability and not be prone to the drift or even failout phenomenons. Moreover, there are some satelite launches to be expected that will improve the situation too.
Am I just expecting too much?
Am I expecting 100% operation too soon?
Your opinion is welcome!
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EZ STEER test 30 hours non stop
