Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | Thanks for the replies and suggestions.
Several of you responded with the information concerning picking up simulated radar speed out of the Starfire. I was aware of the information that there is a single weatherpak connector behind the right hand dash that will allow the tractor to run off of either a real radar gun (if equipped) or a simulated radar gun (Starfire if equipped). This information may be helpful to others following the thread.
My problem was getting GPS (Position, etc.) not simulated speed into the Insight. We had a document from Deere indicating that we could pick up a NEMA port out of the Starfire Globe. This involved putting a pin in position #3 of the 12 Pole connector that connects to the globe and routing a wire into the cab to a DB9 connector for connection to NEMA GPS devices (Ag Leader etc.).
We have done this procedure with older tractors and have been successful. In the new 8430T that we have in the shop, Pin #3 was already used. The initial thought was that maybe Deere piped this port into the cab on these newer tractors - such was not the case.
A fairly short cable is used to connect the globe to a connector on the tractor cab. Upon inspecting the cable I found that the cable is a symmetric cable with 12 pole Deutsch sockets on both ends. Thus the cable could be installed either way around with no problem. Upon further inspection, my Co-worker found that there is no pin #3 on the cab portion. In other words even though pin #3 from the globe mated with a Pin #3 in the connecting cable, the output never really got anywhere inside the cab.
The solution was then fairly obvious, unseat Pin #3 and fold the wire back into the harness and insert the new Pin #3 and route it to Pin #3 of a Male 9 Pin connector to mate with the Insight harness.
Someone mentioned above that you would need to use the Male to Male Null modem cable from Ag Leader with their Tee cable for this solution. That would be true. The Male to Male Null modem changes the sex so that the connectors will mate and also switches Pins 2 & 3.
In my solution, since I made the cable to specifically go to an Insight. I put a male 9 Pin connector on my cable instead of a female and utilized Pin 3. This has the effect of the Null modem gender changer.
The NEMA output was configured through the tractor's 2600 by my Co-worker. The standard settings of GGA, VTG and 5 or 10 Hz was probably used.
The tractor has not been outside yet due to installation of fertilizer tanks but I feel I was successful since I can see the NEMA strings rolling by on the Insight screen and even "caught" a couple of satellites to get a brief GPS indication.
This arrangement required running my tee cable over the top of the cab and then down inside through the back window. This wasn't quite as clean as it would have been if Deere had piped that wire into the cab for us. I suppose I could have lifted the cab roof up and insterted a pin into the unused Pin #3 and run the cable inside through the cab roof somehow, but I thought that might lead to other problems.
Some of you may be wondering why we were putting in an Insight if the tractor already had a 2600 display in it. The Insight was installed to operate Ag Leader's Seed Command system on the 36 row 30" DB planter that it will be pulling. The cab is getting quite full as it now contains the 2600 display, an old Greenstar display (Population Monitor?), two Smartbox controllers, air compressor and now the Insight.
Edited by tedbear 2/22/2007 21:41
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GPS out to NEMA on 8430T
