Ron, I'm not going to dig into the post up above as it looks like a good place to get a headache, but Deere offers its SF1 signal free of charge, and it is much more accurate than WAAS, although not as accurate as SF2 which is a subscription they charge for. SF2 will run $800/yr, $1400/2yr, or $2000/3yr. I believe SF1 used to be half the price of SF2, but last year Deere started offering it free. Deere does not allow the use of WAAS for autosteering because they offer the SF1 signal free.

I'm sure some aren't comfortable spending the kind of money it takes to go to SF2(or any subscription) or RTK, but like DG, I've sat on the end of the field with both a trimble light bar and the JD units running WAAS have the line constantly moving from 6 inches on one side of the tractor to 6 inches on the other side. Same thing when driving through the field. You can run down through the field following the tracking perfectly and turn around and see the weaving. SF1 accuracy is all most people would probably need to get by, especially if they didn't have hopes of autosteering during corn harvest. The problem is, when you get used to the accuracy that the higher dollar systems offer they create an addiction for which there is no cure. The accusation of the Deere system having so many problems I really do find hard to believe. This is our 5th year running autosteer and we've never seen any issues as far as the system itself goes. We leave them powered up for 24 hours after shutdown and sitting perfectly online. When you come back in the morning the line may be 1-2" off at the very most but everything is ready to go. The only issues I've had with Deere autosteer have been with the ATU itself as far as being innacurate, and most claim that to be as accurate or more accurate than any EZ-Steer. IMO, the main problem with these temporary solutions is that they have no way of knowing at what point the tractor is in its steering range without feeling for it. There you add another $200 to each vehicle to fix it properly. At what point do you draw the line?