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gonefishing
Posted 4/26/2007 11:23 (#142790 - in reply to #142581)
Subject: Autofarm AFTracker


Bluffman - 4/26/2007 00:41

bjhalbur - 4/26/2007 00:29

To your knowledge, does this improve the accuracy of the return passes or is this more needless junk? Or will RTK combined with this be a fix all?


I have personally used the Trimble system on a planter and I'll put it this way: one can not quantify how much a planter actually drifts until walking behind one with the implement steering off and then watching the implement steering pull the planter into place when it is turned on. RTK powered autosteer and implement steering is as far as you can go with what's available in today's market. I do not believe that simply shifting the tractor position is a good way to address implement drift, I believe it is more of a band-aid until something better comes along.

Picture side dressing nitrogen on 30" corn. You shift the position of your A-B line so that in theory, your toolbar will be running right in between 2 corn rows. However, your bar likes to drift. With a true implement steering system, the coulters will pull your toolbar back into place while the "tractor shift method" will do the same, but at the same time, shift your tractor position to where you could easily be running over corn rows. Another example would be planting into strips made by a strip till bar. Your strips will be in the correct spot with either implement position correction. However, you come back through with the planter and as we all know, planters love to drift, and will even do so with strips, but obviously not as severe. If for some reason your planter really starts to drift, your tractor can easily end up shifting its position to where your tractor tires are driving directly on top of the strips, ruining a nice seedbed.

It would be nice if one of the Trimble or AutoFarm representatives that watch this board would chime in about implement steering.


Bluffman,

You have done the best job of explaining why Passive is only a "One Pass" product.  Thanks for that!

I say one pass because like you said, if your using it for striptilling, then you have the potential of ruining a seedbed like you said.

My question is, why would anyone buy an RTK system is they aren't doing one of these practices:

  1. Striptill
  2. Bedding
  3. Sugarbeets
  4. Potatoes
  5. Veggies
  6. Cultivation
  7. Tramlines
  8. Interrow seeding
  9. Driptape

That being said, if you are doing one of these operations, I would think that you would need an Orthman Tracker.  We all know that Implements love to drift.  That being said, I wouldn't say that it's a waste of money putting it on multiple pieces of equipment, I would say that it's a must have piece of equipment.

All 9 of the items I listed are practices that require multiple passes at a high accuracy, and if you don't use an Active Steering like the Orthman, then all you have done is waste money. 

Now on the other side, if you are only wanting it for planting, then I would agree that a Passive system would work.

We personally don't do any of these pratices YET, but we are going to move to striptill next year.  This year we bought an Autofarm Rightrac and it has worked flawlessly for $16,500.  I shouldn't say that, we had to learn the system and after that it worked excellent.  I went with this company because this is all they do, AUTOSTEER and they are on top of the game.  They are the first company to come out with the Orthman. 

I feel that they are a smaller company, but you are treated with respect, and they jump when you have a small problem.  That makes me feel good. 

Another reason I went with them, next year when we upgrade to RTK with AFTracker, they have an upgrade program.  I can't remember the price, but you end up with two complete systems at a lower cost.  Not very often when a company doesn't want it all, my money.....



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