Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | We are installing the Deere switches on a daily basis. The work well and bolt right on newer Deere planters. We have also made some brackets so they can be used on non Deere planters.
We have had a customer or two that is so opposed to using the Deere switches that we have to use a whisker switch even though the Deere switch would work fine. It has been my observation that these are generally people who 15 years ago had a red planter with a red tractor. Many of these folks now have a Kinze Planter pulled by a Cat.
Not that there is anything wrong with the switch but they seem opposed to using anything "Green" on general principal. That is their choice.
The Deere switch behaves as follows: It is a Normally Closed Switch - this means that the switch completes a circuit until it is depressed. With a planter here's what happens: When the planter is DOWN in the planting position, the switch is untouched or CLOSED completing a circuit. When the planter is raised, the unit drops down due to gravity and pushes the button. This opens the circuit.
This is exactly what you want for the implement switch connected to any of Ag Leader's Seed Modules. This will start/stop the action as you desire.
Another post seems to indicate that if the switch seems backwards that a software setting can be used to reverse the action. This is true if the App Rate Module is being used as a switch to start/stop variety logging. All other Ag Leader Application modules (Seed Tube Monitoring, Stepper Module, Clutch module etc.) must have the implement switch mounted so that the circuit is complete when planting and broken when not planting.
We have commonly been using two of the Deere switches on a planter. These switches are wired in parallel so if either switch indicates that the planter is down, planting/logging/mapping continues. A problem may come up if only one implement switch on a row unit is used. Suppose that particular row happens to drop in a waterway. If a single switch is connected to a Clutch Module, the module would shut off all rows. It would be safer to use two switches to lessen the possibility of this happening.
Again we have customers who will spend big bucks on the equipment but yet balk at using two implement switches since they want to save money. I saw this just today.
On my own little 12 row, I used two implement switches because I have two waterways where this just might happen. The problem probably wouldn't happen, but with the investment I'm making for the module and the clutches, I'm willing to spend the money on a second switch.
Edited by tedbear 3/24/2009 21:47
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JD implement switch on Insight
