Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | I have had a few instances where I did something along your latest thinking.
I believe what you have in mind is to use the third channel to produce a tillage acre count and a tillage coverage map. You would also get a rather meaningless applied map that you would disregard. You set the rig up as if it uses the third channel even though you won't actually have one. That would be fine except that you need a flow source for a shaft sensor for that third channel. You plan on faking that in with a "flasher" or another electronic device which produces a pulse in lieu of an shaft sensor. The flasher circuit would start/stop based on its own implement switch. The coverage map should be a true representation of the tillage and its acre count should be correct. You would need to enter a cal number and target rate for that fake third product. To avoid off rate alarms on that channel, the fake product should be set in Manual. You would also get the various totals, averages etc. for the fake product which you would disregard. You would still have the applied maps, acres counts etc. as before for the actual application.
I'm fairly certain that this idea of a fake flow source would work with the Application Rate Module as you first planned. The configuration would contain the Strip-till configuration as you currently have but add in another product which could be a fake liquid. You will be asked for a tank size, meter cal etc. as if the product will be a real liquid. When the Application Rate Module is used with a flow meter, the map and its acre counter starts/stops based on flow AND an implement switch if you choose. The configuration allows for an implement switch setting of None, Normal or Reversed.
When beginning a field you would enter in the appropriate products for the Strip-til as before. You would be asked for a Product for the Application Rate Module. You would pick a distinctive product of your own choosing such as Tillage. You would not be asked for a target rate since the Application Rate Module does not handle control anyway. There are no alarms associated with the Application Rate Module other than possibly the tank empty alarm.
Your idea of creating a device to create a fake flow rate is certainly possible but might produce some obstacles. I'm quite certain a pull-up resister would be required to insure that the signal line crisply returns to logic HIGH after the device takes the signal line to logic LOW.
I think a safer approach would be to install an actual shaft sensor on a wheel or something that turns when tillage is being done. This shaft sensor would connect to the flow input pins on the Application Rate Module. If the wheel or shaft stops when the implement is raised, no implement switch is needed. If the wheel turns whether the implement is UP or DOWN, then an implement switch would be used also.
An advantage to using the Application Rate Module is that it would be completely separate from the Strip-till Module and if for some reason did not work out you could continue to apply as you have been dong. The Application Rate module does not have any rate alarms but the output from the the wheel should be directly proportional to the ground speed anyway so your rate applied map for the fake product would be consistent although it really doesn't matter anyway as it is the coverage map and acre count you are concerned with.
I would keep the original configuration as you have it in case you wish to use it again in the future. I would create a new configuration that contains the added information. I would name the new configuration with a name that will remind you that it has the tillage acre counting capabilities.
On my planter I use an Application Rate Module to monitor my starter fertilizer so I have it connected to a flow meter in the fertilizer line. I don't bother with an implement switch since my fertilizer applied map, coverage map and acres are based on the flow meter only. This means that my starter fertilizer is one section only, the entire width of the planter. My Starter Fertilizer acres are usually a bit larger than my Sprayed acres which are a bit larger than my Planted acres. This is because my Starter continues into the headlands a bit, my Spray stops in 4-6 row sections but my seed stops in 12-2 row sections.
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Can an ag leader app rate module be used at the same time as a dry module
