Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/12477
diggin’ in POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS FOR GPS GUIDANCE FOR CORNERS OR LINEARS More than 35 years ago, Valley introduced the first corner machine to help growers answer the question of how to irrigate corners. Buried, underground guidance wire was an innovative solution, but wasn’t perfect. With certain operational set-ups, however, it is still a key solution. Then again, some areas present significant challenges for installing and maintaining the buried wire: n Customers with Buried Cable Installation Challenges, such as: • Subsurface rock • Buried pipeline • High-voltage transmission lines • Lightening strikes • Rodent damage n Customers who may need or want to change the path in the near future as there would be no need to rebury wire. immediate changes,” Oberg says. Frustrated, he went in search of a solution and learned about the new Valley Corner GPS Guidance system. “The only option was to put GPS guidance on the machine,” Oberg continues. “We were already using the John Deere Starfire RTK system in our tractors, so it wasn’t new to us. Compatibility was not a problem. It worked out pretty well. We used our existing BaseStation and just added a repeater so the signal transmitted was strong.” When asked how long it took to install, Oberg said, “With potatoes being a high-value crop, we needed to solve this problem in a timely manner. Minnesota Valley, our dealer, did a good job. Within about 10 days the GPS Guidance was installed by Valley and operating. “If GPS wasn’t available, I’m not sure how we would have been able to steer through that part of the field. Now that it’s installed and running, it doesn’t get any interference. In fact, the corner machine has been steering as good as, if not better, than it did on the wire.” The engineering process used in creating the Valley Corner GPS Guidance system ensures it delivers the same reliability and durability growers have come to expect, according to Scott Mauseth, Valley Product Manager. PG HOW DOES RTK GPS GUIDANCE WORK? 1) Current position is obtained by the SDU GPS receiver. 2) Current position is corrected by information from the RTK GPS Correction receiver. 3) With the “known” accurate position, the GPS Navigation computer tells the corner how to steer to the next GPS position, based on a GPS map stored in the computer. WHAT IS RTK CORRECTION? • RTK is “Real Time Kinematic” correction for the GPS signal. • RTK Correction corrects errors caused by atmospheric and other conditions, resulting in corner guidance accuracies of +/- 6 inches. • The Valley GPS guidance system can use an existing John Deere RTK Correction signal if the customer already has one. If one is not available, the customer will have to purchase a RTK Correction GPS receiver with the GPS Guidance package. www.potatogrower.com 29