tractor guidance

Posted by Andy Dombeck on February 28, 2014 at 6:02pm

 i have a project in mind involving my tractor and my farming operation. what i want to do is use gps to steer the tractor for me (that i will be riding in at all times!) so i can focus on other tasks while doing tillage and planting.  it will only have to drive in a straight line i will make the turns and line up for the next pass.  my thoughts were have a pixhawk and piksi along with a stepper motor assm to manually turn the steering wheel. two methods i was thinking of were trimble ez steer or agleader.  we have used a light bar guidance on our farm before but this year going to conservation tillage and need to drive over the previously placed fertilizer strip with the planter within 4" or better. with our small farm we can not justify the large expense of RTK.

what is everyone response or concerns to this idea?  i appreciate any input or suggestion i can overlook some important details at times

thanks

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Replies

  • Martin Baker February 28, 2014 at 6:07pm
    Love it! We are a few months out from doing something similar. What type of tractor; articulated or fixed? How wide; do you have triples on?
    • Martin Baker > Martin Baker February 28, 2014 at 6:18pm
      Contour not count. We really need an open-source Raven and associated software.
    • Martin Baker > Martin Baker February 28, 2014 at 6:12pm
      The reason I ask is because the geometry is a factor unless you are on flat ground. We're out in the Palouse of Eastern Washington so we have to count our rather than back and forth.

      Can you tell more about you tractor. Auto steer ready? Make, model, year, estimated dimensions of your implements?
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