The instructions from Ditch Pro are simple. Let the elevation feature guide you to the high point of your ditch and then press a button. Next, drive to the low point and press a button.
By the time you tune the radio to your favourite station, all calculations and programming are complete and you’re ready to start digging the ditch. Turn on the autosteer and the Ditch Pro software plugged into a Zynx X20 computer takes control of the electric-hydraulic system on your scraper.
“All you need to do is drive the tractor,” said Jay Beedy, a technical representative for Rust Sales in Harwood, N.D.
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“The program tells you precisely where to go and it runs the scraper blade for you. Skilled equipment operators are really in short supply, especially in agriculture. This allows virtually anyone to do perfect drainage ditches with a topographical accuracy of one centimetre.”
Beedy said the Ditch Pro system gives the operator autosteer and dumping accuracy up to eight kilometres from the base station. You can leave your laser equipment in the shop.
“If you’re using the dirt to fill low spots somewhere else in the field, the system finds them for you and guides you right to them.
“We get one cm topo (topographical) accuracy 2 % miles any direction from the RTK base station and accurate autosteer five miles from the base. So if you’re draining a complex of fields, you can run a five mile ditch with complete accuracy. It tells you the best spots to dump the soil and it records everything you do.”
The company has installed Ditch Pro on numerous John Deere 8000 and 9000 tractors plus a lot of Case Quads. Beedy said these are the easiest installations because these tractors already have a plug so their computer takes control of the hydraulic ports for the scraper blade.
The GPS receiver mounts on a tower attached to the scraper blade, so it is always in tune with blade elevation. Depending on the tractor hydraulic design, Ditch Pro interfaces with the tractor either directly into the electric-hydraulic system or with an auxiliary valve. The system works for tile drainage, surface drains and even road construction.
“It’s not just for farmers. We’ve installed a number of these on dozers for road construction. They’re having a tough time finding enough skilled operators, so this solves a lot of problems for that industry as well.”
The Ditch Pro software program comes from an Ohio company called Advanced Geo Positioning Solutions. It specializes in machine control systems relating to topography.
Beedy said the interface could not be simpler.
“We load the Ditch Pro software to a USB jump drive, a memory stick. The X20 has four USB ports, so we just plug the memory stick into a port and hit the install button. It really is that easy.
“There are a variety of other ruggedized computers now on the market that we could have used, but none of them are a full blown PC. The Zynx is ruggedized, plus it has no cooling fan or moving parts, so it should last forever.
“All the boards you might ever need to use are already built into the Zynx, so we don’t need multiplexer boxes like we would with other ruggedized computers. In the work environment of earth moving equipment, that’s a big factor. Whether it’s agriculture or construction, we want to eliminate as many connections and components as possible.”
Beedy said that means that Zynx is always ready to accept new software without a hassle.
“Other systems we’ve looked at use proprietary protocol of their own or they use different operating systems. And a number of ag computers designed for use in the field are built only with the Windows CE device, which does not have the capabilities of a full Windows PC like a Zynx. As far as I know, Kee is still the only ag computer with that capability.”
Beedy said the software works as well going across the ditch as it does going up and down its length. When pulling out of a cut, the view on the screen automatically switches from profile to top view.
The price for the Ditch Pro is $19,000 US if the customer already has RTK GPS. The hydraulic kit that goes on the scraper is about $3,400 for most tractors.
“That price includes a Zynx X20, so now you have that as a multi-purpose computer for mapping or to control any implement on your farm. You could put it on your ATV and do a complete topographical map of your whole farm.”
Beedy can be contacted at 701-282-9194 or www.rustsales.com.
