Looking For A GPS

March 6th Gilbert Sale Yard Trimble 750 at Floyd, Iowa. I don't know anything about it, but there has been a lot of talk on here lately about GPS units.

If you're tech-savy and don't want to spend a ton of money on a GPS system, there's an app that works on android and I believe iPhones/iPads, but not sure since I don't own any Apple devices, called AgriBus-Navi. It's free and you can use it with almost any external USB or Bluetooth antenna. I have only used it with a USB patch antenna for spraying and it performed great (until I cut my USB cord in half in the tractor door hinge last fall on my last application). Not going to get you planting in between rows, but I am not sure you couldn't set it up to use RTK if you had the equipment already and a couple days to work with it. Just throwing that out there for anyone that wants GPS for under $100. I'm going to go with a Bluetooth antenna next time in a magnetic GPS tracker case to mount on the tractor. A lot of phones won't let you run something off of the USB and charge, so that meant I was limited to a couple of hours running in a field, but with a Bluetooth antenna, I should be able to run and charge. If anyone's interested, I can post more this spring if I get it up and going again.

Hurst

Here are some links to some information on the app, including a link to the Google App Store site.  A good bluetooth GPS patch antenna can be had for $100-$150 if you keep an eye out on ebay, even less.  Add a GPS tracker magnetic waterproof case, and an Android tablet or smartphone, you'd be in business.  

It's official. Hurst has my vote for the Precision Ag On The Cheap Guru:) We have a tablet somewhere around that we got when we purchased a PC. I'll be following this.

I'll have to update with a tutorial soon.  Like I said, I cut the cable on my old antenna last year as I was finishing up my last field, but I'm planning on upgrading to a bluetooth unit for this year so I can keep my phone on the charger while I run the GPS guidance.  I've never used RTK, so I won't be able to help much there, but if people are looking for a way to spray/spread with GPS that's within a foot or 2 most of the time, then this ought to save some pennies over a Cruzer II with a patch antenna or something along those lines.

Not what I have used.  It's a simple lightbar app.  I would not use this to replace a full-scale guidance system.  Maybe in another couple years, but definitely not right now.  I would say it would be best aimed for someone looking for a system to spray or spread with.  Seeding, I wouldn't trust it more than a marker arm.  Maybe use it to get you going on a nice straight line.  If you need something to throw in a sprayer to get you by, it could definitely work there.  I'm trying to see if anyone makes a sub-meter GPS chip that is in the $1-200 range put together as a receiver unit.  Right now, it looks like anything like that would have to be home-made.  For anyone wanting something to replace foam markers, I think a higher-end consumer bluetooth GPS receiver would serve them fairly well.  But like I said, it's definitely not a replacement for a full-scale Raven or Trimble system that cost thousands.  I hope no one went out and sold their setup in hopes of this!  I didn't mean to give people that impression.  Around here, most people are spraying pasture or grassland, so I have to remind myself that there's a lot of people looking to spray rowcrops on here when I talk about this.   If I could find a way to get GPS/WAAS 1-3ft accuracy with this app and be in it under $200 for the antenna setup, I would be happy.  I also think that autonomous driving will help to drive the prices down on this technology as more auto manufacturers begin to use higher-precision GPS chips.  Will they also use something like RTK that would be limited to the urban areas, I have no clue... but we can almost with certainty say that the technology should become cheaper and better as it matures.  If anyone is looking for something right now and just needs something that will keep them on a decent line, look at antennas with the MTK MT3333 chip.  It was the chip in my last unit (Holux M-215+) and seemed to be a decent chip.  The problem is finding a Bluetooth unit with this chip.  The only one I found was the GNS-2000 and it is available on Amazon, but I believe ships from overseas.