GPS TEST ▶▶▶ John Deere 4600
Many advanced functions Quick A-B line function available Option to supply an extra screen Ability to work with a GPS receiver on a tool
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Can be complicated to use Difficult to mark an obstacle on the plot
John Deere’s automatic steering works solid and advanced. Our test tractor had a full option GPS system including a second 4600 monitor, at a price of € 17,259 ($ 19,000). The test tractor cost a total of € 214,414 ($ 235,800). Do a 4200 monitor and SF1 signal suffice? Then it takes € 7,390 ($ 8,100) to drive a 6R with GPS.
A-B line until you have created a ‘task’. In the case of New Holland, you need to select an owner or user name, a farm name, a field, and a tool. This can also be an existing ‘task’ that you reload. This is the case for Deutz-Fahr: if you do not create a new plot, you automatical- ly set the new lines in the most recently opened plot. The ability to keep all of these details for input- ting an A-B line comes in handy for those who systematically and accurately record all of their cultivation work. But those who just crank up the GPS for convenience when subsoiling, mowing or swathing will find it laborious. For precisely this reason, Valtra, for example, offers an ‘easy mode’, which gets you going with just a few key taps. Simply press the green ‘Go’ but- ton on the SmartTouch. Set a working width and select straight or curved lines. Press ‘A’, se- lect 10 metres rotary cultivation or tilling, press ‘B’, and then you can fold up the steering wheel until the next headland. The Massey Fer- guson also offers this option. It is just as simple in the John Deere: press the ‘Quick Line’ icon below the terminal and edit a path of 15 metres. And there you have a straight A-B line. You then select the working width. These kinds of useful functions avoid having a computer full of separate ‘zzzz’ or ‘yyy’ lines and plot names.
Only the working width missing The Claas model also requires you to create a
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task first before letting you drive out on an A-B line. The good news is that the S10 terminal features a smart ‘favourites’ menu with fre- quently used functions, making functions easi- ly accessible. The only trouble is that it will not let you adjust the working width here, requir- ing you to delve a little deeper into the menu structure to find that setting. To do this, you find the set of saved tools, select one and ad- just it from there. The solution to this is to measure all tools and store them in the termi- nal. If you take the time to do that, you will reap the benefits from that point onwards. The Claas system is generally user-friendly and effi- cient, and also offers four different types of A-B lines.
Simple and limited If we demand a little more in terms of func- tionality, we note that Valtra and Massey Fer- guson go the extra mile in user-friendliness. That is where intuitive screens really come in handy: you can, in fact, configure the settings from a single menu screen, with icons that show the specific status of a function. Speak- ing of icons, this is where Deutz-Fahr’s iMoni- tor performs exceptionally well: you can find the different functions fairly quickly without thinking about it. The flipside of the convenience offered by the AGCO sister brands Valtra and Massey Fergu- son is that they are the least advanced of the six systems we tested. For example, you have
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 1 november 2019 -
to be satisfied with straight or curved A-B lines, or entering a specific angle from the A-point.
Different paths Aficionados can have a field day configuring the John Deere, New Holland and Deutz-Fahr models. These tractors offer a whole world of settings to customise, and there is plenty for those who value precise settings. These brands allow you to create different types of A-B lines, for example. You also have a range of options for changing position (moving lines) and mon- itoring position while you are working. Plus, with the New Holland model, you can even have different paths going in different direc- tions, which the tractor can pick up and follow, and that is just one of the numerous options offered by this CNH tractor.
Two receivers Let’s take a look at the John Deere terminal. It allows you to select adaptive curves. For exam- ple: you can load straight lines, and adjust one line on that entire manuscript, enabling you to ride around an obstacle such as a telegraph pole or a tree. Creating an adaptive curve like this is also pos- sible in the Deutz-Fahr, though you will need to purchase an extension (one-off fee of € 1,350) called Traffic Control. In actual fact, you work with standard A-B lines, but when you take the wheel yourself and steer around a tree or a well, you can record that manoeuvre
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