GPS, Duct Tape, and .25 MPH

[Argonne]

This is a silly post. I apologize in advance.

We're planting 1/2 acre of pumpkins in the spring on ground that has been pasture for as long as anyone can remember. As such, we decided to apply Roundup preparatory to tilling the ground to get it ready for next spring, at which time we will till and Roundup again before planting.

Problem: The only sprayer we have (yet) is a wand type that applies 2 oz per second. I work out the application rate, and it turns out that I will need to drive at .25 mph...hmm.

I grab my little Garmin GPS III, but it will only indicate down to 1.0 mph. To make a long story short (I know, too late), I ended up pulling the Furuno off of the boat and duct taping it to the hood of the 2210.

Driving at .25 mph isn't too demanding, so I snapped a couple of PICTURES with my camera phone. It looks as though I'll need to think of a permanent ground speed indicator solution.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Well, I don't see any adapters listed for the 2210 from Deere for THEIR system!

 

[jd4115]

Well I suggest you upgrage to a 3720!

It has a neat digital speedometer that reads in tenths of mph.

 

[JDFANATIC]

Argonne,

You the man! Most everyone else would have guesstimated the speed! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Tenths is great, but he need HUNDRETHS!!!

 

[Argonne]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Argonne,

You the man! Most everyone else would have guesstimated the speed! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif )</font>

With the price of Roundup at 1.5 cents per square foot I figured I better not screw up. That, and I was having trouble imagining just how slow .25 mph was. Sadly, I am now an expert with several hours of practice under my belt.

I called Garmin today to see if their newer GPS V (newest version of the GPS III genera) could read tenths under 1 mph. Apparently I stumped the experts cuz thay had to ditch their headsets and take the unit out in the parking lot to find out. Verdict: The new GPS V will NOT read tenths either. This is too bad because it's a good candidate for occasional tractor use. It's small, has a snap-in mounting bracket available, is usable in "landscape" mode, and it's pretty cheap for a mobile footprint unit.

I guess I'll keep searching for something suitable. My Furuno GP-30 is perfect and would look at home on a combine but it's too **** big for the 2210. The duct tape look is fine in emergencies but I want to leave a mounting bracket on it that I can snap a GPS into when I need it.

Incidently, my high school math teacher would have been shocked...we ran out of chemistry just when we were supposed to. It's a good thing my math aptitude runs in streaks or I might not have the 2210 at all...lol.

 

[BloomingtonMike]

Check out the Garmin Quest 2 or GPSMap 76Cs. Both designed with mobile and hiking modes but with all the features of the advanced models. My handheld GPSMap 76CS will even float (for safety while using on a boat).

 

[Egon]

Have you considered changing the mix to adapt to a ground speed you can regulate??

Egon

 

[Argonne]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Have you considered changing the mix to adapt to a ground speed you can regulate??

Egon )</font>

I really couldn't. We were hand spraying a ~12 foot swath a thousand feet long. Higher ground speed would have made it very difficult for the person spraying to keep up an orderly pattern, and if the solution was even more concentrated, the imperfections caused by hand spraying would have been more pronounced, a double whammy (I've never had to spell that word before...I'll bet spell check doesn't know it). Once I build a boom I'll be able to fiddle with the concentrations more.

 

[DavidVA]

I think i'd just drive at 1.0 mph and do more passes with the sprayer. but that's just me!