Need guidance guidance...

TroySD · Nov 6, 2011

Those are pass to pass accuracy, The point A to point B line is theoretically infinite. We use them for high accuracy farming applications such as applying fertilizer in a band in the fall and then planting directly on that spot in the spring 6 months later.

I have customers that will travel 1-3 miles and retain that accuracy with the Omnistar or RTK levels.

WAAS can be a tricky beast as its accuracy is easily manipulated by environmental conditions, ie sun spots, gps constellations and many many more.

It would easily build your road in my opinion.

BLCMulcher · Nov 6, 2011

Thanks to all for the info, ideas and suggestions.

To clarify things a little my client wants the 20' rows straight so he can see down them. I want dead straight to avoid clearing land unnecessarily.

My experience with a common hand held in these conditions is one second you are sitting on line and the next you are off 30'

It sounds like a middle end gps is the most practical solution. I seem to be getting more of this type of work so maybe I should get a unit with a cab mounted display and external antenna for accuracy. Also common for me is to cut a property line from one boundary point to another and because of thick foliage I don't have access to either point prior to clearing - but I do have lat/long points. So any sytem I buy will have to accept lat/long as waypoints which I can normally get my hands on.

If I required a surveyor to flag the cut for me 4 out of 5 jobs would never happen or I would lose the work to a competitor. And I am speaking of jobs here where neither the client nor the friendly neighbor minds if I clear more land than I am getting paid to clear - not the construction/developer client that normally has my work flagged off for me.

Looks like the EZ Guide 250 would do the trick if it will accepts lat/long input. Anyone need to sell one?

-Thanks Again...

AGGIE00 · Nov 7, 2011

We use a topcon legacy in the cab with pga1 antenna mounted on top. With that we use a carlson data collector which is what gives the map for guidance. This is RTK and requires a base station which for us is a trimble unit or we will use a data modem to tie into the network. The cost of all this equipment is quite high and we only justify it because we are surveyors too. For what you are doing I would use a lesser handheld to make the first pass and get line of sight so you can get it straightened out.

GordonW · Nov 9, 2011

We use an Outback lightbar and I wouldnt trade it for the world. We have made 4 to 5 mile passes that had to line up with other ROWs and can stay dead on. The only thing is the cost.