Has anyone used their iPhone for tractor guidance? A quick look tells me there are some apps out there. What I think would be really handy is an app that helps keep rows and spacing more consistent. From what I’ve seen of various iPhone apps that use gps, though, the iPhone gps is not accurate enough to do what I’m thinking of on a field only 1-2 acres. Maybe that’s the app and not the gps… I don’t know. It seems like something could be developed for small fields, as long as the GPS is good enough. Does such a thing exist?
IPhone tractor navigation
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RGrizzzz
Administrator
I started to go down this path a few years ago. Generally, the GPS units on phones are only precise to somewhere around 30', which isn't accurate enough for your field work most likely. Someone recommended you could buy a bluetooth GPS to pair with your phone and the app. I still have the one I bought in my office closet. If you're interested, PM me, and we can work something out. It's a Garmin GLO.
I think the app I was playing with was called FieldTrack or FieldTrax. I can't remember exactly.
FWIW, we use a foam marker now. (For spraying. Drill through standing crops to see rows)
I think the app I was playing with was called FieldTrack or FieldTrax. I can't remember exactly.
FWIW, we use a foam marker now. (For spraying. Drill through standing crops to see rows)
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FarmerDan
5 year old buck +
We sorta' went down this road back in May.
https://habitat-talk.com/threads/app-to-track-fertilizer-or-spay-coverage.15643/#post-311193
My conclusion is this is something fun to think about and maybe play with just for kicks and giggles but is probably no more effective than eyeballing your route thru the plot. Now, there are solutions for production agriculture that work but are beyond the common practices and economics of food plotting.
https://habitat-talk.com/threads/app-to-track-fertilizer-or-spay-coverage.15643/#post-311193
My conclusion is this is something fun to think about and maybe play with just for kicks and giggles but is probably no more effective than eyeballing your route thru the plot. Now, there are solutions for production agriculture that work but are beyond the common practices and economics of food plotting.
Yeah but of all the dumb stuff hunters pay for, this seems to be a good banjo lure! ;)
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Civilian GPS is so accurate these days. My handheld gps and Humminbird fishing electronics are basically dead nutz accurate, IMO. A few feet off at most?
On a Garmin Rino with the plot trail feature turned on to see your backtrack in real time, you should able to do a little better than eyeballing it? Maybe?
The plot trail might also help you see any missed spots after the fact?
I personally eyeball it, but missed spots in my plots do bother me. Not for any reason to do with the deer or habitat, mind you, it’s just the fact that it’s there, that pisses me off
On a Garmin Rino with the plot trail feature turned on to see your backtrack in real time, you should able to do a little better than eyeballing it? Maybe?
The plot trail might also help you see any missed spots after the fact?
I personally eyeball it, but missed spots in my plots do bother me. Not for any reason to do with the deer or habitat, mind you, it’s just the fact that it’s there, that pisses me off
I don’t really think what I’m talking about is altogether “necessary.” In fact, I was derided on this board or another about the adequacy of boomless nozzles for deer plots.
Honestly, the phone apps usually seem surprisingly accurate/precise EXCEPT when I’m using them for plot work. I haven’t really been able to understand why. I can walk to a corner post in a pasture and the dot on the screen is within inches of my location. Start walking in straight lines and it jumps dozens of feet at a time.
Honestly, the phone apps usually seem surprisingly accurate/precise EXCEPT when I’m using them for plot work. I haven’t really been able to understand why. I can walk to a corner post in a pasture and the dot on the screen is within inches of my location. Start walking in straight lines and it jumps dozens of feet at a time.
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FarmerDan
5 year old buck +
There are a lot of issues with what we call GPS accuracy. All are correctable and the degree to which x,y positional accuracy improves is directly correlated to the amount of money spent for the improvement.
GPS or Global Positioning System is a formal system implemented by USA. Other countries operate similar systems. Perhaps the most important is Russia's GLONASS - GLObalnaya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema. Each operates on a unique frequency. In the OLD days dedicated GPS units were chipped only for GPS. Now I think most can receive both signals. The more satellite signals a receiver can collect the better the accuracy assuming a decent spread across the sky.
I don't know what kind of signals a cell phone can use. Most have GPS chips. In the old days the position location was estimated using cell tower triangulation which was good enough for finding friends and not much else.
After the signal is received there's a lot of processing involved and a lot of it is proprietary dependent on hardware capacity. For a lot of reasons, the calculated latitude - longitude of a captured point is always bouncing around. The processing is collecting multiple points and averaging a location. If your unit offers a positional accuracy reading it's probably one standard deviation of the average of the collected lat/long. So if you are standing still your accuracy is likely to be better becasue of the collection of a large sample for a given point. If you're moving it's a whole different ballgame. Most good recreational units offer 1 or 2 meter accuracy.
The precision is improved by applying a differential correction to the calculated GPS/GLONASS solution. You can read about differential correction here:
WASS - Wide Area Augmentation System. WASS is normally available (turn it on or turn it off) in dedicated GPS units.
A good WASS signal can get your dedicated GPS unit to offer sub-meter accuracy under ideal conditions. Those conditions are always changing so nothing is guaranteed.
Sub-centimeter accuracy is possible with more high powered differential correction but it's usually reserved for more sophisticated GPS receivers and often on a subscription basis.
How all of this plays in a cell phone is something of a mystery to me.
FarmerDan
5 year old buck +
Agreed!
Well, maybe. There's a large degree of latency or delay involved. My experience with dedicated recreational GPS units is what's displayed on your unit is where you were 5 seconds ago.
A good learning tool for review of what's actually happened, YES if you care to do the post review work.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
A little common sense and operating experience (and my foam marker) will go a long way in finding my way thru my food plots. I like technology as much as the next guy.....but is going down that rabbit hole really necessary? Not to me. I suppose in time it will become the way we do more of these things. Not today.
Of course.....a few years ago I never thought I would own a cell-cam system. Blush.
Of course.....a few years ago I never thought I would own a cell-cam system. Blush.
