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"Poor Man's" Grade Sensor
"I used parts from a garage door opener to come up with a low-cost grade sensor for my backhoe, which I use to install field tile. It attaches to the boom and lets me see what grade I'm digging at without ever having to leave the cab," says James Boyd, Galveston, Ind.
The grade sensor attachment consists of a 7
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"Poor Man's" Grade Sensor MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Earth Movers 29-3-40 "I used parts from a garage door opener to come up with a low-cost grade sensor for my backhoe, which I use to install field tile. It attaches to the boom and lets me see what grade I'm digging at without ever having to leave the cab," says James Boyd, Galveston, Ind.
The grade sensor attachment consists of a 7-ft. length of garage door opener track that attaches to the backhoe's boom. A laser sensor attaches to a mounting plate on the track. At the top of the boom, the drive gear from the original garage door opener is coupled to a 12-volt, 4 1/2 rpm electric motor. Boyd wired the motor to a switchbox that mounts in the backhoe's cab. It lets him run the motor to move the sensor up or down as needed.
"It eliminates the need to get out of the cab, or to hire someone to check the grade for me," says Boyd. "All I have to do is set my reference when I start. Then as I make progress in digging the ditch, I move the sensor accordingly so that the grade comes out right where I want it," says Boyd. "I spent only about $30 on parts. The rest came from my pile of scrap metal.
"I put a piece of oak behind a pointer that's welded to the mounting plate and put 1-in. markers on it so I can see how much I move the sensor."
Boyd says cost was the motivation for coming up with his own automatic grade checking system. "I spent a total of about $2,500 for this laser system. I need to have the boom straight up and down for it to be accurate, but that hasn't been a problem. There are commercial systems that use sensors on the boom and provide a display in the cab. But they sell for about $6,000, and I couldn't justify the cost.
"I also made a mount so I can use it on my bulldozer blade, and know for sure that I'm running proper grade."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James D. Boyd, 3149 E. 1175 S., Galveston, Ind. 46932 (ph 574 699-7421; email: jdboyd @holli.com).
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