Low-Cost Farmer-Designed GPS System

Low-Cost Farmer-Designed GPS System COMPUTERS Computers 30-1-35 Most farmers who've tried GPS guidance systems in their tractors don't know how they got along without them. What they could get along without is the tens of thousands of dollars that the complex systems cost to install. Simple light bar systems are available, but they don't do much more than tell you to turn left or right as you go back and forth across a field. Now a low cost alternative called "FarmerGPS" does that and much more for a lot less money. "I was looking at some of the GPS systems, and they cost $20,000 or more," recalls Johannes Heupel, a farmer who's also a trained computer programmer. "I figured all they were was a GPS receiver giving advice on going left or right." Heupel began playing around with a laptop computer and a GPS device he had purchased for hunting. He also began writing software that would guide him as he went back and forth, show him where he was in the field relative to water holes and other problem areas, and record field activities. What he wanted was a bird's eye view of fields and field operations. FarmerGPS is the result of three years of work on the system he developed. Heupel has used it for more precisely applying pesticides and seeding grain on his 3,000-acre farm. He has had other farmers use it, too. "All you need is a GPS receiver, the more accurate the better," says Heupel. "For $1,000 you're at 1-ft. accuracy 90 percent of the time. You could use a much less expensive one, even a handheld type. It just needs to be able to communicate with a laptop using NMEA, a standard protocol for GPS receivers." Any laptop computer with Windows 2000 or Windows XP will work. Heupel says the computer doesn't have to be fast or have extensive storage, which also reduces costs. The key to the system is the software program Heupel developed. When loaded on a laptop connected to a GPS unit, a tractor operator can make a swing around the edge of a field, and from that point on, identify on the laptop where he is in the field relative to that first pass. With the width of the implement, drill or spray boom loaded into the program, the screen will show each swath back and forth or around the field as it is made. If overlaps or skips occur, they are displayed on the field image on the computer screen. Arrows at the bottom of the screen remind the operator to move left or right to avoid a skip or overlap as it is occurring. With the addition of interface hardware, the program automatically recognizes, indicates and records when the sprayer or implement is in use. This results in an "as applied" map. It can be used to help satisfy regulatory agency record keeping on chemical application. Reducing overlaps or skips lowers fertilizer and chemical costs with application equipment. It also saves on fuel and wear and tear on the equipment. Because the computer records where the equipment has been in the field, you can verify what has been covered, and you can return another day and continue the operation. Heupel estimates the cost of a GPS receiver, computer, mount, cables and other hardware at about $2,500 (Can.). The FarmerGPS software costs another $500 (Can.). "We use the system for seeding grain in April and May and for spraying in June and July," says Heupel. "The rest of the time the laptop and GPS can be used for other things." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Johannes Heupel, Box 2585, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada T7Z 1X9 (ph 780 990-4052; www.farmergps.com; farmergps@ hotmail.com).

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