Switching to RTK for Automatic Guidance Systems
« Argentina Shuts Down its Beef Exports | Home | Trimble’s new Field-IQ Crop Input Control System »
GPS technology is quickly becoming an essential tool on the farm, but as the art of farming becomes ever more precise, farmers may want to consider how best to maximize the efficiency of their GPS systems. For many farmers, that may mean abandoning GPS altogether for automatic guidance systems, in favour of RTK technology – or real-time kinematic technology. As automatic guidance systems become more and more popular, committed users of the technology may find that they want to improve the system’s precision and its repeatability. In that case, RTK offers more exact information. The technology, however, has always been quite expensive, and in many cases GPS systems have been chosen over RTK systems simply for the savings in price. However, as the technology evolves and the market seeks to remain competitive, prices for RTK technology are dropping – quite dramatically, too. Many RTK systems go for less than half of what they would have cost a few years ago.
GPS is an excellent tool, but requires a differential signal to really be worthwhile. RTK systems use differential signals by picking them up from fixed-location sources. This fixed signal is essential to run truly precise operations. These fixed-location sources are often on high network towers with 12-miles radiuses, such as a geo-stationary satellite or a Wide Area Augmentation System tower. Fortunately for farmers interested in tapping into RTK technology, RTK tower networks are becoming increasingly common, meaning that nearby towers are becoming less difficult to find.
To access the signal from an RTK tower, users pay a subscription fee for each receiver they have on the farm. Information from Wide Area Augmentation System towers is free, but the signal is less precise. For truly precise operations, your best bet is to pay the subscription fee to receive the higher-precision signal. Many RTK dealers and tower service providers offer a fee structure to accommodate multiple receivers on one farm.
Your dealer may be the most important part of your decision to use RTK technology. Make sure you have a good service agreement in place to ensure that your RTK tools will continue to work over the long-term. Ask about any warranties or special agreements your dealer might provide. As RTK technology is expensive, even with recent price cuts, you will want to assure that you are getting the best possible service you can for the amount of money you have to spend.
