The Mazergroup precision farming advantage:
Take your operation to a new level of
precision with products from Mazergroup. We offer a full line of products to
help maximize your return on investment by cutting costs, saving time and
producing higher yields.
We offer technical support for all products we sell. Our in-house technology
experts are sure to keep you as productive as possible and answer any questions
you may have.
Contact your local Mazergroup dealership today and talk to a representative that
will help you determine the solution that is best for you.
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Mazergroup is proud to announce the addition of Can-Net VRS RTK solutions, now available across most of Manitoba and Eastern Saskatchewan. To learn more about how you can use this precision signal to receive sub-inch accuracy at a fraction of the traditional cost, contact your nearest Mazergroup precision farming consultant or click here. |
No longer dealing in just straight lines and auto steering vehicles,
Mazergroup’s team of Precision Farming Consultants (PFC) is in position
to help you make the most of today’s technology
Water Management
Precision Signals
Anhydrous Application
Contact your Mazergroup PFC to discuss adding sectional control to an existing NH3 system
Sectional and Rate Control
Boom Height Control
Guidance
Steering
Can’t find what you need? We’re only a call away to help with any issues your farm operations may encounter.
| charles.tye@mazergroup.ca | Shoal Lake, Roblin | 204 365 0888 |
| chris.murray@mazergroup.ca | Hartney | 204 741 0252 |
| derek.mcgill@mazergroup.ca | Killarney, Crystal City | 204 523 6516 |
| ian.reichart@mazergroup.ca | Brandon, Neepawa, Ste Rose | 204 573 0383 |
| paul.berry@mazergroup.ca | Arborg | 204 376 5600 |
| randy.gates@mazergroup.ca | Portage | 204 745 7653 |
| steve.gillis@mazergroup.ca | Swan River | 204 281 1444 |
Customer Questions
What about solar interference?
This past year has not been ideal for GPS systems, largely due to increased solar flare activity and the interference this causes. We understand that this causes costly interruptions and frustrating delays to the systems that rely on GPS. Be it erratic steering, loss of speed for rate control, or a timeframe where you can’t get enough signal to work, these interruptions in productivity have a very real cost to producers.
As the end user, what can you do? Signal strength will fluctuate throughout the day due to a number of factors. Through the use of a satellite predictor tool, you can get a heads up on when a potential problem may occur, and act accordingly. Just like local weather may cause a damper on the day’s work, space weather can cause service interruptions as well. Lastly, there may be an issue with the satellites themselves. While not able to predict problems, you can check here to see the current status of WAAS coverage over North America.
That’s all well and good, but what if you want to prevent service interruptions instead of working around them? Talk to your local Mazergroup precision farming consultant about signal upgrades. Omnistar, a division of Trimble, offers several signals that may be of use. XP offers 3-5” of accuracy and their new RTX signal offers 1.5” of accuracy. More importantly, RTX also enables your FM-750 or FM-1000 to track GLONASS satellites, greatly increasing visible satellites, system reliability, and drastically reducing the dilution of precision (DOP). Using the satellite predictor tool you can see the very significant difference in your area that can be gained by adding GLONASS to your correction.
If you’re looking for greater accuracy or shorter convergence times, talk to your Mazergroup PFC about Can-Net’s VRS signal. With sub-inch accuracy and an RTK fix in minutes, this option is ideal for many producers looking to get more from their system but looking for a cheaper solution to setting up an RTK base.
What is SNR and DOP?
Sometimes your GPS system does things it shouldn’t. If you are having poor signal performance, lines drifting around or jumping, two things you should check are your SNR and DOP. Both of these options can be found in the satellite status area, usually the top left for most Trimble displays. Additionally, be sure to check your gps correction settings to ensure you are only running on one satellite for corrections. If you are running on 2 or more it may be jumping from one correction to the next causing problems.
SNR is Signal to Noise Ratio. This is the strength of the signal you are receiving from your correction satellite, be it WAAS, Omnistar, RTK. Anything over 40 will let your system work with Trimble default settings, and anything over 45 is a really strong signal. Anything over 50 is virtually unheard of.
DOP is Dilution of Precision. Ideally this is below 1. If you use the satellite predictor tool you can get a heads up on any DOP spikes for your area. On a typical day running only GPS satellites you can expect a DOP from .7 to 1.1, with some spikes upwards of 2. On a typical day utilizing GPS and GLONASS satellites you can expect a DOP from .6 to .8, with the odd spike over 1. If consistency and reliability are a priority for your farm, talk to your Mazergroup precision farming consultant about how you can add GLONASS corrections to your signal.
What options do I have for better accuracy signals?
Currently, most of our clientele run on WAAS. It’s free and for the majority of applications, the accuracy is sufficient. This signal is used primarily for guidance of jets and planes in North America, so to the best of our knowledge, it isn’t going anywhere. That being said, we are seeing an increasing trend away from WAAS to higher accuracy signals.
Just as farming practices have changed and evolved in the past decades, GPS systems are doing a very different role than they started with. If your system is shutting off your sprayer to minimize waste, or controlling costly inputs with variable rate systems, do you really want to second guess your signal? Is your initial headland where it’s supposed to be, or did it drift in the 5 hours since you were last there? You normally have one shank overlapping on your drill; did your WAAS signal just jump making an 8 inch skip?
A more precise signal during seeding can eliminate skips, excessive overlaps, and position jumps, giving you a consistent field of straight crop. Putting that signal into a sprayer will let you make pass after pass in crop, following the same line, minimizing crop damage and lost yield potential. Keeping a full header on the swather gives you a much nicer, more consistent swath, and that feeds through the combine more easily. Hook that signal into a yield monitor and now you have the yield maps to help you track down problem spots, reveal optimal locations in your field, and help you increase your bottom line.
While there are too many options available to easily sum up, we have prepared this helpful guideline. It outlines a handful of your signal options to benefit your operation, and is a great reference to use while talking to your Mazergroup precision farming consultant.
If you have a question for our precision farming team, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
