in auto off mode: turning on/off the sections by the original section switches and marking the status in AOG.
in auto on mode: AOG can turn on/off the sections by relays.
in auto on mode: If a section is turned off by AOG, it is possible to oversteer manually. You can then turn the section on by the original hardware section switch, this will marked in AOG.
if a relay or something will be damaged then unplugg the board, and sprayer will work as before.
Thanks for the help, I got. From Matthias Hammer, then I stole arduino code from Brian (from the usb-machineControl-ino), and thanks for the tips I got from some guys in the “Arduino für Landwirte” and “AGOpenGPS Nutzer” telegram groups.
Maybe somebody find it interesting or can need it or want to improve it or get some inspiration.
It is a project in progress and it did no real work, yet!
Meanwhile I did some spraying work. It works very well. I didn’t recognized any problems so far. It was really cool. The steering arduino let the tractor go really straight ahead and the section arduino turned sections on/off, everything managed by AOG.
But there are two things that could be made better. First: The position of “mainSwitch” of the sprayer is not known. If automatik mode is on and I manual turn off the MainSwitch, spraying is off, but AOG don’t know it. So marking area in AOG and real spraying area are different. This has to be modified in future. The second is the thing in AOG when driving backwards.
What needs to be changed in AOG when moving backwards?
What kind of voltages are on the sprayer’s switches? Are they 12V, or are the some kind of logic-level 5v signal (shorting to ground when on perhaps)? Either way it is probably possible measure that with arduino, perhaps using an optocoupler to isolate the arduino from the built-in electronics.
When moving backwards in AOG, e.g., to start from the corner of the field, the map and the tractor are turning in AOG and the sprayer is totally at wrong place. Section control then is not usable. You can spray in manual mode but maping still is wrong till you driving forward a few meters and all rotates towards the right place.
See picture below. There where is double “painted”, I was moving backwards because I missed the tramline and had to correct.
How to solve? Maybe manipulating the heading with 180° in this case, no idea. I guess it is tougher then this.
Interesting. When AOG first starts, it’s unsure of where the tool actually is, so it should default to 180 degrees from the heading. But after that if you back up, the toolbar should be pushed back like a real trailer would, although it would probably jack knife differently than in real life. Maybe a quick button to force the toolbar to be straight back from the tractor, and a button to quickly reverse the heading, would do the trick for you.
In the Data Source form, Fix tab, you can set how far the distance is between fixes to calculate heading. Try setting it low enough (0.2m) but also stays within the drift limit of the gps. If you are using RTK, you can make that distance pretty small. It will react much faster
Why not working with a “reverse-contact” witch is activated, when you are driving backwards?
This could be done with an input on the arduino. Possible?
