GNSS GPS Systems
We’ve been setting up tile plows & working with GPS systems for a long time, and learned some important lessons along the way. If you take nothing else from this page, please listen to the following advice:
value for money
Outback A320/321 RTK System
Simple operation. Excellent performance. GLONASS enabled. Outstanding value. Our recommended system for farmers needing RTK accuracy for drainage and non-OEM guidance applications. We sell a lot of these systems to farmers because it’s often cheaper than the required updates and unlock codes required to upgrade existing OEM GPS to RTK. Simply setup the base station on the included tripod, connect to the included 12v battery, and after 3 button presses you’re RTK-ready in a few minutes. Of all the systems we’ve ever setup and sold, this is the one we’ve had the fewest issues with – it’s also the lowest cost. Hence it’s the one we sell the most of hands down!
You should buy this system if…
- You are ready to start running RTK for surface or tile drainage, and would also like to use it for steering with non-OEM guidance systems, AND/OR
- You are happy with the accuracy of your current GPS system for guidance and are just looking for the best value RTK system for grade control, AND/OR
- The price tag to purchase the unlocks needed to upgrade your OEM GPS to RTK nearly gave you a heart attack
- You don’t plan on using the system for surveys that require a hand-held & pole-mounted GPS receiver
Ease of Setup & operation
Performance for drainage installation
Suitability for land survey
Radio Range
Usefulness for other farming operations
value for money
Hemisphere S321 GNSS Survey System
The newest GNSS antenna from Hemisphere, the S321 is one of the best units available today. Feature-packed, it takes survey grade accuracy and functionality to a new level, and it’s intuitive user interface makes it much simpler to setup and operate than any other survey receiver we’ve ever used. Utilizing the latest Athena GNSS engine, the S321 converges to RTK fix in a matter of seconds, works extremely well in tough conditions such as near trees and buildings, and offers class-leading performance over long baselines – even up to 50km on our CORS network we’ve experienced 2″ or better repeatable accuracy and very fast convergence times. The S321 is Atlas capable, and comes with a 6 month free trial of Atlas. It also includes a high quality cellular modem with external cellular antenna to reliably receive corrections over CORS networks even when cell coverage is poor, and built-in NTRIP server functionality means it can be easily configured as a network base.
You should buy this system if…
- You need an RTK system that provides class-leading survey accuracy without the pricetag of other brands
- You plan to use it for surveying and machine grade control
- You’d like the ability to tie in your surveys to known benchmarks or use reference networks when required
Ease of Setup & operation
Performance for drainage installation
Suitability for land survey
Radio Range
Usefulness for other farming operations
value for money
Test of the Hemisphere GNSS AtlasLink™ Receiver for Precision Farming https://t.co/fm1N7F8qNp via @tiledrainage
— Northern Plains (@tiledrainage) September 24, 2015
ATLASLINK™ GNSS SMART ANTENNA
Firstly we should point out that this isn’t an RTK receiver and currently we aren’t suggesting you use it to install tile drainage (though it’s on our radar to test the theory on fields with plenty of natural slope!). It’s a new offering from Hemisphere GNSS that brings survey-grade precision to precision agriculture via the Atlas™ Global Correction Service. Atlas offers further improved accuracy when compared to other subscription-based corrections currently used in agricultural applications. In fact, in our tests we found it very comparable to RTK for surface grading and equipment guidance and steering, often seeing 2cm accuracy.
The trade-off to achieve this kind of accuracy without RTK is a longer convergence time. Convergence time refers to the time the receiver is calculating it’s position before it is ready to operate. Typically on our test unit, convergence took 10 – 20 minutes after powering on the receiver. In other words, you have to wait 10-20 minutes before using it.
We’ve developed a custom Bluetooth power/data cable for the AtlasLink receiver (retails for CA$495) meaning you can now use the Atlas to log elevations wirelessly using an Android device or PC – contact us for details.
The Atlas correction service provides accuracy that equals or exceeds other competitive systems such as RTX and TerraStar, at a much lower cost for both hardware and subscriptions. In fact, the AtlasLink even comes with a free 12 month subscription!
You should buy this system if…
- You want the most accurate GPS for surface drainage and non-OEM steering applications but don’t want to buy RTK
- You don’t mind waiting 15-20 minutes for the receiver to converge