This weekend marked the end of planting for 2009 for me, so I thought I would take a minute to recap thoughts and experiences of the testing I have been doing this spring on the Iowa DOT network as a RTK differential source for my GPS. Here is a quick recap of my equipment and results:
I have an EZ Guide 500 lightbar which is cabled to a cellular modem. This allows me to access the internet, which is then pointed to the IP address for the Iowa DOT servers that are feeding the information from their RTK Network. This EZ Guide 500 is running my autopilot on my tractor.
This leaves a lot of pieces in the puzzle, so testing and troubleshooting of this system has proven extremely difficult. Early on, I was having problems with cell phone reception (I thought) and would lose connection to the server. I have been through several different upgrades via different firmware, different settings, etc., and still didn't get the problems I was seeing to completely go away, although they lessened in frequency. There have also been the problems of network outage from the DOT itself, which brings on a whole different level of problems.
This weekend things were off to a pretty good start, but I was still losing connections from time to time. I had a great conversation with one of my friends Saturday evening, who I won't name but would encourage him to post his experiences in the comments of this blog, that also ran a similar setup this spring. We came to the mutual agreement that the network would just "quit" broadcasting information from time to time. The reasoning for this opinion ( I can't specifically verify what was happening each time) is for several reasons, but on my unit it would remain with a good cell signal and connected and logged into the server, but would drop out of RTK Fixed on the lightbar.
At the end of the day, I think this is great technology, but still has some bugs to be worked out. I have seen the progress over the season this year, and if it continues we could have something quite good on our hands in a short time. My opinion as of now is that the DOT still has some work to do on their network. I also believe that anyone trying to use this technology would be somewhat frustrated, as it hasn't proven to be reliable yet.
Feel free to post comments, questions, suggestions, or your personal experiences here!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Rain and Technology
Depending on the area of the country you are in, you may be somewhere between finished with planting and still trying to put on NH3. It has been an interesting spring, with weather holding up things in some places, and others having near perfect conditions. For those of you that have been following my blog for a while, you know I have been testing some new technology hooking my autopilot to the Iowa DOT RTK network. This is done with a cellular connection to my tractor which then logs into a specific IP address provided by the Iowa DOT and gets network RTK correction messages. Through many different firmware updates, I believe we are getting somewhere. I had posted a while back from my mobile phone about a field I was in and couldn't get any cell phone signal, thinking that was the problem and wasn't able to get corrections.
Although this is a very big problem in some fields and the question still remains as to what you do in these areas, I don't think that my initial observation was completely correct. I made it back to the same field where I was previously having some problems, this time to plant soybeans. With no bars of signal to one bar, I was able to maintain RTK fixed. This was a great improvement over what I have previously seen from this same unit. This is a tough field to get reception in, and I was very impressed that I could get the unit to work at all here.
As of right now, I am rained out with a few hundred acres of soybeans left to plant. I will keep everyone updated as I get to test this technology more.
Although this is a very big problem in some fields and the question still remains as to what you do in these areas, I don't think that my initial observation was completely correct. I made it back to the same field where I was previously having some problems, this time to plant soybeans. With no bars of signal to one bar, I was able to maintain RTK fixed. This was a great improvement over what I have previously seen from this same unit. This is a tough field to get reception in, and I was very impressed that I could get the unit to work at all here.
As of right now, I am rained out with a few hundred acres of soybeans left to plant. I will keep everyone updated as I get to test this technology more.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Mild Solar Storm Season Predicted
I thought this was a pretty interesting article... Brings up some concerning possibilities.
Mild Solar Storm Season Predicted
Although its peak is still four years away, a new active period of Earth-threatening solar storms will be the weakest since 1928, predicts an international panel of experts led by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and funded by NASA. Despite the prediction, Earth is still vulnerable to a severe solar storm.
Solar storms are eruptions of energy and matter that escape from the sun and may head toward Earth, where even a weak storm can damage satellites and power grids, disrupting communications, the electric power supply and GPS. A single strong blast of “solar wind” can threaten national security, transportation, financial services and other essential functions.
The panel predicts the upcoming Solar Cycle 24 will peak in May 2013 with 90 sunspots per day on average. If the prediction proves true, Solar Cycle 24 will be the weakest cycle since number 16, which peaked at 78 daily sunspots in 1928, and ninth weakest since the 1750s, when numbered cycles began.
The most common measure of a solar cycle’s intensity is the number of sunspots—Earth-sized blotches on the sun marking areas of heightened magnetic activity. The more sunspots there are, the more likely it is that solar storms will occur, but a major storm can occur at any time.
“As with hurricanes, whether a cycle is active or weak refers to the number of storms, but everyone needs to remember it only takes one powerful storm to cause huge problems,” said NOAA scientist Doug Biesecker, who chairs the panel. “The strongest solar storm on record occurred in 1859 during another below-average cycle.”
The 1859 storm shorted out telegraph wires, causing fires in North America and Europe, sent readings of Earth’s magnetic field soaring, and produced northern lights so bright that people read newspapers by their light.
A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a storm that severe occurred today, it could cause $1-2 trillion in damages the first year and require four to 10 years for recovery, compared to $80-125 billion that resulted from Hurricane Katrina.
The panel also predicted that the lowest sunspot number between cycles — or solar minimum — occurred in December 2008, marking the end of Cycle 23 and the start of Cycle 24. If the December prediction holds up, at 12 years and seven months Solar Cycle 23 will be the longest since 1823 and the third longest since 1755. Solar cycles span 11 years on average, from minimum to minimum.
An unusually long, deep lull in sunspots led the panel to revise its 2007 prediction that the next cycle of solar storms would start in March 2008 and peak in late 2011 or mid-2012. The persistence of a quiet sun also led the panel to a consensus that the next cycle will be “moderately weak.”
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is the nation’s first alert of solar activity and its effects on Earth. The Center’s space weather experts issue outlooks for the next 11-year solar cycle and warn of storms occurring on the Sun that could impact Earth. SWPC is also the world warning agency for the International Space Environment Service, a consortium of 12 member nations.
As the world economy becomes more reliant on satellite-based communications and interlinked power grids, interest in solar activity has grown dramatically. In 2008 alone, SWPC acquired 1,700 new subscription customers for warnings, alerts, reports, and other products. Among the new customers are emergency managers, airlines, state transportation departments, oil companies, and nuclear power stations. SWPC’s customers reside in 150 countries.
“Our customer growth reflects today’s reality that all sectors of society are highly dependent on advanced, space-based technologies,” said SWPC director Tom Bogdan. “Today every hiccup from the sun aimed at Earth has potential consequences.”
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
Mild Solar Storm Season Predicted
Although its peak is still four years away, a new active period of Earth-threatening solar storms will be the weakest since 1928, predicts an international panel of experts led by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and funded by NASA. Despite the prediction, Earth is still vulnerable to a severe solar storm.
Solar storms are eruptions of energy and matter that escape from the sun and may head toward Earth, where even a weak storm can damage satellites and power grids, disrupting communications, the electric power supply and GPS. A single strong blast of “solar wind” can threaten national security, transportation, financial services and other essential functions.
The panel predicts the upcoming Solar Cycle 24 will peak in May 2013 with 90 sunspots per day on average. If the prediction proves true, Solar Cycle 24 will be the weakest cycle since number 16, which peaked at 78 daily sunspots in 1928, and ninth weakest since the 1750s, when numbered cycles began.
The most common measure of a solar cycle’s intensity is the number of sunspots—Earth-sized blotches on the sun marking areas of heightened magnetic activity. The more sunspots there are, the more likely it is that solar storms will occur, but a major storm can occur at any time.
“As with hurricanes, whether a cycle is active or weak refers to the number of storms, but everyone needs to remember it only takes one powerful storm to cause huge problems,” said NOAA scientist Doug Biesecker, who chairs the panel. “The strongest solar storm on record occurred in 1859 during another below-average cycle.”
The 1859 storm shorted out telegraph wires, causing fires in North America and Europe, sent readings of Earth’s magnetic field soaring, and produced northern lights so bright that people read newspapers by their light.
A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a storm that severe occurred today, it could cause $1-2 trillion in damages the first year and require four to 10 years for recovery, compared to $80-125 billion that resulted from Hurricane Katrina.
The panel also predicted that the lowest sunspot number between cycles — or solar minimum — occurred in December 2008, marking the end of Cycle 23 and the start of Cycle 24. If the December prediction holds up, at 12 years and seven months Solar Cycle 23 will be the longest since 1823 and the third longest since 1755. Solar cycles span 11 years on average, from minimum to minimum.
An unusually long, deep lull in sunspots led the panel to revise its 2007 prediction that the next cycle of solar storms would start in March 2008 and peak in late 2011 or mid-2012. The persistence of a quiet sun also led the panel to a consensus that the next cycle will be “moderately weak.”
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is the nation’s first alert of solar activity and its effects on Earth. The Center’s space weather experts issue outlooks for the next 11-year solar cycle and warn of storms occurring on the Sun that could impact Earth. SWPC is also the world warning agency for the International Space Environment Service, a consortium of 12 member nations.
As the world economy becomes more reliant on satellite-based communications and interlinked power grids, interest in solar activity has grown dramatically. In 2008 alone, SWPC acquired 1,700 new subscription customers for warnings, alerts, reports, and other products. Among the new customers are emergency managers, airlines, state transportation departments, oil companies, and nuclear power stations. SWPC’s customers reside in 150 countries.
“Our customer growth reflects today’s reality that all sectors of society are highly dependent on advanced, space-based technologies,” said SWPC director Tom Bogdan. “Today every hiccup from the sun aimed at Earth has potential consequences.”
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
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