Hi guys,
So, I've been doing homework today on yield monitors for our combine. So far I've yet to find an obvious solution, so I wanted to know what other people thought. We're a small farm just starting to get into precision ag, but it's safe to assume that we'll get into it more in the future, so ideally we'd get a yield monitor that would be compatible with one of the major precision ag systems, ie. Ag Leader, which is the brand that I've seen many people recommend.
Here's the issue with that: Ag Leader's yield monitor uses an impact sensor at the top of the clean grain elevator to measure yield. The problem with that is, on our 9410, the back side of the clean grain elevator is wide open inside the tank, so when the tank is empty, most of the grain coming up the elevator doesn't get to the top, it just flows out the side of the elevator until that corner of the tank fills up enough to cover the opening. That means I don't think a yield monitor with an impact sensor at the top of the elevator will work, because every time you start harvesting after unloading completely, it will sense almost no yield at first because there won't be much grain coming up to the top of the elevator. That might only go on for a minute or two, but the monitor won't be accurate on how much is in the tank, field numbers will be off, mapping will be screwed up, etc. I know a 9410 is an uncommon machine, but I'm guessing that it wasn't the only model to have its elevator designed that way, so if 9510s and/or 9610s are the same, someone else must have run into this problem before me and know more than I do.
So I then went on to look at other brands of yield monitors, which I'll mention briefly just in case anyone has any thoughts. Two brands offered systems with electric eyes that sensed the amount of material traveling up the clean grain elevator. This seemed like a better solution for our combine because these sensors could be mounted pretty much anywhere on the elevator. One was FarmTRX, which offers a pretty simple looking system with yield and moisture sensors and a box that sends the data via bluetooth to your mobile device. It doesn't come with a screen; it's all in an app, but I could buy a cheap iPad and just leave it in the cab to run it. They offer yield mapping which does look nice, though it's subscription-based which is a little off-putting. The other one was Loup. I read a few posts where people were recommending Loup's older systems; this one looks decent, the screen looks like it shows a lot of useful information, and they offer mapping. The only downside is it's a different system than what we'd probably use on any of our other equipment. Lastly, I found a page on Loup's site for an ISOBUS yield monitor, designed to work with an Outback Rebel screen. I've looked at Outback's guidance systems before, and I like the look of them. If we decide to set a tractor up with autosteer Outback will be one of the companies I look at. The only problem so far is that they don't make a yield monitor, so when I saw this Loup one that was meant to work with Outback, that got my attention. Only problem is, that page seems hidden (I found it via Google), like the product is discontinued or something. I guess I'd have to contact them and ask. I know there are other brands as well. Didn't really take the time to look at Trimble. Maybe I'll do that later. Sorry for the long post haha.
So, I've been doing homework today on yield monitors for our combine. So far I've yet to find an obvious solution, so I wanted to know what other people thought. We're a small farm just starting to get into precision ag, but it's safe to assume that we'll get into it more in the future, so ideally we'd get a yield monitor that would be compatible with one of the major precision ag systems, ie. Ag Leader, which is the brand that I've seen many people recommend.
Here's the issue with that: Ag Leader's yield monitor uses an impact sensor at the top of the clean grain elevator to measure yield. The problem with that is, on our 9410, the back side of the clean grain elevator is wide open inside the tank, so when the tank is empty, most of the grain coming up the elevator doesn't get to the top, it just flows out the side of the elevator until that corner of the tank fills up enough to cover the opening. That means I don't think a yield monitor with an impact sensor at the top of the elevator will work, because every time you start harvesting after unloading completely, it will sense almost no yield at first because there won't be much grain coming up to the top of the elevator. That might only go on for a minute or two, but the monitor won't be accurate on how much is in the tank, field numbers will be off, mapping will be screwed up, etc. I know a 9410 is an uncommon machine, but I'm guessing that it wasn't the only model to have its elevator designed that way, so if 9510s and/or 9610s are the same, someone else must have run into this problem before me and know more than I do.
So I then went on to look at other brands of yield monitors, which I'll mention briefly just in case anyone has any thoughts. Two brands offered systems with electric eyes that sensed the amount of material traveling up the clean grain elevator. This seemed like a better solution for our combine because these sensors could be mounted pretty much anywhere on the elevator. One was FarmTRX, which offers a pretty simple looking system with yield and moisture sensors and a box that sends the data via bluetooth to your mobile device. It doesn't come with a screen; it's all in an app, but I could buy a cheap iPad and just leave it in the cab to run it. They offer yield mapping which does look nice, though it's subscription-based which is a little off-putting. The other one was Loup. I read a few posts where people were recommending Loup's older systems; this one looks decent, the screen looks like it shows a lot of useful information, and they offer mapping. The only downside is it's a different system than what we'd probably use on any of our other equipment. Lastly, I found a page on Loup's site for an ISOBUS yield monitor, designed to work with an Outback Rebel screen. I've looked at Outback's guidance systems before, and I like the look of them. If we decide to set a tractor up with autosteer Outback will be one of the companies I look at. The only problem so far is that they don't make a yield monitor, so when I saw this Loup one that was meant to work with Outback, that got my attention. Only problem is, that page seems hidden (I found it via Google), like the product is discontinued or something. I guess I'd have to contact them and ask. I know there are other brands as well. Didn't really take the time to look at Trimble. Maybe I'll do that later. Sorry for the long post haha.
