Winter is here, time to start preparing for next years planting.
One of the things i know that i want to have working for next year, are hardware nudge buttons. (mostly used while cultivating) These would be two push buttons or a SPDT toggle switch in a Momentary-Off-Momentary configuration. Just like the hardware button that turns autosteer on and off, these buttons would nudge left and right. (the toggle switch would nudge left on one side and right on the other.)
Ampseal pins 11, 12, and 13 are already wired to teensy pin A12, A13, and A14. Could a guy write some code and switch these pins high or low to nudge the software left or right?
I am not going to get the time to figure out how to write this code myself, but i would be glad to contribute to this Excellent software by paying someone else to write the code and figure this out. I am guessing that it would not be a hard code to write.
TERMS: You write some quality code to enable these nudge buttons for the agopengps software that works and is a part of the standard program (users just update their existing software). You and me come to an agreement on what you think it will cost, I pay you. Finer details we can hammer out.
Anyone else that wants this feature can also optionally chip in and vote with their Dollar.
Nudging left or right via a button is not the problem. Getting it into the main branch would be most difficult. Really has to be a useful feature for a large amount of people.
A different route may be to add a few customizable commands in AOG that can be controlled via a UDP input. Programming the customizable commands could be a nightmare due to the number of options.
If the Nudging is small and in a defined distance, it would be much easier to put the antenna on a left to right slider. Just send the antenna in the opposite direction of the Nudge. It would still map in a straight line. Aog would just think it drove off the line and correct itself. No coding in AOG.
I think such a feature would be quite useful, just as people already use hardware buttons to engage autosteer. People nudge with the GUI all the time, so it is something people use.
Not too keen on the idea of physically moving the GPS receiver around.
I’d like to know more about the need for nudge buttons, specifically for cultivation work. I assume this setup is already running on RTK, otherwise RTK would be the solution instead of nudge buttons/switches.
Is this because of a tool that wanders left and right instead of accurately following the tractor? If it is too much to be handled by overlap, perhaps better to wait for different tool steering solutions, either passive single antenna or dual antenna, not necessarily active tool steering if difficult to implement for the tool in question.
I did that this year while cultivating, the antenna was in front of me on the hood of an open station tractor, and i did move it around some as needed, but it was really not an ideal solution. far nicer to just put a switch under my fingers that i could toggle while looking forward or back or anywhere.
i guess that it would not have to be in the man branch, my idea was that this is a highly usefull feature for many people, and getting it into the main branch is a way i can contribute to the software.
That could work. i think the toggle is better, but if this is far easier, then it will certainly be an improvement over trying to tap buttons on a touchscreen that is bouncing around, sometimes hard to see, and no tactile response to know if you hit the button or not.
Glad you asked! yes, i am using RTK, Part of my use for nudge buttons is due to errors in my system that will get fixed. for example, the drawbar on the tractor that pulled the planter had 2" of side to side slop that randomly shifted throughout the field. (that is getting fixed with a hydraulic swing drawbar and tool steering, more about that in another thread in future.) another source of error was that my ackerman was probably not set perfect. but whatever the source of the error, the cultivator has zero forgiveness! i would like to get it set as close to the row as possible, and having a final L-R adjustment that i can use would be very helpful! my current alternative is to disengage autosteer, manually try to drive better, or move antenna, or attempt to tap a moving screen, all of which are less than ideal. Other organic farmers with commercial guidance systems talk about carving a piece of wood into a nice handle that they hold all day long and mounting switches on it so they can easily nudge their cultivators. It is all in pursuit of that last inch of accuracy no matter the situation.
I agree with you, A nudge button og something would be nice. Have RTK on the tractor but not on the 8 m wide planter. Sidedraft due to different soil (left/right) and sidehill makes about + - 15 cm from one end to the other. I am cultivating with camera controlled rowcultivator that can do + - 20 cm, but to get tractor between rows I use nudge buttons on screen (set at 5 cm) A button / toggle switch here would be helpfull.
Have also been thinking of another solution, where WAS output is changed when cultivator is adjusting itself out to the sides. My cultivator already have a WAS-type hall sensor to sense how far out it is, maybe I could use signal from that.
So on the hardware side, what would the “network UDP route” would look like? I am envisioning a box with an Ethernet plug, and probably a power plug. the box contains a circuit board that goes between and converts the Ethernet jack to the physical switches? This route enables the possibility of many physical switches, because it is not limited to a few unused pins on the Teensy?
if all that guessing is correct, this would definitely be a more flexible option, and would work, albeit seemingly more involved.
If we go the UDP/PGN option then the existing teensy can send the commands, like was mentioned earlier, use the extra amp pins (kind of why they are there). I think the best option would be to create a PGN for sending any keyboard shortcut, and if AOG has enough keyboard shortcuts then anyone can do what they want.
I played with the simulator this evening a bit, and in the simulator, there are lots of keyboard keys that control functions in the software. looks like “T” and “Y” control Left and Right nudge. if these same keys have the same function when in non Simulator mode, then is the coding is already done, just need to trigger keyboard keystrokes somehow?
This side of it is done. We are wanting to take this to another step and send the keys UDP.
For your project, a teensy or esp32 can be programed to act as a keyboard of sorts. Wire your switch in to the pins as a normal switch for these devices with the ino looking for a change of state for these pins. This could be a separate piece of hardware with your custom stick controller. Likely could hack a joystick to achieve the same thing.
A simpler solution is just a small programmable four key keyboard as suggested earlier.
