Yara N-Sensor Manuale utente

Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

OPERATION MANUAL

for the

Yara N-Sensor

Software release 3.10

Last revised: 28.01.2009 14:39 Page 1 of 64

Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

Table of contents

Table of contents .............................................................................................................................. 2

Preface.............................................................................................................................................. 3

Safety notes...................................................................................................................................... 3

1General issues........................................................................................................................... 4

1.1 Scope of this document...................................................................................................... 4

1.2 Prerequisites....................................................................................................................... 4

2System operation....................................................................................................................... 5

2.1 Screen layout...................................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Buttons and menus............................................................................................................. 5

2.3 The work screen................................................................................................................. 7

2.4 Alarms and warnings........................................................................................................ 12

2.5 Main menu........................................................................................................................ 15

3Setting up the System.............................................................................................................. 16

3.1 Application device submenu............................................................................................. 16

3.2 N-Sensor submenu........................................................................................................... 17

3.3 System menu.................................................................................................................... 18

4Task management................................................................................................................... 23

4.1 Batch processing.............................................................................................................. 25

5Operation Modes..................................................................................................................... 28

5.1 Base application............................................................................................................... 30

5.2 N-Application.................................................................................................................... 33

5.3 Target rate application...................................................................................................... 40

5.4 Potato haulm killing .......................................................................................................... 44

6Using raster maps (prescription maps).................................................................................... 52

6.1 Select the application mode ............................................................................................. 52

6.2 Linking raster maps to tasks............................................................................................. 53

6.3 Apply fertilizer (or other products) from the map .............................................................. 54

7Task management on the office PC ........................................................................................ 56

7.1 Data retrieval and batch processing................................................................................. 56

7.2 Task preparation............................................................................................................... 57

8Using task specific presets...................................................................................................... 61

8.1 Enabling the task specific presets feature........................................................................ 61

8.2 Task preparation............................................................................................................... 62

8.3 Operating the N-Sensor with task presets........................................................................ 63

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Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

Preface

The Yara N-Sensor is a responsible and carefully developed tool for

the detection of in-field variability in agricultural crops and variable

rate application of farm inputs on-the-go. Because of the multitude of

crops, grown in different production systems, on various soils, and

under countless climatic conditions, Yara disclaims all warranties, ex-

press or implied, as to the accuracy of the information gathered by

the tool and takes no liability for management decisions based on this

information. When using the Yara N-Sensor and its related software

modules the user accepts that he will take full responsibility for agro-

nomic decisions.

We carefully select the materials and components used in the pro-

duction process of the Yara N-Sensor. Therefore, we cannot accept

any liability for any damages to Yara N-Sensors and other objects of

legal protection caused by the use of accessories and spare parts not

delivered by Yara. Neither can Yara take over any liability for im-

proper use and application of the Yara N-Sensor, nor for any proce-

dures not described in this manual.

We have a policy of constant product improvement and reserve the

right to discontinue or to modify product specifications, models or de-

signs without previous notice.

Safety notes

A proper utilisation and a trouble-free operation are only possible in

case of a competent and specialised installation. A faulty installation,

any system modifications, as well as the use of accessories and

spare parts not delivered by Yara, can lead to malfunctions and

cause damages to the Yara N-Sensor as well as personal and prop-

erty damage; Yara does not take over any liability for these damages.

Any person responsible for the operation, must observe the safety

regulations. This has to be assured by the operator of the Yara N-

Sensor for every single case.

Furthermore, the operator must assure that all safety regulations for

add-on parts or peripheral parts, which do not belong to the Yara N-

Sensor, are known to the persons responsible for the operation.

Arbitrary modifications at the Yara N-Sensor are not allowed due to

safety reasons. A non-observance of this results in a loss of any war-

ranty claims and may lead to unpredictable dangers for persons or

properties. In case of repair procedures, only original parts of the

manufacturer must be used.

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Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

1 General issues

1.1 Scope of this document

This manual describes the operation of the N-Sensor software. It does not cover hard-

ware nor software installation issues. If there are questions regarding installation

please contact your local service partner.

As the software handles various platforms (terminals, operating systems, GPS receiv-

ers, variable-rate controllers) there may be various platform- or device-specific issues.

Contact your local service partner for support.

1.2 Prerequisites

To successfully operate the N-Sensor, make sure that the following hardware and

software has been set-up properly:

• N-Sensor mounted on the vehicle and connected to power supply

• GPS receiver mounted on the vehicle and connected to power supply

• Variable-rate controller mounted in the cabin, connected to power supply and

fertilizer distributor

• Terminal computer (Panel PC) mounted in the cabin and connected to power

supply

• N-Sensor, GPS and variable-rate controller connected to the terminal computer

• N-Sensor software installed and pre-configured on the terminal computer

• N-Sensor internally calibrated

• (optional) CardWriter software installed on the office PC

• (optional) Internet connection on the office PC

• (optional) Internet connection on the in-cab terminal computer

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Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

2 System operation

2.1 Screen layout

Depending on the screen layout (portrait or landscape) and resolution the layout of the

menus and screens looks slightly different, but the functionality is all the same.

Work screen and agronomic calibration menu in portrait format:

The same work screen and agronomic calibration menu in landscape format:

For clarity, all screenshots in this manual are shown in landscape format.

2.2 Buttons and menus

Generally, the menu structure and the size of the buttons is designed to do the stan-

dard N-Sensor operation by touching the screen with bare fingertips, even on small

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Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

displays. A pen is only required for more sophisticated settings that are usually made

only once and left untouched afterwards.

In menus, list items can be selected by successively pressing the menu key several

times until the desired setting appears on the menu button:

Numeric entries are edited by pressing the menu button. A numeric keypad will pop up

to enter a number:

Pressing OK replaces the old setting with the new number. ESC will dismiss the new

value and keep the old setting. The Cbutton clears the number that has been entered

so far.

Text fields have to be filled by touching the text field first and then using the keyboard

to enter the text.

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Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

If no hardware keyboard is available and depending on the individual set-up, an alpha-

numeric software keyboard pops up if the text field is touched:

Pressing OK overwrites the old setting with the new text. ESC dismisses the new text

and keeps the old setting. To clear the whole line, press CLR. The << button clears the

last character that has been entered.

Capital letters can be accessed through the ABC button. Language-specific characters

are entered through the ÄÉǛbutton.

2.3 The work screen

When the N-Sensor program is started, it will first display the work screen. This screen

contains all relevant information that is required for successful operation of the N-

Sensor. Depending on the selected operation mode (see section 5), the work screen

may look slightly different from what is shown below, but the general structure will be

the same.

Operation

mode title

Current

application

rate

Status

icons

Task

Information Main

Start/stop

status Start/Stop

button

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Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

In particular, the work screen displays:

Operation mode title: The current operation mode is displayed as menu header. For

standard N-Sensor operation, make sure N-Application is selected. Refer to section

3.2 to change between operation modes.

Operation mode icon: A logo is displayed dependent on the selected operation mode.

Refer to section 3.2 to change between operation modes.

Current application rate: The application rate that is currently being calculated from

the sensor reading and/or the prescription map. This rate will be sent to the

spreader controller and will be logged in the N-Sensor log-file as soon as the Start

button is pressed. Be aware that the rate unit may depend on the operation mode.

For standard N-Sensor operation the rate is always displayed in kg nitrogen per

ha, whereas the spreader controller receives and displays a product rate.

Status icons: Status icons are arranged on the left side of the work screen. They pro-

vide information about GPS, N-Sensor connection, irradiance conditions, crop

density and prescription maps. Generally, if no icon is displayed the system is run-

ning properly. For a more detailed description, see section 2.3.1.

Start/Stop button:. By pressing the Start button on the main menu bar you can toggle

between active and non-active mode. Only in active mode rates are transmitted to

the fertilizer distributor and logged to the N-Sensor log-file. If a padlock is dis-

played, the system requires a proper software license code for unlocking. Contact

your local service partner in this case. See section 2.3.2 for further information.

Task information: The task information line displays the current task number together

with the name of the field associated to this task.

2.3.1 Status icons

No GPS connection: The connection to the GPS receiver is lost. Ei-

ther the receiver itself is not working properly or the connection itself

is faulty.

If the Reconnect manually option (see section 3.3) is checked, the con-

nection needs to be re-established manually by touching the GPS

icon. Otherwise the GPS will be reconnected automatically as soon

as it is available.

No GPS signal available: The GPS receiver is still connected, but it

cannot process valid positioning information. Probably the receiver is

shaded from the satellites by buildings, trees or the vehicle itself.

In case no GPS signal is available, the system will continue to work

normally, but it will be impossible to process a map of the respective

part of the field. Furthermore, if prescription maps are used, default

rates are applied depending on the application mode.

No N-Sensor signal available: The connection to the N-Sensor is

lost. Either the N-Sensor is not working properly or the connection it-

self is faulty. Probably the N-Sensor is not powered properly. The N-

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Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

Sensor will be reconnected automatically as soon as it is available

again.

If activated, the system will apply the uniform rate predefined in the

Agronomic calibration menu.

Bad N-Sensor data: The N-Sensor is physically connected, but no

valid N-Sensor data can be processed. If this icon appears for more

than two seconds, contact your local service personnel. It is normal if

it shows up for one second from time to time during operation.

Simulation mode: The N-Sensor runs in simulation mode. In this

mode, the N-Sensor program can be run without a real N-Sensor

connected. However, no usable sensor readings are available. In ad-

dition, application rates from prescription maps (raster maps) are ig-

nored. This mode is mainly intended for demonstration and testing

purposes. No real application must be done with this icon on the work

screen!

To disable the simulation mode and return to normal N-Sensor opera-

tion, contact your local service personnel.

Low light level: For passive N-Sensors, the actual irradiance is too

low to receive a suitable signal from the N-Sensor optics. As soon as

irradiance conditions improve, the icon will disappear automatically.

For active N-Sensors, this icon indicates that a too low amount of arti-

ficial light is reflected into the N-Sensor optics. A reason for this may

be dirty optics or that the distance between the sensor heads and the

crop canopy is too high.

In any case the system will switch to the uniform rate predefined in

the Agronomic calibration menu.

Sensors over-modulated: (active N-Sensor only) Too much light is

reflected into the N-Sensor optics. Usually this icon appears because

the distance between the sensor head and the crop canopy is too

short.

The system will switch to the uniform rate predefined in the Agronomic

calibration menu.

Low solar elevation: (passive N-Sensor only) The current solar ele-

vation is below 25° above the horizon. As long as enough light is

available, the system continues to work, but accuracy may be re-

duced and recommended rates may drift over time. It is strongly rec-

ommended to finish N-Sensor work as soon as possible.

Low crop density: The current N-Sensor reading is below the preset

biomass cutoff value (see section 5.1). As obviously other factors

than nitrogen affect the crop growth in this area, the application rate

is reduced. In the extreme cases only the minimum rate may be ap-

plied.

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Yara N-Sensor V3.10 Operation Manual

For proper operation, this symbol should appear only on a small frac-

tion of the whole area. If it displays regularly (i. e. on more than 10%

of the field area), the selected Growth stage or the Biomass cutoff set-

ting may be wrong.

Uniform rate: The N-Sensor is currently applying a uniform applica-

tion rate either because the Uniform button has been pressed in the

work screen or because of an error condition which forced the system

to apply uniformly. Press Sensor again on the work screen to return to

sensor-controlled application.

Raster map: A raster map (prescription map) is available and the ve-

hicle position is within the map borders. The selected application

mode determines whether and how the rates are interpreted: not at

all, as offset map, as overlay map or as application map (see section

3.2 for further details).

The symbol shows an excerpt of the map with the current GPS posi-

tion marked with a red crosshair. As the vehicle is moving, the map

moves beyond the crosshair and the rate changes accordingly.

Unless the selected application mode (see section 3.2) does not

make use of map data, the map rate is displayed on top of the icon in

addition.

This symbol is only displayed if a raster map has been assigned to

the current task and the GPS position is within the map.

Sprayer warning: (Potato haulm killing operation mode only) The

current recommended application rate is too low for the sprayer to

adapt accordingly. If possible, increase the speed of the vehicle.

2.3.2 Start/Stop button

Start: Press the Start button to start the variable-rate application. Ap-

plication rates are continuously transmitted to the controller and data

is logged. The green moving indicator (see below) appears.

Stop: Press Stop to stop the variable-rate application. The system

stops sending rates to the controller and it stops logging data. The

red indicator bar appears (see below).

Padlock: The padlock indicates that the system does not have a

valid license. It cannot be started until a valid license code has been

entered. To enter the code, touch the padlock or select License in the

N-Sensor menu (see section 3.2). The 8-digit license code can be ob-

tained from the local service partner.

2.3.3 Start/Stop symbols

Red indicator bar: The system is currently not activated. In this

mode, the N-Sensor does not communicate with the fertilizer distribu-

Last revised: 28.01.2009 14:39 Page 10 of 64

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