Jim Facemire, Edinburgh, acquired his first self-propelled sprayer this year. He had used a state-of-the-art pull-behind sprayer in the past.
The 2008 John Deere 4830 has all kinds of bells and whistles, but one thing it didn't have were cameras to get better views of what was going on behind him, either in the field or on the road.
While in the field there are monitors and alarms that will let him know if there is a major problem. He has auto-boom control, auto-steer and automatic shut-off, with nozzles on the 100-foot boom divided into seven sections.
What the bells and whistles don't do is let him see for sure what's happening behind him. There is a mirror mounted low in front of the right cab that lets him see under the sprayer, but it's not a replacement for a clear view of all that's going on as he makes a pass through the field or drives down the road.
To correct that situation, Facemire installed a camera that sits on the right-side of the cab. He can reach the controls easily, and it doesn't protrude into the open cab space.
"I monitor what's going on behind me when I'm in the field, but it's a real plus on the road," he says. "Otherwise it's fairly difficult to see what's coming up behind you."
Since he has more than one camera mounted on the sprayer, he can switch views on the monitor screen in the cab easily. Normally while spraying he has it on the full rear view so he can see what's happening across the boom width.
If he wants to see what's happening directly underneath the sprayer and in the center sections of the boom, he can switch to a view from that camera. Switching back and forth is easy, and gives him visual sight, so he's not just relying on monitors and alarms to tell him everything is working properly.
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