Most guidance work still starts with a machine doing something that produces nothing. The tractor drives the first pass to set the line, or circles the headland so the terminal can work out the boundary. That is fuel burned, hours spent and, on wet ground, a compacted wheel track through a field that has not been planted yet. Our DT-1 Smart Marker moves that job off the machine and into the operator's hand.
The DT-1 is a portable GNSS receiver with the antenna, processing card and Bluetooth module in one small body, accurate to within 2.5 cm and operated with a single button. It pairs over Bluetooth with CHCNAV FarmMaster software on an Android phone or a PC, and everything it records goes to the cloud, ready for a steering terminal to pick up.
Setting the AB Line Without Driving the Tractor
Walk to the two points that define the line, press the button at each, and the AB line exists. No empty run, no fuel burned setting up, and no wheel track pressed into ground that is about to be sown. The first pass the machine makes is a working pass. The line is then stored rather than recreated, so the same one can be reused next season and shared with every other machine that works the block, which matters most to contractors and larger operations running several tractors on the same fields.
Left: CHCNAV DT-1 Smart Marker used on foot to record guidance lines, field boundaries, and landmarks for sharing with CHCNAV steering systems. Right: Setting up AB lines with the DT-1 in CHCNAV FarmMaster software.
Measuring the Field, Before or During the Job
The same walk gives you the field boundary and the area inside it. Area can be captured two ways: walk the perimeter before work starts, or let the area build up as the machine covers the ground. For contract work, an agreed figure recorded by the device is a better basis for a tillage or harvest invoice than an estimate from a map, and it settles most of the arguments about how much ground was actually worked before they start.
Left: Measuring field acreage with the DT-1 Smart Marker in CHCNAV FarmMaster software using the Land Area Measurement (tractor-based) and On-the-Go Acre Measurement (on-foot) functions. Right: Marking field landmarks with the DT-1 Smart Marker in CHCNAV FarmMaster software, including water outlets, pest locations, and disease-affected areas.
Marking Hydrants, Rocks and Problem Patches
Anything worth finding again can be recorded as a landmark: a field hydrant, a rock, a soft spot, a drain cover, or a patch where pests or disease showed up. Marking them on foot is more precise than marking them from a moving cab, and the position can be navigated back to later. A patch flagged during scouting becomes a target the sprayer can find, and an obstacle recorded once stops being something every new operator has to be warned about.
Recorded Once, Shared Across the Fleet
Lines, boundaries and landmarks are held in the cloud through FarmMaster software and shared with CHCNAV automatic steering systems, so work recorded on one machine is available to the rest. A field mapped by whoever got there first is ready for the NX612 automated steering system on the next tractor into the gate, and nothing is lost when a terminal is swapped or a phone is replaced. It fits alongside the rest of our precision agriculture solutions, and for anyone still weighing up what satellite positioning changes on a farm, our guide to how GPS is used in agriculture and our review of tractor guidance system brands are the places to start.
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About CHC Navigation
CHC Navigation (CHCNAV) develops advanced mapping, navigation, and positioning solutions designed to increase productivity and efficiency. Serving industries such as geospatial, agriculture, machine control and autonomy, CHCNAV delivers innovative technologies that empower professionals and drive industry advancement. With a global presence spanning over 140 countries and a team of more than 2,200 professionals, CHC Navigation is recognized as a leader in the geospatial industry and beyond. For more information about CHC Navigation [300627.SZ], please visit: https://agriculture.chcnav.com/about/overview
