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Post by millring on Jan 7, 2020 9:24:06 GMT -5
I took all the computerized elements out of my van so that it could neither be commandeered against my will by some black-ops governmental agency driving me where I don't want to go, or some ruthless corporate entity extorting me for more money just to keep it running. To get around I simply removed all the floor boards.
Yabba Dabba Do.
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Post by dradtke on Jan 7, 2020 11:05:55 GMT -5
Sweet Allis Chalmers, I rode you so long
It feel like I'm glued to your wheel
Your rusty exhaust pipe it hums me a song
That sounds just as bad as I feel
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Post by dradtke on Jan 7, 2020 11:12:20 GMT -5
A secret about modern tractor cabs that even the dealers may not know, and the manufacturers won't admit. They're all built by the same company.
We had to buy an unbranded one for an exhibit (for the company that makes all the unbranded electronics that goes in every tractor cab) and it was quite a stealthy experience. We couldn't admit who we were, and the electronics firm found a friendly middleman who helped us on the sly.
You didn't hear this from me. It was red, though.
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Post by epaul on Jan 7, 2020 11:34:06 GMT -5
It should be borne in mind that stories of this sort (farmers going back to old tractors and the clamor for open software on John Deere equipment) are firmly in the "Man Bites Dog" category.
Older tractors can prove useful for certain tasks, but they are not nearly up to the task for serious tillage and planting operations. About all the venerable 4420 would be used for on any farm I am familiar with, large or small, would be for mowing ditches and powering a grain auger or water pump (without front-wheel assist, I wouldn't even use one for snowblowing).
As for the software issue, software of any type and any use can be a source of frustration and complaint, but not many of farmers I know are software engineers or adept at programing, they just want something that works and someone they can call to quickly fix it when it doesn't. And John Deere fills this desire better than anyone in the industry... by a moon shot. And in this regard, the Apple model is not just good for John Deere, it's good for 99.9% of the farm users and the local dealer repair dudes that go out on service calls.
The future is here. A modern tractor is a rolling computer, one that simultaneously communicates with satellites, the equipment it is pulling, and the farmer's laptop. It will steer itself and monitor and control the flow of seed and fertilizer, adjusting the rates of each depending on a field map stored in its memory that contains grid by grid information on that field's fertility and yield response to various inputs. Amazing. And efficiently and extremely productive.
And to ally any fearful imaginings, if North Korea should happen to blow our computer networks all to hell, the tractors still have steering wheels and there are default settings that, horror of horrors, allow it work as a regular old tractor pulling a regular old planter that gives the entire the field the same amount of fertilizer and seed and chemical whether it can make good use of it or not.
But, until that happens or doesn't happen, this new shit really works and it works incredibly well.
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Post by Village Idiot on Jan 7, 2020 12:36:07 GMT -5
At any rate dad always had a pair of pliers and a screwdriver in a pocket of his bib overalls. Those and a Crescent wrench were just about all the tools needed to fix the engine on that tractor. You forgot the baling wire. Pliers, a screwdriver or a Crescent wrench is useless if there is no baling wire. |
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Post by lar on Jan 7, 2020 14:43:41 GMT -5
At any rate dad always had a pair of pliers and a screwdriver in a pocket of his bib overalls. Those and a Crescent wrench were just about all the tools needed to fix the engine on that tractor. You forgot the baling wire. Pliers, a screwdriver or a Crescent wrench is useless if there is no baling wire. Damn! You're right. No duct tape in those days. |
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Post by drlj on Jan 7, 2020 15:09:03 GMT -5
At any rate dad always had a pair of pliers and a screwdriver in a pocket of his bib overalls. Those and a Crescent wrench were just about all the tools needed to fix the engine on that tractor. You forgot the baling wire. Pliers, a screwdriver or a Crescent wrench is useless if there is no baling wire. Always the farm boy. Baling wire has just as many uses as duct tape. Combine the two and you can harness the power of the universe. Well, Central Iowa anyway. |
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Post by dradtke on Jan 7, 2020 17:05:58 GMT -5
At any rate dad always had a pair of pliers and a screwdriver in a pocket of his bib overalls. Those and a Crescent wrench were just about all the tools needed to fix the engine on that tractor. You forgot the baling wire. Pliers, a screwdriver or a Crescent wrench is useless if there is no baling wire. The only thing I never saw baling wire used for was baling. All the thousands of bales I lifted had twine. |
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Post by Village Idiot on Jan 7, 2020 19:42:30 GMT -5
Yup. I never understood that either.
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Post by epaul on Jan 7, 2020 20:46:17 GMT -5
Baling twine began replacing baling wire in the early sixties and was in widespread use by the late sixties. (Wikipedia says it happened in the '70s, but they are wrong. Apparently no one is interested enough to correct it. Sad!) But, no doubt there were some wire machines were still in operation throughout the 70s. I'm glad I never encountered one.
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Post by TKennedy on Jan 7, 2020 21:54:32 GMT -5
My main tractor experience was working on a golf course grounds crew in the 60’s.
The course was built on the site of a WWII Army Air base and when the army pulled out in 1945 they left a lot of their stuff. We had two military 1943 Case tractors that ran great.
You had to crank start them but we used them all day every day pulling gang mowers. They would hit 40mph on pavement.
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Post by fauxmaha on Jan 8, 2020 9:11:35 GMT -5
At any rate dad always had a pair of pliers and a screwdriver in a pocket of his bib overalls. Those and a Crescent wrench were just about all the tools needed to fix the engine on that tractor. You forgot the baling wire. Pliers, a screwdriver or a Crescent wrench is useless if there is no baling wire. And a ViceGrip. Always a ViceGrip. |
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Post by fauxmaha on Jan 8, 2020 9:15:20 GMT -5
But, until that happens or doesn't happen, this new shit really works and it works incredibly well. Some Luddite you turned out to be. |
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Post by aquaduct on Jan 8, 2020 9:16:11 GMT -5
But, until that happens or doesn't happen, this new shit really works and it works incredibly well. Some Luddite you turned out to be. We should take away his membership card. |
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Post by jdd2 on Jan 8, 2020 9:42:20 GMT -5
I'm waiting for this to veer off onto russian/romainian collectibles, maybe even chinese.
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Post by dradtke on Jan 8, 2020 10:34:42 GMT -5
Baling twine began replacing baling wire in the early sixties and was in widespread use by the late sixties. (Wikipedia says it happened in the '70s, but they are wrong. Apparently no one is interested enough to correct it. Sad!) But, no doubt there were some wire machines were still in operation throughout the 70s. I'm glad I never encountered one. It would have been about mid-60s when I started baling. Mom bought me my first pair of leather work gloves. |
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Post by Marshall on Jan 8, 2020 10:45:23 GMT -5
Baling twine began replacing baling wire in the early sixties and was in widespread use by the late sixties. (Wikipedia says it happened in the '70s, but they are wrong. Apparently no one is interested enough to correct it. Sad!)  |
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Post by lar on Jan 8, 2020 11:02:11 GMT -5
Baling twine began replacing baling wire in the early sixties and was in widespread use by the late sixties. (Wikipedia says it happened in the '70s, but they are wrong. Apparently no one is interested enough to correct it. Sad!) But, no doubt there were some wire machines were still in operation throughout the 70s. I'm glad I never encountered one. The summer after my freshman year in high school I started working the hay fields in our area. Two of my uncles had balers and they were in great demand with the other farmers. They got me started and soon I was working for just about everyone in Hamilton County. Most baled their hay but I worked in plenty of haystacks as well. My uncles used twine but I worked for a few guys who were still using wire. If the hay was damp and the bales were heavy that wire was very hard on the hands. |
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Post by epaul on Jan 8, 2020 11:22:14 GMT -5
You forgot the baling wire. Pliers, a screwdriver or a Crescent wrench is useless if there is no baling wire. And a ViceGrip. Always a ViceGrip. A little Freudian-type slip there, Mr. Dutch Masters? A ViceGrip is a very personal sort of sex toy. A ViseGrip is a set of pliers featuring an adjustable cam-lock. |
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Post by lar on Jan 8, 2020 14:26:26 GMT -5
ViceGrip. Maybe those Iowa farmers are on to something.
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