by Josh Thornton, White Hall, IL

We finally got some overdue rain. I think we ended up with 1.7 inches.

We had a brand new JD planter with active down force that I had to hook up earlier in the week, along with a new GS3 2630. The planter showed up correctly, everything seemed to be fine with the exception of section control. The screen was activated, but the planter would not pre-populate on the display and not automatically show up on the GS 2630 implement page 1. Also, the recording source did not populate to “auto”. I uploaded new software to the display and receiver, as well as new software to the planter, which was already version 18, and even powered it up through my truck. I went back to the farm two days later and did some other checks and still had no luck. I ended up removing the customer’s GS3 2630 display out of his sprayer, stealing a thought from the Wisconsin crew, and everything worked just fine. I put the planter display in his 4730 sprayer and it also worked just fine.

We have seen some issues with the new 9Rs. We have one that the radio controls will not work on the armrest to adjust volume or tune the channels. We have updated software on the radio and armrest side and still no luck. The armrest is going to get replaced next. We had another with 5 hours that has a steering input device failure. It was reading wheel motion while sitting still. They have changed these quite a bit, and they are much easier to change once you get the steering column apart. The new ones are just a notched ring that slides over the steering shaft with one plug. I have another 9R that loses GPS signal when you key the mic on the CB/FM radio. The customer is going to switch frequencies first to see if that helps. Hopefully, this won’t be a reoccurring issue.

I have seen a few EH valve failures on 30 series tractors with 1000 or so hours. FYI, a 7930 with an IVT transmission is a bear to get to.

So far, I have heard great reviews on the new John Deere R series sprayers that we have out. The ride comfort is at the top the list. They ride like a Cadillac with the dual strut suspension.