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| The current 10 foot range for many Bluetooth devices is inadequate for Ag. The newer standard, reaching up to 33 meters should be fine; however, our full field evaluations of reliability are not yet complete, so that we want to offer this option yet. It would definitely free a monitor in the cab, but many accessories such as radar guns or planter encoders are not manufactured with Bluetooth interfaces. We have even had trouble obtaining a number of GPS devices advertised with available Bluetooth options as well.
Moreover, the whole protocol to establish a Bluetooth connection, we feel, is cumbersome and troublesome to some customers. Software that is much more user-friendly would be required for many ag customers other than the most die-hard computer users.
It is, however, fairly easy to integrate a third party Bluetooth serial adapter to a device with an existing serial port (you will have to supply 5 volt from somewhere to support the device). Third party devices, however, are a fairly expensive add on when viewed in the context of the very minimal cost of adding Bluetooth to existing PCs/PDAs.
Production volume makes all the difference in Bluetooth cost for a planter controller versus a notebook.
John
 
John W. Colburn, Jr.
Soil Doctor
Systems
Edited by soildrn 12/7/2006 00:55
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Bluetooth possibilities
