Peter van den Hoek purchased three MoveRTK subscriptions for his tractors. "That way you always have a signal, wherever you are," says the arable farmer from Heinenoord.
Van den Hoek and his brother Arie-Pieter have an arable farm of about 200 hectares in Heinenoord, in the north of the Hoeksche Waard. The entrepreneurs have a traditional construction plan with potatoes, sugar beet, onions and grain. The plots are spread over several locations in and outside the Hoeksche Waard. The brothers have been using GPS for a long time. At first only for straight driving, but gradually more and more applications were added, such as section control of the sprayer and the fertilizer spreader and control of the grading box and the plow.
Weak signal transmission tower
In the beginning, the brothers used local reference poles transmitting their RTK signals via radio broadcast. But its range is only 10 kilometers. Peter van den Hoek: "Sometimes we had to switch between multiple poles. That sometimes caused problems on. You used to be able to get no signal or a weak signal just drive on and possibly use from track markers to drive straight, but with the other applications you just have to stop when there is no signal."
For example, the business of the entrepreneurs also included land on the Eiland van Dordrecht. There is no mast in that area at all that transmits an RTK signal. The brothers then used a very weak signal from masts that were further away and that signal was often lost.
Van den Hoek: "It was still possible to drive straight with the markers, but the other functions could not be used without an RTK signal. You simply have to stop with those functions. Because, for example, the section closure on the sprayer or the plow control simply does not work. Lake." To no longer be bothered by these inconveniences, they decided to purchase MoveRTK. "That way you always have a signal, wherever you are."
Discount LTO Member Benefit
The entrepreneur opted for MoveRTK via LTO Ledenvoordeel. The big discount was the deciding factor. He paid €500 per set instead of €750. "That's easily earned," he says. Van den Hoek can no longer imagine working without RTK. He is pleased with the ease of working with MoveRTK.
The brothers now have five RTK GPS systems: three boxes that can be used on multiple tractors and two systems on the two newest tractors, which are already fitted as standard from the factory. The latter is becoming increasingly common.
The tractors must be prepared for use of the cabinets. With one older tractor, the brothers did not do that anymore. "You still have to steer well there to drive straight, just like in the past," laughs Van den Hoek. "In the past, you could still see a difference between drivers. But that sport is now a bit off."
Storing solar energy in battery
Peter and Arie-Pieter van den Hoek are always looking for innovations. They have 2.400 solar panels on multiple shed roofs. With a large battery they can respond to the imbalance market for electricity. They sell a large part of the electricity on that market.
If demand is high in the imbalance market and supply is low, the price can rise very sharply. If the price falls, it is beneficial to use the self-generated power on the farm and possibly to purchase power and store it in the battery. The more solar and wind energy there is, the more unstable the supply. This results in stronger price fluctuations, which means that the battery system pays for itself faster.
Text: Peter van den Houweling