Learning Center

The blade is slow, or it chases up and down

The blade reacts late and leaves humps, or it hunts up and down and never settles. Check the GPS fix first, then the tractor flow, then tune the valve one step at a time.

  • Full Automation Kit

In the app Settings › CONTROLLER and Settings › LOOKAHEAD

How fast the blade answers depends on four things: a steady RTK Fixed position, how much oil the tractor sends, how much power the control module gives the valve, and how often the receiver sends a position. Change one thing at a time, tap Apply, start auto grading again, and make a test pass on flat ground before changing the next.

Before you start

  • The tablet is connected to the control module, and the GPS badge shows a green RTK.
  • Find a flat stretch where you can make a short test pass after each change.
  • Write down your four CONTROLLER numbers before you change anything (where they are). If tuning makes it worse, you can put them back.

Time: 5 minutes per change, including a test pass. Most blades are sorted in two or three changes.

Quick checks first

  • The GPS badge is green RTK, not FLOAT. Float makes the elevation jitter and the blade follows it.
  • The tractor flow to the Ditch Assist remote is set sensibly: up for slow, down a little for chasing.
  • After any change in the CONTROLLER box of Settings, you tapped Apply, saw Settings sent to controller, and then stopped and started auto grading. The control module reads Min and Max Valve DC only when auto grading starts.
  • The receiver sends GGA at 5 or 10 Hz (check the receiver's own setting).

The settings you'll tune

SettingWhat it doesRange / default
Min Valve DCThe valve power auto grading starts at whenever the blade has to move. In tenths of a percent: 500 = half power.App's starting value 301 (30.1%); a new or reset module holds 400
Max Valve DCThe most power the valve gets in auto. Power climbs from Min towards Max while the blade lags behind. Must stay above Min Valve DC.App's starting value 701 (70.1%); a new or reset module holds 600
Lookahead / Lookahead TimeReads the target ahead of the machine to make up for hydraulic delay at speed.In the LOOKAHEAD box of Settings

Raise Sensitivity and Lower Sensitivity are in the same box, but they only change the app's press-and-hold Raise and Lower buttons. They do nothing in auto, so leave them alone for this problem. Full detail, including how the module uses Min and Max: Controller settings.

How to change a CONTROLLER setting

Every tuning fix below uses these steps. Change one thing at a time.

  1. Open Settings

    Tap Settings, the fourth button down the right-hand column. Stop grading first: opening Settings from the grade screen asks to stop it.

  2. Scroll to the CONTROLLER box

    It's a little past halfway down Settings (how to scroll). The first line reads Connection, with Disconnect on the right while connected.

  3. Move one slider

    The fixes below use Min Valve DC or Max Valve DC, the bottom two sliders. Drag the slider slowly. Watch the number at the right end of its row. Move it about 25 at a time.

    Settings scrolled to the CONTROLLER box: Raise Sensitivity 6, Lower Sensitivity 5, Min Valve DC 301, Max Valve DC 701, each with a slider, and Refresh and a dark Apply button at the bottom of the box.
    1. Min Valve DC. The third slider. Its number (301 here) is at the right end of the row.
    2. Max Valve DC. The fourth slider (701 here). Keep it higher than Min Valve DC.
    3. Apply. Turns dark once you change something.

  4. Tap Apply

    It's at the bottom right of the CONTROLLER box. Apply only works while the control module is connected.

  5. Check the message

    A green bar along the bottom of the screen reads Settings sent to controller. Apply goes grey again.

    The same CONTROLLER box after Apply: the Apply button is grey again, and a green bar along the bottom of the screen reads Settings sent to controller.
    1. Settings sent to controller. The module has saved your new values.

  6. Go back to the grade screen

    Tap Grade, the third button down the right-hand column. The grade screen opens.

  7. Tap Start

    Tap Start, the big green button near the top of the column. Auto grading must start again after Apply: the control module reads the new values only at that moment.

  8. Make a test pass

    Make a short pass on flat ground. Better? Stop there. If not, tap Stop, go back to step 1 and change the next thing.

Find your symptom

Tap the line that matches what you see. It opens with the causes, most likely first. Check tells you how to spot the cause. Fix tells you what to do, one step at a time.

The blade is slow to raise or late on grade changes

Tractor flow is set low Most likely

Check: Look at the flow control for the remote that feeds the valve.

Fix:

  1. Turn the flow up.
  2. Make a test pass.

Min Valve DC is below the power the valve needs to move the blade

Check: Start auto grading on a small cut and count the seconds before the blade moves. In auto the valve starts at Min Valve DC and the power climbs only a few percentage points per second. If Min is below the power at which your valve starts moving the blade, the blade sits still for a few seconds first. A large implement on high flow may barely move at all.

Fix:

  1. Tap Stop.
  2. Move the Min Valve DC slider about 25 to the right (2.5% more power).
  3. Tap Apply and wait for Settings sent to controller.
  4. Tap Start and make the same small cut.
  5. Still waits before moving? Repeat. Stop when the blade starts promptly without a jump. If it jumps, lower Min by about 25 and leave it there.

Keep Min Valve DC below Max Valve DC: if it isn't, the app doesn't send either number and the module keeps its old values. Step by step with pictures: Tune the valve.

Max Valve DC is too low

Check: In the CONTROLLER box, read Max Valve DC (the app's starting value is 701). The blade starts moving promptly but crawls on big corrections.

Fix:

  1. Tap Stop.
  2. Move the Max Valve DC slider about 25 to the right.
  3. Tap Apply.
  4. Tap Start and make a test pass.

Large implements may need the higher-flow valve: ask a product specialist.

Ground speed outruns the hydraulics

Check: The blade is fine at low speed and late at working speed.

Fix: Slow down, or turn on Lookahead:

  1. Tap Settings, the fourth button down the right-hand column.
  2. Scroll down to the LOOKAHEAD box, just under GRADING and Fields.
  3. Tap the switch next to Lookahead so it turns green. A Lookahead Time slider appears under it.
  4. Leave Lookahead Time short to start, about 2 seconds (2.0s ahead).
  5. Make a test pass at working speed.
Settings scrolled to the LOOKAHEAD box: Lookahead with its switch on, and under it Lookahead Time with a slider reading 2.0s ahead. The ALERTS box starts below.
  1. Lookahead. In the LOOKAHEAD box of Settings.
  2. Its switch. Green is on.
  3. Lookahead Time. Shows only while Lookahead is on. 2.0 seconds is a good start.

The receiver sends positions too slowly

Check: Look at the GGA output rate in the receiver's own settings. It must be 5 or 10 Hz. The control module only reacts when a new position arrives. At 1 Hz it can wait up to 1 second to start or stop the blade, and overrun the target by up to 1 second. At 5 Hz that drops to 0.2 seconds, at 10 Hz to 0.1 seconds. The Status 2 light blinks for any data, so it can't tell you the rate (Status 2 light).

Fix: Set the receiver's GGA message to 5 or 10 Hz, with VTG on and everything else off. See GPS requirements.

The blade hunts up and down and never settles

The GPS is on Float, not RTK Fixed Most likely

Check: Look at the GPS badge at the top of the screen. It must be a green RTK. Amber FLOAT or DGPS lets the elevation wander by inches.

Fix: Wait for RTK Fixed before grading. See Stuck on Float.

Min Valve DC or Max Valve DC is too high for the implement

Check: Open the CONTROLLER box in Settings (how). Compare the numbers with the app's starting values: Min Valve DC 301, Max Valve DC 701. Every start begins at Min, so a Min set too high makes the blade jump at each start and overshoot small corrections. A Max set too high makes it overshoot big ones.

Fix: change one of these at a time. After each change tap Apply, then Stop and Start auto grading, and make a test pass:

  1. Jumps at the start or overshoots small corrections? Move Min Valve DC about 25 to the left.
  2. Still hunting? Move it another 25 to the left. Stop before the blade starts to wait before moving.
  3. Still overshooting on big corrections? Move Max Valve DC about 25 to the left. Keep it higher than Min Valve DC.

Too much oil from the tractor

Check: The flow control for the remote is wide open.

Fix: Turn the flow down a little and make a test pass.

Lookahead Time is too long

Check: In the LOOKAHEAD box of Settings, Lookahead is on, and the chasing gets worse when you change speed.

Fix: Drag the Lookahead Time slider to the left to shorten it, or tap the Lookahead switch to turn it off.

The blade makes small up-and-down moves, even parked

Normal RTK movement

Check: The moves are small. An RTK Fixed elevation moves about ½ to ¾ inch (1–2 cm).

Fix: Nothing to fix. Big swings aren't normal.

Not real RTK, or far from the base

Check: Where do your corrections come from, and how far away is the base?

Fix: Your own base, in line of sight and within 2 miles, gives barely visible movement. Satellite services move much more. See Correction sources.

Tile depth swings a lot in soft ground

The hydraulics are reacting to every small change

Check: The GPS badge is green, but the depth bounces through soft spots.

Fix, either:

  1. Move Min Valve DC about 25 to the left, tap Apply, then stop and start auto grading (how).
  2. Or, at a soft spot, tap Hold (the grey button under Stop), run the plow by hand through it, then tap Resume.

See Tiling problems.

Still not fixed?

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Still stuck? Talk to a product specialist. 1-833-DITCH-AS · support@ditchassist.com · Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Central.

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