Read the Grade / Depth Guide and chevrons

Two things on the Grade screen tell you where the blade is against the target: the Grade / Depth Guide, the tall column beside the map, and the chevrons on the map itself. They show the same error two ways: the guide gives the number and a picture of the blade above or below the line; the chevrons give a direction you can read from the corner of your eye.

Before you start

• You are on the Grade screen with a design or target loaded (The Grade screen).
• Reading this page takes about five minutes. Nothing here needs a tap except folding the guide and switching the readout.

The guide column

The tall white column between the map and the sidebar buttons, with a thick black border. From the top: a status banner, the word CUT, a thin grey line with the black triangle on it, the target lines, the word FILL, and a readout box at the bottom.

The lines and the triangle, close up, during an Auto-Nudge pass:

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• Triangle: the tip is the blade. Above the line means the blade is high (CUT printed at the top of the column), below means low (FILL at the bottom). The scale is stretched near the line and squeezed far away, so small errors show clearly and big ones still fit. In Excavation it is an excavator arm with the bucket tip on the line. In Dark display mode it is yellow.
• FINAL TARGET: the yellow band edged in black, labelled FINAL TARGET. The design, with no nudge.
• CURRENT: a blue line, only there when the target you're grading to now differs from final: an Auto-Nudge pass above final, or a nudge up or down. Grade to this line. With a nudge down it sits below FINAL.
• Readout: the big signed number is how far the blade is from the target, with CUT, ON GRADE or FILL under it. Its colour follows the size of the error, like the chevrons: green when on grade or up to 12 in of cut, light green past 12 in, amber past 24 in, orange past 36 in, red past 48 in, and blue for fill. When the readout shows Final Tgt, the number is red for any cut, green on grade and blue for fill. Below that, the elevations: Current (blade), Current Tgt or Target, and Final Tgt when it differs.

The readout

The box at the bottom of the guide. Its label on top says what the number is measured to; the big number under it is the error; then CUT, ON GRADE or FILL; then the elevations.

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The label is one of three:

• Target: no nudge or pass offset; current and final target are the same.
• Current Tgt: the number is measured to the CURRENT line (this pass).
• Final Tgt: the number is measured to the final design.

To switch between Current Tgt and Final Tgt: tap the readout box. This works only while there is a CURRENT line; it's handy to see how much is left in the job while you work a pass. Tap again to switch back.

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• +2.0" CUT: blade 2 in above the target; it needs to come down.
• 0.0" ON GRADE: inside the on-grade window.
• −1.5" FILL: blade 1.5 in below the target: cut too deep, or a low spot.

On-grade window: ±1 in in most workflows, ±0.5 in in Tiling, ±1.5 in in Excavation. It is fixed; Grade Alert Threshold only changes when the tone sounds.

With a nudge down, the CURRENT line sits below FINAL TARGET, and you grade to it:

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Fold it away

The guide can shrink to a thin rail to give the map more room.

1. Tap the guide

   Tap anywhere on the guide column except the readout box. The small crossed-out eye at its top-left corner is the reminder that a tap hides it.

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2. Check it has folded

   You should see a thin rail labelled GRADE next to the sidebar, and the status banner moved onto the map. To bring the guide back, tap the rail. It stays folded until you open it again or restart the app.

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Before there is a fix, the guide shows Waiting for GPS fix.

Chevrons and ON GRADE on the map

While you're off grade, big chevrons appear on the map either side of your arrow, pointing the way the blade has to go: down for CUT, up for FILL. A box under your arrow gives the error, for example 2.0" CUT. Within the on-grade window the chevrons go and a green ON GRADE bar runs across the map.

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How many chevrons: Inches Per Chevron

Each chevron stands for one step of error, up to four. The step is the Inches Per Chevron row in the GRADING card of Settings (default 3 in; see how to change it). Anything beyond four steps still shows four.

• At 3 in per chevron: just outside on grade to 3 in = 1; up to 6 in = 2; up to 9 in = 3; more = 4.
• At 1 in per chevron: 1 in = 1 … 4 in or more = 4. Good for finishing.
• At 6 in per chevron: 4 chevrons means 18 in or more off. Good for rough cuts.

Colour follows the size of the error, not the setting, the same as the readout: green up to 12 in of cut, light green past 12 in, amber past 24 in, orange past 36 in, red past 48 in; blue for fill. If the screen is short, fewer chevrons fit, but the error box always shows the real number.

When positions stop arriving (stale GPS), the chevrons and the GPS badge dim to show they are frozen.

Banners

The status banner sits at the top of the guide (or on the map when the guide is folded away). Red means the blade is being driven; orange means it is held.

• Auto Grading Active (red): you tapped Start; the valve follows the target.
• Auto Grading (Commands OFF) (red): the Send Commands switch in the DEBUG card of Settings is off; guidance runs, the valve isn't driven (Send Commands).
• HOLD — Manual Control (orange): you tapped Hold. Tap Resume.
• HOLD — No RTK Fix (orange): RTK quality dropped (see RTK Sensitivity). Releases by itself when RTK is back and steady.
• HOLD — GPS Stale (orange): no new position for the GPS Delay Timeout. Releases by itself.
• RTK LOST - AUTO HOLD (5s) (red bar): the fix has been bad for that many seconds.
• Amber AUTO HOLD - WAITING FOR HDOP ≤ 0.9 (NOW 1.10) - SENSITIVITY MID, or … WAITING FOR RTK FIX TO SETTLE / … WAITING FOR STEADY RTK FIXED: RTK is back but not yet good enough to release.
• Guidance Active, RTK LOST — GUIDANCE PAUSED, GPS STALE — GUIDANCE PAUSED: the Ditch Assist Lite versions.
• 120 ft from survey line — accuracy may decrease: you are well off the surveyed line, so the target out here is a guess.
• Rock Hit — Design Adjusted (Tiling): Rock Hit Detection raised the target.

Excavation has no grading banner. What to do about each hold: HOLD banners.

The profile chart

Along the bottom of most Grade screens: a side view of the run with the ground you surveyed, the design, the cut still to do, a dashed PASS line for this pass's target, the surface you've graded and a marker at your position. Drag its grab bar to resize it. Tap Edit Design on it to change the design.