Start here

Ditch Assist® is an Android app plus the hardware on your machine. The app does the surveying, the design and the grading; the hardware tells it where the cutting edge is and, on a Full Automation Kit, moves the blade. Set it up once, then every trip to the field is the same short routine: connect, check, work. Coming back to an older survey or design? Calibrate on your benchmark first.

1. Know the system

• How it worksRTK base, receiver, module, tablet: who does what, and the survey-design-grade loop.
• Know your kitIdentify your kit from the machine and the tablet, and find your pages.
• Practise with the simulatorA guided practice session: survey, design and grade a pretend ditch, one tap at a time.

2. Get the tablet ready

Do this once, at home or in the shop, while the tablet has internet.

• Tablet basicsBack, Home, closing the app, Wi-Fi, the pull-down panel, typing, screenshots.
• Install the appDownload from the website, allow the install, update over the top.
• Set up the tabletFile access, Location, Wi-Fi that stays put, screen, power, updates.
• First launchFile access, the manual reminder, the safety warning, Home, blade height.
• App tourHome, sidebar, Settings, Manual, and the Survey and Grade screens at a glance.

3. Every time you go to the field

The routine before any job: connect to the machine, run Pre-Flight Checks, check blade height. Calibrate on your benchmark only when you come back to an older survey or design, or the base has moved. Then pick a workflow.

• ConnectJoin the module Wi-Fi, tap Connect, wait for RTK Fixed, Continue.
• Pre-flight checksRead the Pre-Flight Checks panel row by row and test raise and lower.
• Blade heightCutting edge to ground, implement raised. Measure it, enter it, check it.
• Benchmarks and calibrationSame day, same base: just grade. Coming back: calibrate on the field's benchmark.
• Your first jobChecklist to finished pass: a whole Ditching job, in order.

Before you start: install the hardware

If the kit isn't on the machine yet, start with Install the hardware (Full Automation, Guidance Only and DIG™ Kits) and GPS and RTK. Ditch Assist Lite has no install: see Ditch Assist Lite.