Connect the tablet and test raise and lower

This is the first power-up. You join the tablet to the Control Module's own Wi-Fi, connect the Ditch Assist® app and check that GPS is coming through. Then you hold Raise and Lower to prove the valve and harness are wired the right way round.

Do the hydraulic test before the first job, and again after any change to the valve or its plugs.

Before you start

• The kit installed, with every cable connected (Connect all cables)
• The tablet charged, with the Ditch Assist app installed (Install the app)
• Everyone clear of the implement, and no animals nearby
• You know the three ways to stop hydraulic control (below)
• Any other phone or tablet that has joined this module before has "forgotten" the DitchAssist network. Only one device can connect at a time.

Time: about 10 minutes.

Switch on and join the module's Wi-Fi

1. Switch the Control Module on

   Turn on the switch on the power harness. The lights on the module come on. Its Wi-Fi network can take a moment to appear on the tablet.

2. Open the tablet's Settings app

   It is the gear icon in the tablet's list of apps. Tap it and the list of settings opens. New to Android? See Open the Settings app.

3. Tap Connections

   On a Samsung tablet it is near the top of the Settings list. Other tablets call it Network & internet. A shorter list opens, with Wi-Fi at the top.

4. Tap Wi-Fi

   The list of Wi-Fi networks opens. If the Wi-Fi switch at the top is off, tap it to turn it on. More help: Wi-Fi on the tablet.

5. Tap the network whose name starts with DitchAssist

   The rest of the name is different on every module. A window opens asking for the password.

6. Type the password 12345678

   Tap the Password box and type 12345678 on the keyboard that pops up. Help with typing: Type and hide the keyboard.

7. Turn on Auto reconnect

   Tap the Auto reconnect switch so it turns on. The tablet then rejoins the module by itself next time.

8. Tap Connect

   The window closes. The DitchAssist network moves to the top of the list, marked as connected.

9. If Android warns there is no internet, stay connected

   Android may say Internet may not be available. Tap Always connect (some tablets say "Keep Wi-Fi connection"). That's normal: the module has no internet and needs none.

   Tablet with a SIM card? This answer matters most for you. Without it, Android sends the app's traffic over mobile data and the app can't reach the module. Tap Always connect, or turn mobile data off while you work.

   While the tablet is on the module's Wi-Fi it has no internet either, so save map imagery and LiDAR before you go to the field.

Connect in the app

Open the Ditch Assist app. The Home screen shows the workflow cards, with a column of buttons down the right side.

Tap Pre-Flight Checks

It is the orange button at the bottom of the column of buttons down the right side of the screen, with a checklist icon.

A window called Pre-Flight Checks opens. It stays open until you tap the X in its top right corner.

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Tap Connect

It is the green-outlined button at the bottom left of the Pre-Flight Checks window, next to the red Disconnect.

A smaller window called Connect to Controller opens on top.

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Tap the green Connect button

It is the big green button across the top of the Connect to Controller window.

The app shows Detecting connected module... for a few seconds and finds the module by itself. There is nothing to type.

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If it can't find the module

Instead of connecting, the window shows a message: Could not detect a Ditch Assist module. Connect tablet WiFi to the module and try again.

Check the tablet is still on the DitchAssist Wi-Fi (the steps above), then tap the green Connect button again. Still no luck? See Can't connect to the module.

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Check the System Check, then tap Continue

When the module answers, the window changes to System Check with three rows: Controller Connected, GPS Signal and GPS Accuracy. A green tick on all three, ending with RTK Fixed, means the module and the GPS are both working.

Tap the green Continue button at the bottom. You are back in Pre-Flight Checks, which now shows ONLINE at the top right.

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A window called Your tablet may drop this Wi-Fi pops up? Tap Open Wi-Fi settings and turn off Switch to better Wi-Fi networks, then come back to the app. It shows once.

No GPS yet? If the receiver isn't sending its position, the GPS Signal row doesn't turn green and Continue stays grey. Tap Close at the bottom right of the window instead, and see What your receiver must send. The hydraulic test below still works without GPS.

Amber GPS Accuracy (Float or GPS instead of RTK Fixed)? You can continue, but wait for RTK Fixed before you survey or grade.

Test raise and lower

Full Automation Kit only. You need the tractor running for this test.

1. Start the tractor

   Let it idle. Leave the tablet on Pre-Flight Checks.

2. Move the implement with the bypass lever

   Find the tractor remote that runs the bypass hoses. Work its lever by hand: the implement should go up and down.

   If it doesn't, the bypass hoses are on the wrong remote or not fully plugged in. See Connect the hoses to the tractor.

3. Set the valve's remote to continuous flow

   Set the remote that feeds the valve to continuous (constant) flow, not float, with enough flow to move the implement.

4. Press and hold Raise

   In Pre-Flight Checks, find Hydraulic Test - Hold to Move at the bottom of the window. Press and hold the big green Raise button, on the left.

   The implement goes up. Let go and it holds where it is.

5. Press and hold Lower

   Press and hold the big red Lower button, on the right. The implement goes down. Let go and it stops.

   Closing the Pre-Flight Checks window also stops the valve.

If Raise lowers the implement

If Raise moves the implement down and Lower moves it up, the two small plugs on the valve's solenoids are the wrong way round. The window says the same: If Raise moves down or Lower moves up, reverse the valve connectors.

1. Lower the implement to the ground

   Use the bypass lever.

2. Shut the tractor off

3. Switch the Control Module off

   Use the switch on the power harness.

4. Swap the two small plugs on the solenoids

   Pull both plugs off the valve's solenoids and push each one onto the other solenoid.

5. Switch back on and test again

   Switch the module on, reconnect the tablet (above) and repeat the Raise and Lower test.

If the window shows a message instead

• Stop auto grading before testing hydraulics. Auto grading is running. Tap Stop on the Grade screen first.
• Hydraulic commands are turned off in Settings. The Send Commands switch is off. Turn it back on in the DEBUG section of Settings. See Debug, logs and about.

Hoses won't release from the valve couplers

This usually happens after the flow was reversed at the tractor, which puts pressure in the return line. It is worse in hot weather, but it can happen any time.

1. Turn off the hydraulic flow to the valve

2. Open Pre-Flight Checks

   With the module on and the tablet connected (see above).

3. Hold Raise for about 5 seconds

   Press firmly on the green Raise button under Hydraulic Test - Hold to Move.

4. Hold Lower for about 5 seconds

   This balances the pressure between the tractor and the implement.

5. Try the couplers again

   Repeat the Raise and Lower holds until the hoses release.

Common mistakes

• The valve's remote in float, or the flow too low, so nothing moves.
• Reversing the flow at the tractor to fix wrong-way movement.
• A phone still joined to the module, so the tablet can't connect.
• The tablet hopping back to shop Wi-Fi that has internet.

If it doesn't work

• The app can't find the module: Can't connect to the module.
• Nothing moves when you hold Raise or Lower: The implement won't move.
• Raise goes down: Raise moves the implement down.
• Slow, or lowers but won't lift: Slow, hunting or chasing.
• No GPS rows: No GPS in the app.

Next: Set blade height, then your first job.