After cutting & clearing a 700 ft. swath of brush, small trees, and a few larger trees along the back side of a row of pine trees, it was time to start grinding all the stumps. I bought a back up camera earlier but never really finished installing it as i only ground a few stumps at a time every now and then. But with 100s of buckthorn, boxelder, small ash and other stumps to grind.....it was time to give the camera a trial run. It was impressive.
It stood up to the vibration, although the display needs a more solid mounting system. The camera, mounted on a bracket on the grinder, stayed put throughout the task and the view on the display was steady and never failed. Here's a couple of pics:
The system still needs a little tweaking but significantly reduced the need to look back over the shoulder. It really simplifies controlling the depth of cut while moving forward as well as lifting/backing up/ and starting the next cuts.
The tweaking still needed: the camera seems to focus on the cutting wheel, which is fantastic while cutting. But when the grinder is lifted and you're locating the stump to grind....the view below the wheel is kinda washed out so currently I need to look over the shoulder to locate the stump. Once the grinder is lowered within a few inches of the ground or the stump top.....the view becomes much more clear. It may just have been the lighting. It may just need the camera's sun shade to be adjusted. But once the stump is located in front of the grinder you're done looking back for the most part.
This system came with two cameras so I may try mounting the 2nd one topside and looking down and back from the grinder. Then using the split screen function just might fix the need to turn around to initially locate the starting position. The area was somewhat shaded and the display was bright and easy to see. If the grinder started to shake a little too much, so did the display. Hence the need, or want, of a little more solid mount. It was just taped to the deck with duct tape. But if the display was shaking, it was time to lift the grinder a bit anyway.
This was a "wired" system and since it's for autos/rvs the wiring is quite long for the kubota installation. I might just get brave and redo the wiring and connections to make it more tractor friendly with an easy on/off for connections and mounting. All in all, it really was impressive in how much it sped up the process and saved on getting sore neck muscles! At the time purchased, I think the system was well under $100. If I add the 2nd camera or solve the depth of field issue with the first camera I'll update the story for all to see.
It stood up to the vibration, although the display needs a more solid mounting system. The camera, mounted on a bracket on the grinder, stayed put throughout the task and the view on the display was steady and never failed. Here's a couple of pics:
The system still needs a little tweaking but significantly reduced the need to look back over the shoulder. It really simplifies controlling the depth of cut while moving forward as well as lifting/backing up/ and starting the next cuts.
The tweaking still needed: the camera seems to focus on the cutting wheel, which is fantastic while cutting. But when the grinder is lifted and you're locating the stump to grind....the view below the wheel is kinda washed out so currently I need to look over the shoulder to locate the stump. Once the grinder is lowered within a few inches of the ground or the stump top.....the view becomes much more clear. It may just have been the lighting. It may just need the camera's sun shade to be adjusted. But once the stump is located in front of the grinder you're done looking back for the most part.
This system came with two cameras so I may try mounting the 2nd one topside and looking down and back from the grinder. Then using the split screen function just might fix the need to turn around to initially locate the starting position. The area was somewhat shaded and the display was bright and easy to see. If the grinder started to shake a little too much, so did the display. Hence the need, or want, of a little more solid mount. It was just taped to the deck with duct tape. But if the display was shaking, it was time to lift the grinder a bit anyway.
This was a "wired" system and since it's for autos/rvs the wiring is quite long for the kubota installation. I might just get brave and redo the wiring and connections to make it more tractor friendly with an easy on/off for connections and mounting. All in all, it really was impressive in how much it sped up the process and saved on getting sore neck muscles! At the time purchased, I think the system was well under $100. If I add the 2nd camera or solve the depth of field issue with the first camera I'll update the story for all to see.
