• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Laser Troubles???

DIRTROAD

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Messages
73
Location
South Carolina
Occupation
Forestry
I have been running a 700J with an Apache system on it. It works fine 98% of the time but every couple of hours it will go crazy and start making the blade go up and down, up and down, up and down. You have to cut the system off and wait a few minutes to cut it back on. It's not losing sight of the laser tripod either. The laser and indicate head can be pointing at each other and at a close distance and it will start doing this junk. Any ideas as to what the cause might be?
 

Puppy

Active Member
Joined
May 10, 2012
Messages
37
Location
Austin
Anyone getting close to it with a vibratory roller or maybe your dozer is shaking the ground when you get close. We had the same problem with or top con mm laser. Grade would start bouncing then the laser would just stop until the roller got far enough away. Also very windy days would shake the tripod, found that some of the screws in the base were lose.
 

DIRTROAD

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Messages
73
Location
South Carolina
Occupation
Forestry
I was leaning towards some sort of radio interference myself. It's not an issue of the ground shaking because I can visually see that the laser head is still turning when the indicator goes crazy. I hadn't thought of the wind, but still the laser never quits spinning. Oh well, I will figure it out some day.
 

mitch504

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
5,776
Location
Andrews SC
The "vibration sensor" on my laser is a joke. You have to almost knock it over to make it stop spinning.

I didn't think there would be a radio receiver in an auto blade control system. I know there are systems that use radio to send a signal to an in cab display, but I thought any system that could move the blade would be hard-wired.

Have you called Apache? Have you tried it with a different laser? I don't think the laser will be the problem, but it should be easy to borrow one to see.

Good Luck, Mitch
 

DIRTROAD

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Messages
73
Location
South Carolina
Occupation
Forestry
Well, I finally figured it out. The sensor for automatic doors on commercial buildings interferes with the system somehow.
 
Top