JDLink is John Deere's telematics system: a cellular modem in the machine plus the software behind it that connects your equipment to your John Deere Operations Center account. Once a machine is connected, you can see where it is on a map, how many hours it has run, how hard it is working, how much fuel it is burning, and any trouble codes it is throwing, all from your phone or the office. With your permission, our Precision Ag Specialists can see the same data and often diagnose a problem without a drive to your farm.
Simply put, JDLink is a digital connection between you and your machines. The rest of this post covers how it works, what the map and reports show, how field data gets to the Operations Center, and two cases where it paid off for Customers near our stores across Indiana and Ohio.
JDLink remotely connects owners and managers to their equipment. It can connect all makes of equipment in your fleet and provides alerts and information including the location of each machine, how it is being used, performance, and maintenance data.
When JDLink is connected to your machines, it protects the equipment with geofencing and curfew alerts, monitors diagnostic codes to catch minor issues before they become big problems, and sends information like setup files, prescriptions, and documentation files to operators in the field. If you farm where cell signal is weak or unreliable, satellite modems are available that switch to satellite mode automatically when a cellular connection is unavailable.
JDLink operates on cellular technology just like a cell phone. The modem in the system, called the modular telematics gateway, or MTG, gives your machine an internet connection and lets it both transmit and receive data on the JDLink web platform. Many types of data move to and from the machine, including machine usage information like fuel and trouble codes, machine location, and other stats. Geospatial field files for planting, harvest, application, and tillage can also be transferred automatically from the machine to the John Deere Operations Center for analysis and reporting.
Many newer John Deere machines, such as the 9RX, come with JDLink hardware standard, and you activate the service from your Operations Center account. For older or mixed-fleet machines, a JDLink M modem can be installed in as little as 15 minutes, which also makes it easy to move the modem to another machine as your needs change. Pair it with a G5 or Generation 4 Display to track agronomic data as well as machine data. John Deere has changed how JDLink subscriptions work over the years, so rather than quote terms here, ask our Precision Ag team what your specific machines need to get connected.
One honest limit: JDLink needs cellular or satellite coverage to report, and it does not replace an in-cab display or an operator paying attention. It tells you what the machine is doing; deciding what to do about it is still your job and ours.
JDLink™ Connect is the premium telematics product from John Deere designed to:
Machine data collected by JDLink™ includes:
JDLink eliminates the need for USB drives by moving your agronomic data to the John Deere Operations Center with wireless data transfer or mobile data transfer.
Wireless Data Transfer uses JDLink in 2012 and newer John Deere machines to automatically send data to the Operations Center every time you finish a field. Your data is backed up and protected if something happens to your display, and you can view it and share it with your advisors right away instead of waiting until the end of the season.
The Operations Center is an online farm management system that gives you access to farm information anytime, anywhere. Its tools let you and your partners analyze, edit, and make collaborative decisions from the same set of information to raise yields and reduce input costs. You can create plans and direct in-field work so you farm more acres in less time. Combined with its suite of mobile apps and the live connection to the machine through JDLink™, the Operations Center helps you manage your operation more efficiently, do a better job on every pass, reduce costs, and improve profitability.
Don’t have a newer JDLink™ equipped machine? John Deere Mobile Data Transfer (MDT) creates a portal to and from the Operations Center and gives you immediate access to business-critical information. Growers and their trusted advisers can wirelessly share data with one another through their preferred cellular provider without driving across the county to hand off a storage device. By eliminating the USB card, Mobile Data Transfer reduces the risk of data loss and makes sharing and decision making easier.
John Deere MDT uses a USB to Wi-Fi device to export files from an in-cab display and sends them directly to the Operations Center through a smartphone. Setup and prescription files can also be pulled from the My Files section of your Operations Center account while running a machine in the field. It is simple to use and priced well below a new modem. Contact your local Koenig Equipment Precision Ag Specialist for details.
JDLink™ offers several reports to help you run your operation. These are the four we see Customers use most.
Machine Utilization Time in work, idle, and transport status lets you track the efficiency and productivity of each JDLink machine in your fleet. The best way to drive machinery cost down is to get more done in the hours you put on the machine. JDLink reports count working hours and measure the productivity you got out of them, looking at things like engine load to determine whether the machine's full capacity is actually being used. On a combine, for example, the report may show you need to drive faster or run a larger header to get the full capacity out of the machine.
Hours of Operation reports show exactly when a machine was working and not working in a calendar-style view. You can see every time the machine was started and shut off over the course of the season, with the total hours per day or month calculated for you.
Location History is the JDLink map most people are looking for. It shows where a machine traveled on a given day: progress within a field, the direction the operator worked, and the route taken from one field to the next. Click on the path and you get a time stamp for when the machine was at that spot. The map updates in real time so you can track machines as they move, and you can view historical location history for any JDLink machine back two years from the current date.
Feature Utilization reports show how many hours a specific feature was turned on and off during a selected period. Features you can track include MFWD, AutoTrac, Differential Lock, PTO, Field Cruise, Active Yield, RowSense, Active Terrain Adjustment, AutoMaintain, HarvestSmart, and Section Control.
These reports help farmers get the best use out of each machine. The two cases below show what that looks like on real farms in our area.
In the spring of 2012 a Shelby County Customer purchased a new 8R equipped with JDLink. The Customer received operator training from a certified Koenig expert, hooked up their planter, and took to the fields. Shortly after they began planting they noticed that pushing the IVT throttle forward slightly made the engine rev higher and hold steady at 2000rpm. They double checked their IVT transmission settings in the CommandCenter and believed everything was set properly, even confirming that “Full Auto” mode was on. Stumped, they turned to a Koenig AMS expert for help.
Once on the phone, the Koenig expert logged in to JDLink and remotely reviewed the tractor’s engine performance history. The JDLink data made the malfunction visible. Having worked similar service cases, the Koenig representative found new IVT module software that corrected the error. Because JDLink was already connected, the expert used Remote Service Advisor to send the new software to the machine remotely, then walked the Customer through opening the file and installing it, all on the same phone call. The new software corrected the problem and the Customer went back to planting.
This problem would normally have meant a scheduled service call, and the Customer might have waited until the next day. With JDLink, a Koenig representative can immediately view your equipment’s performance statistics, troubleshoot and diagnose malfunctions, and in many cases fix the problem remotely. Remote Service Advisor rides on JDLink and lets us send new component software to the tractor for installation. In this case the Customer was back to full planting operation in a reasonable amount of time rather than being sidelined for hours. Not every problem can be fixed this way; a mechanical failure still needs a technician in the field, and we will tell you when that is the case.
A Champaign County Customer purchased two 8R series tractors (8235R & 8285R) in 2011. Included with the purchase were JDLink Ultimate subscriptions, which allow remote monitoring of tractor maintenance and performance statistics. Being a technology advocate, the Customer was intent on using JDLink to analyze their new equipment utilization. After training from a certified Koenig AMS expert, the Customer began monitoring the usage and performance of their new tractors. JDLink revealed that the average engine load was only 50-55 percent of the 8285R’s potential engine capability.
What did this tell the Customer? None of their operations required 100 percent of the 8285R’s engine horsepower. The JDLink data showed they had overestimated the horsepower they needed to cover the work on their farm.
The Customer operates on a yearly trade cycle and now had JDLink performance data in hand when considering their next purchase. They recognized that the 8285R was more horsepower than they required but that they still needed a similar frame size. Weighing both factors, they found that the 8260R satisfied the horsepower requirement while keeping the frame size they needed. With the purchase of the 8260R instead of the 8285R, the Customer spent less money and got a tractor matched to the work, 100 percent of the time. This is the part of JDLink we like best: sometimes the data tells you to buy less tractor, and we would rather you buy the right one.
Have questions about JDLink, need help activating a machine, or want someone to look at your reports with you? Contact your local Koenig Equipment store and ask for a Precision Ag Specialist. If a JDLink alert has already flagged a problem on a machine, you can book the repair online and we will come to the call with the data in hand.
Shop genuine John Deere parts that fit the 8235R and 8285R at Koenig Marketplace — search by your exact model to see what fits.