Automower Answers: Boundary Wires & Guides Wires (How much is too much)
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2019
- In this video we discuss the difference between boundary wires and guide wires. We also go back to the technical manual to find out what the REAL specs are for the amount of wire that can be used in an Automower installation. We also talk about guide wires and how to keep maximum signal strength in you guide wires.
If you are looking to purchase an Automower, Automower parts & accessories, or need tech support for your Automower visit www.roboticmowerservices.com or email us at Roboticmowerservices@gmail.com
#Automower #AutomowerAnswers #EshlemaniaTV #AutomowerFAQ #Husqvarna #HowTo #AutomowerUSA - Krátké a kreslené filmy
FYI, Dwight, although VERY busy was kind enough to review my drawings and give feedback. That kind of help is really appreciated! Hats off to him!
Absolutely the BEST VIDEO and explanation on CZcams for how to install a automower. Thank You !!
Great Video for people who get mixed up with boundary and guide wire setup
Another excellent video. Every video I've watched has helped me to properly install, fine tune and concur obstacles such as wiring around a fence and locating a cut wire using the tool from Amazon. I am able to get more out of my mower than initially anticipated thanks to your expertise. I could not be happier with the results. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Thanks for the awesome feedback! Glad we could help!
This was extremely helpful. Thanks for the detailed info.
TY fir this video! Really helping me to plan this out. Much appreciated
No problem! Be sure to check out the Robotic Mower Services youtube channel as well for more Automower information.
That was awesome. Great explanation!! Thanks!!!
This was great! I had no idea what to do about my volcanoes - now I do.
Great tutorial. Thank you
Thanks for watching and for commenting.
I had no idea that the signal from the guide wire went to the left back to the charging station. That’s important information to know. Thanks.
Excellent informative video.
Thank you!
Another great video
Learning much more about my mower from your videos that I’ve learned using them in the last two years
Is it possible to run to auto mowers within the same boundary wire?
Short answer, NOPE.
It would be nice IF the sales staff and Husqvarna reps actually KNEW this info. I brought in my drawing of our VERY complex landscaped yard and measured out I needed 1300m of boundary wire. All they cared about was if the grass area was less than 1.25Acre...it is .75Acre. 3 Guide wires now available on 450x but still the loops will be more than 400m. I have a large koi pond that has to have boundary around it. So WHY DO THE REPS AND SALES STAFF NOT KNOW THIS INFO!!! Luckily i saw this video today before i have paid for the new 450X. I will see if i can redesign the layout and maybe have it bump into areas( but that will require a lot of landscape changes). I grow tired of sales people NOT knowing their product. In fact they are order takers, not sales people! Thanks for your great video!!!
We could make a LOT of videos about the kind of stuff you're talking about when it comes to people selling power equipment. Not where sure where you are located, but if you need any help or info with an Automower you can send an email to roboticmowerservices@gmail.com
@@EshlemaniaTV i am in BC but i will email you with
thanks!
Thanks for the the help, I have a few questions for a 315x install:
1 can I mow over a freshly seeded soil patch while the seeds are growing?
2 Can I cross an island boundary wire with a guide wire? It would be crossing the doubled up wire from island to boundary wire proper. Or does the crossing of a wire pose a problem...
3 You mention leaving a shed etc to just get bumped into instead of making an island... what about a rock island with football sized rocks at the edge - its in the middle of the yard! Is it ok to bump into rocks for the robots shell? Thanks for the tips!
greatly appreciated
Does the depth into the ground that the perimeter and guide wires are set change the signal strength? I have seen suggestions of burying the wires as much as 4" and, in my mind that would reduce the signal strength much more than say wires buried 1" deep.
Does the 400 metre limit on the guide wire loop refer to each of the guide wires used or the complete guide wire system installed?
Thank you!
You bet!
Very interesting video!
One question thuogh.
I have a 430x with the possibility to use 2 guide cables.
Is it possible to position the 2 guide cables together for 20 meters and then separate them to different planes in the garden?
If not, what is the shortest distance they can be laid without disturbing each other?
You can lay them next to each other but leave about 30cm between them.
My 450x has been doing a great job mowing my very complex yard. Not big but complex. However when it goes home to it's garage it spends quite awhile in front of the garage trying to get parked. It keeps hitting the garage and the planter walls nearby. Is there a way to have avoid running into the walls of its garage?
Very helpful video. I know the devil is always in the details.
Below in one of your responses you say "the mower itself will NOT cross the boundary wire to follow the guide". I was hoping to have the charger close to my house and have the mower follow the guide wire down a path (hopefully with the blade turned off) to the lower part of my yard (which is the only area that actually has grass and that I want to mow). I thought I could run the guide wire down that path and then connect into the boundary wire around the grassed area. But if the mower won't cross the boundary wire then does this mean:
1 It will go down the guide wire but then stop when it gets to the boundary and not cross into the grassed area?
2 Maybe it does cross the boundary to get into the grassed area but will not cross it to get out of the grassed area when it needs to get back to charge?
Can't thank you enough for the very helpful & insightful video, one specific question please, Is the capability of having multiple guiding wires something specific to the base or the mower itself ?
I was able to buy 315x on a very decent offer because of physical damage to its charging station (have to fix it anyway) & Since I have a very complex layout for my mowable area, 2 guide wires will make a huge difference for me. Was wondering if I buy 450x station & place the electrical components in the 315X station, Crazy ? Any advice ? suggestions ? I have 450x station available at decent price too because of a physical minor
crack
I think the stations are different, different transformers and the mower model knows about each guide wire individually. 315X can only use one so even if the station could have been used the mower wouldn't understand it.
Will 90 degree corners work with the boundary wires? What happens if the automower needs to find its way back to the base station using the boundary wires?
I have a question about 2 wires to an island canceling the signal so the mower will run over it. We installed an island wire and had a problem with the mower thinking it was a boundarywire. I went back to the section and made sure the wire was next to each other without crossing it over and still didn't work because we were also told the guide wire crossing it would be fine because the boundary would not be detected. Didn't happen so we decided to illiminate the island all together and leave the guide wire in place. when I cut the wire and repaired, after unplugging the unit first, I am now getting the blue flashing light. I repaired again with another coupler and same thing. I did leave some distance on the cut as to not stretch the wire but still flashing blue light, I have ordered more couplers and the Kolso Fo2 to help in case this isn't the problem. Is there a way youy can cause a problem with the coupler itself? I did push down tightly. Thank you
Where can I find instructions on how to fit Husqvarna Wall hangers for 310 & 430X
Wow wish I watch this before selecting where I picked where I pick where I put my station
I need to put my charging station inside a garage shed. The only problem is that the grass area and shed need to be crossed by pavement. Is it possible to configure the mower to travel on the guidewire without cutting? Or some other way to solve my scenario?
Very compelling video about the guide wire vs boundary wire, but one thing you did not mention is what if you have a backyard and front yard that is divided by a concrete driveway? Also, in my neighborhood there's a sidewalk, and in front of that sidewalk between my yard and the street a 5'x 30' strip of grass where the mailbox sits. How do I set wires for that area? The principles of the guide wires are simple if you have a "normal" yard, but what about more complex setups, does that mean you need more than one charging station? At some point they are going to have to figure out a way to create boundaries using GPS or "digital zones", kind of like they do with motion detection cameras.
I think we talked about set ups similar to that in this video: czcams.com/video/aarWeUwasFQ/video.html
This is so simple
I have a 2nd area at the other side of the driveway. I do not want the Husqvarna 420 to drive to area 2 without me controlling this, to avoid collision with the car on the driveway. I cannot drive around the house to reach area 2. Can I put the 2nd guidewire together with the boudary wires (to and back from area 2) in 1 tube under the driveway? From point of view of area 1, the loop is
closed before the driveway, but can I instruct the robot to go to area 2 accross the driveway by instructing the robot to follow guidewire 2 whilest the boundary wires (to area 2 and back from area 2) are next this 2nd guidewire in the same plastic tube? In other words, when one instructs the robot to follow the guidewire, does the robot looks where the boudary wires are located and do they need to be at a minimum distance from the guidewire to allow the guidewire to work?
Great Video. Thank you I wish I would have watched this 3 years ago. We just installed a new boundary wire. But this time we decided we didn't need any guide wires. Stihl and Honda don't use them so we can get a way with not having them just more stuff to break. Right. But we installed boundary wire and the battery kept dying. So we just changed the setting. If the mower has thirty minutes to get back to the charging station than it can just find the boundary wire easily in 30 minutes and roll back to home base right? Still dyed in the yard. So we tried a spare on that is brand new and it found the charging station. Was this just luck that it found the charging station? Or is the battery really dead or not good. It is a 2018 model. You seem to really believe in guide wires. Do you still think the same thing in 2020. This installation is huge 1.5 acres.
Guide wires are what separates Automowers from all of the competition. They allow for more remote start locations within the installation so you can get better coverage in complex or crowded lawns. If the 315X had 2 guide wires there would be even more of them sold. As far as them being one more thing to break, if a guide wire breaks the mower can still mow because it is a completely different signal than the loop signal. The 115H would not be able to dock properly in the charging station if it did not have a guide installed or it was broken. The 115 H charging station use the guide wire to line the mower up with the charger when it backs in. It's really no different than driving in a car and having a limited amount of gas. Ae you going to take the long way around to and from your destination, or are you going to take a direct path to get there to save time and fuel?
So I'm picking up the 450x... Has 3x Guide wire spots. Just so I understand "each" guide wire can go 400 meters its not a combined 400 meters for all 3 ?
Guide loop can be longer than 400 meters, but thicker wire must be used - it all comes down to guide loop electrotechnical resistance value. In my garden I have installed a wire, which has conductive cross-section area approximately 1,5 mm² (Husqvarna original standard wire has approximately 0,933 mm²), guide loop length is more than 500 meters and there are no signal problems. Same applies to boundary loop 800 meters maximum length requirement.
I've installed a few where we have used over 1,000 meters in the loop and it took some tweaking to get them to work properly. Once they were set up right they had no issues. But since then they have made changes to the charging station boards and a few other components, in places like in the North East United States it's a bit trickier to get away with the large installs like that anymore because of the amount of iron ore in the ground. Same is true for guide loops in these areas.
@@EshlemaniaTV I'm looking at a 800m boundary for a 450x, with two of the guide wire loops being 550m and 650m respectively, the other is less than 400m. The length being down to the placement of the house and therefore the base unfortunately. I've got standard 2.7mm wire and hoping it will work as they won't be buried, just tacked. The two longer guides will be going over the driveway. If the loop went right at the boundary rather than left it may have been better but it is what it is.
Installing a 450x with 800-900m perimeter and I have a couple of questions:
1. Does the guide wire maximum length (400m) include the portion of the perimeter wire it connects to? In other words, if I run a 300m guide wire, but it connects to a point on the boundary wire that is 400m from the base station will it work?
2. I have a circuitous lawn layout with several large areas. I plan to run guide wires to these locations, but one location is remote with an eight foot entryway ... if I run a guide wire into the adjacent section, can I safely assume it will eventually find its way into the remote section?
@@chezcarson2012 1. They explained it many times. It should be seen as a loop, both counts. Watch the video again :-)
2. Hard to answer by just reading a text. Guides are used for leaving and returning to the station, when mowing it won't actively use them. Apart from length problems you can run a guide through a narrow passage between boundary wires.
how can you have two guide cables on the husqverna aspire?
Great video thanks. I had my 450x installed by an installer two days ago and it has yet to find the home base on it's own. Plus on one section of my layout the mower only mows between the guide wire and the lead-in side of the boundary wire. I placed the mower on the other side of the guide wire and the other half of the boundary wire. I got a message that it was our of the mowing area. The other two guide wires do pretty well for getting the mower back to the charging station, but doesn't quite make it into the station and connect on it's own. Any Ideas? Wires crossed somewhere?
Sounds like they have a guide wire connected for a boundary wire and that's why it is not recognizing anything to the other side of that guide wire.
Thanks. Your answer was spot on. The boundary wire was cross wired with one of the guide wires. Now it operates perfectly.
In that third guide loop wire, any reason I can't run it back to the left boundary by looping outside the boundary wire and running back past the dock (beside the house in a flowerbed) to the left side wire just outside the dock?
This! I really need an answer on this!
Do you have to use the guide wires? Why cant it use the boundary to return like my other mowers?
Why does my 315X fails to detect guide-wire on the last quarter of the distance when searching path back to charging station? Guide-wire is 85m long and whole ‘left loop’ is about 200m (guide+left boundary). When exiting charging station and going to that spot of 85m it does have no problems following it. Just does not find it when searching it in the last cca. 20-30 meters…
Does the 450xh model have the same boundary wire length limit? Can a yard use two systems or the boundary wires butt up against each other?
Yes and yes. You can actually over lap the 2 areas a bit if needed.
Instead of doing a GPS guided mow I'm switching to the zone style. How do you determine which wire is the left and which is right? Is it left looking at charge station or facing away from the charge station?
They are labeled on the back of the charging station
What about the line signal booster that is available. Wouldn’t that solve the problem?
There is NOT a signal booster available for this generation of Automowers. If you look at the descriptions for them they usually say that. The 220AC was the last model that a signal booster worked on and it has been discontinued for about 2 or 3 years now.
I left for vacation and I have the dreaded blue light....I have check the volatage of the power supply 27 v and sometimes showing a little more..I have tried to use my guidewires to create and narrow the loop but none have worked. In the past I was able to use this method. I then traced one of these loops and found that to me normal but the autmower still doesnt work on this connected loop. It was working for about 6-7 months with this set up. Could there be some other problem ?
Use an AM radio to check if you have a break in your boudary wire.
Could the 3rd guide wire go all the way down the 3rd area and then cross the boudary wire (without being connected to it), go under the driveway, and connect to the boundary wire near the flower bed?
The guide wire can not go outside the boundary wire. I mean you could physically place it outside the boundary wire, but the mower itself will NOT cross the boundary wire to follow the guide.
So you can have multiple guide wires ? You would connect it on the same spot in the charging station ?
Only with a 400 or 500 series mower. The 115H, 310, 315, and 315X only have the capability to use 1 guide wire.
@@EshlemaniaTV 315X here so yeah I'll be using one. Thx for the heads up
Great ! I have a question. Is it possible to split the guide wire. i have a front lawn and a fenced back lawn and my mower has to travel thru a gate from the front to the back. So its quite a bit to and from the front lawn before reaching or coming back to the charging station. I want to split the guide wire as soon as it passes the gate ... Sort of create a bypass for that long route in the back yard. I hope the schematic below comes out ok. So split at point A and connect at point B hoping that it will travel front lawn -> A->B->Charging Station instead of the current route of front lawn->A->D->B->Charging station. Thanks
|------>-----|
| |
^ v
split A | |
->----o----| |
| o point D
| Back |
| |
| v
| |
| |
|--
I have a Husqvarna 115h - How many guide wires can I run to the charging station (under 600meters total) and where do I connect them on the charging station? (there is ONLY 1 hook up for the guide wire)
You can only run 1 guide wire for the 115H
Do you know why my 315x very often follows the guide wire when it leaves the charging station? I have a larger area and a smaller area, and the guide wire is in the smaller area. Obviously I want it to go to the larger area most of the time (like 75%), but it still goes to the smaller area half of the time…
Do you have GPS mowing turned on? If so, turn it off and set up zones to force the mower to start in the areas that you want it to.
Are all boundary wires the same through different brands?
For the most part the wire itself is pretty similar across the different brands that we have been around. But the layout of the wire is different from brand to brand
So does a thicker gauge of REAL copper help drop the resistance enough to fudge a few more feet?
Probably not. And the reason I say that is because that heavier wire might look good plugged into the charging station, but inside that tower are pretty thin wires carrying the voltage from the circuit board to the tabs you would be plugging that heavier wire into.
Do rabbits and mice chew the wire? Or is the coating tough enough?
I have a question my automower keeps dying from low battery but the charger is good and so is my loop signal. do you know what's going on?
Check your guide wires. Guide wires give the mower a direct shot back to the charging station
@@EshlemaniaTV the guide wire is totally fine and so are connections and the way its routed. Could it be the battery?
Have you seen installations work with a guide wire going across a driveway in the crevice? And an even more important question is do you use a guide wire or a boundary wire?
Yes, we have done many installs crossing a driveway using an existing seem or cutting our own. A guide wire and a boundary wire are 2 different things. Boundary wires are required and guide wires area luxury that should always be used when available.
Did it straight over side walk no crevice, it survived till we tore out side walk and made a new one
So you can run 3 separate guide wires?
Depends on what model you have. 450X, 450XH, 550, 550XH can use 3 guide wires.
@@EshlemaniaTV I only have a 310
@@markhewitt8220 310 only supports one. The station has different connectors for each guide to put different signals so splitting the existing won't work
I don't understand how it will handle corridors and public nature strips over the footpath? Something about guide wires for multiple areas, but need clarity before making a big purchase.
Also, apparently the guide wire is supposed to be laid to the left or right of the boundary wires, rather than down the middle. I'm researching where the guide wire is meant to go.
Can guide wires cross other guide wires?
They really shouldn't. Will it work? Well there's a lot of variables to that
So using a dog fence trencher, how does that work with trees. They want 0" between wires
Not sure what you are asking. Can you elaborate?
@@EshlemaniaTV ended up being a non issue thanks to your video in part. Basically I was trying to figure out how to run the boundary wire around some trees then back to the edge of the work area in the same trench, however I found out I can't do that because Im already maxxed on the guide loop length for my 115h (only 250m). Additionally one of the dog fence trenchers I rented does have a split ring on the front so the wire could be removed and placed in the same trench (without cutting up and unburying the wire already laid to get the 0" separation required). That said dog fence trenchers really should only be used when the ground is dry dry as I gave up the first attempt and still have yet to install my mower since I'd get about 10 feet before the machine would be clogged up.
@@EshlemaniaTV it was also bizarre that the guide loop is mentioned exactly once at the end of the manual and no where else. In the 115h they don't even discuss what composes the guide loop but after investigation while standing in the work area looking at the base it's the right terminal to the guide terminal
Can I call u I have a idea for u
Say 800 again, I dare you
You don't mow the sides of your volcanoes? Heathen!
After the goat we were using fell in we decided to go with a 435X. It cost more than a replacement goat, but it was worth it since we had to add a second volcano because we all know you have to have at least 2 volcanos in order for them to survive.
I ordered self install with it on march 15th but took two weeks to get here ended up being the wrong auto mower so we sent it back took another week to get here now they say they can't install it till may 1st because of the stay at home act... im not happy with even bothering to fucking get this.... ontop of they never checked to see if my yard can handle this mower im just assuming it'll work and i can't even self install it cause they gave me about 900 feet short of what i actually needed for my dam yard... im so angry, the fact imma have to make a payment before i even get to see this thing at work, it's going to make my blood boil to a new level. i can't even self install it even if i tried, so now i've gotta wait fuckin 20 more days practically., Thanks china for the covid 19, hope we send you a nice lawsuit for this.
Michael u need to get a life son.
Did you mention you can send the mower down a guide wire for so many meters for a percentage you’ve not a clue so stop posting
When you set up zones instead of using GPS mowing you have the option to use the boundary wires (right & left) or any available guide wires to set up remote start locations. After you select what way the mower is getting to the zone you set the percentage of times that the mower takes that route when it leaves the charging station. But maybe you are right and we have no clue......
Why are you so mad? Do you hate the auto mower? I know your pain.
Very helpful video. I know the devil is always in the details.
Below in one of your responses you say "the mower itself will NOT cross the boundary wire to follow the guide". I was hoping to have the charger close to my house and have the mower follow the guide wire down a path (hopefully with the blade turned off) to the lower part of my yard (which is the only area that actually has grass and that I want to mow). I thought I could run the guide wire down that path and then connect into the boundary wire around the grassed area. But if the mower won't cross the boundary wire then does this mean:
1 It will go down the guide wire but then stop when it gets to the boundary and not cross into the grassed area?
2 Maybe it does cross the boundary to get into the grassed area but will not cross it to get out of the grassed area when it needs to get back to charge?
The boundary wire has to be connected to the charging station, or it wont have a signal and will just be a dead wire in the ground.