Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware
Motherboard ^ | 3/21/17 | JASON KOEBLER

Posted on 03/22/2017 1:08:15 PM PDT by Rebelbase

To avoid the draconian locks that John Deere puts on the tractors they buy, farmers throughout America's heartland have started hacking their equipment with firmware that's cracked in Eastern Europe and traded on invite-only, paid online forums.

Tractor hacking is growing increasingly popular because John Deere and other manufacturers have made it impossible to perform "unauthorized" repair on farm equipment, which farmers see as an attack on their sovereignty and quite possibly an existential threat to their livelihood if their tractor breaks at an inopportune time.

"When crunch time comes and we break down, chances are we don't have time to wait for a dealership employee to show up and fix it," Danny Kluthe, a hog farmer in Nebraska, told his state legislature earlier this month. "Most all the new equipment [requires] a download [to fix]."

(Excerpt) Read more at motherboard.vice.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: agriculture; automotive; farm; farms; johndeere; tractors
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120121-129 next last
To: puppypusher
"Why should tractors be different?The Automobile manufacturers are doing the same thing."

They shouldn't be.

81 posted on 03/22/2017 4:05:21 PM PDT by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: RitchieAprile

F1 is just a pay-to-play game anymore...


82 posted on 03/22/2017 4:05:58 PM PDT by briankk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: posterchild
I hope an open source tractor can start getting some traction.

It'll still be a hard row to hoe.

83 posted on 03/22/2017 4:53:40 PM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (It's gonna be bloody.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Rebelbase

ping


84 posted on 03/22/2017 4:58:08 PM PDT by minnesota_bound
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DiogenesLamp

Wow! Just yesterday, my husband went up to the junk yard to get a new motor for our drivers seat in our Ford Expedition. You cant just buy a “motor”, you have to get the whole seat track! Dealer cost for this was a little over $500 [I believe their price was $532?]....plus whatever labor they would charge.....price at junkyard....$32. We cringe at the thought of having to use the dealer for any repairs. Oh and it sounds like “$500” has become the standard price for any broken part. smh


85 posted on 03/22/2017 5:00:21 PM PDT by bohica1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: reformedliberal

Try a toyota.Noway you can work on it.We must bring this to the attention of the great Donald!


86 posted on 03/22/2017 5:05:19 PM PDT by WENDLE (DEFEAT RINOCARE. NO RINOCARE!!--FREE ENTERPRIZE WITH SAFETY NET!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: Rebelbase

Sounds like CA smog testing insanity.

This will be making big news soon. Millions in CA are now required to drive in circles, endless miles, were talking hundreds of miles, in attempts to simply recycle their vehicle computers so they can “qualify” to take the smog test. They’re not even allowed to take the smog test until the computer shows all diagnostics on the computer show, “complete” and ready for the smog test.

It’s a complete chaotic and environmental disaster. They say upwards of 5 million in CA on now:

“Stuck in CA smog check hell”

http://workingreporter.com/wordpress/stuck-in-smog-check-hell/#comment-164909


87 posted on 03/22/2017 5:08:36 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Rebelbase

No need to hack my 1941 Ford 9n.
75 years young and still plugging away.


88 posted on 03/22/2017 5:12:26 PM PDT by redcatcherb412
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DiogenesLamp

“In fact, I want to find myself some 1940 or 1950 era vehicle...”

Get on that; they’re not all that inexpensive, now; they’ll only cost MORE once more folks begin to catch onto your way of thinking.

Go root around eBay and Craig’sList — y’never know what you’ll find. Just beware of scams; if the price seems WAY to good, it’s probably not a legit sale offer — the “seller” probably doesn’t even own the car & is just using pictures of someone else’s ride they scalped of the ‘net. Very common scam.

Get on out there and do some shopping. You could have that classic in your driveway by summertime.


89 posted on 03/22/2017 5:35:36 PM PDT by HKMk23 (You ask how to fight an idea? Well, I'll tell you how: with another idea!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: posterchild

There’s a tractor that’s been prototyped here in Alabama. It’s got no computers,it’s a small diesel or gas powered (buyers choice) affair, but the grab is its made with parts readily available almost every where. It’s being marketed to third world farmers and nothing in it is proprietary. It’s k8nda pricey, 10,000 for gas and 12 for diesel, but it’s an interesting concept, and one I support.


90 posted on 03/22/2017 5:38:20 PM PDT by BudgieRamone (Everybody loves a bonk on the head.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: HKMk23

I’d like to get another 67 Cougar like the one I had for a short while in the early 00’s.


91 posted on 03/22/2017 5:41:02 PM PDT by wally_bert (I didn't get where I am today by selling ice cream tasting of bookends, pumice stone & West Germany)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]

To: wally_bert

Those were cool cars. Which engine did yours have; 289, 390, 410 or the six?


92 posted on 03/22/2017 5:44:27 PM PDT by HKMk23 (You ask how to fight an idea? Well, I'll tell you how: with another idea!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 91 | View Replies]

To: wally_bert

Just listed at $5k

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1967-Mercury-Cougar-Coupe-/382013513259?hash=item58f1c79e2b:g:54MAAOSwjDZYljgk&vxp=mtr


93 posted on 03/22/2017 5:47:14 PM PDT by HKMk23 (You ask how to fight an idea? Well, I'll tell you how: with another idea!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 91 | View Replies]

To: BudgieRamone

wish there could be a car like that


94 posted on 03/22/2017 5:47:36 PM PDT by Chickensoup (Leftists today are speaking as if they plan to commence to commit genocide against conservatives.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 90 | View Replies]

To: wally_bert
I had one too:
95 posted on 03/22/2017 5:48:41 PM PDT by exit82 (The opposition has already been Trumped!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 91 | View Replies]

To: HKMk23

It was a base 289.

The factory AM radio still worked.

Here it is at my parent’s place way back when.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tysonneil/129847080/

It wound up being sold to solve a money problem that could have been handled differently but I lost that battle. At least it was bought by a collector in Oklahoma so it went to a good home.


96 posted on 03/22/2017 5:50:34 PM PDT by wally_bert (I didn't get where I am today by selling ice cream tasting of bookends, pumice stone & West Germany)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 92 | View Replies]

To: Rebelbase

Bastard corporatists. It should be a law that if a seller requires a purchaser to get maintenance from the seller, the service is free. When ownership transfers, it’s transferred. The friggin software industry screwed this up.


97 posted on 03/22/2017 5:50:47 PM PDT by King Moonracer (Bad lighting and cheap fabric, that's how you sell clothing.....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: exit82

Looks way better than mine.

The one I had was in an uncle’s barn for a few years.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tysonneil/129847080/

I’ve told my wife more than once that if I run across another that I can afford, it stays this time.


98 posted on 03/22/2017 5:52:08 PM PDT by wally_bert (I didn't get where I am today by selling ice cream tasting of bookends, pumice stone & West Germany)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 95 | View Replies]

To: wally_bert

Ooooooh. Too bad.

My folks had a ‘60 Torino GT running a 351 Windsor.

Avocado Green.
Black vinyl hardtop.
NOT the fastback body style.
Black stripes down the rocker panels.

Never seen another exactly like it.

Pop unloaded it to some High School kid because the C6 automatic was getting soft in the shift, and there was a softball-sized door dent on one side.


99 posted on 03/22/2017 5:58:39 PM PDT by HKMk23 (You ask how to fight an idea? Well, I'll tell you how: with another idea!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 96 | View Replies]

To: wally_bert

That was just a picture I got off the net to show what a ‘67 Cougar looked like.

Mine was an XR-7, yellow with a black segmented racing strip along the top side edge of the car—very cool.

289 V-8, auto, black interior.

Bought used for $750 in 1975. Sold for $300 in 1977 to pay the doctor bill for delivering Son #1.

Yours was very good looking.

I loved the sequential tail lights, and the the “thump-thump” sound the vacuum operated headlight covers made when closing.


100 posted on 03/22/2017 6:00:00 PM PDT by exit82 (The opposition has already been Trumped!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 98 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120121-129 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson