Learning Center

Connect the tablet to the DIG module

Join the DIG module's Wi-Fi (MECU_Ditch_Dig…, password 12345678 from firmware 1.7), open Excavation and tap Connect, or pick the DIG Module card under Manual Options. What the failure messages mean, what happens when the link drops or the module sends no GPS, and how to check the DIG firmware from Settings.

  • DIG™ Kit

In the app Home › Excavation › Connect; Settings › DIG Module Firmware

The DIG™ module talks to the tablet over its own Wi-Fi: no Bluetooth, no PIN, no cable to the tablet. Join that network, open Excavation and tap Connect. The app looks for a DIG module first in this workflow.

Which Wi-Fi the tablet joins A reference card for each kit. Ditch Assist control module (Full Automation or Guidance Only Kit): join the Wi-Fi network whose name starts with DitchAssist, password 12345678; only one device can be connected at a time. DIG module on an excavator or backhoe: network name starts with MECU_Ditch_Dig, password 12345678 on DIG firmware 1.7 or later; its Wi-Fi is up about 30 seconds after power-on. Ditch Assist Lite receiver, an Emlid Reach RS3 or RS4: the network is named after the receiver, Reach:XX:XX or the name it was given, password emlidreach unless someone changed it. Bluetooth GPS receiver: no Wi-Fi; pair it in the Android Settings app under Bluetooth, then connect from the app; it is for survey and field mapping only and cannot start grading or move the blade. None of these networks has internet: save imagery and LiDAR on shop Wi-Fi first, and when Android warns that the internet may not be available, tap Always connect. Control moduleFull Automation or Guidance Only KitWi-Fi name starts withDitchAssistOne device at a timePassword12345678DIG™ moduleExcavator or backhoeWi-Fi name starts withMECU_Ditch_DigReady 30 s after startPassword12345678Firmware 1.7+Ditch Assist Lite receiverEmlid Reach RS3 or RS4Wi-Fi nameReach:XX:XXor the name it was givenPasswordemlidreachunless changedBluetooth GPSNo Wi-Fi: pair it in the Settings app,under Bluetooth. Survey and mapping only.No internet on these networksSave imagery and LiDAR on shop Wi-Fi first.Android warns? Tap Always connect.
Join the network for your kit. A DIG module's Wi-Fi name starts with MECU_Ditch_Dig and the password is 12345678 from DIG firmware 1.7. None of these networks has internet, so cache imagery and save LiDAR on shop Wi-Fi first, and tell Android to stay connected.

Before you start

  • DIG Kit installed and calibrated (Install, Calibrate)
  • The machine on, and the DIG module powered for about 30 seconds so its Wi-Fi is up
  • DIG firmware 1.7 or later. The app can't connect to older firmware. Older than 1.7 and the password below doesn't work: call Ditch Assist support.
  • Satellite imagery cached for the job (Offline imagery): there's no internet on the DIG Wi-Fi
  • The tablet is charged and the Ditch Assist app is installed

Time: about 5 minutes the first time; after that the tablet rejoins the DIG Wi-Fi by itself.

Join the DIG Wi-Fi

These steps are in the tablet's own Wi-Fi settings, not in the Ditch Assist app. If you've never changed Wi-Fi on the tablet, read Wi-Fi on the tablet first. Stay near the machine: the DIG Wi-Fi reaches a few cab-lengths.

  1. Swipe down from the top edge of the screen

    The pull-down panel opens, with round buttons for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and so on (the pull-down panel).

  2. Press and hold the Wi-Fi button

    Keep your finger on it for a second (long-press). The list of Wi-Fi networks opens. You can also get there from the Settings app: Connections, then Wi-Fi (the Settings app).

  3. Tap the network whose name starts with MECU_Ditch_Dig

    The rest of the name is a code for that module. A password box opens.

  4. Type the password 12345678

    That's the DIG Wi-Fi password from DIG firmware 1.7 on (typing on the tablet).

  5. Tap Connect

    The tablet joins the DIG Wi-Fi. The DIG Wi-Fi has no internet; that's normal.

  6. If Android asks, tap Always connect

    Android warns the network has no internet. Choose to stay connected. On a Samsung tablet with a SIM card (mobile data on), the message says Internet may not be available: tap Always connect, or turn mobile data off while you work. Otherwise Android sends the app's traffic over mobile data, and the app can't find the module even though the tablet shows the DIG Wi-Fi.

Connect in the app

Tap Excavation

On the Home screen, Excavation is the square on the right of the middle row, with a yellow excavator picture and the words IQ Excavator. Tap it. A window opens called IQ Excavator — Connect.

Home screen: nine square cards in three rows; the right-hand card of the middle row reads Excavation, IQ Excavator
  1. Excavation. Right-hand square of the middle row.

Tap Connect

Connect is the big dark-green button in the window. In Excavation it checks for a DIG module first, then a control module, about a second and a half each.

Window IQ Excavator — Connect in the middle of the Home screen: Connect to Controller, a dark-green Connect button, Simulate, Bluetooth GPS, and Manual Options at the bottom
  1. Connect. Finds the DIG module on the tablet's Wi-Fi.

When it finds the module, the window changes to System Check: skip to Wait for the GPS rows. If it finds nothing, the next two steps connect to the DIG module directly.

If Connect finds nothing: tap Manual Options

Manual Options is the green writing at the bottom of the window, under Bluetooth GPS. Tap it. Two cards appear above the Connect button.

The IQ Excavator — Connect window with Manual Options at the bottom, under Bluetooth GPS
  1. Manual Options. Shows the module cards.

Tap DIG Module

The two cards are the control module card on the left (for scrapers and levelers) and DIG Module, which says Tap to connect. Tap DIG Module, the right-hand card. The app shows Detecting connected module... while it looks. This card is in every workflow's Manual Options, not just Excavation.

The Connect window after Manual Options: two cards, the control module on the left and DIG Module (Tap to connect) on the right, above the Connect button
  1. DIG Module. Connects straight to the DIG module.

Wait for the GPS rows

System Check has three rows. The first, Controller Connected, turns green with Ditch Assist DIG as soon as the module answers, usually within a couple of seconds. GPS Signal and GPS Accuracy follow once the DIG's receiver sends a position. Continue stays grey until they do.

System Check on a real DIG module: Controller Connected, Ditch Assist DIG in green; GPS Signal, Waiting for signal...; GPS Accuracy, Waiting for fix; Continue greyed out 3
  1. Ditch Assist DIG. The Wi-Fi link to the module is up.
  2. Waiting for signal... / Waiting for fix. The receiver hasn't sent a position yet.
  3. Continue. Grey until the GPS rows pass.

If the GPS rows never fill in, or turn red with No GPS signal detected, the module is on the Wi-Fi but isn't getting a position from its receiver: see Connected, but no GPS below.

Tap Continue

When all three rows have a green tick and the last reads RTK Fixed, Continue turns green. Tap it, at the bottom of the window. (This picture is from the simulator; on a DIG module the first row reads Ditch Assist DIG.)

System Check with all three rows green: Controller Connected, GPS Signal (22 satellites), GPS Accuracy (RTK Fixed — 0.8 HDOP), and the green Continue button 1
  1. GPS Accuracy: RTK Fixed. Wait for this before you set a target.
  2. Continue. On to How would you like to grade?

Then pick how you'll dig: the six ways to start. On the dig screen the DIG logo sits at the bottom of the right-hand column.

If it doesn't connect

MessageMeansDo this
Could not reach the DIG module. Check WiFi and retry.The DIG module didn't answer: you tapped the DIG Module card, or Connect found it but couldn't open the link.Check the tablet is on the MECU_Ditch_Dig network (not shop Wi-Fi or a phone hotspot), the module is powered, and you're near the machine. SIM tablet: Always connect or mobile data off. Tap Connect again.
Could not detect a Ditch Assist module. Connect tablet WiFi to the module and try again.Connect found no module.
The control module and DIG Module cards, and under them a red banner: Could not reach the DIG module. Check WiFi and retry. 1
  1. The red message. The tablet can't reach the module over Wi-Fi.

Step by step: DIG won't connect and can't connect.

When the connection drops

If no data arrives from the DIG module for about 10 seconds, the app closes the link, turns the Wi-Fi icon grey and shows a red message at the bottom of the screen:

DIG module is connected but sending no GPS data. Check power and the cable to the GPS receiver. Reconnecting…

That's the message for every silent DIG module, whether the receiver stopped or the module itself went quiet. If Android reports the Wi-Fi gone altogether (radio off, out of range) you get Network unavailable — connection to controller lost. instead.

The chevrons and gauge freeze on the last reading and Start greys out. The app keeps retrying the DIG module every 2 seconds and picks up by itself when data comes back, as long as the tablet is on the DIG Wi-Fi. To hurry it, rejoin the DIG Wi-Fi and tap Connect (or the DIG Module card) from the workflow card. Tapping the grey Wi-Fi icon only reminds you: Tap a workflow card on the Home screen to connect. More: DIG drops mid-dig.

Connected, but no GPS

If the message comes back every 10 to 15 seconds, the Wi-Fi link is fine but the DIG module has no position to send. It connects, waits 10 seconds for GPS, drops, reconnects about 2 seconds later, and goes round again. These screens are from a real DIG module in that state (no GPS at all: 0 satellites):

No GPS state. System Check: Controller Connected, Ditch Assist DIG in green; GPS Signal, No GPS signal detected in red; GPS Accuracy, Waiting for fix; Continue greyed out 1
  1. Ditch Assist DIG. The module answers on Wi-Fi.
  2. No GPS signal detected. But no position comes from its receiver.
No GPS state. GPS Info window: Source DIG Module, Status NO GPS in red, Satellites 0, HDOP --, Wi-Fi Signal -60 dBm Strong, Link Speed 58 Mbps 2.4 GHz, Latitude, Longitude, Elevation and Speed all --
  1. NO GPS, 0 satellites. To see this window, tap the GPS button at the top of the dig screen.
  2. Wi-Fi Signal and Link Speed in green. The Wi-Fi isn't the problem.

The red message repeats every 10 to 15 seconds while the receiver sends nothing.

Check the receiver end, in this order: the receiver's power (is it on, are its lights normal), the GPS cable from the receiver into the DIG harness (seated and undamaged through the stick's full travel), and the antenna and its cable. Then open the DIG web page: Data Received should be OK. Full list: DIG connected but no GPS.

Check and update the DIG firmware

DIG firmware is checked and updated from the tablet, not by sending the module away. The app needs DIG firmware 1.7 or later to connect.

  1. Join the DIG Wi-Fi

    As in Join the DIG Wi-Fi above. The check talks to the module over its Wi-Fi.

  2. Tap Settings

    Settings is the fourth button down the column on the right side of the screen, with a gear picture.

    Home screen; the column of buttons down the right side reads Home, Survey, Grade, Settings, Manual, Pre-Flight Checks
    1. Settings. Fourth button on the right, with a gear.

  3. Scroll down to DIG Module Firmware

    Slide your finger up the Settings list to scroll down (scrolling). DIG Module Firmware is near the bottom, under ABOUT.

    The bottom of the Settings list: ABOUT (Version, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Reset Startup Warnings), then DIG Module Firmware with Update Firmware and an Open button, then Dealer Code
    1. DIG Module Firmware. Near the bottom of Settings.

  4. Tap Open

    On the Update Firmware row, tap Open, the blue word on the right. It checks the module straight away.

    The DIG Module Firmware card: Update Firmware, Check and update the DIG module's firmware. Connect the tablet to the module's WiFi first, and Open on the right
    1. Open. Checks the module.
    2. Update Firmware. Needs the tablet on the DIG Wi-Fi.

  5. Read what it finds

    • Installed firmware: 1.7 and This module is up to date. Nothing to do.
    • This module reports firmware …, which the app cannot update automatically. Please contact support. This app version knows firmware up to 1.7, so a module on newer firmware (1.81 below) gets this message. A newer module connects and works normally; only call support if you actually have a problem with it.
    • Can't reach the DIG module… The tablet isn't on the DIG Wi-Fi. Join it and tap Check Again.
    • This firmware is too old to connect to the app. Update the module to 1.7 to use it. or Updates to apply, in order: … The module is older than 1.7: call Ditch Assist support before you start (below).
    DIG Module Firmware dialog: This module reports firmware 1.81, which the app cannot update automatically. Please contact support. Check Again and Close
    1. Firmware newer than the app knows. A real module on 1.81. It works; this message is the app's, not a fault in the module.

Modules older than firmware 1.7

A module older than 1.7 can't connect to the app at all, and its Wi-Fi uses a different password. Call Ditch Assist support: they'll get the tablet onto it and walk you through the update in this same screen. What you'll see while it runs:

  • Updates go one at a time, in order, each with Start Update. Each takes about a minute: The module is applying firmware … This takes about a minute - leave it powered on. The app checks each one has taken before offering the next.
  • The 1.7 update changes the module's Wi-Fi password to 12345678, so the tablet drops off. In Android Wi-Fi settings, forget the MECU_Ditch_Dig network, join it again with 12345678, and tap Check. It finishes with Module updated to firmware 1.7.

Related

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Still stuck? Talk to a product specialist. 1-833-DITCH-AS · support@ditchassist.com · Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Central.

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