Class Presentations

We spent a little time preparing power point presentations on current products and then they presented them to the class. I have about 4 hours of video but I will just share a few pictures.

Service Advisor Certification

Back in November the sophomores came back from OJT for their final 5 months of school. With 76 John Deere Tech students on campus our parking lot gets a little full but we found room for everyone.

Neil and Rodney helped the freshmen who were busy lubricating the floor and the door knobs with oil in Hydraulics 1. Matt and Duane helped the sophomores who were getting their fill of computers and live connections. The sophomores tested for John Deere Service ADVISOR certification with a 100% of them passing. We also had presentations on biodiesel and JD Link and the sophomores also had opportunities to do a little presenting on their own.

We were busy but we did have time to grill 50 lbs. of brats and we had multiple opportunities for some Kwik Star donuts.

Here is a picture from the biodiesel presentation.

Current Draw and Heat

Here are a couple videos that demonstrates the comparison of amp draw and increased resistance caused by heat. Allow both videos to load and and click play on both at the same time to see the comparison. Note: Click the bottom video first.

 

 

Electric I Class Wraps Up

We are just finishing Electric I Class. We have been working on voltage drops, Ohm's law, battery testing, JICs and numerous other emotional experiences. Here are some pics.

 

Electrical Sites

Here are some electrical sites to play with.

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/circuit-construction-kit-dc

http://www.autoshop101.com/

The First Class Is Over

It doesn't seem possible but Fundamentals and Safety class finished on Tuesday. We have successfully turned a 9600 and a 7720 into a pile of parts. We have discovered that you can use these precision "C" clamps in our toolboxes to actually measure things very accurately and averaged 90% on the final micrometer test. We can look at cap screws and identify their size by sight. We can recognize many TLA (Three Letter Acronyms) and we even know how to turn on Service ADVISOR. Thirty nine students come back every day! Sounds like success to me!
 Now it’s time to start Implement class.

Fundamentals and Safety Class

We are nearing the end of the first class and we have been busy learning about fasteners, fire extinguishers, micrometers and torque wrenches. We have been driving new tractors and moving wheels. We also have successfully turned two combines into a large pile of parts.

 

This is the 7.6L engine from the 9600 combine. We needed to make sure it ran and had oil pressure for Tri-State. We used a harness for an 8.1L engine that we made during last years engine class just to make it run and all we got was uncontrolled RPM. Rodney is regulating the speed by limiting the air. A lot of fuel and limited air equals a lot of smoke.

 

Welcome To A New Instructor

We would like to welcome Matt Johnson as a new instructor to the John Deere Tech program. He graduated from the John Deere Tech program in 2000 and has been working as a technician at Decorah Implement since 1998. He has worked with several students at the dealership and has achieved the John Deere Master Technician Certification. We welcome his current product knowledge and enthusiasm. If you get a chance stop in and welcome him to the team.

Let The Fun Begin

We finally got to lab and started taking apart the combines. We are also working with the new tractors and learning about safety. Service ADVISOR is becoming our new best friend!

The Combines Have Arrived

We unloaded the combines for disassembly on Friday. Now if we get them cleaned up a little we can start tearing them down. It shouldn't take too long with 40 students working on them. We will also be working on wheel moves and and predelivery of new tractors.

2012 Scholarships

We awarded the 2012 John Deere Tech scholarships last week. The scholarships were determined on the following criteria:
1. Short-range and long-range career plans
2. Personal reference from the sponsoring dealer
3. Supervised Occupational Experience I report
4. Transcript
5. Awards and community involvement.  

Congratulations

Tractor Ride 2012

We had a good day at the tractor ride. There were 51 tractors were in the ride and at least 80 people there. Here is a link to the pictures that I have. You can download them and use them as you like.

Hydraulics II

From slippery door knobs to oily floors and tractors we have managed to spread hydraulic oil around the entire shop. Fortunately it has just been a little at a time. We will finish Hydraulics II on Monday with the John Deere Hydraulic Certification online test. I'm sure everyone is spending the weekend studying. Here are a few pics.

 

 

JD Tech Hosts NE District FFA Contest

The John Deere Tech students hosted the NE District FFA Ag Mechanics Contest on May 17th. We had a combine project, small engine projects, a conservation project, an electrical controls project, a concrete project and a written test. Over 50 students from NE Iowa competed in the 3 hour contest. A special thanks goes out to Eileen, Kristi, Kevin and Dean. Here are some pictures.

Graduation 2012

We graduated 29 students this year. We are still trying to decide if we are happy to see you go off to make your own way or if we would still like you around. Here are some pictures.

AMS Field Day

We had an opportunity to drive around an open field with the new toys. The 7200R has a CommandQuad, the 4440 has Auto Trac Universal and the 8235Rs have 2630 displays and Integrated Auto Trac. While they were driving around we were monitoring the location of the 8235R with JDLink and doing recordings with Service Advisor Remote. We even found an App to do JDLink location on Android or Windows Mobile.