fig1 shows a soil compaction device according to the invention in a schematic side view in the form of a vibration plate whose basic design is known and is only briefly depicted below . a motor , not shown , drives two shafts 1 , 2 in opposite directions through a drive unit in the direction of the arrow in fig1 . each shaft has an eccentric mass , 3 , 4 , respectively , on it . the rotation of the eccentric masses produces an essentially vertically directed oscillation that is transferred to the soil to be compacted by means of a soil contact plate 5 . the shafts 1 , 2 as well as the eccentric masses 3 , 4 can each be separated in the axial direction so as to produce a yawing moment — at the right phase relationship — which makes the vibration plate rotate at a point or — with simultaneous forward motion — travel about a curved radius . the change of the phase relationship of the shafts 1 , 2 to one another as well as the phase relationship of two eccentric masses on one shaft is done using a known positioning unit in which suitable control elements , not shown , are shifted by means of a hydraulic system 6 , which is also a part of the positioning unit . the fluid stream in the hydraulic system 6 can be influenced in various ways according to the state of the technology : there are vibration plates known with a control handle 8 at the end of a center guide post 7 or guide handle 7 serving as an operator element . this control handle tilts at the end of the center guide post 7 and directly activates a hydraulic valve belonging to the hydraulic system 6 . in a remote - controlled vibration plate , a receiver unit 9 is provided at the vibration plate that receives radio or infrared signals from a sending unit , not shown . it is also common to receive electrical signals over a cable remote control unit . the signals are converted in the receiver unit 9 and actuate electromagnetic valves provided in the hydraulic system 6 through a hydraulic system controller 10 . these types of remote - controlled vibration plates primarily have the center guide post 7 designed as a short guide handle . moreover , there are often no additional operator elements provided on the vibration plate itself since the operation is to be done through the sending unit only . for cable remote control systems , however , vibration plates are known in which the sending unit can be inserted into a corresponding receptacle in the vibration plate and then be used as an operator panel . in manually correcting the motion of the vibration plate , the operator must pull the short guide handle with one hand and at the same time activate the remote control or suitable pushbuttons on the operator panel with the other hand in order to attain the desired motion of the vibration plate . in order to make this easier for the operator , an additional moving control handle 8 is provided on the short guide handle 7 whose change in position does not directly cause a change in the position of a hydraulic valve , but rather is detected by a sensor unit 11 that is likewise located at the end of the guide handle 7 . the sensor unit 11 can be constructed in the form of a hall generator , a proximity switch or can be built of reed contacts . it converts the respective position of the control handle 8 into an electrical signal that is fed to the hydraulic system controller 10 . as sensors for the sensor unit 11 , capacitive , inductive and resistive sensors are suitable and must be located near the control handle 8 . in the hydraulic system controller 10 , the signal is electromechanically converted , for example by means of an electromagnetic control element that acts on the hydraulic system 6 and thus influences the phase relationship of the shafts 1 , 2 , and the eccentric weights 3 , 4 in the oscillator . the steering of the vibration plate is thus accomplished through a type of servo control . fig2 and 3 show a schematic top view of the vibration plate according to the invention , wherein fig3 is a sectional enlargement of fig2 . at the end of the center guide post 7 , there are two control handles 8 serving as operator elements where the operator can guide the machine . each of the control handles 8 can be rotated relative to the center guide post 7 resulting in the motion or steering behavior of the vibration plate changing . instead of the center guide post 7 , the control handle 8 can also be located on a shorter guide handle . each control handle 8 is inserted into the sensor unit 11 and has a transmitting magnet 12 at its end that is opposite a hall sensor 13 . through the motion of the transmitting magnet 12 at the hall sensors 13 , an electrical voltage is produced that is fed as a signal through a line 14 to the hydraulic controller 10 . to dampen the oscillation of the control handle 8 , a rubber element 15 can be attached in the form of a collar . instead of the hall sensor 13 described , other sensor units are also possible , for example proximity switches , reed contacts , etc . if , as shown in fig2 , two independently moving control handles 8 are provided , not only can the direction of travel ( forward , backward , standstill ) of the vibration plate be adjusted , but also a steering or circular motion can be accomplished , provide the oscillator is so equipped . the control handle 8 can moreover be acted upon by a spring , not shown , in order to be held in a zero position when it is not activated so that the vibration plate always falls back into a safe state in its zero position . in this state , it makes no motion of its own outside of its vertical oscillatory motion . in the zero position , the horizontal forces produced by the eccentric weights neutralize each other such that the resulting overall force has no horizontal component .