ATHENE 100
– SPREADER RATE CONTROLLER
13
7
Product Calibration
The PWM control system must be correctly calibrated after installation
(as described in the Installation and Calibration manual) before
attempting to calibrate the instrument for individual products as
described here.
If you are going to spread a product for the first time
you need to
establish an initial calibration factor for that product . The calibration factor is
the quantity of product dispensed per revolution of the metering shaft
encoder. There are two possible options for calibrating the spreader. The
choice of method may depend on the nature of the product in use e.g. ease
of handling, value etc.
??
A static calibration test in the yard using a simulated forward speed (7.1).
??
A dynamic calibration test on the field (7.2). A dynamic test should prove
more accurate as it accounts for normal operating conditions.
Once you have established factors for the various products, you should note
them in the back of this manual for future reference, so that the calibration
test does not have to be repeated.
If you are changing to another product
and you have already established a
reliable calibration factor, then you simply need to re-programme the existing
calibration factor accordingly (7.4.5). The calibration factor must be re-
programmed each time a different product is applied.
7.1
Static Calibration
NOTE: Whenever possible, the system should be calibrated at the application rate
that you are going to apply.
1.
Check the spread width and Target Rate
is correctly set.
2.
Set the gate opening
for the product and application rate according to the
manufacturer’s chart.
3.
Load the hopper
. For the test, you need to establish the weight of product
dispensed. You can, depending on the circumstances and the type of
product, either,
(
i) Load bagged product of known weight, and dispense all for the test.
(ii) Weigh the product as you load the hopper, and dispense all for the test.
(iii) Collect and weigh the quantity dispensed.
(iii) Weigh the entire vehicle before and after the test to calculate the weight
dispensed during the test.
Position the machine to discharge where convenient.
