Just as the final field has been harvested, the attention must turn to the autumn tillage and post-harvest seed drilling process. With so many challenges to overcome – such as unpredictable weather and issues surrounding soil type and topography – the efficiency and reliability of the machinery we use have never been more important.

RDS MME has an extensive range of products and technology that can assist you in this undertaking. Namely, the Artemis Lite can provide you with intelligent and accurate seed drilling, without the huge cost. A quick and easy installation process also helps to keep technical downtime to a minimum.

How does the Artemis Lite work?

The Artemis Lite is a low-cost solution to variable rate control on pneumatic seed drills, replacing the land wheel with an electric drive. It has been designed specifically for drills with a single Accord-type metering unit.

It replaces the mechanical drive system on a pneumatic cereal drill by using an accurate GPS speed sensor, processing electronics and electric motor/gearbox.  This provides a variable rate controller that eliminates seeding errors caused by slippage between the ground wheel and the land. Manual adjustment is also at hand when application rates need changing on the go.

With the ability to control everything from the cab, this product will make your seed drilling process as easy and efficient as possible, and for a small investment.

The key features of the Artemis Lite include:

• Ability to change rate from the tractor cab.
• Ability to prime the mechanism by turning the seed shaft whilst stationary.
• Quick & easy to calibrate.
• No seeding errors due to slippage between the land wheel and the ground.
• Less mechanically complex than traditional systems.
• Requires no expensive ISOBUS terminal.
• Self-explanatory and easy to use.
• Simple manual variable rate control.
• Low cost.
• Includes all the traditional drill functions: forward speed, tramline control, area totals, and low seed level alarm.

For those requiring a precision farming interface to provide variable rates, an update option is available.

This provides a serial connection to a third-party controller (like a SOYL iPad, Topcon X-console, JD Greenstar, Trimble screen etc). The communication protocol is LH5000 (same as JD Greenstar in a PSi) and once connected, will apply the rate sent by the controller. It does not require a GPS signal for the Artemis and there are no logging options.

You can contact the RDS MME team by calling 01249 479356 or sending a message to sales@rdsmme.co.uk.