Sonic Boom Sprayer First Of Its Kind

Sonic Boom Sprayer First Of Its Kind SPRAYING New Sprayers 7-2-35 You've never seen anything like this new Sonic Boom sprayer that uses radar to level its booms. In between crowds at a recent farm show, manufacturer Dennis McHugh, of Micro Marketing, Sioux Rapids, Iowa, told FARM SHOW that interest in the new product, which was just developed last fall, has been tremendous. Major manufacturers, he says, are lining up to outfit their sprayers with the unique new leveling system. "It eliminates most of the problems associated with sprayer booms by letting you run sprayers at the optimum height above the ground regardless of the terrain. Each side of the boom is self-leveling so one side can go up while the other goes down," he says. The standard Sonic sprayer consists of a specially constructed 40-ft. boom with sonar sending device at either end and a control unit on the rigid center section. Each sonar unit is set individually at the desired distance from the ground. Once activated, the sonar unit bounces a sound wave off the ground. If the boom gets too far from the ground, the device signals to the central control unit which activates a hydraulic cylinder,raising or lowering the boom as needed. The sprayer boom adjusts itself from 26 in. below the horizontal to 70 in. above it, which lets you run your boom at the heights recommended by sprayer tip manufacturers even under the most rugged conditions. "Uniform height application will improve the performance of your chemical program and help eliminate most drift and banding problems. And, with the ability to move one boom wing up and the other down at the same time, all you have to do in tight spots is concentrate on driving," points out McHugh. The new controls are not designed to retrofit to your existing boom because of structural demands on the constantly moving boom wings. McHugh says several companies will be adding the Sonic Boom to their sprayer line including Century, Broyhill and Walsh. The sprayer, as offered by Micro Marketing, comes in 40 or 48 ft. widths, and mounts on either a tractor 3-pt., or on existing sprayer trailers. A 40-ft. Sonic Boom with complete controls sells for $2,995. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Micro Marketing Ltd., Box 280, Sioux Rapids, Iowa 50585 (ph 712 283 2575).

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