It has to be admitted, despite its popularity, that Amazone’s mechanical drill was showing its age. So for the 2000 season the firm rejuvenated the tractor-mounted D9 drill and implement-mounted AD 03 drill. New features include ‘RoTeC’ disc coulters, an infinitely variable ‘Vario’ gearbox and ‘Elite’ metering wheels. We coupled the 3m AD 303 Super drill to a KE 303 power harrow
For some time it appeared Amazone had been neglecting the development of its mechanical seed drills, making only minor changes to its best-selling machine. Many features introduced on the D8 and AD 02 before 1999 were already available on the D7 or were, like the single-disc coulter, nothing more than cautious attempts to introduce something a little innovative.
Then, at the 1999 Agritechnica Show, Amazone launched a completely new mechanical drill design ready for the 2000 season. Our first impression, at the show, was of a sturdy, well-built machine, a feeling confirmed when the AD 303 was delivered to our test farm. The only problem appeared to be the electrical cables, which on our test drill, had not been cut to the appropriate length. But Amazone plans to remedy this.
On our machine the operator climbs up wide, deep, non-slip steps complete with safety railing to get to the seed hopper. To facilitate easy filling from sacks a platform is fitted across the whole width of the hopper.
The hopper lid is now singlepiece with gas struts to ease lifting and a rubber surround ensures a positive seal. Unfortunately the standard model lacks provision for resting bags, but one is available as an option. A further modification to the previous design includes the arrangement of metering wheels in the hopper’s back panel. The angle of this panel is not as acute as before, and as a result the metering wheels are now filled more from above.
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