Charles Koch
Walnut, IA
User
Perspective
 

Charles has a Kinze 16/31 planter that he uses to plant both corn and soybeans.  He also uses his RINEX Automatic Shut-off controller on his pull type sprayer for automatic boom control.  He has a Raven GPS guidance system.  The RINEX rate controller is very universal and is easily compatible with all makes and models of guidance systems.  It also plugs and plays with most spray rate controllers including all Raven products.
 
Charles was looking for the technology to make planting in his irregular fields more profitable by avoiding double planting and wasting seed.  He also did not want to be limited to one company in having to use strictly their equipment.  This would mean starting over and buying all new equipment.  When he found out that Rinex Technology was capable of working with anyone’s system he thought is was the easy choice for planting and spraying.

Charles says “the biggest thing for me was on the ends of the fields turning around in the terraces and irregular shape fields where I spend a lot of the time planting an area that is narrower then the planter.  A lot of the time I will go 1/8 of a mile, or farther planting 10 or 12 rows out of the 16 rows.  I use to have to overlap with the planter to fill in that gap.  Now the RINEX does the work for me as far as what rows to turn and what rows need to be off to avoid the doubling up.  It allows me to just concentrate on driving.  Now the way I see it is that whole area is productive compared to before you had to give up one to gain the other.  A lot of the time I was planting 20% more then I needed to.”
 The RINEX Automatic Shut-off controller also has a nice feature with letting the operator know that something is turning on or off without being annoying.

“I also like the feature of the clicking noise in the cab from the RINEX Auto Shut-off when the row units are turning on and off.  I like to know that something is happening.  You can’t hear the clutches from the cab and the monitor is to slow so the audible clicking sound is nice.”
 
“It really made it easier as far as planting.”

Charles also has a pull type sprayer with a Raven 440 rate controller.

“The spraying was kind of an afterthought, but after running it in the sprayer I would have a hard time spraying without it.  You’re always turning around and running the booms trying to keep them out of the dirt, and trying to see what you’re doing.  If you keep your guidance on line the RINEX will do the rest of the work for you.”

“Having it in the sprayer I felt it was just a novelty item, but after having it in the sprayer it sure made life easier.”

“I would recommend it to anyone.  I think it is a better built unit and the fact that it is so universal.  You don’t have to change other electronics, valves or wires.  I did not want to be committed 100% to someone’s GPS brand equipment, and this allowed me to tie everything together that I already had.”