User Manual for Takahe “Egg Timer” transmitters V7.1
Contents
1. Wait for the three second gap Write down the two numbers obtained Oy A Ge bo Following that five standard pulses at either 30 48 or 80ppm will be heard before the next output for duration in days of last incubation state comes in exactly the same format 4 2 Recording the information When recording information in the field it is recommended that you write down what you hear and work out the answers when you get back to base Using a Takahe Egg Timer just after turn on with the time of turn on set to 1pm as an example the following should be recorded 48ppm 9 3 3 5 3 10 3 10 3 10 3 10 3 10 3 10 3 10 6 10 48 is the pulse rate for incubating and the comma separated numbers are the tens and units for each output some of the numbers are pre initialised values After the first full 24 hour day the outputs should be quite different and more so after 8 days 2011 07 10 Egg Timer User Manual Takahe V7 1 doc Page 5 of 7 4 3 Working out the number of days The example above gives the following result 9 pulses followed by 3 pulses for days since change of state To obtain the true decimal values for the number of days it is necessary to subtract 2 from each individual number This yields 7 and 1 The first number is the number of tens and the second number the number of units therefore the final answer is 71 days since the start of incubation The number of days output immediately after turn on is relaying the software version2. by 10 pulses To obtain the true decimal values for the months remaining it is necessary to subtract 2 from each individual number This yields 4 and 8 The first number is the number of tens and the second number the number of units therefore the final answer is 48 months remaining 2011 07 10 Egg Timer User Manual Takahe V7 1 doc Page 6 of 7 5 0 Mortality The transmitters will also output the number of days since the start of mortality Mortality latches and will be activated after 24 hours of zero movement The timing output gives the number of days since the last movement The duty cycle is observed in the mortality state ie 0700 to 1900 The time since death output will keep counting every day until the transmitter is turned off and restarted The mortality pulse rate is set at 80 pulses per minute It should be noted that death may not necessarily result in zero movement of the transmitter the carcase can be moved intermittently presumably by scavengers for a number of days and in some cases in the region of 2 weeks Consequently mortality cannot be relied upon as a true measure of time since death If a mortality signal is heard with no number outputs the transmitter is likely to have a hardware fault that may go away but is more likely to become chronic and result in transmitter failure In such a case it is recommended that the transmitter be replaced immediately However other forms of management may also be appropriate
3. depending on the circumstances Eg choosing to mark the nest of a known incubating bird rather than disturbing it so that it can be found in the event the transmitter fails 5 1 Listening to the number output The output format in mortality is similar to that in normal operation the only difference is that all the pulses will sound fast The start of the output sequence will be at the same time as normal If you get stuck leave your transmitter going and phone Wildtech for assistance on 027 672 4856 or 06 877 1563 When in mortality the days since change of state output will tell you how many days since mortality started If the day counter was giving 2 9 then the time since death or more accurately the time since the transmitter stopped moving would be 7 days Note The maximum number output is 256 days In such a case the output for days would have given 27 pulses followed by 8 After 256 days the counter roles over and restarts from 1 However mortality pulse rates are approximately double the standard output pulse rates Consequently it is unlikely the output will get to 256 days before the transmitters battery goes flat if the transmitter is in it s last year of use 2011 07 10 Egg Timer User Manual Takahe V7 1 doc Page 7 of 7
4. starting at 48 months is likely to take longer than 48 months to count down to zero However a transmitter that spends some time in mortality may count down to zero in less than 48 months because of the higher pulse rate The transmitter will always remember how much time is remaining even if turned off and on multiple times and will therefore automatically correct for situations where transmitters have been left on by accident prior to fit 2011 07 10 Egg Timer User Manual Takahe V7 1 doc Page 4 of 7 4 2 Listening to the outputs Listening to the output sounds a lot worse on paper than it is in reality so read to the end of the instructions to get the overall picture and then have a go If you get stuck phone Wildtech for assistance on 027 672 4856 or 06 877 1563 Overall scheme During normal operation the day counter outputs start exactly every 10 minutes based on the turn on time even if the time of day has been set i e If you turn on at 15 39 13 the next output sequence will start at 15 49 13 etc There are 12 outputs each output has two components tens and units see detailed scheme below Detailed scheme Using the first output for days since change of state as an example 7 Pulses 4 Pulses Standard pulsing 3sec gap eeeeeee 3sec gap eeee 3sec gap 5 standard pulses before next output To interpret the days Wait for the 3 second gap Count the pulses Wait for the three second gap Count the pulses
5. 2 hours on and 12 hours off in all states including mortality The on period is from 0700 to 1900 Telling the transmitter what time of day in hours after midnight that it has been turned on which in any case is compulsory for Takahe Egg Timers will automatically set the duty cycle to run from 0700 to 1900 But note the transmitters will not correct for day light saving so a transmitter turned on in winter will run from 0800 to 2000 in the summer 2011 07 10 Egg Timer User Manual Takahe V7 1 doc Page of 7 Turn on and time setting A magnet is used to turn the transmitters on and off When a magnet is placed in the correct location the transmitter will sound a tone heard on a suitable receiver for approximately 1 second The magnet must be held in place until the continuous tone turns itself off then moved away briefly from the transmitter and returned to the TX The transmitter will then start to output pulses at a rate of one every 1 5 seconds Each pulse represents one hour after midnight Count all the pulses as heard and remove the magnet when the count gets to the current time in number of hours after midnight Once the required number of pulses has been heard the magnet is permanently removed and the turn on sequence is complete If the time of turn on was 3pm the time would be set as 15 hours after midnight therefore requiring the magnet to be held in place until 15 pulses had been counted The turn on sequence is aborted if
6. For Takahe Egg Timer V7 1 transmitters this should be 9 3 i e Version 7 1 If a bird is incubating when the transmitter is fitted the Egg Timer will not switch out of the initial incubating state If this happens the day counter will count up from the initialised value 7 1 representing the software version until the bird convinces the transmitter that it is not incubating If however the time was set at the time of turn on then the software version will be cleared at the end of the first partial day as described earlier In either case the timing can not be relied upon since the transmitter was not able to detect the start of incubation Note The maximum number output is 256 days In such a case the output for days will give 27 pulses followed by 8 After 256 days the counter roles over and restarts from 1 Only the most determined non breeders are expected to test this feature 4 4 Working out the time of emergence The example above gives the following result 3 pulses followed by 10 pulses the default TOE for the transmitter after turn on To obtain the decimal value for time of emergence in hours after midnight it is necessary to subtract 2 from each individual number 3 10 with 2 subtracted from each number gives 1 then 8 1 is the number of 10s and 8 is the number of units i e the bird emerged 18 hours after midnight 4 5 Working out the number of months remaining The example above gives the following result 6 pulses followed
7. Wilotech New thinking User Manual for Takahe Eoo Timer transmitters V7 1 1 0 Background Version 7 1 Egg Timer transmitters have been developed specifically for Takahe The Egg Timer developed for Takahe has been designed to detect the start and end of incubation The transmitters output the number of days since the start or end of incubation In addition there are a further 9 outputs a description of these outputs is provided below 2 0 Turning a transmitter on or off Over view The radio output of a transmitter can be turned on and off using a magnet At the time of turn on the user must set the time of day in hours after midnight this is compulsory If the time of day is set correctly then the transmitter will automatically adjust itself so that it rolls over each 24 hour period at 0700 in the morning If the time is not set at turn on then the transmitter will not turn on When the Egg Timer is turned on it will start in the incubating state In theory this should be impossible since transmitters are normally changed outside the breeding season and a brood patch and or egg would be noticed if the bird was incubating After 8 days the transmitter will have built an activity profile for the bird and should switch to not incubating However it is possible that the bird is incubating and in this case it will not switch out of the initial incubating state Radio output duty cycle The radio output is duty cycled 1
8. en to the outputs Immediately after turn on the transmitter will output 10 pulses at a rate of 48 pulses per minute one pulse every 1 25 seconds the output sequence will then start and be transmitted to the user in the format described later The first number set is for days since change of state and the second for duration of the last incubation After turn on these two output slots are hijacked and are used to transmit the software version number and the time of turn on that has been set The version number is inserted in the days since change of state slot and the time of turn on is inserted in the duration of the last incubation slot The time of turn on is cleared at the end of the first partial day along with the software version number to zero The zeroed days since change of state counter increments up one at each full 24 hour period roll over and is reset in the normal way when the transmitter changes state to not nesting If a mistake is made setting the time turn the transmitter off and try again it s fun you ll enjoy it 2011 07 10 Egg Timer User Manual Takahe V7 1 doc Page 2 of 7 3 0 Pulse rates Egg Timer transmitters can output 3 different pulse rates 30ppm not incubating 48ppm incubating 80ppm mortality 4 0 Outputs 4 1 Over view and explanations The not incubating incubating and mortality pulse rates are broken every 10 minutes by a series of 10 outputs as described in the following list Day
9. s since change of state Duration in days of last incubation state Latest Time of emergence TOE in hours TOE previous 1 in hours after midnight TOE previous 2 in hours after midnight TOE previous 3 in hours after midnight TOE previous 4 in hours after midnight TOE previous 5 in hours after midnight TOE previous 6 in hours after midnight 0 Battery months of life remaining ee The transmitters will not start to give accurate information about the bird until at least 8 days after turn on by which time the activity profile for the bird will have been confirmed Days since change of state output The days since change of state outputs the number of days since the change of state to not incubating incubating and mortality Duration in days of last incubation state The number of days the previous incubation state lasted for Time of emergence output Reports the time in hours after midnight to the nearest hour that the bird last emerged for a period of feeding activity 2011 07 10 Egg Timer User Manual Takahe V7 1 doc Page 3 of 7 Months of life remaining output Is an estimate of the projected time remaining in months before the battery has the potential to go flat It may be usefully as a guide to help prioritise transmitter changes or to assess the appropriate action should a bird be incubating near the end of the transmitters expected life The transmitter will continually adjust the projected time remaining and despite
10. the magnet is not held in place long enough for the continuous tone to turn off by itself or if the magnet is not returned fast enough to count one or more pulse to set the time Setting the time correctly will also set the 12 hour on 12 hour off duty cycle to run between 0700 and 1900 In the event a transmitter is fitted at a time of day when the transmitter should be off the TX will run for 10 minutes after turn on before turning off for the remainder of the duty cycle off time When the time set function is used a partial non 24 hour first day will be created any activity that occurs during this partial day is ignored Ie if a transmitter is turned on at 3pm the first partial day will be 17 hours long and the first full day will be from 0700 the next morning If a transmitter is turned on at midnight then the time should be set as 24 hours after midnight since it is not possible to set zero hours after midnight Turn off When a magnet is placed in the correct location the transmitter will sound a tone heard on a suitable receiver for approximately 1 second The magnet must be held in place until the continuous tone turns itself off then moved away permanently If the magnet is not held in place for long enough for the tone to turn it s self off or not moved away fast enough after the tone has turn it s self off the turn off sequence is aborted Checking the time set after turn on To check the time that has been set the user may list
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