This section describes how to identify when your station was powered on and able to detect tags.
There is currently no single way to determine when a station was operational. This is because if there are no tags present, there will be no clear way to say tags could have been detected. However, it's possible to come up with a proxy for when a station could have detected tags based on when environmental noise was recorded or when other scheduled operations on the receiver were logged.
SensorGnomes and SensorStations will record each time the device has booted up. While this doesn't tell you when the station was last powered down, that can be inferred based on when data was last collected. It is also important to understand that even when the station is powered on, it may not be able to collect data, therefore it's helpful to check if GPS hits or antenna pulses exist.
This metric is not available for download at this time, but can be found on the top of the deployment timeline and can be helpful in diagnosing power issues stations.
Motus receivers are programmed to log a GPS hit every 5 minutes by default (should be more frequent for mobile receivers), but sometimes the GPS can miss a hit or two if few satellites are visible overhead. In addition, early GPS units (USB GPS) had a bug which caused the GPS to malfunction and stop collecting data, resulting in missing GPS hits for extended periods of time. Therefore, these data should be used in combination with other logs to determine when the station was operational rather than on its own, unless you know the GPS was not of the USB type.
GPS hits appear as the second line on deployment timelines, on receiver timelines, and on the data dashboard. It can also be downloaded from the 'GPS' table from the Motus database downloaded through the Motus R Package.
Antenna pulses are a reflection of environmental noise and consist of radio pulses at the nominal listening frequency (e.g.; 166.38 MHz) which did not correspond to a known tag signature. Environmental noise is common and in some instances can be problematic, resulting in large numbers of false detections and/or expensive cellular data bills. In addition, large volumes of noise can make it less likely for real tags to be detected. You can read more about antenna noise here.
The amount of noise received by any given antenna depends on a number of factors and varies widely by climate, location, time of day, and day of year. Some environments can have very low noise levels, while others are extremely high. In some cases, damaged or defective equipment can also result in low or high noise levels making it difficult to assess an individual antenna is functioning correctly based on this metric alone. Information on assessing antenna equipment can be found here.
Antenna pulses appear after the GPS hits on deployment timelines, on receiver timelines, and on the data dashboard. It can also be downloaded from the 'pulseCounts' table from the Motus database downloaded through the Motus R Package.
Based on the information above, GPS hits and antenna pulses can be used together to make a general assessment on when stations were operational. Hourly summaries of GPS hits and antenna pulses can be combined to determine if a station collected any data during each hour.
Antennas are finely-tuned instruments that can easily be damaged without noticing. Proper inspection of antennas at the time of installation during regular maintenance checks ensures your antennas operate the expected frequency and sensitivity. Both the antenna and coaxial cable are passive devices, meaning they do not require power to operate and instead are designed to carry radio energy from the environment to the receiver.
Antennas used in the Motus are tuned to listen to a narrow band of frequencies near the 'nominal' frequency (the frequency at which tags are manufactured to emit a signal). This helps reduce the amount of environmental noised being received. A poorly-tuned antenna will receive more noise and as a 'louder' signal than the real tag pulses they are built to detect.
Coaxial cables carry the signal from the antenna to the receiver with two conductors: central core and a coaxial shield, separated by an insulator. The coaxial shield protects the central core from interference. A damaged coax cable or connector can result in loss of the signal from the antenna and/or increased noise.
Motus stations autonomously listen for radio signals on designated frequencies depending on where they are in the world. In some environments there is a lot of radio noise, or interference. Diagnosing noise sources is an important step in maintaining data quality and can also significantly reduce the amount of data being recorded and potentially transmitted through expensive cellular or satellite networks. Below we summarize the best ways to identify which stations may be considered noisy, how to identify which antennas may be causing problems, and suggestions on how to resolve noise issues.
The following mostly pertains to stand alone Sensorgnomes and SensorStations with antennas operating on 166.380 MHz, 150.100 MHz, and 151.500 MHz.
Raw data from Lotek radio tags consist of long lists of time-stamped radio pulses. Four precisely-timed 20 ms-long pulses (accurate to within 1.5 ms) are needed to identify a Lotek tag ID, but these pulses must be picked out from the surrounding noise environment. We consider noise to be any kind of radio pulse that is received by a station that was not produced by the intended target (i.e., a radio tag). Not only can this noise mask the pulses of real tags—preventing a receiver from picking it up—it can also produce signals that resemble real tags, resulting in a false positive detection. Excessive noise can be especially problematic for networked receivers that are using cellular or satellite connections. A single receiver experiencing excessive noise on a single antenna can easily produce over a GigaByte of data in a single month, resulting in $100’s in data charges.
A bandpass filter is devices which attaches to a coaxial cable that further filters the signal being received. These are typically passive devices (no external power required) and operate over a narrow range of frequencies. For antennas listening to 166.380 MHz, we recommend the following device:
https://www.scannermaster.com/BPF_VHF_Band_Pass_Filter_p/24-531041.htm
Noise can be present for a variety of reasons. Anthropogenic noise can be the most problematic as it is more likely to follow a repeated pattern, which is required to mimic a tag pulse. In most cases, noise tends to be problematic on only certain antennas, not all of them. Sometimes simply changing the direction of an antenna can solve the problem; however, it may also be necessary to disconnect problematic antennas until the issue can be resolved. Sometimes damaged hardware, such as cracked coaxial cables, faulty radio dongle, or poor connections can also introduce noise into the system. In the case of a hardware issue, changing the antenna direction should have a negligible effect on the level of noise detected.
Using the Motus R Package, summaries of raw radio pulses can be downloaded for each antenna and then compared to one another based on the number of pulses received each day. The threshold for the number of daily pulses depends on how much data is considered ‘too much’, but generally most antennas record fewer than 1 million radio pulses a day.
The following density plot shows a one-month period of data collected at Blackie Spit in British Columbia when nearly 2 GB of data were recorded over that time. As you can see, antenna 6 has been recording well over 1 million pulses a day, averaging around 4 million a day, whereas antenna 7 has a far more reasonable number of pulses. Based on this information, we can conclude that data from antenna 6 should be scrutinized, and then modified and/or removed to increase data quality, or reduce the risk of data overages.
You can produce your own plots like the one above using the code below. If you have not used the Motus R Package in the past we recommend reviewing Chapters 1-3 of the Motus R Book before proceeding.
This script uses the 'pulseCounts' table from the receiver detections database downloaded from the R package. To use this script, you must specify:
Line 11: Directory of where Motus databases are stored on your computer (files ending with ".motus")
Line 17: Receiver metadata, including:
Serial number of the receiver
Name that you want printed in the plot title
The size of the raw data files for the time period that you are reviewing (in MegaBytes)
The start date of the time period you are reviewing (YYYY-MM-DD)
The end date of the time period you are reviewing (YYYY-MM-DD)
Once a problem station/antenna has been identified we have a number of choices:
Disconnect the station from the cell network entirely (this is not ideal, but a quick fix). For instructions on disconnecting SensorStations, refer to the SensorStation manual.
Confirm framerate of radio dongles by connecting to the receiver and checking the Web Interface. Dongle framerate should be around 48 KHz. If you don’t see that try reflashing the FunCube firmware.
Disconnect the problem antenna. Noisy antennas may be damaged or otherwise not collect data of the same quality as other, less noisy antennas so taking them offline should not be a major impediment to the system. Collaborators may want to examine how many 'good' detections are detected on noisy antennas opposed to others before deciding to disconnect. This will be a bigger deal for stations with active tags nearby, but should not be a problem for most passive listening stations.
Try installing band-pass-filters which can reduce interference outside a desired band. These have been used successfully in areas with heavy marine traffic, such as Sable Island, Nova Scotia.
Identify the source of the interference and attempt to aim the problem antenna away from that source. Visual inspection of the landscape, or experimentation with a manual receiver can often help to identify a source of interference.
Use antenna analyzer to verify the antenna still performs within a reasonable threshold. Instructions to come.
Replace the antenna altogether.
Below are a few more examples of noisy antennas.
Please send any comments or additions to motus@birdscanada.org
Estimated antenna detection ranges (“”) are purely theoretical and based on ideal conditions so they do not actually reflect the true ranges or shapes of any real antenna (Taylor et al 2017; Crewe et al. 2019). The actual range of an antenna is not easy to calculate because it depends on several factors such as: transmitted signal (by a tag), antenna type and orientation, length and type of coaxial cable, receiver type, and environmental conditions. Best estimates of mean or max antenna ranges are based primarily on biological data when simultaneous detections are recorded by antennas from different stations.
Test tags have been used to try and get estimates of antenna ranges in specific situations (Crewe et al. 2019) and in drone tests (Tremblay et al. 2017; Desrochers et al. 2018; Moore 2020).
Test tag trials can take a lot of time and are not always necessary beyond simply confirming the station is working and an antenna capable of detecting tags nearby. The amount of information you require about antenna range will differ depending on the purpose of your station and the information found in trials may not be representative of actual antenna performance. It is also important to understand the physical limitations of antennas if they are surrounded by trees, or if there is a building or hill in the line of sight that may not always be apparent. Free tools such as and can be used to find the ‘viewshed’, or line-of-site, of any given point and altitude.
Before you get started you should know that it is extremely difficult to emulate the performance of tags as they exist on living animals, the heights and flight directions of potential animals, and antennas, stations detecting living animals.
The following are suggested methods should you like to try and test the local range of a station and antennas.
Lotek or CTT tag (activated)
GPS with tracking on (a phone can work). Make sure units are set to LAT/LNG (WGS84)
A stick or other non-conductive rod
Dummy body: A small fruit (grape or clementine), tubed meat (sausage, hot dog), or frozen dead animal. Differences between these objects are not well tested - take your pick.
Water bottle
Optional: helium balloon and lots of string
Optional: a drone
Take your activated tag and affix it to the dummy body using tape or string.
The purpose is to simulate the water content (i.e., capacitance)
of an animal that is roosting such that the tag transmits a
signal that resembles one coming from an actual bird. Keep in
mind this is purely based on theory and is not an actual
substitute for a real animal.
Make sure the antenna hangs off the dummy in a similar orientation you’d expect it to be on your study species.
This is required to stimulate tag performance for Lotek tags. Performance of CTT tags is not dependent on being affixed to an animal.
To simulate an animal on or close to the ground, affix the dummy animal to a stick.
To simulate an animal in the air, affix the dummy animal to a helium balloon. Note: balloons made from metalized mylar might impede signal transmission.
With the tracking on, ensure your GPS has your location so that you can later download your track and correlate it with your tag detections. You may want to download a track ahead of time to make sure you know it works.
While holding either the stick or the balloon, walk in concentric circles around the station of growing radius while trying to keep the tag at the same vertical position the whole time.
Optionally, you can do this with a drone but don’t ask us how to fly it!
Download your GPS track and extract the timestamp and latitude/longitude for the entire test.
When using the ‘tagme’ function, make sure you enter the serial
number of the receiver you’re testing as the ‘projRecv’
argument, like so:
tagme(projRecv = “SG-####RPI3####”, new = TRUE)
You can now correlate your tag’s position with when detections
occurred.
You may be able to test two tags at different vertical positions simultaneously, but if they have the same burst interval there’s a good chance you’ll run into issues with aliased tags. I won’t go into too many details about them here, but essentially aliased tags are false detections that occur when two real tag detections overlap. To avoid this, just make sure you offset each tag activation such that there are at least 0.3 seconds between bursts.
Use the process of elimination to identify whether it is a hardware problem. Replace all components of the problem antenna one at a time: USB cable; Radio Dongle; Coaxial Cable; Antenna. Checks for signs of cracks in the coaxial cable or loose/rusty connections.
Noisy Antenna: 1
Noisy Antenna: 2, maybe 1 as well
Noisy Antenna: 2
It is also extremely difficult to know the position of the dummy within the of the antenna in order to judge peak performance.
Download your receiver data through R following instructions found in the .
Parts description and what to look for (see diagrams on last three pages)
Inside Action Packer
Inside Computer Case with Raspberry Pi (No USB Hub needed)
Inside Computer Case with BeagleBone (USB Hub Present)
USB Port Numbering for Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone computers.
Note BeagleBone computers only has 1 USB port so it must use a USB Hub to expand the number of available ports. Raspberry Pi computers have 4 ports so they do not require a USB hub.
Charge Controller Wiring
Inspections should be scheduled to ensure each station operates as expected prior to any critical period for research in your region. For some collaborators, stations are primarily used for personal research projects, but it is still important to maintain station operation throughout the year to spread the benefit to other projects in the network.
Depending on your location, stations that need to have their data downloaded manually should be inspected three to four** ** times per year. This corresponds to spring and fall migratory periods as well as breeding and wintering periods. In northern and southern latitudes, it is common for there to be no tags present during the wintering period so it may not be as important to check stations at that time.
If your station is connected to the internet, data will be sent to our servers automatically. However, this won't tell you whether the station antennas have shifted direction or if the mounting structure is properly secured. For this reason, we recommend networked stations are checked one to two times per year, depending on the frequency of storms and whether the station is in a marine environment.
If an extreme whether event has been forecasted it is important to ensure any vulnerable stations are properly secured prior to the storm's arrival to minimize damage. If damage is expected, stations should also be checked after the storm has passed to fix any issues that may have occurred. This applies to both networked and offline stations.
Protect your stations from wind by keeping your antennas as low to the ground as practical. If you are in a coastal area, we do not recommend mounting antennas higher than 6 meters (20 feet). If you have a telescopic mast, you can lower antennas further than normal during the winter months if you aren't expecting to detect any tags. Also keep in mind that solar panels will act like a sail so they must be properly secured at all times.
Stations close to sea water will deteriorate much faster due to salt and water accelerating oxidation and galvanic corrosion. Salt fog can affect metal structures dozens of kilometers inland so the station does not have to be near the ocean to impacted.
In locations that experience higher winds, less sunlight, and sub-zero temperatures in the winter, it may important to winterize stationst during those months. With a telescopic mast you can protect your station from wind damage during the winter by lowering your antennas further than normal. You can also save on power by unplugging some or all radio devices from the receiver or even by unplugging the receiver itself.
Battery Storage
If there is significant snowfall in your region, or if the seasonal temperatures reach below -20 C (-4 F), the battery should be removed entirely and kept on a trickle charge over the winter. A trickle charger can be purchased at most hardware stores, or batteries can often be stored by a local industrial battery retailer.
If you are using a low-capacity battery (e.g.: ~50 Ah), it may get damaged during extended overcast periods in the winter so it should also be stored on a trickle charge.
In the end, usually not necessary to completely dismantle your station at any time of year, unless you are concerned about theft, or if you want to reduce the amount of environmental exposure to your equipment.
Below are a few items we recommend you bring on each station visit:
Spares, spares, spares! Try to have at least two of everything you might need to replace at a station.
If working at heights, appropriate safety equipment (harness, vest, etc.).
Bolt cutters, for removing rusted bolts, etc. Very important!
Multi-meter: measures both voltage and resistance (to check for shorts and breaks)
Gloves
Small flat head screwdriver (for rewirign, if needed)
Phillips screwdriver
Zip ties (to secure cables and wires; close storage bin)
SensorGnomes only: spare SD card with software image.
When checking on a station that has been left on its own for months or longer, things will likely have shifted over time as it settles in. Corrosion can also occur, weaking supports. It's important to look for signs of weakend supports so they can be addressed before contuing with the inspection.
Snakes, wasps, and hornets are known to take refuge in and around stations so approach stations carefully when these animals are most active (especially in the fall).
By following a sequence of steps during each station visit it's harder to miss something.
For safety reasons, it's important to do a proper inspection of the structure before approaching it to ensure it is being properly supported. If there are issues, they can be mitigated safely as long as the everyone is first aware of those issues.
In most cases, stations need a structure for mounting the antennas. These take many forms, but they mostly have a central mast (can be telescopic) and a lower structure supporting that mast (typically a metal tripod).
Is the structure still standing straight? Is is properly supported? Is it showing signs of considerable corrosion where metal has been bolted together? Is the mast bent or cracked? Has the mast slid downwards or twisted since the last visit? Many of these features are most easily viewed from afar while walking towards the station.
If guy wires are present at this station, you must check for loose or broken lines and fix them before doing anything else. If any guy wires are frayed they should also be treated as unsafe and be replaced.
Are the antennas horizontal? If not, the mast is either bent or the structure has shifted. If you are using a tripod, it's common for them to become uneven if the feet sink into the ground.
If the antenna directions are wrong, either the mast has not been secured or one or more antenna mounts are loose. When mast is loose and there are multiple antennas, the difference between any two antenna directions should still remain the same from when the station was first installed (i.e.; the relative difference should remain the same).
Insect issues at Motus sites are uncommon, but on occasion they do occur. The storage and SensorGnome present attractive nuisances as a refuge for a variety of insects. The SensorGnome case is a sealed and waterproof case that should deter insects. The Action Packer is not sealed and is thus relatively easy for insects to invade. Always be cautious when opening an Action Packer. During autumn as the temperature drops the Action Packer may attract insects looking for a place to overwinter, especially some paper wasps. Ants may be attracted to the Action Packer’s environment as a safe place to incubate eggs or tend larvae and pupae. For a location that has continual insect issues leather gloves may be useful. Ant and wasp infestations may require occasional use of an insecticide.
Some examples of wasp nests include under the handles of the action packer (both at once!) as well as at the tips of antennas if they are not covered.
There is a playful aspect of bored or territorial Black Bears that on occasion causes problems with field equipment. Bears may swat at, push, move or overturn the Action Packer. The 90 pounds of battery in the bottom of the Action Packer provide some resistance, but any bear that seriously wants to move an Action Packer can do so. The batteries are sealed spiral gel cells that will not leak electrolyte, so if an Action Packer is tipped over there should not be any spilled electrolyte inside. Jostling of the Action Packer might cause severed wires, loose connections and/or other problems. Loose or broken wires may require specialized attention by someone capable of repairing electrical connections. Bears might chew on Action Packers. A possible solution to discourage repeated bear chewing is using Tabasco sauce or another product with Cayenne pepper in it on the outside of the Action Packer. If an Action Packer is repeatedly seriously moved by a bear this can be thwarted by strapping the Action Packer to the ground with earth anchors and webbing cinch straps.
Digging mammals, primarily woodchucks and foxes, may occasionally cause problems at Motus stations. When holes are dug at guy line anchors the holes can compromise the guy anchors and in a worst case situation risk tower failure in windy conditions if the hole allows a guy anchor to fail. Any and all holes should be filled in. Holes can be filled with soil or rocks. Holes dug underneath the base of a tower also need to be filled. If a serious hole is encountered at a guy anchor, obtain a cell phone picture and contact the PA Motus coordinator.
Receivers are typically kept inside a heavy-duty storage bin which also houses the power supply and further protects the receiver from the elements.
The normal current draw of the receiver will not blow the system fuse. Blown fuses are a highly unlikely situation at Motus stations. A blown fuse is an indication of a current surge that exceeded the amperage of the fuse. The only conditions that will blow a fuse are a short circuit or a current surge resulting from a nearby lightning strike. As a first step replace the blown fuse. If it immediately blows upon replacement, then there is a short circuit in the system that must be located and repaired before the receiver can be successfully restarted. Locate the short circuit, repair it and then restart the receiver.
Rodents, from mice, to chipmunks, to squirrels, to porcupines, have gnawing teeth and are good at using them. When inspecting the Motus system check for rodent damage to the various cables leading from the Action Packer to the various external components. If rodents chewing is found on any of the cables and the SensorGnome is still operating then the chewing has probably not damaged the cables. Repair the damage to the cable by wrapping the damaged area with electrical tape to seal out moisture. Cables that are totally severed as a result of mammal chewing will need to be repaired or replaced. Contact the PA Motus coordinator if a cable needs repair or replacement.
It's always good to get an idea of how much power is in the battery. A typical 12-volt battery that we use will have a voltage of 14.5 v when fully charged and can cycle to as low as 10-11 v. A low battery voltage is indicative of not enough power being stored which can be due to a damaged battery or insufficent power coming from the solar panel. Keep in mind that if you're visiting the station early in the morning, the battery voltage will likely be at a moderate level (~12 v), depending on the capacity of the battery used. During the winter months or after a long overcast period, the voltage may be even lower.
The battery voltage can be measured either by using a volt-meter or some charge controllers will have battery voltage indicators (such as the SunSaver).
The charge controller (typically Morningstar SunSaver SS-12v-10L) is a critical component essential to managing battery recharging and power supply to the receiver. Morningstar SunSavers have a good track record of reliable operation over long periods of time. If the charge controller fails the power supply to the SensorGnome will be interrupted. If the failure is due to water damage, it's possible that the batteries will discharge or a fuse will be blown.
Besides monitoring charging and battery voltage level, the indicator lights on the Morningstar SunSaver are also used to indicate error conditions by various flashing patterns other than charging heartbeat or the full battery heartbeat. If the Morningstar SunSaver ever presents unusual indicator flashing light patterns then there is a problem with the charging and power supply to the SensorGnome. In situations where the Morningstar SunSaver is presenting error codes the receiver is not likely to be functioning properly. There is probably no remedy to this other than replacing the charge controller. If you have a replacement charge controller on hand, it can be hooked up immediately and it will charge the battery if the voltage is not too low.
Receivers are stored in heavy-duty bins (typically Action Packers) to keep water out and when not modified are pretty good at keeping the interior dry. The most important part of keeping the inside dry is careful routing of the antenna and other cables into the bin when it is closed up after each inspection and data download. Routing the cables into the bin required small modifications to the bin that may allow a small amount of water into the interior of the bin. If there is water accumulating in the bottom of the bin the simplest solution is to drill a 1⁄4 inch hole in one or two of the lowest corners in the bin. If the leaking is more serious, it might be necessary to place foam weather stripping in the area where the bin was modified to route the cables into the bin.
If the station is not connected to the internet, not only does the data need to be downloaded, it should also be checked to make sure it is collecting data correctly. Generally, you will not need to worry about this section if your receiver is networked because all the same information should also be available online.
This section will vary widely based on the type of device being used_._ Select a tab below to view information related to your device:
When checking your station, you want to make sure your station has the following information available:
GPS is working, providing a location and time.
Missing GPS may be: poor reception (make sure antenna has view of the sky); chewed GPS cable; broken GPS; bad connection (GPS HAT has corroded; USB GPS is not plugged in correctly).
All connected radio devices are appearing on the web interface as expected
Missing devices indicates: loose/broken cable (most likely), USB port (or hub), or radio device is broken.
Data is being collected hourly
Missing hourly data indicates power issues.
Some data files are larger than 1 KB and contain lines which begin with "p"
All files 1 KB indicate data is not being collected from radios.
Data folders exist for each day
Missing folders indicate power issues.
If your station is not connected to the internet, you will want to make sure your station is working correctly by checking the following:
To be completed
While the Motus stations have been well constructed, nothing is perfect. Loose connections, disconnected wires, and/or shorts, are an infrequent gremlin that may be encountered. If something is not working look for loose connections. Solution of the problem can be as simple as identifying where the loose wire belongs and then securely reconnecting it. Sometimes, the solution is often as simple as disconnecting and then reconnecting the suspected loose connections. Shorts are harder to locate and may require additional assistance.
Having a multi-meter on hand can be very handy to trace shorts. By measuring resistance ('ohms' or 'Ω') you can identify whether two points are electrically connected (zero resistance) or not (infinite; sometimes displayed as a '1' on the far left of the screen).
The plastic insulation covering a cable or wire protects it from water ingress. Even tiny cracks can slowly cause issues by increasing electrical resistance, thereby reducing signal transmission and voltage.
To check for damage, run your hands along the length to feel for any disruption in the smooth surface. Critical locations to check are where the cables are fitted into the bin (usually via an elbow pipe joint) and wherever cables are closest to the ground on the outside of the bin.
If possible, we recommend you keep an activated tag test on your person at all times while visiting any station. This can provide valuable information about the stations operability without much effort. It does not necessarily measure the receptability of all antennas equally, but it's better than nothing. For a more accurate method for measuring station antenna ranges, see below:
A prepared checklist below has been designed for stations in North America and may apply to others.
Below is a Word DOC version of the same checklist which can be modified:
Please refer to the for more information on how to connect to and access information on these devices.
Please refer to the for more information on how to review this information.
Raspberry Pi
USB Hub (for BeagleBone)
Description
Attached to the top of the mast. The antenna boom attaches to the mast with an antenna mounting bracket, and the antenna elements attach to the boom. There are usually 9 elements attached to the boom with one element that has a coaxial cable coming out of it.
What to look for:
Bent elements will affect the signal reception, but usually not that badly unless severely bent (~30 degrees). The most important element is the one that has the coaxial cable. Just take photos of anything bent.
Loose elements. If they are not all horizontally aligned, they might be loose. Try tightening to bolts.
If the antenna directions are wrong, the boom might not be attached to the mast tight enough. Try rotating the antenna by hand and if it’s easy, tighten the u-bolts on the antenna mounting bracket. Add bicycle inner tubes if necessary.
Tripod
Description:
The three-legged support that the mast slides into – about 10 feet tall. Solar panels are usually mounted here.
What to look for:
Is the tripod level?
Is the tripod easy to rock back and forth?
Have any of the legs sunk into the ground?
Mast
Description
The tall metal pole at the center of the tower where the antennas are mounted. It has 3-4 telescopic sections that can be fixed in place by L-bolts.
What to look for:
Is it bent?
Does it rotate freely?
Is it being supported by 3 guy wires for every 10’ of height?
Guy wires and spools
Description
The metal cables that support the mast at every 10’ section. They are attached to the mast collar with quick links. They are tightened by wire spools.
What to look for:
Are there 3 guy wires for every 10’ section of mast height?
Are all guy wires tight?
Are there spools missing from the loose guy wires?
Coaxial cable
Description
This is what plugs into the antennas and connects to the computer.
What to look for:
Is it firmly connected on both ends?
Are there any cracks or have animals chewed up the cable? If any of the inner metal wiring is exposed you must replace it.
Mast collar & quick links
Mast Collar Quick Link
Description
Mast collar is a ring that goes around the mast and has hole which holds the quick links. Quick links are attached to the guy wires.
What to look for:
Are the quick links all closed properly?
Are their guy wires attached to each of them?
Is the guy wire fraying where they are attached?
Solar panel
Description
Attached to the tripod by angle iron. It has wires attached to the back of the panel that lead into the action packer and plug into the solar charge controller.
What to look for:
Is the panel attached firmly to the tripod?
Are there any cracks or chews in the cables?
What is the voltage of the solar panel (check on charge controller terminals)?
Is the panel angled correctly? About 30 degrees.
Is the angle iron scratching into the back of the panel?
Description
Inside the action packer, this is the device that controls the power from the solar panel to the battery and from the battery to the computer. There should be six terminals on here, two for each of the solar panel, battery, and computer (computer terminals are labeled as ‘load’).
Be very careful not to short circuit any of the two terminals!!
What to look for:
What color are the battery status LEDs? There should be red, yellow, or green. If more than one are lit, describe the pattern and replace the charge controller. If the LED is red, your battery might be dead.
What color is the charging status LED?
Are the connections tight?
Is there any sign of corrosion or rust?
Check the polarity of all cables: are the positive ends connected to the positive terminals?
Battery
Fused battery leads
Description
Inside the action packer. Plugs directly into the charge controller. Sometimes there is a fuse attached to the positive cable.
What to look for:
What is the battery voltage? Anything below 11 volts or above 15 volts is bad.
Are there any signs of corrosion or rust?
Are the connections tight?
If there is a fuse and battery status light on the charge controller is red, is the fuse blown?
Action packer
Description
The large plastic case that holds the computer (in pelican case) and battery.
What to look for:
Is the lid on properly? Did the last person to visit close it correctly?
Has water collected in the box?
Is the elbow pipe where the cables go into the box pointing upwards? It should point downwards so water doesn’t get in.
Are there holes in the bottom of the box? There should be small holes to allow moisture to get out.
Is the box raised off the ground? It should be so water can drip out of the holes.
Is the box sitting in a wet, low-lying area? If yes, consider raising it a foot or two.
Computer
BeagleBone
Raspberry Pi
Description
Inside the pelican case, it is a small metal box that’s about 3”x4”x2” and is usually orange or blue. There is usually a red or blue LED blinking and a serial number written on the top. There are two types: Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone. Raspberry Pi has 4 USB ports on one end. Beagle Bone has just one USB port.
What to look for:
What is the serial number? Write it down at the top of the checklist.
Are there LED’s on or blinking? Take a video and/or describe their colour and behaviour.
DC-DC Voltage Converter
Description
This lowers the battery voltage down to something the computer can handle (5 volts). On one end it has wires that connect directly to the charge controller load terminals and the other end has a barrel jack or micro USB cord (depend on computer type) that plugs into the computer.
What to look for:
ONLY NEEDED FOR SOLAR + BATTERY INSTALLATIONS
Is the green LED lit up?
Are the wires securely in place?
If LED is off and wires are secure, check voltage of wires and make sure they are connected to the correct terminals.
USB Hub
Description
This is only present in BeagleBone computers (you might not have any). They are black with rounded corners and have a green or blue LED that lights up when powered on. It has 7 USB ports on it and some of them have the coaxial cables plugged into them.
What to look for:
Only needed for BeagleBone computers
Is the USB hub powered on?
Are all the connections tight?
GPS
Description
This is what plugs into the computer with a small SMA adapter (screws in). It’s a small black square (~1.5”) with a long thin cable attached.
What to look for:
Is it plugged in to the computer?
Does it have any cracks or tears in the cable?
Antennas
Charge controller
