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Want to talk about sensors that don't quite fit into any of our tech-specific groups? This is the place to post! From temperature and humidity to airflow and pressure sensors, there are many environmental sensing tools that can add valuable data to core conservation monitoring technologies. With the increasing availability of low-cost, open-source options, we've seen growing interest in integrating these kinds of low bandwidth sensors into existing tools. What kinds of sensors are you working with?

discussion

Song Meter Micro experience?

Hi everyone, First off, what a great community this is! I only recently found out about it, and it seems like a game changer, especially for early career folk like me.I was...

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Hi Lucy, 

Sorry! I was in the field by the time you replied, and have not been back long. I realise it's been months now, but are you still planning on using the SM Micros? If so, please have a look at my thoughts in the new comment on this thread. I would think in Norway, the stridulating insect issue would not be as bad as in the tropics. Depends on what you want to use them for. Battery life is still definitely an issue though, and even more so in low temperatures. Good luck, let me know how you get on, or if you went with a different recorder.

Cheers,

Nick

Hi everyone. I am suuuuuper late on this discussion but I just finished 6-month fieldwork deploying 18 SM Micro over 70 different locations in Java, so I thought I would like to share my opinion on this device. So my work is basically installing each recorder in one location for the duration of 7-14 days before moving it to a different location, with battery and silica gel changed in between every deployment. Here's my thought:

Waterproofing - The first 2 months of the fieldwork was the wettest season I have ever experienced in the field. Extreme rain almost on a daily basis. Most of the time the recorder was working just fine except for the 2nd week of deployment when I found the inside a bit wet, but it was probably because I forgot to ensure that both lids were clicking.  The recorder still works fine after this deployment, and this was when I decided to change the silica gel before the next deployment.

Sound quality - As mentioned by others. there's an annoying peak at 6kHz. I did not originally plan to do soundscape analysis so it wasn't a big problem at the beginning, but now there is some discussion on doing so. Other than this I found the quality to be just adequate.

Battery Life - I am using alkaline 1,5 volt (non-rechargable) battery and get ~120 hours of recording, with a sample rate of 32khz. Suitable for my method, but certainly not for longer deployment.

Safety - My field site is full of a poacher who does not like to be detected, and the rangers warned me so many times about the camera trap that was destroyed or stolen by these people. I used steel cable and a small carabiner-style padlock which I later realized wouldn't stand a chance against a few hits of the machete, but luckily no recorder went missing--mostly because I tried to hide it as far as possible from the trails and cover our tracks. The small size of SM Micro makes it easy to hide among foliage (be careful on contact noise between leaves and recording), and the fact that it is colored green and has no external light also greatly helps (unlike Swiftone. Seriously, who thought that white is a perfect color for an expensive device that will be left in the forest for a long time?)

In conclusion, it is a cheap and easy-to-get device (compared to the mythical Audiomoth) for species presence detection in a short time like I did, but certainly not for longer deployment or more intricate bioacoustic analysis. 

Hi everyone, 

I wanted to provide an update on behalf of Wildlife Acoustics regarding some of these comments in this thread. As some of you may know, we have just announced the second generation of our Song Meter Micro. Along with 33% longer battery life due to an expanded battery tray (which now holds 4 AAs instead of 3), the Song Meter Micro 2 will also have a flatter frequency response. Though we don’t have a firm release date at the moment, we are currently looking at an early 2024 release, with pre-orders likely to start at the end of 2023. Detailed frequency response charts and specs will also be posted to our site soon. In fact, we have built an anechoic chamber in our new office and will be doing detailed testing with a host of new precision instruments. For more info on the Micro 2, check out our current product page. Lastly, thanks all for your open and honest feedback. It allows us to make our products better and better for you. 

Anechoic Chamber

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event

1st Wildlife Scientific Conference 2023

Don't miss the Wildlife Research & Training Institute (WRTI) 1st Wildlife Scientific Conference to be held in Naivasha, Kenya, under the theme: “Use of Wildlife Science for enhanced Biodiversity Conservation and...

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discussion

Best Temperature/ Humidity Dataloggers

I'm after getting 20-25 temperature and humidity dataloggers for deployment in the field. I've considered iButtons and other single-use devices but would rather invest in...

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funding

Innovation in Environmental Monitoring

UK Research and Innovation
Applications are now open for an open capital funding opportunity for projects demonstrating innovative approaches toward environmental monitoring at a sensor or systems-based level.

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discussion

Live Streaming from a Remote Location (no cell tower access)

I have set up a live camera on a remote Malleefowl mound & whilst it is working, I would like to improve the video quality. I am using Starlink internet (satellite) & a...

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"The WiFi Solar Camera comes loaded with various features such as live monitoring ( via smartphone app ), motion sensor recording and notification alerts on detected movement, night vision, cloud storage of footage, an audio system to facilitate communication"

Hi Colin, Many thanks for your replies. Yes, Starlink provides full internet access. Our current Wifi Nest camera contains a web server & provides a html code to embed the live stream into a web page for public access. Most security cameras, due to privacy reasons, do not stream to a web page without requiring a username & password. Not a viable solution for public viewing.

We are looking for a camera with PTZ functionality that can stream to a web page without requiring a username & password.

Cheers, Graeme

Graeme, Maybe speak to a web IT expert. You may be able to have an interface on the webpage which provides the login credentials to the camera, but then passes the image (and control) to another page. Make a "masking" page that keeps the camera happy, but access and control is via another page.

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article

Human-Elephant Conflict Tech Solution in Tsavo: NdovuCare

Sandra Maryanne
Read our interview with Sandra Maryanne, a young conservation tech innovator raised in Taita, Ivarenyi with first-hand experience on the challenges of human-elephant conflict within her community. To address this, she...

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discussion

Live Streaming Camera

Does anyone know of a network camera that can stream live video direct to a browser page without requiring a password? Our Nest Outdoor camera (2mp) can but we are looking for a...

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discussion

Lion collars LoRaWan

Hello everyone, we are looking for suitable lion collars for a project in Kenya. (20 collars)Vertex (Vectronics) was used before, but they can't ship to Kenya nor have...

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discussion

River Monitoring Sensors

Looking for River Monitoring sensors. We are looking to monitor the below items;River depth and water level, The velocity of the river and flow ratesWater volume of the...

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Hi Kennedy, this is Ben from the USGS. There are many ways to monitor stream flow, but most are expensive and time-consuming. We have recently come up with an alternative that uses cameras and images combined with AI to estimate relative flow. There is a growing database here: 

https://www.usgs.gov/apps/ecosheds/fpe/#/

Feel free to get in touch if this seems like it could help, Ben at [email protected]

Would you consider using LoRaWAN technology? 

LoRaWAN features super low power consumption and ultra-long-range communication, very suitable for the wild :) 

One LoRaWAN gateway can connect to up to 200 sensors within the range of 2km to 10km (depending on the environment and antenna etc.) 

You can check out the combination of the following: 

(1) liquid level sensor  + LoRaWAN data logger  

(2) LoRaWAN outdoor gateway 

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Link

How sensors in "Smart Eggs" are helping Condors

A really interesting article on how the Oregon Zoo's condor team have used sensors and 3D printed eggs to monitor the conditions inside California Condor nests. Because condors are still endangered, every chick is important to the species' longterm success, so being able to monitor nests for potential changes and more effectively replicate natural nest conditions in incubators is a big step forward for improving their breeding program.

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discussion

Field testing of a radio telemetry system to be deployed in the sea.

Hello everyoneWhat kind of tests do you put aquatic tags through to get them field ready? Currently, we are testing a radio telemetry system. We are leaving the tags at 20...

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Oh, great link! Been doing marine projects recently and a big headache is protecting submerged electronics. I've kind of heard of many of those techniques, but great to see them collected all in one place and with first hand experienced commentary regarding them. 

Not sure exactly how your telemetry will be deployed, but if it's going to be attached to an animal in a relatively non-invasive way, you might check with zoos or aquariums that have similar species. 

I worked in that industry for a long time and we tested telemetry for seals, sea lions, polar bears and elephants. There might have been more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. This can help improve attachment methods and test how tough the animals will be on the equipment. 

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discussion

What are people using IoT for?

Hi everyone. I'm curious how people are using IoT in the wildlife community. Are you using local wireless sensor networks to a gateway? Sensors connected to cellular radios?...

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discussion

Advice on afforable LiDAR scanners for Amazon forest surveys

Dear allFirstly, what a fantastic group! I love following the discussions on this site and am a true believer in the power of the crowd so am hoping someone might have the...

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Hi Jeremy, 



With a quick search I've found the paper linked below. It looks like equipments such as Livox MID are sufficient for plot-level analyses, but not for individual trees. Also, it has performed worse in dense canopies and broadleaf forest, thus I believe we won't have a technology capable of doing what you aim for this amount of money (< $1000) in a few years from now.



I hope someone give us an alternative, though. :D



Best,

 

 

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