Hi all, a new bat tracking project is going to be starting later this year in BC that will be using mini motus stations (one omnidirectional 166 MHz antenna, photo below). The mini stations will only be deployed for a month (~Aug 18 – Sep 18), so we’re hoping to borrow equipment that folks may not be using at that time. Just putting a call out on here wondering if anyone might happen to have equipment for up to 4 mini stations in storage that they might be willing to lend? Unfortunately other projects will be using all the mini station equipment I know of in BC during that month.
If you end up having to buy equipment I’d be interested in working with you to minimize the BOM. Maybe it can be done with Pi-Zero, rtl-sdr, cheap gps, low-cost solar panel (adapted from security cameras), and cheap battery. You ought to have decent solar at that time of year? Are all the stations off-grid?
I’m up for minimizing a BOM on such a setup. Here’s a Google spreadsheet for setting up a “mini” SG in the US. Currently we use them with two receivers, and a USB GPS, so the Pi Zero won’t work here We use this for pre-siting noise-testing and manual tag check-ins, so a small rechargeable 5V battery pack buys us several hours of time, but I’m interested in a more affordable and portable solar setup for longer durations.
