Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Ham eqpt for wildlife radiotelemetry?  (Read 5477 times)

KE7WAK

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
    • homeURL
Ham eqpt for wildlife radiotelemetry?
« on: October 16, 2008, 03:00:45 PM »

I'm new to amateur radio, and just got my first handheld transceiver (Yaesu FT-60).  I'm also a biology grad student, and am occasionally involved in wildlife radiotelemetry studies.  I'm wondering if the transmitters and receivers used by biologists are somehow different than the equipment used by hams.  I tested my Yaesu radio today to see if it could pick up signals from a radiocollar used for tracking pygmy rabbits, and the best I got was a little bit of static every two seconds when I was supposed to get a nice "beep".  The telemetry receiver used for the same project got a nice clear signal (we were indoors, and the small transmitter was only inches away).  So, I was getting something on my Yaesu, but not a usable signal for finding a critter out in the field.  Are the signals used for wildlife tracking digital, and not receivable on a simple handheld transceiver?  Thanks for helping me understand how all this works.  --Jesse W, KE7WAK
Logged

K0OV

  • Member
  • Posts: 24
Ham eqpt for wildlife radiotelemetry?
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2008, 06:19:06 PM »

Your Yaesu receiver works only in the AM and FM modes.  Therefore it cannot produce the "chirp" sound usually associated with wildlife transmitters.  Researchers use receivers with CW/SSB detectors.  There are some amateur receivers that also have these modes.

There is a lot more information about using amateur equipment for wildlife tracking on this page of my Web site:

http://www.homingin.com/joemoell/owlfaq.html

And this page describes the characteristics of wildlife transmitters:

http://www.homingin.com/joemoell/squegg.html

I hope this is helpful.

Joe Moell K0OV
Logged

KE7WAK

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
    • homeURL
Ham eqpt for wildlife radiotelemetry?
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2008, 08:07:29 AM »

That was really helpful.   Thanks for your reply, and for taking the time to put those web pages together.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up