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An Integrated Vehicle‐Mounted Telemetry System for VHF Telemetry Applications
Author(s) -
GILSDORF JASON M.,
VERCAUTEREN KURT C.,
HYGNSTROM SCOTT E.,
WALTER W. DAVID,
BONER JUSTIN R.,
CLEMENTS GREG M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the journal of wildlife management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1937-2817
pISSN - 0022-541X
DOI - 10.2193/2007-348
Subject(s) - telemetry , compass , transmitter , computer science , biotelemetry , real time computing , antenna (radio) , range (aeronautics) , tracking system , ranging , computer hardware , simulation , telecommunications , engineering , geography , kalman filter , aerospace engineering , artificial intelligence , channel (broadcasting) , cartography
We designed and developed a vehicle‐mounted very high frequency‐based telemetry system that integrated an on‐board antenna, receiver, electronic compass, Global Positioning System, computer, and Geographic Information System. The system allows users to accurately and quickly obtain fixes, estimate and confirm locations of radiomarked animals, and immediately record data into an electronic spreadsheet or database. The total cost of materials to build the system was $7,349 (United States currency). Mean error angle of 2.63 ± 12.1° (SD; range = −33.7–42.2°) and mean location error distance of 128 ± 91.3 m (SD; range = 0–408 m) suggested precision and accuracy of our system were comparable to other reported systems. Mean time to record 5 bearings/test transmitter was 6.28 ± 0.24 minutes (SE), which is the most efficient system reported to locate animals in the field. Vehicle‐mounted telemetry systems like ours provide additional value to studies that involve tracking highly mobile species because investigators need not take bearings from established receiving stations and because investigators can immediately recognize bounced signals and take additional bearings and optimize accuracy of location estimates.